The art of Self Promotion

Depending on what industry you are in, a publicist brings information and news to the public regarding your product or service. People who present, entertain, or perform their talent for money typically hire a publicist to promote them and build a name for themselves within their market.

Something many people forget, especially in business, is that You can do the same for Yourself! Even if you’re not a musician or an actor. By utilizing the internet, outsourcing and taking advantage of other resources (your network, capital, leverage), you can become your own publicist (at least until you can afford to hire one).

Simply stated - everyone needs to promote themselves to see results. I know, “Who has the time” right? Wrong. Did you brush your teeth today? (less cavities) Eat breakfast? (most important meal of the day) Getting in your 20 minute exercise? (add 20 healthy years to your life) Promote yourself to the world?... wait? Did you miss my previous post (Who do You work for?) Promoting yourself (internally and externally) is just as important as doing your day job. Especially in today’s economy. The best job security is to establish a demand for YOU – before you actually need it.

Start by reading my previous Digital Networking post below.

Now think for a moment: companies all across America spend millions upon millions of dollars in PR, promotion and publicity for their products. This is no secret.

You are the most important product in your life. You sell yourself to other people, your company, your boss and your clients – everyday – all day! Don’t you think you should be investing in a publicist or some PR to promote yourself?

This can be as easy and low maintenance as just actively having conversations with coworkers about what you’re doing, what they’re doing, how it connects and why it matters. It can also be as in-depth as launching your own full on marketing campaign.

Here are a few tips for promoting yourself:

Start performing publicist tasks such as contacting print/online media and pitching your own thoughts, content, articles, interviews, etc. (outsource these tasks to someone else [elance.com] if you don’t have the time). Get your word in print/online somewhere externally to establish credibility. Sounds weird huh? Just picking up the phone and calling men/women’s health to submit and article about lifestyle suggestions? You’d be surprised how much real-estate they have that isn’t used up every month (and unlimited online!). When remembering that their job is to provide value and content to their readers… you shouldn’t feel nervous offering it to them for free! (and later after you have a name that fills the first few pages in a google search, you can easily start charging the media outlets for your content!)

Create your own Case Studies based on major annual tent pole successes. Build them in the form of a low file size PDF (to look professional and established) and send them to media outlets or even just through your network. You just scored a strong media buy for your company? Write the case study in terms of ROI so as not to disclose confidential information from either your company or the media company cutting you a break! Went a step further and built an online banner campaign to support the print? Start building this into a larger campaign profile. Also, think about what you want your case study to say about you and your success – then let that energy fuel your motivation to do even better at your day job!

Resume Advertorial ~ the fun adobe version

Why do you only send out your resume when you need a job? Why not create a creative version of your success with a little more design and send it to contacts within your industry. Remember to always provide value first – meaning send the promo piece written in the tone that you want to help or supply value. “This is what I’ve done/my company has done this year, can I/we do anything more for you?” or “this is what happened, this is what I did, this idea might work for you too!” Don’t think of it as a resume or a newsletter, rather an e-blast of advertorial information pitching you as a valuable asset to your industry by raising a question or solution regarding challenges the reader may already have.

Give a Speech! Volunteer experience AND building content.

Presenting papers, giving a speech, or supporting an organization with content or value all has both social benefits and professional benefits. Most of all, remember that as you think about a topic, learn about a topic, talk about the topic and teach that topic – your mind opens up and starts to think and develop in ways it didn’t before when you were just sitting at your desk.

There are many different locations and outlets to give content and speeches. Starting with local schools and city programs will get things moving.

Remember to let other people know what you’re doing. This will create conversation and can result in receiving ideas for other methods or outlets.

Become a #1 Resource

Why do I say “a #1”? We know there are hundreds of #1s in your field, they’re all over the world. BUT they can’t and won’t service all the demand for your talent! There will always be someone better than you, someone that has a better product or service than you. Investing time in the core aspects of your strengths will result in you becoming a unique expert in your field. Present and promote those niche unique aspects and “the next guy’s” talent/service won’t matter. Be able to communicate your custom value and make sure people know you’re a unique expert. Then watch a push demand (you selling your talent) become a pull demand (people requesting your talent).

Utilize resources to shorten amount of time needed to obtain desired results. Doing it yourself isn’t always the solution and paying an agency isn’t either. There are millions of ways to promote yourself, just as there are millions of ways to exercise. The point is to do a little bit as often as comfortably possible AND measure results. Don’t let it interfere with your day job, but remember who you are ultimately working for…

Who do You work for?

