If you want to compete with your strengths, defining your character is key. Tips for self-branding to consider before writing a note

When you are actively posting on social media, you may find yourself worrying not just about the content of your posts, but about your very way of being.

“How do I want to be seen?” “What kind of world do I want to reach through my posts?”

Even though I keep writing articles on note and X, when I look back, I’ve started to lose sight of what I want to do...There may be some of you who feel this way.

In the Pen Club, a community exclusively for students of the “Personal Editor®” course, we held an event to address such concerns about “self-production” titled “Yutanuki Yoshimoto’s Self-Production Seminar.”

Manga artist and active Personal Editor Yutanuki Yoshimoto answers questions such as, “What kind of posts should I make to be seen as my ideal self?” and “What does self-production actually mean in the first place?”

The assistant was Azuma-san, also a Personal Editor. We are bringing you a report on a portion of this highly acclaimed seminar.

Self-production makes it easier to post

Yutanuki-san describes self-production on social media platforms like note and X as “deciding on your position and character.”

Yutanuki-san: Once you determine your direction for posting, it becomes easier to create content, as ideas for what you want to write naturally emerge and it becomes easier to visualize who you are sending your message to.

He taught us that for the “I don’t know what to write” problem that often plagues note writers, it is important to first organize your own way of being!

Yutanuki-san: Once your position and character are decided, you know what you don’t need to post. Because you can see the ideal image you want to aim for, you can also see the unnecessary elements (noise) and things you don’t need to say, making it harder to get lost.

However, there are times when you think, “I want to write something different for once!” or when you need to post based on trends. Yutanuki-san says that when that happens, if your core is decided, you can deviate calmly because you know it’s just for now or that you are intentionally doing something different from your character.

Yutanuki-san: If you deviate unconsciously, it becomes difficult to return from that state of confusion, but if you deviate consciously while knowing your own core, you can return immediately. I think it’s perfectly fine to deviate on purpose.

When your position and character are decided, “expectations” are easier to understand

Another benefit of self-production that Yutanuki-san mentioned is that “expectations” become easier to understand.

Yutanuki-san: When you have a position or character, such as “someone who posts recipes” or “someone who posts how to increase followers,” the purpose of following you becomes clear. It’s a win-win for both sides because it’s easier for you to know what to post to please your followers, and it’s easier for those around you to know what to expect.

He also says that it changes how easily you can connect to work.

Yutanuki-san: People with clear expectations are easily thought of as “I want to ask this person for this kind of work.” As a client, when a project comes up that matches those expectations, it’s easy to recall, “I’ll ask this person!”

Yutanuki-san conveys that self-production is about creating a situation where it is easy to meet the other party’s expectations and setting up an environment where you can compete in your area of expertise. You can really feel the appeal of self-production, which goes beyond just social media posting!

What should you do when you don’t have anything you want to do?

The question that arises here is “What should I do if I don't have a direction I want to go in or anything I want to do in the first place?”—that is the problem.

During the talk, Yutanuki-san showed us an image.

Yutanuki-san: For those who don't know what they want to do, I think it's a good idea to start by writing down your 'personal assets'. By digging deeper into these, I think you'll often find keywords and values you want to cherish!

Also, even if there are pioneers for each individual element, multiplying them can make you one-of-a-kind.

Someone who is lazy but loves cooking can use 'laziness x recipes' to keep introducing recipes that can be made without using a knife. Someone who is on a diet but loves ramen too much to give it up can use 'diet x ramen' to write reports on ramen shops where you can eat without guilt.

Yutanuki-san conveyed that by changing your perspective, you can find your own unique position.

There was even a moment where he offered the advice that 'thinking in reverse is also an option'.

Yutanuki-san: If you don't know what to write on note, try writing your impressions of every note that catches your eye. If you have too many things you want to do, try making it a project like 'I'm holding a Tenkaichi Budokai (World Martial Arts Tournament) for things I want to do!' It's also okay to share your 'confusion' or the process itself.

