When deeply religious subjects view sacred iconography or reflect on their notion of God, brain scans reveal hyperactivity in the caudate nucleus, a part of the pleasure system that correlates with feelings of joy, love, and serenity. But Lindstrom and Calvert found that this same brain region lights up when subjects view images associated with strong brands like Ferrari or Apple.
Advice to my younger self:1 Start where you are with what you have2 Try not to hurt other people3 Take more chances4 If you fail, keep trying
Technology has changed the way we work, and consequently, our posture. Today, sitting has been referred to as the new smoking. This has been exacerbated by the development of handheld devices and the onset of 'tech neck'. Take the Peterson 21 day posture challenge for 'Confident Assured Posture' for a healthy future. Stand tall and live longer.
It's time to respect yourself and your dream, both truly deserve that respect. be the person you would do anything for. Be the person you will not let down.
Calling for change and being part of making change are two very different things. Stop calling for change and be a part of making the change you want to see.
You can want, wish, and dream all day, but those that prepare, work, learn, practice, and problem-solve are the ones that find success in sports, business, music, or whatever.Back up what you want with doing the work it takes to get it.
Tweet others the way you want to be tweeted.
Marketing and promoting doesn’t come down to the likes, the pins, the plus ones, the followers, the fans, the friends, the views, or the plays online. Marketing and promoting comes down to the conversions.
The most devastating thing artists can do to their career is get in their own way, and way too many people do. It’s not the labels, the industry, the fans, the cities, the economy, the social media, the marketing, the promoting, the “right time,” the music, or whatever other excuse you can come up with that determines whether you succeed or you fail. It is you—no one else.
If you are in a position where you can reach people, then use your platform to stand up for a cause. HINT: social media is a platform.
No one else knows exactly what the future holds for you, no one else knows what obstacles you've overcome to be where you are, so don't expect others to feel as passionate about your dreams as you do.
There are different kinds of birds and there are different situations and places to find these birds. Some of these birds choose to eat carcass and some prefer fresh meat. Some eat from backyards and some will take their food far from sight. There are those who soar higher and least live on short and common trees and there are those who wouldn’t mind sleeping on any tree. There are those who exhibit their dexterity on the ground to the joy and admiration of all people, and there are those who make people raise their heads and strain their eyes before they see them. There are those whose appearance comes with awe, and there those who would pass without people taking a second look at them in admiration. There are those whose voices are a wake-up call and there are those whose sounds give reasons to ponder! There are those who sing sweet melodies and there are those whose sounds threaten. There are those who are for special meals and occasions, and there are those who are fit for the base of any pot at all. There are those who though are humble and friendly, yet when you go beyond your boundary, they will show how they are hungry! There are those who dive amazingly and there are those who just swim and move around in water! Life is just like that; different people, different values and different functions!
Don't promote negativity online and expect people to treat you with positivity in person.
We all have a responsibility with the words we post on the internet. If you wouldn't want your mother, daughter, sister or friend to read it, don't post it.
A professional headshot in front of a bookshelf says you're an intellectual. A professional headshot peeking though a bookshelf says you're probably under a restraining order.
Marketing is so powerful that it can make even an extremely untalented musician a one-hundred-hits wonder.
We sometimes try to impress people we just met by not trying to impress them.
Your mission statement, vision statement, core values, and service standards provide a clear focus for all while keeping your team humble and hungry. It creates that family environment in which your employees enjoy coming to work and dealing with the challenges they face each day.
You are responsible for everything you TWEET and RETWEET.
Branding is a lot of things, but one thing it's not is soft.When you brand, rebrand or brand-diggity, ask yourself one thing to do it right: how will my brand create buyers?If you’re in business, that’s the goal. Buyers. Branding done well creates both long term loyalty and timely purchases.
Your true power is not in your difference, but in your consistency of being different. The world will always adjust to consistency, yet struggle with change.
