How to create a successful online persona without really trying

Despite my reservations, I slowly came to realize that self-promotion wasn't just some necessary evil, but a powerful tool for connecting with my audience.

A while back, José discussed the importance of having a strong online persona. Despite its importance, it isn’t always easy to sit down and think about one’s digital persona, and it can be tempting to toss it in the ‘too difficult’ bin. I know because, in addition to being the Senior Editor here at Newstex, I’m also a content creator who has had to grapple with these issues. José has asked me to share some of the steps I took to establish my digital persona. 

Who am I?  Discovering my niche

My name is Jason Loch, and since 2014 I’ve been blogging about the British constitution over at A Venerable Puzzle. I started my blog because I was dissatisfied with the way major media outlets (on both sides of the Pond) covered constitutional issues in the UK. Many times, they presented oversimplified accounts that had an element of truth but were arguably misleading. 

Cutting through media noise

For example, many pundits seemed to struggle with the intricacies of the Parliament Acts 1911 & 1949. They portrayed it as a sort of legislative easy button that rendered the House of Lords totally irrelevant. While it’s true that peers can’t permanently block legislation passed by the Commons, there are some significant caveats. Most notably, it takes about a year to invoke the Parliament Acts. Now that’s an eternity in politics, so governments are strongly incentivized to find a compromise if peers dig in their heels. The data shows that this is, in fact, what often happens, but you’d never guess that from the way the media covers the Lords. And that, in turn, makes it harder for people to have informed discussions about Lords reform. I imagined my blog being a place where I could share deeper, more nuanced accounts of these topics while still keeping my content accessible enough for a non-specialist audience.    

Democratizing knowledge

I was also motivated by a strong belief in the importance of making knowledge freely available. When I was in grad school, we were taught to focus our writing efforts on academic journals and scholarly monographs. Those are valuable resources to be sure, but they’re not particularly accessible. When a single monograph can easily cost hundreds of dollars, it’s often going to be out of reach to both the average person and their local public library. With blogging, I could reach beyond the confines of the Ivory Tower.

Setting goals for your online persona

• Find your unique voice and perspective
• Identify topics and issues you're passionate about
• Consider how to make your content accessible to a broader audience

Finding my voice

Although I didn’t consciously think about my digital persona when I started my blog, looking back, I can see that I was already starting to sketch its outlines. It took me a while to find my voice. Looking back, my earliest posts feel more journalistic than academic. Much of my effort was focused on covering topical news stories such as the House of Lords Reform Act 2014. I didn’t limit myself to Britain, either–I also discussed items from Commonwealth Realms such as Australia. 

Overcoming impostor syndrome

Like many midwesterners, self-promotion doesn’t come easily to me. It feels too much like bragging. I also lost my interest in social media a long time ago. I suppose I hoped that my writing would be able to stand on its own, thus sparing me the need to proactively promote myself. To be honest, there was a dollop of snobbishness there, too. As far as I was concerned, X and Facebook were the domain of narcissists who can’t let a thought cross their mind without sharing it with the world. 

The perils of obscurity

Alas, that’s not how the world works. You can write a heartbreaking work of staggering genius, but it’s not going to matter if no one knows about it. I once knew someone who self-published a novel on Amazon but didn’t do any promotion at all. He seemed to believe that he could hit the upload button and wait for the money to come rolling in. When sales didn’t meet his expectations, he got discouraged and stopped writing for good.

Baby steps

Of course, there’s often a gulf between understanding an action, and it took me a long time to reconcile myself to the need to promote myself. I started out with a Facebook page for my blog. I set it up so that my posts would be automatically published to the page. While that helped me expand my content’s reach, it wasn’t enough. 

Understanding your online persona’s audience

• Identify who you want to reach with your content
• Engage with your audience, don't just broadcast
• Allow your personality to shine through

Entering the Twitterverse

Eventually, I decided to try X (then known as Twitter). At first, I created a separate account for my blog and mostly contented myself with only posting links to new posts. This was not a recipe for success. If all you do is post links to your own stuff, your feed is going to seem very stale. Sure, you’ll get followers, but their connection to you is going to be quite superficial because you aren’t really engaging them. At the same time, because I was tweeting as “A Venerable Puzzle” and not “Jason Loch,” it was hard to inject any personality into my social media presence. The fact that I didn’t enjoy social media also meant that operating a second account felt like more of a chore than anything else. 

