Almost Famous: Brand Building in the Music Industry
Building a musical empire from scratch is a tall order. For every Lady Gaga, there are millions of other stories of talented yet incredibly eclectic artists who ended up – well – just incredibly eclectic. So what is the differentiator? What steps need to be taken to bring someone from talent to fame?
To find …
Watershed Moments: 5 Stories of Personal Re-Branding After September 11th
Where were you on September 11th, 2001? It’s rare that such a specific moment can be remembered by an entire population, but such is the case with that day. As we approach the 10 year anniversary (hard to believe, right?) of such a horrific experience, it’s important to reflect on how our society has evolved …
The Good (and Bad) of Winning an Inc 500 Award
This year’s list of fastest-growing companies in the U.S. as ranked by Inc magazine was released this week. Entrepreneurs everywhere are salivating over the successful men and women who’ve led their companies to a spot on this prestigious list in 2011.
First off, congrats to those individuals and their companies. It’s a sure sign of …
Writers Need to Promote Themselves, or Go Unread
Writers hate marketing. Or most of them do. They hate promoting themselves, talking about themselves, or drawing attention to themselves in any way, any time, ever.
Ev-ver.
Writers — for the most part — are humble, and don’t like to “brag” about themselves. Of course, they equate “bragging” with telling people they just published a …
Assessments Can Sell More Books & Build Your Brand
Many authors and self-employed professionals are unaware of the many ways they can use online assessments as marketing tools to sell more books and build strong personal brands.
Assessments differ from surveys in that they generate information about specific clients, prospects, or readers. Surveys, on the other hand, typically provide composite views of the goals …
Incorporating Time Tested Tactics Into a New Age Game
When thinking of ways to positively position yourself long-term at a company, agency, or firm, it’s overwhelmingly obvious that you need to think outside the box when going about your duties. Supervisors certainly like to see fresh ideas and a streak of independence in their workers. The only thing they like to see more is …
Building a Celebrity Brand Through YouTube
As an aspiring entertainer, it used to be that you spent every waking moment working toward your dream, with only a small hope of ever bearing the fruits of your labor. For a musician, singing at dive bars and airport lounges, sending demos to record labels, and praying that someone in the industry could see …
Crafting Your Personal Brand Story
In creating your personal brand, it’s important that you have a story. People want to know the person behind the professional, and this is what interests them and makes you different from all the other people out there.
The hardest part of crafting your personal brand story is actually getting started and just “doing it”. …
Leverage Everything
Two weeks ago, I spoke at another event for Bloomberg TV, in conjunction with Brighthouse Networks in Detroit, Michigan. Bloomberg is my #1 client as a professional speaker. Before the event, I did a short TV interview with WDIV, the local NBC affiliate. That was the first television interview I have done as an author …
Simple One-Sheet Sells More Books & Builds Brands
All authors need one-sheets, formatted single-page PDFs that can sell more books & contribute to building the author’s personal brand.
One of the best investments authors can make is to hire a graphic designer to create a one-sheet template, similar to the one at right. A one-sheet template establishes a format that you can use …