You seem irrelevant because your relevance seems latent. You seem irrelevant because your relevance is not speaking the language they understand. You seem irrelevant because you have not yet proven the evidence that is relevant. You seem irrelevant because you are still holding your relevance. People are more interested in works that work than mere works. People are much more interested in the relevance of actions than mere actions. People are more interested in your whole self in action and the relevance of the action than your mere action. There is something to be done. There is a footprint to leave. We must do something relevant. A proven relevance is relevant for our relevance in all matters of life.
Hug your customers but also offer handshake to your competitors.
Familiarity with the brand requires some experience of it (via advertising, word of mouth, internet publicity), Confidence comes with the perception of competence in the brand itself (which is why new brands really need to work hard for people to experience them first) and Trustworthiness refers to the sense of whether the brand is going to live up to its promise of reliability for the price paid.
Even the richest of brands are robbed by poor character.
Make good choices. The environment in which you dwell can have a high influence on what you will achieve. Friends you associate yourself with have the potential to reduce or upgrade your brand. What you think about can make you remain where you are or move you higher in your endeavours.
If you would not spend time looking at it, do not ship it. One of the best quality assurance rules of thumb is to avoid publishing content that you would not consume. Simple, yet so hard to execute on. My audience deserves my very best. Repeat that to yourself every single day.
Design is your silent storyteller. The visual aesthetic you share with the world tells a story about the values you uphold. When your audience is not ready or willing to listen, a strong visual can capture even the most evasive of minds. Design is not ornamental or secondary: it can propel your stories far beyond the spaces you initially planned for.
I would love to tell you that being a content manager is easy. Straightforward. That you will be able to focus on what is most important and leave everything else aside. But a lot of it is learning to create something compelling in the middle of an absolute whirlwind. Learning to use a huge list of tools that need to be sharpened every day. It is about zooming out when you need big picture thinking, and zooming in when the details need to be ironed out. Managing content, business expectations, and human beings: all at once.
You can practice your grumpy face a million times, you can make a dog surf, you can explode in laughter like Chewbacca mom, and still not “go viral”. You can, however, secure incredibly valuable exposure by spending more time on distribution.
Some creators shy away from systems because they seem overpowering and rigid. However, in reality, strong systems are the only way in which you will ever have time and space for flexibility. This is true for content production, business, and many other areas of life.
I cannot stress this enough: content creators need to stop comparing their work with that of total strangers. Furthermore, we need to stop seeing ourselves as content consumers and realize that, as producers, we need time and distance from what is already out there in order to create truly innovative work. If you are always exposing your mind to others’ work, when will you gain the strength to create your own? Find a balance between inspiration and creation, and make sure that the first is indeed inspiring. What might start as a journey to gather ideas can quickly become a shortcut to discouragement. Know when to stop.
Content sparks our connections with others, our own selves, and the world. What we decide to share is a powerful expression of where we stand and where we want to go. An essential part of the human spirit, this constant information sharing is what ultimately builds the bridges between us. Every image, text, sound, or video that you have released into the world carries a part of you that others can relate to. If actions reveal our priorities, the content we share explains them.
Human beings are complex information consumers: they have active needs, passions, and preferences. They lead different lifestyles — some that you will never be able to empathize with unless you dive deep in qualitative and quantitative data. And that is precisely the point of persona research.
Darwin's Theory Survival of the Fittest, also applies into Business. Companies which consistently innovate, keep itself updated with customer's needs, market trends, check out their competition and accordingly make the strategy to evolve and keep them ahead of competition are the ones which are best suited for survival in Business Environment Evolution
Let's face it. We live in a command-based system, where we have been programmed since our earliest school years to become followers, not individuals. We have been conditioned to embrace teams, the herd, the masses, popular opinion -- and to reject what is different, eccentric or stands alone. We are so programmed that all it takes for any business or authority to condition our minds to follow or buy something is to simply repeat a statement more than three or four times until we repeat it ourselves and follow it as truth or the best trendiest thing. This is called "programming" -- the frequent repetition of words to condition us how to think, what to like or dislike, and who to follow.