YOU are the most important asset in your life… live as though you work for yourself!

We should all remember often that ultimately we work for ourselves.

Even if we are working in order to support others; we’re still benefiting ourselves first. This ties into the fact that we must help ourselves before we can truly help others.

Let’s discuss some thoughts regarding how your life relates to a 24 hour – 7 day a week job:

Where’s the Carrot? – have a daily reminder moment

Some people meet with their team or boss daily or weekly at their day jobs. Remind yourself everyday when you wake up – why you woke up. What are the positive things about today that will lead to success? Sure there are always challenges, but enter into the equation with a positive outlook and you’ll be surprised how great you’ll feel when faced with adversity. Remind yourself how much closer you’re getting to your goals on a daily basis and you will be successful!

Captain on Deck! - Personal rundown meeting

I love Sportsnight. Great TV show on a few years back. Even if you have no interest in sports whatsoever, you’ll get something out of this show. I love their witty daily rundown meetings. The character’s in the show are in production; so they need to rundown their list of events daily to make sure the entire team is on the same page in order to produce the night’s news cast.

Do this with yourself. Do this for yourself. Have your own weekly rundown meeting. Ideally set sometime early in the week (example: Monday). It doesn’t have to be long. Go to Starbucks with a notebook. Check both your work goals and your life goals. What can you delegate? What can you do today to make the week more manageable?

The Review - Perform your own biannual and annual yearly review

This refers to my session on goal setting. You need to have goals. You need to measure your performance in order to achieve success. An Olympic runner does not say to themselves “ I am going to run faster next time”. They’re specific. They set goals. You need to too!

With this in mind, set up reviews. What have you succeeded at so far this year? What areas could use a little more time and support? Write this down in your personal development journal.

You can even take it a step further and make the review more of a retreat! Set aside a day to have a relaxing lunch while processing your review. Then end by going to the Spa afterwards.

Time out! - Vacation is not a luxury – it’s a necessity

As much as we all like to think of ourselves as god-like machines that can burn through anything – even the most successful of athletes know they need to rest. Our bodies need maintenance, relaxation and rest in order to function properly. Depending on your lifestyle and conditioning, the type and necessary rate of rest and relaxation differ, but the principle is still the same. Take your vacation time!

Reward Yourself first! – Automatic savings

The best of financial advisors suggest paying yourself first, even if you have debt.

Set up and automatic savings accounts with your bank. Consider Certificate of Deposits and other “untouchable” financial saving resources including 401K and IRA retirement accounts (remember certain accounts are tax free!).

The Budget – Build the personal budget

Speaking of reward, make sure to take all things in moderation. Keep an eye on discretionary spending habits and overly rewarding yourself on a daily basis. If you don’t have a budget, you need one! Even if you’re living check to check. Also be sure to include a budget section for self development. Continually invest in your own wellbeing, health, education, learning experience and professional development. Ask your tax advisor about how you may be able to write off that wonderful Success Symposium DVD set or my Digital Networking book as a personal or business expense.

Coworker Appreciation Day

Never forget how far a card or flowers go when sent at the most opportune times, or even just for fun.

If you have a significant other; a note, flowers, tickets to a show, a dance lesson or session – all these things go a really long way. If you don’t live near the family, send word home at least once a month. These people put up with you for at least 18 years of your life, they deserve to know where their investment went. For friends and family alike - add holiday, birthday and anniversary cards to your outlook calendar and email list reminders. Make sure you never forget those key dates… and they will never forget you!

Self-Promotion – PR for U

In this day in age, you need to promote yourself. Typically speaking most of us only promote ourselves when we need a job. That’s when we take out and dust off the old resume and spend countless hours “writing” and updating reasons why an employer would want to spend thousands of dollars on having us in their office five days a week…

Let’s change that reactive fight or flight process into a proactive creative influence! Promote Yourself today!

Read tomorrow’s post for specifics on self promotion. Until then, here’s to a relaxing and productive day!

Digital Networking

Networking in a Digital World

I’ve decided to open with this chain of posts because it’s the number 1 area that my clients have gained serious tangible value from. There’s so much to say that one could write a book on this topic alone – Oh wait, I am! Copyright protected the work. Currently in talks with a publisher. Hope to have the book on shelves by the end of this year.

