I remember when I first embarked on the massive adventure called the internet, the one thing I constantly heard about was branding. What is branding? Why is it important? How do you brand online? Let’s consider these questions. What name brands come to mind when you think of the word branding? For me, I love Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, and Marc Jacabs just to name a few. If I were shopping for a new purse and I was presented with two, one from Marc Jacabs and another from an unknown company. I would initially be drawn to the Marc Jacabs purse because of a few reasons: I know the quality of Marc Jacabs, I am familiar with their customer service of so if something were to happen to it I can trust I would be taken care of, and of course I know that whatever the price I will pay for the purse it’s worth every penny. With an unknown company brand these basic necessities become a guessing game.

Although this is just an example, it is easy to see that creating a brand name is very important. When talking about the internet there are millions of people online that are trying to sell their products, trainings, and systems. What will make you stand out from all the others? Why should someone listen to you? Before you can approach someone with your business idea, they must already like, know and trust you. If this doesn’t happen you risk getting lost in all of the noise.

So how do you create a brand that people will know & recognize? How do you get people to like, know, and trust you with their wallets open? You offer people value. You show them that you are worth listening to, and you show them what you have to offer is important. You show them that you want to help. People like to know that someone is on their side and that you genuinely want to see them succeed. When you are able to do this you have created a brand for yourself, and have attracted people to you that are looking for what you have to offer, which is by the way, attraction marketing. If you remember from my Limited Budget post that Attraction Marketing is the art of attracting people who are already in need of what you have to offer. People want to join your business, buy your products, and look at you to help them find the things they need. I know for myself, when I am looking for a particular product, I do not buy from someone I do not like if I can help it. People love to buy, but people hat to be sold.

Okay, so now you may be asking how do you start making a brand of yourself online? Where do you start? This can be done in a multitude of ways. The key is to offer value. You can begin by making videos of yourself and educating people on marketing strategies. You could write how-to articles on a particular marketing system, and/or you could join forums and other social networking sites connecting with people there and offer value. I advise you to begin by choosing one strategy and mastering it first before going on to another one. Think about which one agrees the most with your personality and then, market like crazy all over the internet by offering value and education wherever you go.

Just remember, it’s not all about you. Yes, I’ll say it again. It’s not all about you. Even when you are branding yourself , it’s important to do it with integrity and to show that you genuinely care about others. If you do not, it will come across. So, have fun and create a brand of yourself.