Giving Endorsements
Every endorsement is an extension of your good faith and your influence. Research before you attach your name to anyone or anything.
What Giving Endorsements Is
Endorsing a product, writing a review, or speaking for another person ties your reputation to theirs. The Manifesto calls the endorsement of a person edification, an exchange of influence that creates credibility by association, the opposite of guilt by association.
If an endorsement goes wrong, you can withdraw it, but you must explain why. A bare withdrawal looks like you have something to hide.
Your followers have expectations and endorsements are extensions of your good faith and your personal influence.
Personal Branding: A Manifesto on Fame and Influence, Second Edition, 5.11
How to Endorse Well
- Do Your Due DiligenceFor a product, look at who built it and who promotes it. For a person, look at their narrative, your experience with them, and why they are asking.
- Speak From ExperienceEdify someone with what you have actually seen them do.
- Withdraw With ReasonsIf you must withdraw, explain why, with class and emotional awareness.
- Give Without Being AskedAn unprompted endorsement carries the most good faith and the least risk.
Where It Comes From
- Source
- Personal Branding: A Manifesto on Fame and Influence, Second Edition (Mashman Publishing, 2025)
- Chapter
- 5. Reputation Management
- Subchapter
- 5.11 Giving Endorsements, page 209
- Pillar It Serves
- Credibility
The Full Method Is in the Book
This page is a summary. The subchapter itself goes further, with the reasoning, the stories behind it, and the exercise that closes it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is edification in personal branding?
The endorsement of an individual: someone speaking supportively about another person's accomplishments and character. It is how influence is exchanged.
Can I withdraw an endorsement?
Yes, but you may lose credibility, and you need to explain why. A withdrawal without reasons suggests you have something to hide.
Related
Investors and Fund Managers
Capital is plentiful; trust and access are not. An investor's personal brand decides which rooms they are invited into and which deals find them first.
Creators and Influencers
A large audience is fame. Whether it buys, believes, or follows you to a new platform is influence, and that is the part a creator has to build on purpose.
Building Credibility
Follower counts only get you so far. What matters more is how much the people who follow you trust you.
Networking and Introductions
Introversion has no place in building a personal brand. Networking is gathering information, finding connection, and laying the foundation for a relationship.
Who Has Leverage Over You?
To be a public figure is to be watched. As your efforts pay off, the people who hold leverage over you, and what they could do with it, matter more.
Your name is already being interpreted. The question is who are they, and what are they thinking?
Engagements are accepted by application and seats are limited each quarter. Tell us who you are, what you are building, and the position you intend to hold.