Bottom-up
The way this works is that you want to reach the people interested in your specific disciplines/topics. So you’ll have to start at that level to let those people find your specific website/blog. If people are generally interested in the way you bring the news, they’ll start searching for your name and not the specific brand name. On the website or blog about yourself, you redirect people further to the topics you’re also writing about. In my opinion this way of working attracts the people you do want to have as followers, because they’re genuinely interested in the stuff you write.

Top-down
The reason why I dislike the Top-down way of working, is that people should not be pushed into following all that you do, share, post,etc. Your own stream of news, interests, shared items, posts and other stuff, might look cluttered to people who are only interested in one of the topics you write about. So offering them the option to find your sub-topics in a place of their own, leaves the choice to the reader.

What are your thoughts on this topic? Please share it in the comments…

1. possessing the claimed or attributed character, quality, or origin; not counterfeit; authentic; real
2. free from pretense, affectation, or hypocrisy; sincere

As it’s quite hard to distinguish yourself from the rest these days and it’s getting harder to stand out of the crowd, it’s likely you get tempted to look into the “10 ways to…” articles that are all over the net. For example; articles that show you how to increase your twitter followers. Really good to see there are ways to get people started into using a service and they should use it. Most of the articles I read tell me that the way I’m currently using services is about 75% the way it’s supposed to be used. But do I really want all those people following me just to follow me because they’re taught to follow and have a huge follow list and so giving me a large follow list, or do I want the people who are interested in what I’m genuinely posting and sharing…

The most important thing about my online presence is that it has to be genuine. This is where I start questioning myself to get into these ways to increase and be heard, because my feeling tells me I’m about to leave my authenticity behind. Maybe it’s a noble cause to hope that people start to notice you because you’re being genuine, but for me it certainly is the way!

Which brings me to the next questions; what will I be sharing? What am I posting about? What are my passions and interests and can they be packed into one blog? It’s time to answer these things by just doing what I feel is right. It’s time to let go of the thinking (just a bit) and start sharing more and not keep myself occupied with thoughts all the time, because living in thoughts doesn’t share my view of things.

After feeding myself with this information, I’m curious about a few things into reaching my goal; how does the passion relate to a Niche and vice versa?

Passion
What are the key elements I want people to think about when they hear my name? These elements relate directly to the one passion I want to create my brand with. Can I also turn the recognizable around on these elements, meaning when people encounter these elements, will they think about me; my brand?

Niche
A thing I was wondering about is the Niche, which comes into play when creating my personal brand. Should I be worried about finding the niche or even creating a niche for my personal brand? Or will it become clear as I go and thus being the outcome of my personal brand?

Explore and Process
By exploring and self-questioning, I’m hoping to find the perfect answer to my questions; the one thing I’m most passionate about on a professional level.