A Big YouTuber Messaged Me....

Read time: 4 min

The Message

It was 9:55 pm.

A chilly September night settled outside. I was sitting on the couch, my eyes heavy and a little sleepy, mentally getting ready for the work week ahead. The warm glow from our lamp spilled over my phone. My cat, Piper, was busy, desperately trying to get comfortable on my lap.

Out of nowhere, a crazy idea popped into my head and snapped me out of my contemplative state.

I reached for my phone, scrolled for a second, and stopped at the Circle app. I felt a little nervous but excited too, with this tiny flicker of hope inside. I found Matt’s profile and hit the message button.

I typed: "Hey Matt!! How is your getting-back-to-actually-enjoy-creating journey coming?"

I smiled to myself, thinking how childish I can be sometimes, and tapped the little paper airplane to send.

Matt D’Avella is a successful YouTuber who talks about productivity and minimalism. I’ve been watching his videos and following him for a while now (at least three years). Some time ago, I even bought his YouTube course (Master YouTube — definitely recommend, not sponsored 😁), which comes with a community hosted on an app called Circle…

My alarm went off. I dragged myself out of bed, still super sleepy, got ready for work, and grabbed my phone. There was a notification.

"No way," I thought, staring at my screen.

A smile broke out across my face. My eyes widened. This wave of excitement and pleasant surprise rose up in me.

Matt had replied. Matt D’Avella actually replied!

Later that day, when I got home from work, I couldn’t help but tell my wife. I shared how he replied — and how cool it was. After that, Matt and I had little conversations every other day (because of time difference). He even gave me an advise when I asked for it.

Why am I telling you this story?

Because There Are Four Takeaways About The Power of Personal Branding

that I want to share with you to show that personal brand is:

• A tool of a new rich

• The most valuable asset you can build to work less and earn more

• A way to stand out in a world of rising AI

• A powerful way to share Jesus

I think you will either rethink, appreciate or get inspired to build a personal brand.

1) You (or your business) become premium

You build a personal brand through consistent creation of ideas on social media to occupy the mental real estate of each follower. So sharing content online — educating people, sharing your skills, interests, and beliefs —creates an image in the minds of the audience.

The more positive experience they have with your content, like I did with Matt's content, the more your audience remembers you and values you. And the positive experience includes giving a lot of value upfront.

So the perceived value of your time, your words, and your services or products become higher. That's why I reacted with excitement when Matt replied to my message.

My point is you can increase the value of yourself or your business through consistent value creation in the lives of others. Thus, people will be willing to pay you more.

In the context of creator business, you can create value by educating, inspiring, and/or entertaining the audience with your interests, skills, and beliefs.

2) You create word of mouth on steroids which is the best marketing

Arguably, word of mouth is the best marketing method because it's FREE and effective (people listen to other people).

But word of mouth on steroids is even better.

And it flows out of the perceived value that people have about you.

So as soon as you do something personal (showing that you care) or create something good or share something original, people want to tell others. The same way I wanted to tell my wife so badly that Matt replied to me.

Or here is another good example I heard once:

What do you naturally want to do at that moment?

Just keep walking and be silent?

Absolutely not!

What you will do is point toward that view and shout to your friend “Look! It is gorgeous!” The same way, when you build an authentic, valuable brand (aka reputation) — and you just respond to the message — people want to tell everybody.

A personal brand can influence people to market for you.

3) You won't be replaced by AI

You probably hear about AI developments everywhere, in pretty much every domain. It really became an AI revolution after ChatGPT.

AI is replacing a lot of skills and lowering the barriers for entry. It can edit pictures, create art, edit videos, make any audio you want — you name it. Certain digital skills are becoming less and less valuable. It will get to a point where AI can do so many things far more efficiently than humans.

And the only real way to stand out in the world of business is by being human — by building genuine connections and communities.

Here’s how entrepreneur Steven Bartlett puts it:

Building a personal brand is the best way to create “experiences that feel human, immersive and community-led.”

A personal brand, by itself, can even become a business (what I call a creator business). Or it can perfectly complement a separate business (even something like a plumbing business).

Bottom line: Having a personal brand can give you a real edge in a world dominated by AI.

4) You have an impact on people’s lives

And obviously, all of this allows you to have real impact on people's lives.

This becomes a powerful tool of influence that should be used responsibly: “With great power comes great responsibility.” (I couldn’t resist. It’s timeless, hahaha)

When you build a personal brand like that, each word you say can weigh 1000 kilograms (or pounds!).

What I love about this is that God can use it to amplify the Gospel and point people to Jesus. People will listen. People will tune in and take your words seriously. And that’s all we want as Christians.

We can’t save anyone. We can only point.

And with great power, there’s always the great danger of falling in love with fame. So if you’re a Christian, walk in the light — meaning, confess and bring it up to the Lord every time you feel yourself drifting into love for fame and influence.

That’s why it’s vital for us to stay in the Bible and have quiet time with God; so we’re continually washed and don’t lose our way. Only then will we truly care about the souls of our audience.

So here you have it — 4 things I took away from my experience with personal branding:

• Why you and your business can become premium

• How you can create word of mouth on steroids

• How you can stay irreplaceable in an AI world

• And most importantly, how you can point others to Jesus.

Thank you for reading!

Till next time, my friend!

P.S. If this letter was educating or entertaining to read, could you please share my newsletter with others who you think would like my content? Just share this link: https://creator-chronicles-letter.beehiiv.com/subscribe

P.P.S. Bereket means abundance and blessing in my native language - Turkmen.