Getting personal

In time, I decided to try tweeting from my personal account. Not only did it make my life a lot simpler, but it also opened the door to building genuine rapport with my readers. It became easier to come up with things to say, and people were more likely to interact with me because I had an actual name and a face. 

X marks the spot

To my surprise, X turned out to be a wonderful tool. It’s a great place to discuss topics that aren’t meaty enough for a blog post. For example, one of my interests is diplomatics (that’s a fancy term for the study of documents and it has nothing to do with diplomacy), and X is a great place to discuss that because you can upload photos of documents with your tweets. It’s also the perfect venue to share interesting nuggets of information that I come across in my research. 

No trolls allowed

Although X is often described as a hellsite (with good reason!), my experiences have been almost universally positive. I’ve met some wonderful people who have become friends as well as colleagues. Our conversations have been a source of both inspiration and edification. But being professional doesn’t mean I have to be aloof. I love it when people ask me questions, and I try to be just as helpful whether the questioner is a student or a seasoned denizen of Whitehall. Many years ago, I sent an email to a famous Egyptologist named John Baines. I was in middle school and had to use my mom’s email address because I didn’t have one of my own. I asked whether any ancient Egyptian clergy had to be celibate and I requested recommendations for books about Roman Egypt. Even though I was just a random kid from across the Atlantic, Baines gave me a detailed and helpful reply. I really appreciated his kindness, and the moment has stuck with me all these years.  

Building an online persona through consistent content

• Maintaining consistency in subject matter and tone is key
• Avoid the temptation to be overly controversial or jokey
• Keep things professional - social media is a public square, not a confessional

Niche necessity

Consistency is key when it comes to maintaining an online persona. I used to use my personal Twitter account to discuss the full range of my interests, from ocean liners and Egyptology to tabletop RPGs and video games. But after I started using that account to promote my scholarship, I’ve largely phased out other kinds of content. On the rare occasions I do discuss other topics, those posts rarely get the same degree of attention. I’m not complaining, mind you. I realize that people who follow me because they’re interested in the British constitution probably aren’t going to care that I happened to enjoy Kara Cooney’s book about the cost of funerary art in Ramesside Egypt. And the folks who are interested in that sort of thing are more likely to gravitate towards accounts run by actual Egyptologists. 

Minding my manners

Subject matter isn’t the only thing I’m vigilant about with my posts on X. Loose lips can sink more than ships; they can sink a reputation, too. Consequently, I try to be disciplined in the sort of things I discuss. I don’t do hot takes–more often than not, they age about as well as a glass of milk left out in the summer sun. I don’t try to be a jokester, either. It’s easy for people to take your words the wrong way when they’re not accompanied by the moderating forces of intonation and body language. If people want to laugh, they can go see a show at Second City. If they want to know the difference between the King’s Consent and Royal Assent, they can come to me. Finally, I keep my personal life off of X. Some people treat social media like a confessional, but I treat it like a digital public square. Just as I don’t subject the grocery store cashier to a tearful discussion of my darkest fears, I don’t subject my X followers to that, either. 

Monitor and adjust your online persona

• Pay attention to what content resonates most with your audience
• Don't be afraid to experiment and try new things
• Regularly reassess if your persona still aligns with your goals

Expect the unexpected

While consistency is important, that doesn’t mean you should fossilize your digital persona. On the contrary, it’s always a good idea to be mindful of what works and what doesn’t. Early on, I noticed that posts about state documents did surprisingly well. That may seem counterintuitive at first, and you’d be forgiven for assuming that a discussion of the wording of the dissolution proclamation would put most people to sleep. But I’m not using X as a forum for detailed textual analysis (I save that for my blog!). Instead, I use these documents as a sort of visual aid to help people understand the intricacies of the UK’s constitution, and X just happens to be good at displaying them.

The power of an online persona

Ultimately, I’m quite happy with the digital persona I’ve fashioned for myself. Like the British constitution itself, it arose organically over time. It’s true to who I am, so I’m not sacrificing authenticity. I also believe it does a good job of buttressing my reputation as a serious commentator on the British constitution who doesn’t shy away from complex or nuanced topics. Sure, a different online persona might lend itself more to virality, but that’s not something I seek. I don’t need to be the PewDiePie of the British constitution; I’m happy being myself.

Key takeaways:

• Establishing a strong online persona is crucial for connecting with your audience
• Be authentic, but also strategic in what you share
• Consistency, professionalism, and engagement are critical
• Regularly evaluate and refine your approach as you go
• When done right, a digital persona is a powerful asset to your work

For more information about online personas, check out "What is a persona, and why does it matter for content creators?"