Gary Vaynerchuk provides these clear steps of how to cash in on your passion and how to effectively build your personal brand.
- Identify your passion
- Make sure you can think of at least fifty awesome blog topics to ensure stickiness
- Answer the following questions – Am I sure my passion is what I think it is? Can I talk about it better than anyone else?
- Name your personal brand. You don’t have to refer to it anywhere in your content, but you should have a clear idea of what it is. eg: The connoisseur of cookware, the guru of gardening etc.
- Buy your user name – .com and .tv if possible at GoDaddy.com
- Choose your medium: video, audio, written word
- Start a WordPress or Tumblr account
- Hire a designer
- Include a Facebook Connect link, call to action buttons, share functions, and a button that invites people to do business with you in a prominent place on your blog.
- Create a Facebook fan page
- Sign up for Ping.fm or TubeMogul and select all of the platforms to which you want to distribute your content. Choosing Twitter and Facebook is imperative; the others you can select according to your needs and preference
- Post your content
- Start creating community by leaving comments on other people’s blogs and forums and replying to comments on your own comment
- Use Twitter Search (or Search.Twitter) to find as may people as possible talking about your topic, and communicate with them
- Use Blogsearch.Google.com to find more blogs that are relevant to your subject
- Join as many active Facebook fan pages and groups relating to your blog topic as possible
- Repeat steps 12 through 16 over and over and over and over and over
- Do it again
- Do it again
- When you feel your personal brand has gained sufficient attention and stickiness, start reaching out to advertisers and begin monetizing
- Enjoy the ride
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I have just this past week renewed contact with a few friends from my high school days. One of them being Gabrielle Jones. How did we reconnect? Through Facebook of course. And I was fascinated to find that she has taken her passion for art ( I remember her studying art as a subject at school) to the next level and is promoting her work online.
I loved Gabrielle’s explanation of how she is using her blog, her website and social media to promote her fantastic work. And if you’re ever in the areas that she is conducting exhibitions please check her artwork out.
So here is what Gabrielle has to say…
‘Do you see web tools such as a blog or website as integral to developing your artistic career?
A website is a must for any artist in this day and age. I use it to refer acquaintances (i.e. people I just met, interested in art or what I do etc. I give them my Business card, with website address, which is also essential); other artists (which helps them know you are serious – if they like your work you can show together, they might refer you to someone that matters etc); Students (a good artist is known by the fact that a younger generation is influenced by their work) and as a repository/personal record of my shows etc – i.e. how my work has changed, my growth. Galleries are sometimes referred to the website, however many prefer a printed portfolio or photos first.
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As all of us face tougher economic conditions it has become very noticeable that some business owners have started to pull back, rather than push forward. People are hanging on to their money more tightly, taking a longer time to make financial decisions and at the end of the day these daily decisions are starting to impact and will continue to impact business throughout the months and years to come.
On the other hand there are those fearless ones who are forging ahead, and as part of their strategy are reviewing their brand and its connection with both new and existing customers.
So what are some of the things that you can do when things may seem to be a little slower than desired?
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Here comes the judge. Here comes the judge. And who is the judge?
Your potential client that is eyeing up your business online.
So the question is: How does my website size up in the eyes of potential clients? You may not be able to judge a book by its cover but you can sure judge a business by its website.
Take this quick quiz and you be the judge before others pass up their judgement and find your website wanting – and do business with the other guy who has judged his website.
Here are 10 quick questions you need to ask yourself when you look at your website that is currently representing your business.
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When customers see your logo or hear your name, what impressions do they get? How does your branding message impact their cognitive and emotional response to your company?
Customer perceptions and relationships are determined to a large degree by your ability to create a consistent image that is conveyed through every interaction and activity that involves your company. Branding your business is more than a single campaign; it is continuous and it defines the relationship between you and your customers, prospective customers, employees, vendors and the media. According to Charles R. Pettis III, president of BrandSolutions Inc., “A brand is a proprietary visual, emotional, rational and cultural image that you associate with a company or product.”
While branding often is associated with highly visible expensive campaigns, it also can be effective by using available resources and starting small.
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