I faced people from all walks of business who fully disregarded design (though they were completely influenced by it). I also met fine artists who drowned in their own work and the dense creative universe in their minds.Then I met designers. And instantly fell in love. Let me tell you why.Designers are familiar with critiques. They not only tolerate them but actively look out for them. They honestly believe in iterations and learn to edit down their work. They embrace simplicity and create beauty based on requirements other than their own. Design education teaches you to run away from assumptions and to have the stomach to scrap your work often.I’m bringing this up because it’s time to bridge the gap between design and business.
As a child, I used to wonder why markets in my locality were all situated near the main roads. I grew up a little to get the answer; “that business minded people can meet there easily!" Your dream must be situated where they can meet people!
Your dreams are like the market grounds; their locations really matter. If you keep hiding your potentials out of sight, you may be great but unknown! Your influence can travel long distances if only you give them the chances to go where they are needed! Rebrand yourself!
Make a good gallery! Your names and your photos give you a unique identity. Make and maintain a good name in the hearts of people. Paint good photos in their minds.
Your brand is a combination of a customer’s experiences with your business at every touchpoint. Each memory, thought, impression, website visit, story, sales letter, social media post, event, phone call, and transaction contribute toyour company’s brand reputation.
Posture and Social Status...During the 18th century in European and American society, aspects including station in life, status and dress could easily identify those of financial means. In fact, the garments of this era would hold the wearer in a position that would support and require proper posture. Women, and sometimes men, wore stays in order to shape the torso. Among the more privileged, even children wore stays since people believed these improved their posture and enhanced straight spinal growth. Certain movements were constrained by the cut and design of many garments, including details of the sleeve and back that would hold the person in proper posture.
If I could be anything in this world I would be rare. So rare that the people I loved never forgot me or ever found anything to compare me to. I was never a type, but the only type--the person you couldn't throw away because you would never be able to describe the mystery of something that didn't fit this world.
A group of us were downtown on Bay Street. It was some twelve to fifteen of us with nothing to do. We had just been in a fight with some Kemp Road fellas. It really wasn’t anything to talk about, because we quickly ran them off Bay Street. Feeling pumped up about what we had just done and looking for more action, we started running in the middle of Bay Street, screaming and shouting ‘Rebellions!” and ‘Raiders for life!”, making a real nuisance of ourselves. About nine of us were arrested by the police and charged with public terror and disorderly behavior. So in fact, we were given our gang name by the police, and Milton Street became known as the Public Terrorist Rebellions. Galen ‘Ninja’ Nordelus former leader of the Public Terrorist Rebellions through Milton Street.
Semantic search requires three things: Trust, Authority and Reputation. All three revolve around your digital profiles, their activity and the sentiment levels and engagement that each generates. Semantic search also requires differentiation – the ability of search to understand the “uniqueness” of you.
What you post online speaks VOLUME about who you really are. POST with intention. REPOST with caution.
Never underestimate the power of a tweet.
One’s email address serves as an identity online and speaks volumes about a person; it may be telling potential clients, partners or employers a whole lot about you: to be hired or fired. Unfortunately most send negative signals, indicating that: you are not a serious person - you are immature - Unprofessional, - Uncouth. etc. Take a look at your email address again today, get professional, be ethical, respectful, be admirable
Security means the state of being free from danger or threat. Danger means the possibility of suffering harm or injury. The possibility of something unwelcome or unpleasant happening.There are times I have to stress as I express the correct, precise, real and honest definitions; so that the deceptive, politically motivated folks who destructively branded me as “threat to danger” would realise their double denial duplicity, dishonesty and hypocrisy.Have you at least questioned the personal motives and faulty malicious and intentional misjudgment or at least be honestly curious to discern the motive of a cunning person who warns you against another as a danger, a threat or a risk to life or security? Did the political harridan mean political threat to her political coalition or a danger to reveal the harridan's creative deception matched with her political ambitious power links? ~ Angelica Hopes, K.H. Trilogy
Companies that do not have a succession plan in place in which their seasoned professionals are teaching the younger, less experienced generations risk losing far more than talent. The depth of their experience is a valuable commodity and resource.
