A strong personal brand distinguishes you, increasing your chances of attracting high-quality clients and accelerating revenue gains. It all starts with knowing yourself. What personal strengths can you leverage to attract clients and develop ingenious, results-generating solutions? “Personal branding is about taking things you’re good at and using them to help others,” says William Arruda, a New York-based branding expert and author of Career Distinction: Stand Out By Building Your Brand.

Once you figure out your unique value – perhaps as a reliable marketing partner known for suggesting out-of-the-box promotional ideas – it’s important to deliver performances consistent with this identity on every order, or your brand, and your sales, can suffer.

It’s also important to promote your personal brand digitally, since most prospects will research you online. “Make sure your virtual identity is consistent with your brand,” Arruda says. That means establishing a strong website with testimonials, a professional bio and other information that conveys your value. Consider buying a domain name that’s your “first name-last name.com” or some variation of your name and company. Get active on social media, but ensure there’s a consistency of message, tone and character across your site and social platforms.

Your original online content says something about your brand, as does the discovered content you share. So, if your aim is to convey that you’re a deft marketing partner, create a blog that establishes you as a consultative expert in the promotional products industry. Tweet and post links to articles, videos and infographics with information that’s useful and/or entertaining to target clientele.

While digital brand-building is essential, it’s important to take your efforts into the non-virtual world, too. Try speaking as an expert at trade shows, seminars and marketing-related events. Network at happenings attended by potential customers, and serve as a source in articles in industry magazines and other publications.