PERSONAL BRAND MARKETING podBlog

Yesterday, I was invited to be a guest instructor at the Fashion Institute of Technology, where I’ve taught classes before. It was a general audience of aspiring entrepreneurs, and they were wrapping up a series of classes on the topic. Mine was obviously marketing… here’s a quick podcast of the top 14 marketing questions. How many of them can you answer effectively? How many of the answers have you written down?? Folks in my workshops answer YES! … Now, you can too...more

Last night, I attended an awesome networking event with some of the most influential leaders of Long Island. Luckily, it was my book release party (and 30th birthday). It was the biggest event the bookstore (I AM Books in Huntington, NY) ever had; and my book sold out. (This is bitter-sweet since I don’t have books for my speaking engagement on Friday; or for a real estate trade party on Tuesday; back-of-the-room sales is a Thumb-rule; this is a faux-pas.) My main intention of the event...more

The moments of appreciation, reminiscence, and forethought are the gifts we give ourselves during this season. It is the dawn of a new year, and our resolutions need not be fleeting. There’s no preaching here. Instead, let’s consider practicing some rules of thumb that can help change the world. Often, many of us feel “stuck.” We all know the clichés and bumper stickers to change the world, but can’t seem to find the time, the money, the people, or the energy to do much about it. We w...more

From resolutions to goals to habits to achievement. In order to sustain a 365 personal brand, we must schedule in our Action Goals in order to achieve our Result Goals.  And of course, today is the first day of the rest of your life.  It also feels apropos given the season… You won’t have the time.  You won’t find the time.  You have to make the time. What’s your Vision for 2008?  My clients know that I make goal setting a very simple process… with 5 cascadin...more

I’ve gone around town (and now on YouTube) for saying “the most popular blogs are by bloggers who blog about blogging.” And yet again, Forbes’ Web Celeb 25 confirms my conjecture (vast majority fit my bill, especially the Near Misses).  How many do you know without clicking their names?

Yesterday I was meeting with a colleague, and potential client.  But half-way through the conversation I realized that he wasn’t quite ready to leverage his personal brand. Personal branding is getting a lot of buzz, and most of the time we talk about the tactics, techniques, and sometimes strategies.  But all of that is the HOW. None of the tips, tricks, and thumb-rules that we implement are important without the WHY. I tend to ask a lot of questions during my 1-on-1 sessions - especial...more

‘Tis the season to give gifts.  And everybody loves getting gifts.  It’s also a great way to promote your personal brand: I don’t mean giving gifts with your logo on it (though, done with class, is not such a bad idea).  Rather, your personal brand relationship with that other person. Having said that, gifts and cards should be personal. At the very least, personalized.  Obviously I love the wonders of technology and mass-customization, but still, micro-customization - our ...more

Last Thursday, I took my cousin to visit Wharton (University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Business). I was amazed and impressed by the experience given to us. It also gave us a glimpse at how Wharton differentiates itself from its “competitors” and offers a better “distinctive value proposition” than the dominant B-school: Harvard. Harvard [...]

Direct marketing is traditionally through regular mail, phone, and even fax. E-mail is also a direct marketing channel. More and more, direct marketers are integrating the on-line direct marketing channels. Last Thursday, I was invited to address the Direct Marketing Association of Long Island (DMALI) on the direct marketing opportunities available through Web 2.0, blogs, podcasts, on-line communities, etc. It was a 1-hour seminar with me and Abe Mezrich of Didit.com. The full semi...more

It’s growing at an exponential rate: But I’ve found there is still a humongous part of the professional world — especially accountants and financial advisors — who aren’t into blogging & podcasting because they feel it doesn’t apply to them. First of all, they don’t quite understand the technology - and that scares them. And then, these professionals rarely take part in such media (blogs, podcasts, on-line videos, communities). And when they do (li...more