Ask HN: How to build your personal brand?

Just start writing and publishing things online. You don't need to have a brand name or a fancy web site at first. The first step is getting in the habit of constantly publishing content. After awhile you will figure out what you like to write about and post.

Old saying I hear years ago: "If it doesn't exist online or in a museum - it doesn't exist at all."

Branding comes after you understand what direction you want to go. Then my advice is steer your content in a direction focused on what makes you money. Design, programming, etc. I have been at my site for 10 years. It started as a random pile of images but after years of slowly working on it, my site is really coming together: http://thoughtmerchants.com/.