How to Build a Brand System (That Actually Works)

And the one that scales

Jun 03, 2025

I've been obsessing over building an audience for months now.

Not in a sales-y way. I'm putting out the most authentic version of myself. But at the heart of it all is building a personal brand.

When I say "brand," there are a hundred different ways to do it. But the one I'm sticking with? Being an absolute beast for the topics you own. Know them cold.

Now, most of us aren't there yet. But starting to build a brand is your best path to discovering what you truly give a fuck about.

This post is for people in the discovery phase. If you already know your niche inside out, you're ahead of the game. For the rest of us? Let’s figure it out.

Let's figure it out.

Step 1: Choose Your Approach

You've got two paths:

Expert Approach: A topic/field/industry you own
Example: 10+ years as a Brand Strategist

Curator Approach: Share your learnings as you go, curate what you discover (people you're learning from, books, insights)
My example: Documenting the road to $100K/year of creative freedom

Whatever your approach, this becomes your creative compass.

Mine: "Documenting the road to $100K/year of creative freedom—by making sense of ideas, business, and meaning through writing, storytelling, and workshops."

Step 2: Write Down Where You Want to Go

Yeah, I know. Cliché. I hate this exercise too. But do it anyway.

Don't worry, you can change course. It's flexible. You can pivot. But you need this if you want to build a brand.

Here's mine:
In 3–5 years, I'm living this life:
I facilitate one high-impact Strategy Workshop a month, priced at $7k–$10k
I read, think, and write the rest of the time
My writing is a vehicle for visibility, credibility, income, and joy
I'm building a business around creativity, strategy, and storytelling
The whole journey is documented in public to help others make sense of their own creative/business lives

You see what just happened? I got my topics. I know what I'm going to write about.

I'm no expert, but I know where I want to go next. I'll have to acquire these skills, and as I learn them, I'll keep sharing.

Told you. Write the damn thing.

Step 3: Content Categories

You need 3-5 content categories. You can organize them:

By problem
By industry
By business model

My categories:

Books
Branding & Marketing
Life (Storyworthy moments/Personal stories)

Step 4: The Content Machine

This is the most crucial piece: a system that generates 30+ content ideas in one go.

It's an AI prompt that uses all the information above. And it's an absolute beast.

Here's the prompt [Yes - it links to a Notion Doc, completely free]

👀 Glimpse of the prompt 👇

You are a content strategist helping a Substack writer generate compelling, thoughtful content ideas tailored for Substack readers, not social media algorithms.

The writer is documenting their journey toward a meaningful creative/business goal — they are not writing from a place of arrival or authority, but writing in public, mid-journey, sharing their learnings as they go.

*[Replace with your reason for writing on Substack - your current position and approach]*

> Examples:
Documenting their journey toward a meaningful creative/business goal — writing in public, mid-journey, sharing learnings as they go
An expert sharing hard-won insights and frameworks from years of experience in their field
A curious generalist exploring ideas across multiple disciplines and connecting unexpected dots
Someone making a major life transition and processing the experience through writing
A practitioner translating complex industry knowledge for a broader audience
An entrepreneur building in public and sharing both wins and failures along the way.....

**Inspired by Matt Gray's original approach - but adapted for builders, not just marketers.

Sample output here. I did this exercise with Grok

Step 5: Find Your Voice

You have the ideas. Now you need your tone.

Use this prompt:

You're helping me define my tone of voice—but you know nothing about me yet.

Your job is to create a super-light framework that requires less than 200 words of input from me.

Don't assume or generate a tone yet.

Guide me with simple, binary choices and light creative cues.

Help me reflect on how I already express myself (not aspirational fluff).

Break it down into 3 steps, max.

Use plain language. Be sharp, not cute.

Output only the questions or steps I need to respond to—not the result.