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1. Planning your online brand development

“The hardest thing is to know what you want, the rest is easy….”

The secret to building a successful online personal brand begins with knowing yourself, and that means knowing what you are about and what you want to achieve. When you have developed these principals into a clear vision, you will find that your brand will evolve around this identity and, because it has a clear focus, others will find it easy to latch on to, associate with and be encouraged to interact with it.

Some people, like musicians, film-makers and designers have a ready-made source of inspiration from which to develop their online identity. They probably already have MySpace and Facebook accounts, an audience and an image which they want to expand beyond the limitations of these environments which are outside of their direct control.

Others, with a focus on social commentary, creative writing or opinion-based journalism are looking to get themselves recognised, respected within their chosen fields and turn their hobby/interests into income-generating ventures.

Whichever angle you are approaching personal online branding from, we recommend that you take some time to consider the following questions and put together a written statement [first page of your Ideas Journal!] which encapsulates what you are trying to achieve:

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flash media gallery

Whether you want to showcase your own media, create lightboxes for your internet favourites or use video advertising for revenue generation, Brand-Forge.com will find the right solution to meet your needs. Contact us today for pricing options:

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Personal online brand-building roadmap

Getting started with building your own personal online brand can seem like a tough challenge: bewildering lists of new concepts, complicated technology, complex terms and new skills to be learned. For most of us out there, we stand little chance of working it all out on our own to build a successful online brand, a platform for getting our ideas out there and, who knows, maybe even one day earning and income from it all…

The good news is that Brand-Forge.com are here to provide you with the link between your technical capabilities and your goals. We offer a total online brand-building service from the ground up for those who need it, and a low-cost, high-spec hosting & WordPress web publishing service for advanced users who just need the tools - and any variation in between.

As part of our vision to demystify online brand-building, blogging, search engine positioning and web development in general, Brand-Forge.com are publishing a weekly series of articles called “the Personal online brand-building roadmap”. Mostly this is designed for beginners but we’re sure there will be something in it for everyone - in this game, you should never stop learning!

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Working Smarter

Jump-Starting Freelancing Productivity: 9 Reasons Why and 5 Reasons How Working Smarter Works

Sharpen Your Skills

Applying The Principles Of Kaizen And Bootstrapping To Build Your Freelance Skills

Know your DNA to improve your personal brand online

Having worked in recruitment for over 11 years, the DNA of potential new hires have been critical to being successful in growing my own teams and helping clients build theirs. What do I mean by DNA? Well it is their physical and mental make up, what defines them as individuals, how do they perform, what makes them valuable, what makes them special, what makes them tick e.t.c. If the people you work with, hire or seek to work with are not uniquely special, then why have you set the bar so low? I use an acronym to define what I feel is essential to know about an individual that makes them different. D - elivery N - iche A - ttitude Think about this from your own perspective. Read more

Managing Your Reputation Online

Last Thursday I published an article titled Having an Opinion: The Secret Sauce for a Popular Blog. Today I want to talk about the other side of that coin. As we discussed in that previous article, expressing one’s opinion clearly and strongly can be the secret to generating a lot of buzz and traffic. As you also know, on the Internet pretty much anyone can setup a website and publish his own content in a matter of minutes. Put together those two ingredients and the result could be someone doing a lot of damage to your online reputation. In order words, the easier for people to express their opinions and to share those with a large number of people, the higher the important of managing your reputation online, and this point is valid for pretty much anyone using the web, from business entities to bloggers and individuals. Not convinced this is important? Suppose you have just published an ebook or released a web service. After a couple of days one client gets really upset about the quality offered, and decides to write a chaotic review about it. Should some people link to his review, there is a great chance that his post will show up in the first page of Google for the name of your ebook or service, and now the damage is done. Potential clients that end up reading that bad review will stay clear from purchasing your product. Read more

Personal Branding Online 101: Buy Your Own Name As A Domain Name

Today I met with a new client who consulted with me about how to build their new ecommerce business online. Interestingly due to the fact that he has a website representing his personal brand online, he is number one in the search engines here in Ireland for key words relating to his expertise. You see although he is currently in employment i.e. he is on the payroll of an organisation, he realised the value in promoting his experience and his portfolio of skills online - he is using his own name as the domain name for his current website. One of the tips I always cover in my personal branding workshops and consultations is to ensure that you purchase your own domain name - even if you have no plan to use it at this time to host your own business blog, website or career portfolio. Read more

Inbox Zero Video From Merlin Mann

This video is perfect to help anybody get their email inbox organized. granted, Merlin Mann recorded that last year, but the advice he gives is timeless. We all struggle with managing our email inbox.

Using a simple method like Mann suggests is really going to be a life saver for most of us. His tips are easy to follow and will work for most people. I think the secret is to be brave enough to hit that delete button.

The video is fairly long, but worth your while if you are looking for a solution to your email inbox problems. I suggest you grab pen and paper and make some notes then get to action by implementing Merlin’s tips.

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Personal Branding Masterclass: So What’s Your Brand?

Did you realise that today is International Women’s Day? I’ll be celebrating by hosting a panel on the subject of “Women in Technology” and a session about using social media to create, publish and market your book at Creative Camp, taking place in Kilkenny. I’ve also been invited by Frank Fullard, CEO of the Mayo County Enterprise Board to facilitate a workshop for female business leaders in celebration of International Women’s Day 2008. The event will take place at Knockranny House Hotel, Westport on Tuesday 11 March 2008 starting at 7pm with refreshments and networking at the end of the workshop at 10pm. Read more

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