Authors like dumping a list of 100+ traits on people with no organization whatsoever. But all it does is feel overwhelming, cause who wants to comb through all that?
Instead, we chose the top 51 and categorized them for you, so the list of brand personality traits is easy to comb through, you understand why they’re there, and you can put together a well-rounded list for your own personal brand.
Personal brand traits for…
1. For presence & first impressions
These are the traits that shape your first impression, setting the tone in those crucial first 5 seconds.
- Confident
- Charismatic
- Charming
- Stylish
- Polished
- Youthful
- Warm
- Glamorous
- Elegant
- Approachable
2. For communication & connection
These are the traits that’ll make people think: “I could grab coffee with them.” It’s all about how you connect and communicate with your followers and future clients.
- Authentic
- Sociable
- Witty
- Friendly
- Personable
- Empathetic
- Humorous
- Compassionate
- Considerate
- Outspoken
- Understanding
3. For values & mindset
These are your why traits. The ones that reflect your core values and show what motivates you.
- Respectful
- Responsible
- Optimistic
- Honest
- Independent
- Purposeful
- Reliable
- Courageous
- Determined
- Ambitious
4. For creativity & innovation
These brand personality traits show your creativity and problem-solving skills, and how you bring originality to your work.
- Insightful
- Creative
- Bold
- Curious
- Quirky
- Daring
- Resourceful
- Playful
- Imaginative
- Spontaneous
5. For work style & professional edge
These traits capture how you get stuff done: your work style, productivity, and professional strengths that set you apart.
- Organized
- Efficient
- Clear-headed
- Disciplined
- Steady under pressure
- Dedicated
- Dynamic
- Decisive
- Adaptive
- Practical
Why are personal brand traits important?
Nobody wants to be just another application in the pile. To avoid that fate, you need to stand out, and the best way to do that is by having a distinct personal brand. That starts with your brand personality: the traits that make it unique and recognizable.
They’re simply just the best way to describe the personality of your brand, as if it were a human just like you and me. It’s important to know these, as they affect how people scroll through your content and dictate how you should create it.
How many traits should I choose for my personal brand?
There are no hard rules when it comes to the number of your personal brand traits. They’re there to help you when you work on your website, create content, or communicate with others. If you feel like three core traits are enough to guide your way, so be it.
Our recommendation for a well-rounded brand personality would be to choose one or two traits from each of the five categories above. That’ll cover each aspect of your online presence without being too much to remember.
How to choose the best traits for my brand personality?
There are two ways to do this: one is a little more manual, the other a little more fun.
The first would be to just copy and paste the list into a document and start going through it. You can just mark every trait that resonates with you, then narrow it down from the shortlist you get. Or score each trait from 1-10, 1 being “that’s not what I’m aiming for” and 10 being “yes, that’s exactly who I want to be”. Then choose the ones with the highest scores.
Just keep in mind that this is for your personal brand and how you want to appear online and in professional settings—not for your personal life.
The second option is talking to your branding coach, Brandi.
Who’s Brandi? She’s your branding expert available to you 24/7 for free (needing sleep, who?), who will guide you through each part of your personal brand, including your brand personality traits.
(Sort of like a brand identity questionnaire, except with someone who guides you and replies in real time.)
So where’s Brandi? She lives in Copyfolio: you can just create an account and start chatting with her about your brand right away.
What else will I need for my personal brand?
Your personal brand has two main parts: the visual branding and the brand character. Your brand traits? They’re in the latter with a few other things.
Your visual branding
It’s kind of self-explanatory, but the visual part of your brand identity has all the design elements of your brand: your logo, your fonts, your color palette, and your overall design style.
Even though it might seem like it’s worlds apart from your brand traits, it really is not. Your visuals have to give off the same vibe you’ve described for your brand personality. Imagine someone who’s trying to be polished, organized, and respectful, having lots of bold colors, quirky fonts, and an eclectic, scrapbook-like aesthetic. It doesn’t really work, does it?
If it’s still a little difficult to wrap your head around, check some visual personal brand examples for some inspiration.
Your brand character
This is the part of your personal brand you can’t explicitly see, its essence, so to speak.
It’s made up of…
- your brand personality (and the traits this post is all about),
- your unique selling point or USP (aka what makes you unique),
- and your tone of voice (meaning the way you write and speak).
Remember Brandi from the last section? She can help you figure out all of these, whenever inspiration strikes. You can start a chat, answer her questions, and your results will be saved, so you can refer back to them anytime later on. Sign up, start a chat and give it a try!
