Branding

Branding: Your Identity

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Starting on your path of self-branding begins with your Name. Yeah, you heard me, your name!

Sometimes it’s not as simple as taking the exact name your where given at birth and branding it.

Because some people have funky names like Talula Does the Hula. Or they just face annoying challenges.

Personal brand name challenges

Having the same name as someone famous The Hollywood actor – Albert Brooks was actually born Albert Lawrence Einstein. He had his last name changed to avoid confusion with “the Albert Einstein” you know, the one that everyone is heard of.

Having the same name as someone who’s infamous – As Steven Moody wrote to Penelope Trunk, “I am trying to get to the top of Google searches for my name, but competing with a Death Row inmate in TX and a con artist in Utah is proving difficult.”

Having the same name as someone not famous, but for some reason they’re being found ahead of you online – even with his own blog and solid web presence, Ryan Healy is still finding it a challenge to be found first in search results on his name.

Having a name that’s also used regularly as a pseudonym – US police officers use the names John Doe and Jane Doe when they have found unidentified bodies. But if you search Facebook, there are many living Jane Does.

There are three ways to pick a name for branding:

  1. Personal
  2. Keyword
  3. Brand

6 ways to use your Personal name for branding.

  1. Birth Name– Use the name your parents gave you.
  2. Give yourself a nick name– You could use your initials in different combinations and see how they sound together. If your name was Thomas Robert Jackson you could go by TJ or RJ Maybe JR How about BJ or JT. Of Course if you name is like mine Heidi June Morton MH doesn’t sound that great or HJ. Hey, if I wanted I could use HM.

You could always use a single name Like Cher does. Or shorten your name From Thomas Jackson to Thomas Jack or go by T Jack. See the possible are endless. Lol. Why do you think, I choose that name for my example?

  1. Attach something to your name– Like, Joe the plumber. I could go by Heidi the queen of marketing or Marketing Morton… How about Heidi the blog expert?  Just get creative. But remember while you’re getting creative and fancy with the names. Make sure if you do attach a phrase to your first or last name it’s relevant to your niche.
  2. Capitalize on existing meanings – Check out the meaning of your name from a baby book or website online. Then you can harmonize that definition with the niche you have chosen. This works best when your name’s meaning is easy to grasp.

Or maybe your name has a story behind it.  The story of how I got my name is so boring.  A long time ago in a not so far away land, my mom met a nice lady named Heidi, My mom liked the name. The end.  I bet your story is much better!

  1. Take on a pseudonym– probably the most typical usage of pseudonyms are as entertainment (stage/screen/pen) names. Many Jews have used less ethnic-sounding stage names – Jon Stewart is actually Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz, Natalie Portman is really Natalie Hershlag – because they thought it would improve their chances of success. On the other hand, Caryn Elaine Johnson chose the more ethnic-sounding screen name of Whoopi Goldberg for the same reason. The advantage of a pseudonym is you can create an awesome name based on meanings. Or you can pull ideas from the list above for inspiration, you can literally design a name that conveys the meaning you want.
  2. Change your legal name– You could change your name legally, just for fun.

There is a lot of controversial talk about branding “your name” one side seems to think that when you brand your name, you will eventually become imprisoned by it.

As soon as you shut your mouth, there is no personal brand. If you stop blogging, making video’s you stop existing. Your personal brand is like a shark that has to keep swimming or it drowns. When you’re ready to bow out, you can’t just hire a team of writers, because they’re not you.

But on the other hand, your name will be attracted to whatever brand name you come up with because “you” are the Brands voice. When it comes to marketing your business, especially if you’re in network marketing, you can’t hide behind the scenes forever you have to come out and show your face.

And if people can’t find you online by searching “your name” it hurts your business. Because people want to connect with you. Not some company name.

Look at the name Zig Ziglar. People still know who he is today. His voice didn’t die. Tapes he made 20 years ago, were redone onto CD and are being sold today.

Just in case you were wandering my opinion, I think you should brand your name and a business name. Mike Dillard, did. Magnetic sponsoring is his company name.

Now that I got off my soap box, let’s talk about using a keyword phrases to brand.

Keyword Branding

Take a keyword or phrase and use that keyword for your company name. If the domain name is already registered for that keyword. Combine the keyword with something else. Kind of like, we did with your name.

Brand, Branding

Brands can stand out just like people do. If you’re willing to put in the work to make it possible. Like Nike and Kellogg’s

Take the naming of your band as seriously as any business takes the naming of itself. Create a brand. If you’re creating an online business, your blog pretty much is your business. Naming your blog is naming your business. Remember that.

