The strongest personal brand is not the loudest, but the most meaningful

Introduce yourself in a few words…

My name is Dayana Miteva-Staneva – a lawyer by education, author, entrepreneur, and expert in building personal brands through books and training products. I am the creator of DM Ghostwriting Agency – the first agency in the Balkans specializing in ghostwriting services or the so-called “shadow writing,” having helped hundreds of experts turn their knowledge into authority, content, and a sustainable business model over the past few years.

I am the author of the book The Eternal Business: How to Create a Profitable Business with Books and Training from Scratch, in which I present a working model for transforming expertise into a sustainable business, as well as methods through which such types of books and training can be used to build a personal brand. Recently, I have also become a co-owner of Smart Dynamix Group – a software project aimed at automation and digital solutions for businesses.

My work is at the intersection of writing, strategy, and marketing – where a strong story turns into trust, and trust into real opportunities.

How did you start building your personal brand? What motivates you?

I started with the most logical thing for me – writing. At one point, I realized that people can have exceptional expertise, but if they cannot translate it into the language of their audience, it remains invisible. This is what motivates me to help valuable people be seen, heard, and remembered.

My personal brand was built gradually through real results, authentic stories from practice, and a clear position, because knowledge has meaning only when presented in a way that leads to real change. For me, it has always been essential to provide value and share my knowledge openly, because trust is the foundation of every sustainable personal brand.

What are the most important elements of a successful personal brand?

In my opinion, there are four key elements without which the personal brand remains just noise and never turns into real influence. First and foremost is a clear identity – awareness of what you stand for and what you are not willing to stand for. This gives direction and character to every message.

Next is specific expertise – clarity about what you are useful for and to whom, because recognizability is built not by spreading in all directions, but through focus. The third element is evidence – real results, stories, examples, and a clear process of work that show that your words are backed by practice.

And finally, but not least, comes consistency – the same core of messages, communicated sustainably across different channels and over time. This combination transforms the personal brand from presence into authority.

How to find your niche and unique value?

This is one of the questions that people ask me most often, and that’s why I dedicate a special place to it in my book. Not because there is a universal answer, but because I believe that every person should reach it on their own. The goal is not for a person to receive a ready-made formula, but to arrive at a clear direction with confidence in what they offer.

The niche is not just a topic. It appears where the activities you are good at meet the real needs of people and what you can do long-term without exhausting yourself. When these elements are present, the personal brand becomes clear and natural.

Unique value comes when you stop copying models and start arranging your experience in your own way – as your own approach, style of thinking, and working. This is what makes people recognize you not as “just another expert,” but as the person they return to.

Should the personal brand be built around personality or expertise?

The strongest personal brands are built around expertise, but are remembered through personality. The balance is in showing the person behind the knowledge, without turning your personal life into a product. People want a human presence, but stay for the value they receive. That’s why creating a book often helps to find this balance – it provides space for both the depth of expertise and an authentic personal voice, without unnecessary ostentation.

What first steps would you recommend to someone just starting out?

I would advise them first to gain clarity instead of trying to be everywhere. The best starting point is three simple but very important questions: Who do I help? What specific problem do I solve? What is the result for the person on the other side after working with me?

From there, the personal brand is built through communication, not just through visibility. I always encourage people to think about how to maintain contact with those who have already trusted them – through conversations, feedback, shared spaces, and communities. Gathering real feedback and building their own communication channels helps the personal brand remain alive, human, and recognizable over time.

What role does authenticity play in the personal brand and how to maintain it?

Authenticity is at the core of every strong personal brand. People quickly sense when there is pretense or an artificial image in front of them, and then trust is lost. Therefore, the most important thing is to be yourself.

Of course, we can and should learn from others, but without losing our own identity. When you share your knowledge, skills, and perspective, when you show how you think and how you make decisions, people start to identify with you. This is what builds a connection, and it is the foundation of trust.

What are the most common mistakes people make when building a personal brand?

One of the most common mistakes is copying other models – talking only about what is “trendy” at the moment, without a real connection to their own identity. Imitation can bring short-term visibility, but almost always leads to a loss of authenticity.

The same applies to the use of new technologies. It is not about not trusting them, but using them consciously – with your own handwriting and after we have filtered them through what we believe. When something is done only because it is trendy, easier, or because “everyone is doing it,” the personal brand becomes superficial and unsustainable. That’s why we often see how “stars” rise quickly, but just as quickly fade away.

How to deal with negative comments and criticism?

The first and most important step is to make a clear distinction between constructive criticism and pure attack. Criticism can be valuable and help us grow, while attacks are usually noise that does not bring real value. The second step is to have clear rules – what we comment on, what we ignore, and in which cases it is healthier simply to cut off communication. Not every comment deserves a response, and not every provocation requires a reaction.

In my practice, I have also encountered another side of such “criticisms” – situations where there is no opinion or concern behind them, but a desire for comparison, copying, or unfair competition. I have had cases where people, whom I have never worked with and do not know personally, made negative comments, and some time ago I had a case where a book created by my team was presented by a competitor as their own achievement. I share this because everyone who builds a public image should be prepared even for such absurd situations.

Over time, I realized that such moments are often not an unpleasant exception, but a sign that you are on the right path and that what you do matters. Visibility inevitably brings resistance. If everyone likes you, most likely you are not saying anything substantial. The most important thing is not to let others’ tone define our standards and the way we work.

How to avoid burnout when investing a lot of effort in your personal brand?

Burnout most often occurs when we turn the personal brand into a constant proving ground. When the feeling is that we always have to be “on the line,” to publish, to explain. The solution is to stop perceiving it as pressure and turn it into a process.

That’s why I always recommend a sustainable rhythm, not “heroic” periods of overload. It is important to have clear boundaries – time without social networks, time for deep work, and time for recovery. The personal brand is not built in a week or a month. It is a marathon, not a sprint.

Another key point is delegation. Many people burn out because they try to do everything themselves. The truth is that a sustainable personal brand is built more easily when you have specialists you can trust and who take on part of the processes instead of you. This philosophy underlies my work – to help people regain their time and energy to focus on what they do best.

What are the best ways to monetize your personal brand?

It works best when monetization follows the logic of trust. First comes free value – in the form of information, shared experience, useful content, or the opportunity for people to test. Then logically follows a low-risk step, and only then the deeper and more engaging form of work.

This sequence can be realized through consultations, trainings, mentoring, digital products, books, or a combination of them. The key is to not just sell time, but transformation – a clear result that the client can name and measure.

Some of the most successful ways to monetize a personal brand are books, trainings, and mentoring programs. They solve real problems and give value without tying the brand's development entirely to the time of its creator.

Which personalities with a successful personal brand inspire you and why?

I am inspired by people who do not try to be “everything for everyone,” but are clear, consistent, and sustainable over time. Personalities who combine deep expertise with a human position and are not afraid to have a viewpoint, even when it is uncomfortable. They show that the strongest personal brand is not the loudest, but the most meaningful.

I like people who have their own voice, a clear position, and real value for their audience. Unfortunately, at the moment, there are often examples of copying other models, presented as original, but this always shows over time. A true personal brand is recognized not by its form, but by its content and by what remains after the noise.