If you were to spend your own time and money to hire a consultant, coach, or trainer, wouldn’t it give you more confidence knowing that they have "walked the talk" and have vast experience with what they are teaching?
Becoming an expert not only establishes you as a leader in your field, it will make you a trusted resource that people can rely on for new and innovative ideas. In addition to raising the stakes and helping you increase your income, your expertise will serve to make a powerful first impression, which will truly help you shine and stand apart from the crowd. Having fun and meeting interesting, incredible people along the way is an added bonus!
Become a thought leader by taking an idea, belief, or process and turning it inside-out and upside-down. Bust beyond the box and shatter a few ceilings to go where no one has gone before. Make your mark by becoming a pioneer in your pursuits.
To position yourself as an expert, create content, write a book, build a blog, post on social media, and write articles for professional publications and news sites to build your intellectual portfolio of expertise. Repurpose content in a variety of ways.
Put in the time. To position yourself as an expert, practice, apply, experiment, volunteer, and work within your area of knowledge to deepen your own understanding as you build real-life experience.
To position yourself as an expert, learn everything you can about a subject. Develop your knowledge: read books, attend classes, listen to your market, get training, attend seminars, find a mentor, join a mastermind group of like-minded individuals, watch videos, and study.
To position yourself as an expert, share your knowledge with others. Deliver presentations and teach others on your topic. Look what TED Talks have done for normal people who simply presented their passion and thereby launched careers, fame, and fortune. Interact with your target market. Maximize use of the Internet and SEO.
Research has shown that different colors represent different character qualities and have a powerful psychological effect. Color portrays different meanings in life and in business. Choose the colors that not only make you look and feel great, but inspire the emotions you hope to evoke.
The importance of healthy habits and hygiene for making a positive first impression should go without saying; however, I would be remiss if I did not include this topic in the book, because surprisingly, many people just don’t get it.
Without a second look, your habits and hygiene reflect a lot about you—your thoughts, values, beliefs, priorities, self-esteem, self-respect, confidence, and every other category covered in this book that influence how people perceive you.
When you resolve to live a healthier life, you will feel better, look better, and make a better impression on everyone you meet. Only you have the power, ability, and personal choice to instill healthy habits and hygiene into your life.
Developing your EI will allow you to explore new depths of understanding in yourself and others. It will give you insight as to why people behave as they do and assist you in areas you may wish to improve.
Make the personal choice to instill healthy habits and hygiene into your life. When you resolve to live a healthier life, you will feel better, look better, enjoy improved well-being and make a better impression.
Simply by living life you will gain new experiences that are uniquely your own. Your vantage points along your journey will help you form your perceptions, grow your influence, and ground you in a wisdom which can only be gained from having been there and having done it.
Punctuality Plus. When you have scheduled an appointment, or have made a commitment, you have essentially made a promise. Being punctual demonstrates your consideration for others and that you can be depended upon.
Your education can be the ‘make or break’ difference when a hiring manager reads your resume or invites you in for an interview. In our competitive world, today a Master’s Degree has become the new differentiator that a Bachelor’s Degree once was.
Your level of education speaks on your behalf. It demonstrates your ability to establish a clear vision, prioritize your goals, and honor your commitments. Oh yeah, did I mention it also makes you smarter?
Whether it is in the way you walk, talk, dress, or behave, your personal brand impacts how people react and respond to you. It is the essence of what makes you likable, knowable, and trustworthy. And it is what can make you memorable and sought after in the marketplace.
It is no longer a matter of IF you have a personal brand--it is a question of “How is it working for you?” Does it best express your intentions, your uniqueness, and your service offering? Is it helping or hindering your progress and success in business?
