Most women I know are quietly brilliant at what they do. They show up, they deliver, they go above and beyond. And yet, so many of them are overlooked, underpaid, or underestimated by people who simply haven't been given enough reason to take them seriously.
That's not a talent problem. That's a visibility problem.
Personal branding has this unfortunate reputation of being something reserved for influencers with ring lights and CEOs with ghostwriters. But that's not what it is. At its core, your personal brand is just the impression you leave when you're not in the room. And whether you're managing it intentionally or not, it already exists. The only question is whether it's working for you.
Here are five personal branding tips for women who want to take up more space without changing who they are.
1. Get Clear on What You Actually Want to Be Known For
Before you think about how you present yourself, you need to know what you're presenting. This sounds obvious, but most people skip it entirely.
Ask yourself: if someone described you to a colleague who'd never met you, what would you want them to say? Not a job title. Not a list of qualifications. What's the thing you bring that no one else quite does in the same way?
Maybe it's that you make complex things simple. Maybe you're the person who holds the room together when things go sideways. Maybe you're relentlessly good at spotting trends before anyone else.
Whatever it is, name it. Write it down. That becomes your anchor. Every decision you make about how you show up professionally should connect back to it.
2. Tidy Up What Google Says About You
Your digital footprint is your first impression, and most people's is a mess of outdated profiles, inconsistent bios, and photos that belong in a different era of their life.
Google yourself. Properly. Look at what comes up and ask honestly whether it reflects where you are now. Check your LinkedIn headline (not just your job title), your Twitter or Instagram bio if they're public, any old blog posts or articles you've been quoted in.
Consistency matters more than perfection here. You don't need to be everywhere, but wherever you are, the story should be the same. The same name format, the same professional focus, the same general tone. Think of it as tidying a flat before guests arrive. You're not pretending to be something you're not, you're just making sure the real version of you is the one people find.
3. Get a Proper Photo Taken
This is the one people resist the most, and I understand why. Getting your photo taken feels uncomfortable, vain, and like something you'll get round to eventually. But eventually has a habit of never arriving.
Your headshot is doing work for you every single day. It's on your LinkedIn profile, your email signature, your company website, your speaker bio if you do any of that, your Zoom tile when you're on calls with people who don't know you yet. And a blurry bathroom selfie or a cropped wedding photo is quietly undermining all of it.
A decent headshot doesn't need to be a full production, it just needs to look intentional. If you're based in or near Liverpool, My Photos Forever do portrait and headshot work that sits on the right side of a professional without looking stiff. Book it once, use it everywhere.
4. Start Sharing What You Know
This is the part most women find the most uncomfortable, and it's also the part that makes the biggest difference.
You don't have to post every day. You don't have to go viral. You don't have to become a LinkedIn thought leader spouting motivational quotes at 7am. But sharing your perspective, in whatever format feels natural, is how you make your expertise visible to people who can't see it yet.
Write a short post about something you learned this week. Reply thoughtfully to someone else's content. Share an article with a sentence about why you found it useful. It doesn't have to be polished. In fact, the less polished it sounds, often the more human and trustworthy it comes across.
The goal isn't to perform expertise. It's to let people see it. There's a difference.
If you're already working on building a life that feels intentional, you might find some useful overlap in this piece on 7 Things I'm Doing to Build a Life That Feels Good. A lot of building a personal brand comes down to the same principle: being more deliberate about what you're actually doing, rather than just reacting to whatever the day throws at you.
5. Be More Deliberate About Who You Spend Time With
Personal branding isn't just about what you put online. It's also about the rooms you choose to be in, the people you choose to be around, and the way you show up when it counts.
Your reputation is built in the small moments. How you handle a difficult meeting. Whether you follow up when you say you will. How you treat people when there's nothing obvious to gain from being kind.
It's also shaped by association. The people who know you and the people who champion you are part of your brand whether you've thought about it that way or not. That doesn't mean being strategic about friendships in a cold, calculating way. It just means being intentional about investing in relationships where there's genuine mutual respect and where both people are trying to grow.
Put yourself in rooms that stretch you. Say yes to the panel, the introduction, the coffee. And when other women are doing interesting things, say so out loud. Visibility has a way of being contagious when people choose to share it.
The Bottom Line
Building a strong personal brand doesn't require a publicist, a podcast, or a perfectly curated grid. It requires a bit of honesty about how you're currently showing up, some consistency in how you present yourself, and the willingness to stop leaving your reputation entirely to chance.
Pick one thing from this list and do it this week. Just one. The best personal brand is the one you actually start building.