You have three subcategories of branding:

  1. Unrelated word branding
  2. Related word branding
  3. Related keyword branding

Unrelated Word Branding

In unrelated word branding, your brand name is unrelated to what your niche is. If I created a blog about “cooking” and then I called it “Dog and company” What the crap does that name have to do with cooking? Nothing.

Related Word Branding

Related word branding is when you use words that are related to your niche subject, in your brand name. For example WordPress YouTube Magnetic Sponsoring.

Even if you never have heard of these sites or seen them before, you could at least come up with a hint about their content based only on their names. The name itself is not solely responsible for their success, but consider that YouTube is a related word brand name, while Viddler isn’t. I didn’t even know what viddler was until I started doing online marketing. (Not related enough, if you ask me). Google Video is a keyword-correct but boring and uninspired name. And out of these, we all know which one is the top dog.

Related Keyword Branding

Here’s the thing about creating a brand: you can include keywords as part of it. It’s just not all about the keywords, that’s all. Think about brands where the brand is the thing itself: Coffee Mate. Coca-Cola. Magnetic Sponsoring. (Yeah I plugged it again) Anyway, another way to put it: the name says what it does. Yet another way to put this: think verbs, not nouns.

The most inspired example of this in action is the “Dummies” series of books. What a brilliant formula! Take any subject and stick “for Dummies” on the end and you have instant keyword SEO power, plus a brand.

Now that is powerful branding. They win for keywords. And they can comer any market they want. That is the best kind of branding you can achieve.

 

18 Tips to Standing out, from the rest of the crowd

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I am sure you already know, when it comes to prospecting your Target Market, it has become extremely difficult to get your foot in the door. It’s even a bigger challenge to stay in their good graces.

Because your prospects are over-marketed to, over-sold, and pissed off about it. They’ll slam a phone down faster than you can pick it up. Not to mention… deleting your e-mails without even reading them!

So what can you do about it? Here are some tips, I picked up to help you stand out from everyone else and keep your prospects interest.

  1. Value: The art of giving, giving, giving and give some more. Well, we all know that providing Value is the bail on the hook. But we aren’t the only ones with fishing lines out. Everywhere you turn, people are giving away free content. Note: This not a standalone approach.
  2. Communicate what others can’t: We all have different personality types and we defiantly don’t all think alike. It might be easier for you to connect with a person, that I would have difficultly relating with. Because we aren’t the same person. Whatever you do put a little bit of yourself in it… Let your personality, come out in your videos, blog posts, articles etc.
  3. Build Relationships: You need to stop thinking of your Prospect as just prospects. You need to start thinking of them as friends. Very few people get this concept, and they go off and spam on twitter or Facebook, then they wonder why people aren’t joining their business.
  4. Stop worry about what people think: Don’t be a cookie cutter marketer. Put your own twist on everything you do. 🙂 Many businesses that market act like clones. They’re afraid to make their own video’s write their own emails and blog because, they’re afraid what people might think or say about it.
  5. Give Personality: I hate to say it but, there’s way too many bots on social media i.e. twitter. Too many people using automated programs. Or worse yet people who are hiding behind their computer, afraid to open up and be real. Be yourself. Don’t be scared to show people, you’re a real person, while utilizing social media.
  6. Be a Producer: Don’t be afraid to come out with your own Content that is unique to you. E-books, paid products, newsletters, whatever idea’s pop in your head.
  7. Contrast: If you really want to stand out from the crowd, watch what other businesses in your niche are doing, then DON’T DO IT.

Let’s be real, there are too many zombies out there. It’s like the blind leading, the blind. We all know where they wind up, broke and then eventually quitting. You need to find a marketing expert you can like, know and trust. 🙂 Then you’re welcome to attach yourself at the hip to them.

  1. Be wrong:For real, it okay to be wrong. Do the wrong thing, say the wrong thing, even be the wrong thing. There’s so many people who want to be politically correct. It just becomes plain boring. People love controversy. If you’re willing to be someone who doesn’t always have to do the right thing all time, I grantee you will attract a lot of attention.
  2. Be right: Okay, so you can get attention if you’re right….. But only if you’re more right than everyone else. Make your blog post easier to understand. Make your video’s more interesting than everyone else. Say more funny stuff than everyone else. Take pride in your blog and video’s and people will notice.
  3. Walk the Talk: I have seen so many people out there teaching a concept and not following what they preach. If you want attention do what you say, and say what you mean and walk the talk, baby.
  4. The Shock Factor: Do the opposite of what you normally do. Keep people guessing on what you’ll do next! Give strange analogies, shocking pictures and surprising content. Don’t be afraid to get all crazy and fun with it. People like unexpected.
  5. Don’t give up: There is a quote I like. That explains it better than I can.