How you accessorize your wardrobe can transform the plainest outfit into a dazzling, unforgettable impression. It can be the mark of your own unique style, an extra splash of fashion, or an expression of your mood.
Does your appearance accurately convey the message of who you are that you are trying to get across? When trying to make an excellent first impression in business but in doubt of what to wear, dress one level up from what is expected—if it's casual, dress in business casual, etc.
You can be dressed to the nines and have it all going on, but if you don’t have shoes to support your look, they can be your undoing. Your shoes should be appropriate, clean, polished, and maintained if you want to make a great impression and fortify your credibility. If your shoes are scuffed, dirty, or worn, clients may wonder what other details you’ve neglected to attend to.
Whether you are in business or simply want to be remembered positively, frankly consider these things: What makes you feel special and significant? What makes you unforgettable? When people see or think of you, what image do you think comes to mind?
You can always create the space to Review, Redo, and Renew as I teach in my book Release the Power of Re3. If you feel it is time to refresh your brand, take a moment to rethink your relevance and apply my 3-step formula.
How can you stand apart from the herd? How can you start to be noticed so people will remember you? How can you be heard above the noise? “What is your personal branding that makes you special, unique, individual, and memorable?
A “brand” identifies how you are unique and different. It is an attention-getter to help you stack up against your competitors. It also shares with us what we can expect by doing business with you.
Color is one of the most important and distinctive elements in enhancing your image. Wearing the colors which are best matched to your personality, energy, skin tone, hair color, and body type will make you look healthier, more vibrant, confident, successful, and approachable.
The times, they are a-changing! What was once defined by tradition, respect, and custom has evolved into a relaxed and casual society. What is acceptable and normal today would never have been permitted in the past.
People will form impressions, assumptions, opinions, and judgments all within a few short seconds. To make a favorable first impression and make these seconds count, enhance your image by choosing clean, crisp, appropriate attire that reflects confidence and professionalism.
Project your “brand” to be remarkable and memorable. Whether through a positioning statement, product placement, advertising campaign, service, a logo, mission, or message, your brand is what makes you and/or your company remarkable—or not.
Is your branding serving your needs for positive impact? Is it paving the way for a great first impression on people when they meet you, think of you, speak of you, or even see you on the Internet? If not, it’s time for a change, and it is perfectly within your control.
To help get your creative juices flowing, you might look online at lists of the "best taglines ever." Their branding ideas are genius and may be just the catalyst you need to activate your awesome!
92% of respondents reported that a positive recommendation from a friend,family member, or someone they trust is the biggest influence on whether they buy a product or service.
An increasing number of people are taking advantage of having a leg up on their competition by branding themselves as "the expert" in their particular niche. Call it a business card, a resume, a billboard, or whatever you choose, but the long and short of it is that books are no longer just books. They are branding devices and credibility builders, not to mention door openers. Books are the reason that authors command large speaking and consulting fees.
Arriving on time for your engagements demonstrates preparation, respect, integrity, and enthusiasm, all of which serve to make a positive impression on the people whom you are meeting, especially when they are depending on you—or paying you!
When you have scheduled an appointment, or have made a commitment, you have essentially made a promise. Keep your promises. Being punctual demonstrates your consideration for others and that you can be depended upon.
When beginning a conversation, ask the other person, “Do you have time to speak right now?” If they say no, you can say, “I have some valuable information to share with you. What time would work best for you?
People don't really trust advertisement they trust people. A large percentage of people make purchase decisions based on their friends review than just from advertisers. Brands that rely sole on adverts to sell, will eventually fade out. You need to get people to talk about your brand in a more positive manner without twisting their arms. If you fake it your will fade. So, focus on relationship marketing, because customers are the best brand ambassadors
Today’s businesses can’t just use social media; they have to become social businesses, inside and out and from top to bottom. Ultimately, that is the goal of this book: to harness the power of being a social business to become the most highly recommended organization in your industry/category/niche.