Yutanuki-san himself, when he couldn't find anything he wanted to share but needed to propose a project to a client, once told them, 'I think I'll try camping in the garden with my children,' and actually did it.

Precisely because you don't know, you can try it first and turn the process itself into a story. The 'now' when you are searching for your position or character might be the starting point for your content.

What if what you want to do is different from what is expected of you?

We will share a portion of how Yutanuki-san responded to the concerns of the participants who attended the event. Every interaction was full of deep advice, worthy of a paid consultation!

The first person to raise their hand was personal coach Yuito Shimasasan.

'There is a gap between what I want to do and what is expected of me by those around me.'
'I don't know how to handle that discrepancy.'

To that question, Yutanuki-san answered as follows.

Yutanuki-san: I want you to value your own 'comfort'. I'm the type who gets completely lost when requests from other people come in, which is exactly why I make an effort not to lose sight of what I want to deliver.

Yui-san: Are there any tips for not wavering?

Yutanuki-san: Always keep it clear who you want to deliver what to. If you have that, you can come back even if you're about to waver a little.

Returning to your inner sense precisely when you feel like you might be swayed by the voices around you helps build a 'solid axis.' I'm sure that message resonated with the other participants as well.

I'm sharing niche content. How can I get more people to find me?

Watando-san, who continues to share content under the title of "collector of songs that mention place names."Watandosan.

Although they share content on platforms like note and X with a unique perspective that combines music and regions, they asked, "How can I make it easier for people to find me?"

Watando-san: I feel like my title is too niche, making it hard for people to take an interest. The theme is also a bit too broad as "music x region," and I sometimes feel it's difficult to convey.

Yutanuki-san: That's a fascinating activity! As for ideas to reach a wider audience, how about writing articles that focus on "people" related to music and regions in a documentary style?articles that focus on "people" related to music and regions in a documentary style I think it would be read as an essay rather than just information sharing.

Also, it might be interesting to paste a Spotify link at the beginning of the article and guide readers by saying, "Please listen to this song while you read." Since the theme seems inexhaustible,it seems like it would be well-received not only on note and X but also on podcasts and live streams.

The platform for production doesn't have to be limited to X or note. I'm looking forward to Watando-san's future content, and I also learned about the media platforms themselves.

What kind of content should I share to be the person people think of when they hear "living is hard"?

Finally, there's Jin-san, who mainly posts essays on note.Jin-san.

At the base of it is the difficulty of living, such as "worrying too much" or "tending to dwell on things." They verbalize their work style and daily frustrations just as they are.

Jin-san: I also want to write more "articles focused on the difficulty of living" rather than just solutions.However, I don't know what kind of articles I should write to leave an impression as "someone who verbalizes the difficulty of living"! I'd love to have some ideas.

In response to this, Yutanuki-san proposed two perspectives. The first is "ingenuity to get found," and the second is "tricks to make people want to read more."

Yutanuki-san: How do you currently end your articles?

Jin-san: I try not to end them with just negative emotions as much as possible. But in the end, it goes in circles and often ends with a punchline like,"I'll eat something sweet, treat myself for today, and try my best again tomorrow.".

Yutanuki-san: I think that's really good! On top of that, it would be good to add "originality" as a plus-alpha element.add "originality" as a plus-alpha element

The character of someone who eats sweets stands out a lot, so for example, if you introduced a different ice cream at the end of every note, readers would likely look forward to "what will they eat next?"

It's okay to share the difficulty of living as it is. But if you add a little bit of positive "healing" or "action" to it,it becomes easier for readers to remember you as a character, and it also becomes an element they want to imitate was Yutanuki-san's advice.

It was a time to get hints on how to get people to become fans and want to read continuously.

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This production lecture received so many consultations that they couldn't all be introduced even in a two-hour session.

Many of you were likely encouraged by Yutanuki-san's words and are now looking forward to your future posts.

I look forward to seeing you all take the next step and succeed by applying what you have learned this time.

Production: Futari Koho (Writing: Momo (Momoka Mizumura) / Editing: Miho Kanai )