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race” – Calvin Coolidge

You know what, Thomas Edison found a 1,000 ways not to make a light bulb. Not everyone is going to succeed their first time around. It’s the staying in the game that leads to success.

13. Be Funny:You don’t always have to be so serious or monotone in your videos, or anything else for that matter. There is life on your planet! Tell jokes, be funny. As business owners we’re so busy trying to give value and run our business that we forget to entertain. Then we come off, as Boring. Hey, if we aren’t helping people solve their problems, at least we are helping them catch some Z’s. Hello people, it’s time to wake up. Humor works every time, why do you think public speakers use it?

14. Be interesting: I have seen people that are like miniature text books; they sound like all-knowing teachers. I know I just covered keeping your prospects awake so they stay on your page. But while you’re being funny, it wouldn’t hurt to unleash your “inner dork”. You know the part of you that’s so “enamored” with your topic that everyone else thinks, it’s funny… but they pay attention anyway.

15. Put your Prospects first: Care about what your prospects wants and needs above your own. I know you’re doing your business to make money. I know you have bills to pay. But stop making it all about you, and you will see a drastic change in your business.

16.A for effort: Another thing I hate to say it, but it must be said….. There are too many people out there that do half A** stuff. Come on people, put some heart and feeling into what you’re doing. Give it your all. You will be surprised on how much you’ll stand out.

17. Be Honest: Hey, don’t be scared to be honest and stand up for what you believe in. People will respect you for it. Give it to people straight up! Be so honest that you’re scared to click the “Post” button. Be so honest that no one knows what to say in the comments section…. But they are talking about you.

18. Stories Sell, Fact’s Tell: In Marketing we have heard this a lot. Yeah… Yeah… I know stories support your points, make solid openers, and teach people while entertaining them. But what no one ever talks about is the stories that can make you legends. I am sure you have some real nice stories. But I mean gripping tales that will haunt you forever. Forget about the other stories… Tell me that one.

Trust me, you will stand out.

If you like this post or any others, leave me a comment and subscribe to my blog. I would love to connect with you.

Funded Proposal, the science of making money off people, who say no to your Products

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A Funded proposal is front end product that you sell your prospects and leads (before you pitch them on your main product). This product is inexpensive (9 to 20 dollars) and it must be beneficial for your target market. You sell this product on the front end to help you pay for your advertising costs. Inside the product (on the back end) you cleverly plug your “real product”.

Why in the heck would you want one?

  1. Fund advertising & marketing Campaigns and put instant CASH in your pocket. By providing a retail informational product.
  2. Build Trust with your Prospects (It’s easier to build trust with a customer than a stranger.) By providing value (something that helps them) tips, tricks or techniques. Your prospect automatically begin to trust you when you help them get what they want. Note: Value is not about you or how awesome your company is. Value is needs to be something that is valuable to your target market.
  3. Positions you as a expert/leader. By offering your prospect more than a regular product or service, you’re set apart from the crowd. You stand out from everyone else who is trying to peddle their products and services. Because, you’re offering a solutions to your target markets problems.
  4. Build Your Brand before they buy your main product you’re by educating them through your information product. (Weeding out the whiners and complainers.)
  5. Another thing to Help you  Brand Yourself.
  6. Create Momentum and increase retention rate by showing your prospects how to solve their problems.
  7. Competitive Edge when it comes to competition because, you have a unique offer that takes your business to a level. A level that could take you years to achieve on your own.
  8. Generates you free quality leads. Eliminating talking to cold leads (in less you want to) by building a list of people who already have a business relationship with you because, they opted into your funded proposal. Forget experiencing the pain of cold calling and dealing with people, who have no clue, who you are. If you’ve done your job right your prospects will know who you are and they will be dying to speak with you.
  9. Because if you don’t have one you will be stuck doing the traditional out dated methods of marketing until you get one.
  10. If you want to be a true expert in the industry you have to leverage this tool. Because all of the masters of this industry don’t do cold calling, passing out flyer and all the other dirty work. The top leader’s market information that serves as a filter or funnel that pre qualifies their leads while paying for their advertising. (a Funded Proposal) Giving them a never ending cycle of leads and prospect for their business.

What is the difference between a Industry Leader and you?

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What is the difference between top leaders in your industry and YOU? Consistency and positioning!