Your Network, or the Network you haven’t fully developed yet, is your number 1 asset in business.

Whether you’re launching a career search, considering job relocation, identifying new customers, looking into hiring, or locating an agency – your network is or will be the first step in the process.

Today, the internet helps you multiply your networking potential exponentially… that is if you choose to take advantage of the resource. Let’s talk about how to move your network to new digital heights!

Stage 1 – Being Reachable

You.com!

There’s no excuse for not having your own webpage. There are many hosting and domain registration options that can get you a digital address and server space for your site in under an hour for far less than $100 per year! How much do you pay for rent or mortgage a year? (Godaddy.com is a great starter service with solid support that will get you moving Today!)

At the very least, a flat color background with your name and information (ex: info that you would put on a business card) will make an effective placeholder site until something more detailed that fits your direction can be built. And even MS Word can be used to build a basic starter site. And again, there are so many other free accessible programs that can help the process.

You@You.com

Once you’ve set up a hosting package, it usually comes with at least one e-mail address. If there is no e-mail account or server space allocated for your e-mail address, set up an e-mail forwarding option to your free hotmail or gmail account.

Also, remember to set up a clear automatic signature that includes your website address and/or the link to your main profile page (example LinkedIn or a profile specific area of your website).

Stage 2 – Being Professional

Once you have a professional e-mail address and URL to point interested parties to, you will need to start networking!

Professional Networking: LinkedIn.com, Naymz.com, etc.

Sign up for LinkedIn or another profession networking service. Most are free and they are a fantastic way to keep connected with the professionals you work with or have worked with in the past.

Digital Resumes: CareerBuilder, Monster, Hot Jobs, etc.

Your resume clearly highlighting current successes should be updated and posted on all of these sites – even if you’re not looking for a job! Remove your name and your current employer’s name if need be. Register for the site, Post the resume, and update on a reasonable basis.

Stage 3 – Being Social

Now that you have a professional presence on the internet both at “home” (your website), and at “the office” (ex: your LinkedIn profile), you should make friends and have fun digitally!

Social Networking: Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, Delicious, Plurk, etc.

Build however many social profiles you feel comfortable with, but remember – it’s recommended that you update them on a reasonably often basis. So going crazy and starting 20 profiles this month might be overdoing it a bit.

Also, it’s recommended that your “net personality” is relatively consistent among all your sites.

Key: Unless you’re looking for a job in cool hunting, or for promoting street teams – you work in the professional world. In the professional word, people judge you in less than 3 seconds online. While you play, play as though your parents or your boss could walk in the room at anytime.

In other words, think hard before posting all those pictures of your drunken ramblings in Vegas last weekend on your myspace account - when you know your boss or your coworkers can easily see it in their profile update mail Monday morning.

Photo Networking: see site listing above

I actually consider sharing your profile and text about yourself to be separate than Photographic sharing.

Always be careful what you share in terms of photos. Again it’s like posting a 11x17 photo on a big bulletin board in Central Park NY. Everybody can and will see them at some point or another.

But; I still strongly suggest posting photos. The key is honesty. In the age of the internet, people don’t really know you’re real or that you are who you say you are unless there’s a photo to prove it.

Think of the early days of cyber-dating on AOL or the vast personal ad/profiles posted on eharmony.com today – if you don’t post a photo, you’re considered not really in the game. And it typically is (9 times out of 10) the first question anyone asks you for anyway.

Thus, post something professional on LinkedIn and something (at least mildly) respectable on your social sites. But post at least a few photos. Make sure people know you’re real, and not a cyber spammer!

Stage 4 – Being Valuable

Now that you have an address, communication methods, a digital professional and personal life… Let’s start providing value. These are the methods to bring more positive attention to you and your digital world. Benefits include but are not limited to; more professional interest, higher perceived tangible value, a method for getting your creativity out in the world and a wonderful way to help people. The good news is: if you do these things regularly they can and will lead you to a great deal of money!

To start – think two words: content generation!

Your e-mail list

You should own a list. Most people do in some form or fashion. Even if it’s just in your head. You find something funny or interesting online, suddenly there’s an e-mail open and we’re typing away friend’s names, family names, coworkers and more… Let’s organize this a bit. Use a service or program (MS outlook contacts, etc.) to categorize these lists and make them accessible.