Jobs described Mike Markkula's maxim that a good company must "impute"- it must convey its values and importance in everything it does, from packaging to marketing. Johnson loved it. It definitely applied to a company's stores. " The store will become the most powerful physical expression of the brand," he predicted. He said that when he was young he had gone to the wood-paneled, art-filled mansion-like store that Ralph Lauren had created at Seventy-second and Madison in Manhattan. " Whenever I buy a polo shirt, I think of that mansion, which was a physical expression of Ralph's ideals," Johnson said. " Mickey Drexler did that with the Gap. You couldn't think of a Gap product without thinking of the Great Gap store with the clean space and wood floors and white walls and folded merchandise.
What we're left with ... is the distinctly uncomfortable sense that much of what we call culture jamming achieves the same effect as traditional marketing. Both rely on the bedrock principle that branding works. Yet marketing has moved on from branding toward a more direct emotional connection to our reptilian brains, which makes it immune to the cognitive dissonance culture jamming creates. In the meantime, the brans being promoted by some activists retain the full integrity of their original message,
In this ever-changing society, the most powerful and enduring brands are built from the heart. They are real and sustainable. Their foundations are stronger because they are built with the strength of the human spirit, not an ad campaign. The companies that are lasting are those that are authentic.
What we are trying to do at Virgin is not to have one enormous company in one sector under one banner, but to have two hundred or even three hundred separate companies. Each company can stand on its own feet and, in that way, although we've got a brand that links them, if we were to have another tragedy such as that of 11 September - which hurt the airline industry - it would not bring the whole group crashing down.
We are … the un-proud non-possessors of objects whose chief substance is that of the transient symbol. Our Puritan fear of the love of things turns out to have been groundless after all, for we do not love things or even possess them: they pass through our lives as barium passes through the digestive tract, unassimilated, their function merely to flash signals along the way.
Since inception, the IPL has worn its brand value like a corroboration of inner virtue. On the eve of this tournament, under the headline 'Brand IPL touches the sky', the league's website reverberated with the announcement that Brand Finance, a branding consultancy, had valued the brand value of the IPL brand at $4.13 billion worth of brand—which is a lot of brand, brand-wise.
Since Modi's Mumbai sign-off, much commentary has been focused on the brand-dilution potential inherent in its scandals. MS Dhoni doesn't think we should worry: 'IPL as a brand can survive on its own.' Shilpa Shetty, 'brand ambassador' of the Rajasthan Royals, tweets that we should: 'Custodians of Cricket must not hamper d Brandvalue of this viable sport.' Hampering d Brandvalue, insists new IPL boss Chirayu Amin, is the furthest thing from his mind: 'IPL's brand image is strong and nobody can touch that.' Harsha Bhogle, however, frets for the nation: 'Within the cricket world, Brand India will take a hit.'Not much more than a week after Modi's first tell-all tweets, the media was anxiously consulting Brand Finance's managing director, Unni Krishnan. Had there been any brand dilution yet? It was, said the soothsayer gravely, 'too early to say'. He could, however, confirm the following: 'The wealth that can be created by the brand is going to be substantially significant for many stakeholders. A conducive ecosystem has to be created to move the brand to the next level… We have to build the requisite bandwidth to monetise these opportunities.' Er, yeah… what he said. Anyway, placing a value on the IPL brand has clearly been quite beneficial to Brand Finance's brand.
There is no better way to find out the true heart, honor, and professionalism of a person, than seeing how they handle themselves and others when facing a crisis, disaster or intense level of pressure.
If you are ready to face the fears, take the steps, do the work, be more than you thought you ever could, and attack the dream, what is keeping you? Lose all the excuses and replace them with all the reasons for success. Be the change for yourself. Commit to the dream or quit. There really is no middle ground.
