Recently, I wrote my second book, Sri Venkatesa Suprabhatam, an attempt to simplify the sacred hymn and make it accessible to everyone. The response was overwhelming. But my biggest marketing lesson came from someone who is not even two years old.
Her name is Moulya.
I spend a few minutes with Moulya almost every day, reading something to her. When I showed her my book, she was excited. She carefully leafed through it, found my photograph at the end, and ran her little hand over it and then over my face, as if to confirm that it was really me.
Though Moulya cannot pronounce names perfectly yet, the next time she picked up the book, she tried to say my name. Looking at the temple-centric images, she also said the book was about Govinda Swamy.
A few days later, over the weekend, Moulya visited our house. She saw my collection of books and picked up one written by another author. She flipped through it, clearly looking for something. Then she looked at me and asked, “Where’s uncle?”
She was looking for my photograph.
It reminded me of something marketers have known forever, but we often ignore: visibility!
This is also why branding matters, even when the brand is you.
In a world where everyone is vying for attention, simply doing good work is not always enough. People need to know who created it, what you stand for, and what makes your work yours. That is the essence of personal branding. It is not about creating a larger-than-life image or constantly talking about yourself. It is about making your work recognizable and giving people something to remember.
We often hesitate to talk about our accomplishments, promote our work, put our photograph out there, or tell people what we have created. We worry that doing so may seem boastful. But there is nothing wrong with genuinely highlighting your accomplishments, especially when you have created something you can be proud of.
If my photograph had not been in my book, would Moulya have connected the book to me? Perhaps not.
Whether you are an author, entrepreneur, professional, artist, or marketer, don’t be afraid to tell people what you do. Share your work. Put a face to it. Build your identity around what you genuinely create and contribute.
Branding is not about shouting louder. It is about being remembered for something meaningful.
There is nothing wrong with giving your work that extra bit of visibility. Sometimes, that little bit of visibility can turn a piece of work into something people associate with you.
