Confused About Your Personal Brand? Do This With AI (Brand Discovery Prompt + Workflow Inside)

Don’t spend $5k on a branding strategist. Do this instead

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One of the things I’m most grateful for in this season is community, not just in theory, but in practice.

That includes wise friends who are living out mission-minded leadership in real time.

James Presbitero

is one of those leaders. That’s why I invited him to write this guest post.

Especially when the work of leadership can feel isolating or overwhelming, hearing other grounded voices helps us widen our lens, deepen our clarity, and stay rooted in what matters most.

And what James shares here couldn’t be more timely.

Because whether you're leading a personal business, a nonprofit, a church, pioneering a startup, or navigating change inside a ministry, one truth is becoming harder to ignore:

The front door to your mission is now your personal brand.

Not a press release. Not a new campaign. Not a polished About page. People discover who you are, and decide whether to trust you, before they ever meet you.

James will take it from here, and if his message resonates, consider subscribing to Write10X.

Everybody needs a personal brand. That much is a given.

Whether you’re leading a research initiative, running a nonprofit, or working across humanitarian, financial, or academic systems, your personal brand is the one asset that’ll let you make a difference in today’s digital-first world.

The more people who recognize that brand, the more impact you create.

Let’s do a little napkin math: If just 1,000 new people discover you this year—through a LinkedIn post, a Substack article, or a podcast you appeared on—that’s 1,000 more individuals aware of and aligned with your mission.

That’s 1,000 potential collaborators, donors, students, clients, or supporters.

Sounds too good to be true? It is -- but it’s very possible. It’s just not easy. Because that can’t happen unless your personal brand is clear.

That’s where most leaders get stuck.

Personal branding is so confusing because …

Because it feels like an identity crisis in slow motion.

• You have years—sometimes decades—of expertise.

• You wear multiple hats.

• You work across disciplines or serve multiple communities.

You’re not just a job title. You’re a web of values, experiences, and skills,

none of which fit neatly into a 160-character bio or a LinkedIn headline.

So when someone asks: “What do you do?” or “What’s your message?”

The answer isn’t just hard to articulate. It feels limiting.

Like you’re being asked to condense a lifetime of work into a tagline.

And that’s where a lot of people get stuck. They overthink. They hesitate. They stall on creating content or showing up online because they’re not sure what angle to lead with.

Hiring a brand strategist is one option, but that’s a big investment. And truthfully, it’s a process that still relies on you being able to articulate what you stand for. You may just be wasting $10k on a fancy landing page for nothing.

That’s why, at least at the beginning, what you really need isn’t a full-scale agency. You need structured reflection—a way to untangle your expertise and mission so you can see your brand clearly before sharing it widely.

And AI can help you get it.

Use AI as a thinking partner

Most people treat AI like a content vending machine. Type in a prompt, get a generic output. Maybe it gives you a decent first draft or a list of tips. But it rarely feels personal—and it definitely doesn’t feel strategic.

That’s because AI reflects what you put into it. Without direction, it defaults to the average.

But when used intentionally, AI becomes something far more powerful: a structured thinking partner that supports you through the messy, non-linear process of brand discovery.

It can:

• Act as an advisor. Drawing on a vast knowledge base across industries and disciplines, helping you consider best practices and unfamiliar angles

• Become a brainstorming partner. Asking thought-provoking questions, identifying patterns in your answers, and nudging you out of echo chambers

• Serve as a secretary. Capturing and organizing your values, goals, language, and tone in one central place

Instead of trying to figure everything out on your own, you can collaborate with AI to reflect, clarify, and synthesize. It’s like having a strategist, editor, and notetaker—all in one screen.

And you can activate all three roles with one well-structured prompt that starts a dialogue, not just a task.

Caption: The prompt itself is too long to add here. Get the full 400-word master prompt at the Active Prompt Vault for free when you subscribe to Write10x.

Solve your personal branding problem

This isn’t just theory. By the end of this process, you’ll have a working brand foundation that clarifies your voice and amplifies your presence—without needing to hire a consultant or spend months spinning your wheels.

Here’s what that looks like:

• A clear articulation of your personal mission and message – something you can say out loud or write down that actually feels like you.

• A positioning statement you can use in bios, intros, and decks – one that quickly tells others who you are, what you do, and why it matters.

• Clarity on your core topics and ideal audience – so you're not guessing what to post or whom you're speaking to.

• A content strategy that reflects your values and leadership goals – aligned with your mission, not just driven by metrics.

• A stronger sense of voice, tone, and differentiation – helping you stand out not through volume, but through unmistakable authenticity.

This brand clarity becomes the engine behind it all.

Once you see it written out, it becomes easier to own, refine, and share with the world.

Don’t let AI replace your creativity. Use it to think more strategically and creatively.

AI isn’t a replacement for reflection. It’s an accelerant for clarity.

When used right, AI doesn’t define your brand for you. It simply helps you define it faster, with more structure and less overwhelm.

Used mindfully, AI becomes a partner in your mission. It helps you amplify what’s already there: your story, your message, your voice.

This is just one example of how I use AI to unlock strategy, not just positioning. For more, check out the Active Prompt Vault, a living resource filled and continually updated with 20+ pre-structured workflows like this one.

The future of thought leadership isn’t AI-generated. It’s human-led and AI-supported.

Let your leadership voice lead the way.

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Enjoyed James’s guest post? Want more AI and personal branding strategies? Subscribe to Write10x and get access to the Active Prompt Vault with 25+ more advanced prompts for writing, content marketing, and personal branding.