Key: Always remember to keep your list(s) private! No one wants their phone number written on the bathroom wall.

E-blast updates

Short personal/professional update e-mails sent to your lists potentially regarding your blog, newsletter, recent successes, etc. Its purpose is to quickly keep your network up to date on what’s going on in your world. Don’t treat it or think of it as bragging (as many people do). Think more in terms of sending an update to a family member that you don’t talk with often. Or like when businesses send their best customers flowers or a fruit basket four times a year to say thanks. Depending on the e-mail list you’re sending it to (professional, personal, family, etc.) will depend on the type of information you write. This can be sent through e-mails or by using services on said social/professional sites listed above.

Your Blog

You’re reading one of mine right now. Find it useful? E-mail it to your e-mail lists! Comment about it on your own blog. Add it to your bookmarks. Sign up for RSS. Most are shocked when they find out how far and how fast your content can travel in the digital world.

I know you have something to say. We all do. There are numerous free methods of starting blogs today. Have a Gmail account? Blogger will help you get a blog started in less than five minutes!

Key: Consider cyber “space” and cyber “time” when blogging.

People have very different spans of attention online versus the real world. Business or professional content should be clear, concise and shorter than you’d initially think (unless you’re an author or poet, etc.).

Your Newsletter

Your “newsletter” can be as simple as a monthly e-blast highlighting your blog updates. Or it can be as robust as covering a wider breadth of content that you didn’t feel you had enough time and space for in your blog. There are many different methods of writing, physically designing and sending a newsletter. Don’t drown from informational overload. Start off with something simple that provides the value you want to send. Just send it as an e-mail to your lists. Then build up from there.

Key: Be careful not to spam people.

Stage 5 – Being Real

To really maximize the value of the infinite opportunities that flow through our lives, it’s a good idea to make the real world reflect your digital self. And vice versa. Thus having hard copies of your tools are always handy.

You ~ seven - twenty four

-Business cards/unique take home item (reflecting your own profile – not necessarily your day job)

-Resume (always good to have hard copies)

-Portfolio/professional profile

-Elevator speech (written on a note card to practice)

Store these in your car and at home.

Final Key: remember there is such a thing as going overboard. Do all steps as they pertain to you and your lifestyle. Having 20 social sites that are never updated is not effective. Typically speaking, your network should be more weighted towards quality than quantity.

Networking is the #1 asset in business. Do it. Automate it. Keep it updated. Keep it unique!

Let’s build your Path!

Where am I? That’s a great question that I would like to address in this blog. Also, arguably more importantly, where are you going in life? In your career?

Welcome: You’ve arrived at your next step on the path of “Success”.

Three questions:

What is this?

The one-stop-shop to your success needs. There are a number of amazing resources at your fingertips (especially with how robust the internet is these days), but I find it more rare to find the specifics. Many people in the industry feel this is “giving away the farm”, but I feel the need to create a more educated audience within the world of personal & professional development.

Whether you’re learning about the business/success world, starting your own business, thinking of starting your own business, looking how to get ahead in corporate America, branding your career, setting career goals or just in need a resource for motivation and self esteem - Success Architecture is for you!

What does it mean to me?

Most of my day jobs have been in Marketing. I’m among the few marketers that firmly believe in results only mind set. If I can measure it and report on it, it’s not worth my time or my clients resources.

You can pretty much Google search success and find a long list of resources for how to be successful – namely in business, career, and personal development. But over the last 10 years I’ve researched a number of methods resulting in the clear fact that there are very few resources that “show you the cards”. They tell you how to play the game, but when it comes time for concrete examples of how to get things done, or what specifically to do to move to the next step – you get a long chunk of vague text. Which, if you’re lucky, might move you closer to where you want to be.

Many people want to start a business… but they don’t have the check list. Many people want to succeed in life, but find it hard to define what success is to them. Many people search the internet to find thousands upon thousands of blog words spilling out long poetic opinion as to how they think the world should work, but get little tangible answers to the questions that matter to them most.

Read on and discover

Why is it free?

The purpose of this Blog is much like Public education. There are certain things in life that should be free. A basic set of knowledge is one of them. Then, for those who continue to invest in their momentum, there are other solutions within JBranding such as services/books/audio-visual tools, that I may suggest or direct traffic to that will really put your success on track. But for now please just read, enjoy and comment when you have time.