Branding doesn't have to hurt
Personal branding is a tricky issue because if you do it too well, you can hurt yourself. This is why. Your personal brand depends on what you have done. And the only way to turn that into money is to keep working because customers want you to solve their problems.
If you build value for a company’s brand, customers want that brand to solve their problems. This allows you to retire or sell the brand. It has value that someone else can realize.
Because of this, John Janstch is my branding hero:
John Jantsch is a bestselling author, speaker, etc. for small businesses. But he can only be in so many places at one time. He can only speak so many times. He can only coach so many people. So, what was his scalability solution?
Twofold. First, John created the Duct Tape Marketing Coaching Authorized Coach program. In a nutshell, he trains people to be authorized coaches under his philosophies and run their own businesses. Sort of like a franchise.
Second, he licensed a special marketing plan software, Marketing Plan Pro, that sells for $179.95. This higher-priced product leverages his knowledge, and John doesn’t have to be present for it to sell.
He’s a spokesman for his Duct Tape Marketing brand but can separate himself from it at any time. Also, it’s a killer name. Everyone knows duct tape is the best tool for fixing anything. So it must be a great way to fix your marketing.
I also love the coaching authorization. Have people pay you to use your brand and evangelize it. Brilliant.
To me, personal branding is easy. Do good work and keep your promises. But using it to build something that has value – besides your personal brand – is a tricky balancing act.
How do you balance personal branding and building value?