You can have consistency without positioning and get people to buy your products and service. Because of the law of averages, the more people you talk too, eventually someone is going to buy your product or service. However, you have to go through a lot of rejection, before you see any real results.

How do we eliminate all of that rejection? If you look at Successful businesses, they all have one thing in common — they have people coming to them to buy their products and services, instead of having to find customers, like the way you currently are.

Growing a Colossal Size Business, Has NOTHING To Do With, Bombarding your prospects with presentations and sales materials or your Company’s product or services.

It Has Everything To Do With You Learning MARKETING, And How To Effectively POSITION Yourself As A Leader…If This Is Done Correctly, You’ll Literally Have Prospects, Thousands Of Them, Lining Up At Your Door With 1 Simple Question…”How can I buy that?”

People are born followers. From the time, we are a little child, we are taught to follow. Our parents and our school teachers taught us to follow their instructions.

We were taught from a young age, how to obey or we would have consequences.  Therefore we learned to view them as an authority figure. We are taught to follow the laws of the land, we are taught to follow our religious beliefs. Everywhere you turn, you are taught to follow something or someone. We are always following or listen to someone else.

How do you become the leader and have people follow you?

You need to become “The Hunted” – Not the Hunter!

To Be Successful In ANY Business You Must Think Of Yourself As an EXPERT!  You must believe that you have something to offer other people. Because You do!

People are not attracted to products or services, they are attracted to people who can help them get what they want.

 

So how do you positioning yourself as a Leader in you industry?

You need to become an expert in your niche and know the needs and wants of your prospect. You must know who your market is, inside and out. How can you expect to become an expert, if you don’t know the needs of your prospect? It’s not possible!

One of the keys to making it big in your industry is learning to work smarter, not harder! If you’re serious about your industry and achieving your goals. You’re going to need a way to bring people to you, create cash flow for your business, and learn about attraction marketing!

 

You need to Brand Yourself, Like companies Brand Products

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Companies like, Kellogg’s, Nike and Walmart have done a great job at getting their name out in the public eye. So that “Us” as the consumers recognize their names, logo’s and packaging.

Think about it, have you ever made or eaten a Rice Krispies treat?

Of course you have.

Can you tell me something?  If made those treats with a generic brand of rice cereal that is identical to Kellogg’s Rice Krispies cereal — (Except for the name and the design on the box) –Would you stop calling it “Rice Krispies treats” and use another name?

I doubt it!

I am willing to bet, that you would call that “generic brand cereal” Rice Krispies.

Why do you think, you would do that? Simple! Kellogg’s has done an excellent job of branding a rice cereal — Snap Crackle and Pop.

So what does that tell us? Well, “Us” as consumers would be lost without brands. How would companies compete, without branding? A pair of shoes would be just shoes. There wouldn’t be anything “special” about them. Because they weren’t held in high regard like the “Air Jordan’s”.  That was for all the guys out there that think shoes are boring to talk about.

Lol. Okay back on track.

For the girls, I have a cute pair of shoe.  Ask me already, where I got them!

I picked them up, at a “little corner shop” down the street, across from Maple.

That gave you a clear picture right? It’s didn’t, huh? What if, I told you the “brand” of the shoes?

A brand is actually something, you can connect with.

Remember that movie Mel Gibson was in “What Woman Want”? Mel Gibson’s Character (which is a red personality by the way). Does an advertising campaign for “Nike” where he uses, the tagline “Nike, no games, just sports”.

Yeah, you get the idea. The name (brand) “Nike” gives you something to connect with. A clear picture.

Instead of saying, they came from the store down the street.

That’s all branding is, connection!

I will tell you one more time — just in-case, you didn’t catch it, the first time.

Take, Perry Marshall, Super cool guy. What’s he, known for?  Google Adwords! You hear, Perry’s, name, you automatically, connect him with, Google Adwords, Right?

One more. Mike Dillard? Magnetic Sponsoring. Sure, Mike, has more than one product. But, he is known, for what? Let me hear, you say it. Magnetic Sponsoring!

When I talk about “branding yourself”. I mean take your “name” and make it famous, baby. Become known for “blank”. Give people something they can “connect” your name with.  Not just anything, something of value.

Choose a niche, then become an expert in it. Become the king or queen of _______ (you choose what goes in the blank). J

All you need to do is master one thing…Once you become really good at that one thing you can branch out from there.

That’s it, I just gave you the “big secret” to branding. Become totally awesome at something. Then show people how to do that thing.  The more people you reach, the more love you get. Before you know it, you’re famous, Baby. And you’re rollin, in the dough.

Don’t forget me when you get all that fame. 😉

 

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