Personal Branding: The Complete Course

This course teaches personal branding from the first question, what a personal brand is, to the last one, what your name will mean after you've gone. It's written for anyone building a name for themselves: students and graduates, job seekers, employees who want to grow where they work, managers and executives, founders and business owners, freelancers and consultants, creatives, academics, professionals with codes of conduct, public servants, athletes, and people changing careers or coming home from abroad. It's also for market traders, artisans, drivers, hairdressers, farmers, shop and factory workers and everyone else who earns a living by their work and their word. You don't need any background, money or connections. Every term is explained in plain words the first time it appears. And you never need to lie or pretend to be someone else: a personal brand is the work of making what's true about you easier for the right people to see.

You'll start by learning what a personal brand is, where the idea came from, and how it differs from reputation, character and image. Then you'll learn to tell personal branding apart from influencer marketing, self-promotion, thought leadership, employer, founder, executive and corporate branding, public relations and reputation management. After that you'll get to know yourself, choose a position, and work on how you show up in person, in writing and online, from your bio and CV to your platforms, profiles and a content routine you can keep up.

Later modules cover building authority through writing, speaking and service; your brand at work and in business, including how to price yourself; how the rules change for students, executives, doctors and lawyers, public servants, faith leaders, athletes, creatives, the diaspora, career changers and people rebuilding after a setback; personal branding across cultures, faiths, genders, classes and languages; protecting your name and your wellbeing; AI; measuring your brand; and legacy. The course ends with two full personal brand plans and a toolkit of templates and checklists.

Five made-up people follow you through the course: a final-year student in Kigali, a civil engineer in Lagos, a founder in Nairobi, an executive in Johannesburg and a designer and creator in Accra.

Where another course in the school teaches a topic in depth, such as style, speaking, public relations or legacy, this course gives you the essentials and tells you which course and lesson to read next. The lessons on law teach principles, not legal advice, so ask a qualified lawyer in your country before you act.