Which is what it all comes down to, I suppose—how you’re selling. Welcome to the twenty-first century, where the only opinion of you that matters is the one that isn’t your own. Rate My Tits. Rate My Ass. Rate My Children. Rate My Essential Being. 1 Star: Awful. This Being left me feeling like I wanted more.
It is no accident that in the field of philosophy ontology is the study of reality, existence and coming into being. In the fields of information retrieval (semantic search) and computing, ontology is the naming of the types, interrelationships and properties of the entities that exist (in reality or conceptually) and which define a particular domain of knowledge or expertise.
A brand is the unique story that consumers recall when they think of you. This story associates your product with their personal stories, a particular personality, what you promise to solve, and your position relative to your competitors. Your brand is represented by your visual symbols and feeds from multiple conversations where you must participate strategically.
How do you want the world to see you professionally? What kinds of work do you enjoy doing? Why are you on LinkedIn? Those are the questions you should think about when creating your LinkedIn profile, so it’s aligned with your personal brand. While marketing-speak like 'personal brand' feels fake to many of us, we’re really just talking about setting the right tone for your profile and positioning yourself for the kinds of opportunities you’re interested in.
There comes a point when you realize that these things, these brands, aren't "enough." Having more or better or best doesn't provide you with a lasting sense of having more or being better or being best. It's a rather fleeting experience, this romantic attachment to brands, and I find that if I'm not careful, the search for having more or better or best is a precarious journey into the infinite. When you depend on finite objects-or brands-to provide you with a long-term sense of self or love or pride or achievement, you start yourself out on a path with no end. No object, no product, and no brand can provide you with ultimate, infinite satisfaction.
The decision to create a book trailer is entirely up to you. I can remember when "video killed the radio star" on MTV and how excited I was with some music videos (the ones that lived up to or exceeded my imagined vision of the song) and the ones I disliked so much, I even stopped listening to the song (the imagery just ruined it for me!) Some people argue that in a visual landscape, a book trailer is a must, while others stand firm that books should be read and not seen; unless of course it gets made into a screenplay and then a film. The most practical advice is to trust your instinct. You know what you want to say with your book and if it aligns congruently with your brand, then for a non-fiction book it may be a strategic move. On the other hand, it may come off as too "salesy" and go in the opposite direction. As you can see, I still have a love / hate relationship with matching someone else's images to my own imagination. No matter what you decide, remember to keep it aligned with your brand.
Book authors are in high demand for speaking engagements and appearances; they are the new ‘celebrity’ and celebrities gain access. Authors not only make money from royalties or book advances but from their keynotes, presentations and strategically branded product lines. This includes entrepreneurial ideas for you to extend yourself beyond just writing and prepares you to add speaking and consulting to your revenue stream. You have to begin to look outside book sales and towards the speaking market. There are radio, interviews, news, television, small channel television keynotes, lectures, seminars and workshops. These types of events have the possibility to be much more lucrative than just selling books. In essence, the book builds and brands you in the public eye. It gives you credibility and the opportunity to be more than you are. It enables you to now be a voice, a teacher, a leader, an expert - after all, you wrote the book on it!
Your brand is the unique persona and identity of you, your company, product or service that sets it apart from others in the same market space. It is the image you or your business present to the world. A brand is composed of many different pieces which, together, capture the attention of your buyers. Some of the pieces are physical, but much of branding is intangible; ideas and thoughts put into words, pictures and videos. When small business owners ask themselves “What is branding?” the answer is, “the essence of the business, products or services.” Your personal brand conveys the way you are perceived; and how you want people to see and feel about you, your business and your products or services. You may want to sound very dignified and reinforce your ‘expert status’ and credibility depending on your products or services. Or you may want to sound approachable, edgy and smart. Whatever voice you choose, carry it into all your messaging, marketing materials, and web presence (your platform).
I do not like measuring using soft indicators, like RTs or likes. I prefer the hardcore financial values. The ISO 10668:2010 is an international valuation standard that is very valuable if you are interested in how to measure a brand.