Alex Makowski and I just got off stage at DigiMarCon in New York. We sat down right after to talk about what actually works when it comes to personal branding and generating leads without being pushy or salesy.
What we covered isn’t theory. This is stuff we live and breathe every single day. And the truth is, most people are doing personal branding completely wrong.
Stop talking about yourself
The biggest mistake people make with personal branding is thinking it’s about them. They post about their success, their Lamborghinis, their watches. They think that’s how you build a brand.
Nobody cares about you. Seriously.
The way to build your personal brand is to elevate others and share your expertise. That’s exactly what Alex did on stage at DigiMarCon. He got up in front of a room full of people in New York and talked about how he does cold email for agencies. He wasn’t bragging. He was teaching.
And what happened afterwards? People came up to him. They were asking questions, wanting to learn more. Not because Alex told them how great he was, but because he gave them something valuable.
That’s the difference. The guys on Money Twitter and Instagram flexing their cars and watches are getting attention, but they’re not building trust. Alex showed up, taught something useful, and people came to him.
The LIGHTHOUSE method
This is the core of how I’ve built my entire career over the last 30 years.
A LIGHTHOUSE is someone who is well-known and respected in a specific industry. They’re not necessarily famous to the general public, but within their world, everyone looks to them for advice.
Here’s how it works. You do great work for a LIGHTHOUSE. They talk about you to their community. Their community trusts them, so they trust you by association. Then those people come to you as clients.
Let me give you a real example. My buddy Jeremy Newman runs a $10 million restoration company. He’s the guy everyone in the restoration industry looks up to. I spent a day with him in San Antonio, and afterwards he made a post on Facebook talking about how I helped him with digital marketing and SEO.
He wrote, “I spent a day with my friend Dennis Yu today. He has been extremely helpful in teaching me the basics about the digital world.”
Look at what happened next. All these other restoration contractors saw that post. They started reaching out to me saying, “Hey, I need help with my SEO,” or, “Can you look at whether my marketing agency is doing a good job?”
Some of them became clients. And I didn’t pitch a single one of them. They came to me because someone they already trusted vouched for me.
That’s the LIGHTHOUSE method. You never need to say how amazing you are. Just be around people who are well-known, do great work for them, and let them do the talking.
You get more of whatever you post
This is a simple rule that will change how you think about content forever.
Whatever you put out is whatever you get more of.
If Alex posts pictures of himself speaking on stage, he’s going to get invited to speak at more events.
If he posts about helping agency owners and interviews other agency owners on his podcast, he’s going to attract more agency owners who want to work with him.
And if you keep attracting broke clients who complain and don’t pay, take a hard look at your content. That’s what you’re putting out, so that’s what you’re getting back.
We like the LIGHTHOUSE model because we’re targeting the top people in the industry. The ones who are the most respected, who pay the most, and who expect the least. It sounds counterintuitive, but the more someone pays, the better client they tend to be. The less they pay, the more they expect and complain.
I literally refunded a guy $200 today because he bought a small local SEO service we offer and then wanted private calls and all this extra attention. For $200. Meanwhile, our bigger clients are easy to work with and grateful for the results. So be intentional about who you’re attracting with your content.
But what if I’m starting from zero?
This is the excuse Alex and I hear all the time. “I’m not flying around to conferences. I’m not well-connected. I don’t know anyone important.”
You don’t need any of that.
Alex started by sending me a cold DM on Twitter. That’s it. One message. That DM turned into a call, which turned into a coaching relationship, which turned into him speaking on stage at a major conference alongside me.
You don’t need to know Jake Paul. You don’t need to have the Golden State Warriors as a client. You just need to reach out to one person you respect, build a genuine relationship, and go from there.
People ask me how I got the Warriors as a client. It’s because I knew Kenny Lauer 12 years ago, way before he became the CMO. I knew him when he was a nobody. I built real relationships with people I trusted, and over time, those relationships turned into opportunities.
The Money Twitter crowd might not believe in this approach. But if you believe in building real relationships and playing the long game, it pays off in ways you can’t imagine. You just have to be patient.
Dennis Yu
Dennis Yu is the CEO of Local Service Spotlight, a platform that amplifies the reputations of contractors and local service businesses using the Content Factory process. He is a former search engine engineer who has spent a billion dollars on Google and Facebook ads for Nike, Quiznos, Ashley Furniture, Red Bull, State Farm, and other brands.
Dennis has achieved 25% of his goal of creating a million digital marketing jobs by partnering with universities, professional organizations, and agencies. Through Local Service Spotlight, he teaches the Dollar a Day strategy and Content Factory training to help local service businesses enhance their existing local reputation and make the phone ring.
Dennis coaches young adult agency owners serving plumbers, AC technicians, landscapers, roofers, electricians, and believes there should be a standard in measuring local marketing efforts, much like doctors and plumbers must be certified.