In the News: Brand Promise Breakdowns

Posted December 10, 2009 at 6:51 pm
In category: blog | entrepreneurs | organizations   tags: Brand Awareness | Brand Marketing | Industry Brand | linkedin   0 Comments

Recently, we’ve had several highly-public Brand Promise Breakdowns, which frankly, were both avoidable and… well… not very bright. If you follow professional golf or the world of publishing, you can name what those Breakdowns were, but our purpose here is not to dwell on the missteps themselves, as much as to understand why those missteps are so damaging.

It all comes down to Brand Promise.

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Brand Quiz: What’s Your Brand Attitude?

Posted October 5, 2009 at 11:22 am
In category: authors | blog | entrepreneurs   tags: Brand Awareness | Brand Marketing | Industry Brand | linkedin | Personal Branding   0 Comments

Think your Personal Brand is ready for action? Take this Quiz and see…

1. Before every important interaction with others, I make sure I “look” the part of whatever it is I’m trying to sell or accomplish. I try to ensure that my clothing and appearance help sell me to my audience.

a) Always

b) Most of the time, unless I’m too crunched for time

c) Occasionally

d) I don’t believe in manipulating my audiences, so no

e) I am not selling anything when I talk or interact with others (more…)

Putting Your Brand to Work for You

Posted September 3, 2009 at 10:00 am
In category: authors | blog | entrepreneurs | organizations   tags: Brand Marketing | Industry Brand | linkedin | pitching | Writing Brand   0 Comments

Part of a series of brief articles on the Power of Personal Branding.

Whether you’ve gone through a Personal Branding exercise or not at this point, it’s relevant to discuss what you’re now going to “DO” with your Brand. How can having a Personal Brand really impact your efforts as a writer, entrepreneur, or business professional, and what are some techniques for “showing off” your Brand?

You can manifest your Personal Brand in an almost endless variety of ways, from subtle to dramatically obvious, and how people experience your Brand is via its key Elements.   (more…)

Getting Your Brand Ready for Conferences

Posted September 3, 2009 at 9:42 am
In category: authors | blog   tags: Conferences | Industry Brand | Writing Brand   0 Comments

As we develop our Personal Brand as authors, we do so generally with some far-off goal in mind: positioning ourselves to our future readers, or giving an interview about our New York Times Bestselling status. But if we’re wise, our Writing and Industry Brands can receive a workout in the far more immediate future: this year’s Conference season.

As a brief review, I define Writing and Industry Brands as follows:

Your Writing Brand is the brand you communicate solely through your books or promotional efforts. As a result, you’ll probably find that a description that can double as a slogan will work best for your Writing Brand.

Your Industry Brand is the brand you present as an author—to your industry contacts, to your dedicated readership, and to anyone you meet as you pursue your writing career.

Both your Writing Brand and your Industry Brand can make the difference as you interact with your peers and industry professionals at conference, so take a few minutes to focus on yours! (more…)

Blogging and Your Personal Brand

Posted September 1, 2009 at 6:56 am
In category: authors | blog | entrepreneurs | organizations   tags: Blogging | Brand Awareness | Industry Brand | linkedin   0 Comments

When you first launch a blog, it can be a dizzying prospect. There is so much you can say, so much you can express, and it can be uploaded so quickly! But just as with all of your business correspondence and promotional materials, blogs should be handled with extreme care. Here’s a few tips to make sure yours effectively reflects your Personal Brand. (more…)