Why Marketing Yourself After 50 Isn't Optional Anymore

If you’ve been reading the past few posts, you know I've been having a ton of success of finding work on Upwork lately.

BUT I've also been getting traction on LinkedIn.

This reminded me of how important it is to put yourself out there. To market yourself.

The days of whipping up a resume and hoping yours gets picked out of dozens or even hundreds of applicants just doesn’t make sense anymore.

This applies to running a small business too. You can't just put up a sign on your door or build a website and hope people see it.

You need to put yourself out there. You need to learn how to market yourself.

And that’s what I going to show you today…

The Storyteller and Toolmaker Mindset

A while back, I heard a quote on a podcast that changed how I see work:

"We are all just storytellers and toolmakers."

This hit me hard because that's what marketing really is. You encounter problems, you find or create tools to solve them, and then you share your story.

The best marketers aren't just selling a product or service—they're positioning themselves as the solution to someone's problem.

And that's exactly what we need to do with our careers now.

The Qualification Myth is Dead

Remember when hard work and experience guaranteed success? That advice expired around 2010.

The truth: according to 2023 The Journal of Social Media in Society study, almost 50% of employers don’t even consider an applicant who does not have an internet/social media presence. Your actual qualifications? Just table stakes.

And in a CareerBuilder study, 61% of employers who use social networking sites are specifically looking for information that supports your qualifications for the job.

They're not just taking your word for it anymore.

The Invisible Generation

Who's getting hit hardest? Us. 50-plusers.

We're sandwiched between tech-savvy Millennials who've been posting since puberty and well-connected Boomers with decades of relationships.

We were taught self-promotion was tacky. Now we're competing against younger peeps who've been building personal brands since junior high.

The irony? We're often the most qualified people in the pool.

The Price of Invisibility

This invisibility isn't just frustrating – it's expensive as hell.

Every month of unemployment means lost income. With 70% of HR departments searching for job applicants online, being invisible means being unemployed longer.

The confidence hit is worse. After decades of success, being repeatedly overlooked messes with your head.

The Visibility Blueprint

Here's the thing - when experienced professionals actually embrace personal branding, we crush it.

Three hours weekly creating decent content can generate interview requests from companies who discovered you through posts, not applications. Often for significantly higher pay.

The formula:

• Professional profile photo (14x more views)

• Share content 2-3 times weekly

• Talk results, not responsibilities

Cringe at self-promotion?

Reframe it: You're not bragging – you're making it easier for people who need your expertise to find you.

The Silver Lining

The playing field is surprisingly level.

Personal branding doesn't require youth, fancy degrees, or coding skills. Our experience is our advantage: we actually have meaningful insights.

The winners aren't the loudest voices. They're the ones consistently demonstrating expertise.

In today's market, invisibility is the only unforgivable sin. The good news? It's also the easiest one to fix.

AI Prompt of The Week: Personal Brand Kickstarter

Let’s get you started…

Copy and paste this prompt into ChatGPT, Claude, or your preferred AI assistant to get personalized guidance on marketing yourself online:

You are an expert in personal branding and digital presence strategy, specializing in helping seasoned professionals establish a compelling online identity. Your expertise is in crafting engaging bios, content strategies, and time-efficient personal branding plans.

I'm a professional with [X years] of experience in [your industry]. I want to start marketing myself better online to stay relevant and visible in today's job market. I'm particularly interested in using [LinkedIn/Twitter/other platform].

My core strengths are:

[Strength 1]
[Strength 2]
[Strength 3]

What I've accomplished in my career:

[Accomplishment 1]
[Accomplishment 2]
[Accomplishment 3]

The types of problems I solve for employers/clients:

[Problem 1]
[Problem 2]
[Problem 3]

Please help me with:

A professional bio I can use across platforms (200 words max)
Five content ideas I could post about that would showcase my expertise
A simple weekly plan for building my online presence that only requires 3 hours per week
Specific tips for standing out as a seasoned professional in my field

Additional context: I'm [comfortable/uncomfortable] with self-promotion and [have/haven't] done much personal branding before.

Try it out and see what you come up with.

And if you really want to put yourself out there…

Tap here to learn how to start a Blogletter.

If you have questions or concerns don’t understand something, just hit reply and let me know.

Music Find Of The Week

When’s the last time you saw a keytar?

For me, it had been awhile. Until last night.

Check out the recent performance by the Human League and their tune “Don’t You Want Me.” (love this tune, never gets old).

Not only is the one keytar but TWO keytars front and center.

Not the greatest sound but it gets the job done.

I bet that tune stays stuck in your head the rest of the day. I couldn’t stop listening, I had this on repeat as I was writing this post.

Music kicks ass!

Have a good one,

Corey