Tag Archives for " goals "

Jul 14

How to build your personal brand to rocket launch your business

By Lauren | Branding , Insight , Marketing

Moon Lander, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Washington D.C

There are only 12 men who have stepped foot on the moon, including of course, one of the Worlds most well known personal brands, Neil Armstrong with his small step that was a giant leap for mankind.

As we celebrate 50 years since this incredible event, it reminds me that launching your personal brand, is the same as launching a rocket into space…

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Sep 12

The 3 Simple Steps To A Stand Out Brand

By Lauren | Core Message , Marketing

In this disruptive and distracting World, it's vital that your personal brand stands out in order for your ideal prospects not only to see you, but to have a real reason to choose you.

You can make yourself visible using social media, speaking at events, running webinars or workshops and of course writing a book. These tactics are all important, but in order to really stand out, and to do it confidently and consistently, your personal brand needs to have a rock solid foundation.

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Jul 25

Email Marketing Delivers The Most Return

By Lauren | Brandworking , Marketing

Social media marketing may be sexy but email marketing is likely to get you more bang for your buck.

Not only is email a more active channel, compared to social media, where your message is sent and responded to compared to something that sits there waiting to be clicked on, a recent report in Chief Marketer indicated that it’s a channel with the most economical conversions, where the average email marketing campaign raises $40 for every $1 spent.

In contrast to the eye-candy of moving images and sound broadcast on Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter, email has some limitations in the creativity department, but it can be more specifically personalised to your target audience than social media, making it better way to engage. Communicating with an audience using their name, geographic location at the best time of day for them to open your message, massively increases open and click through rates.

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Jul 15

How Sweet Is Your Personal Brand?

By Lauren | Brain food , Insight , Personal Branding

One of the special treats we experienced while in Chiang Mai was afternoon tea at Dhara Dhevi, a luxury resort set in 60 acres with architecture based on the historic Lanna Kingdom and some of the world's most beautiful accommodation.

For all appearances it looks authentically Thai with peaked roofs, teak panels and a traditional Wat and gardens We felt like we were stepping back in time, exploring a beautifully restored ancient venue with an historic past. It was actually built in 2009, highlighting the fact that appearances can be deceiving and when it comes to branding it’s all about how you make people feel.

The Dhara Dhevi Macaroons are famous in Chiang Mai and you can buy them in a number of shops around the city, but to really experience this brand you need to go there and immerse yourself in the experience of a high tea.

Of course there were personal branding lessons aplenty at Dhara Dhevi

Here are some delectable Personal Branding treats to help you sweeten up your brand and become irresistible to your ideal prospects:

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Jun 30

Business Book Backfire

By Lauren | Brand Magnet , Marketing

A recent examination of Amazons catalogue indicated there are over 1.8 million business books available, with 22,161 new books added just in the last 90 days.

But how many of them get read?

According to Amazon 2015 sales data, on average 37 business books are sold each day. But they lag far behind the massive fiction book sales (634 sales per day) and rank 8th in non-fiction sales, well behind teen & young adult, religion & spirituality, children’s books and biographies.

CLick image to view larger size

Of course business books are not always written to be sold. Many are used to provide profile for the author, to add credibility to their credentials.

The e-book has become the modern day business card, and it definitely helps to launch a personal brand when you have a book to your name. It’s just that not all business books are created equal, probably because it’s just a bit too easy to produce one.
So why do so many business books never see the light of day?

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Jun 20

Content Marketing Gets Real

By Lauren | Brandworking , Marketing

Gary Vaynerchuk once suggested every company needs to become a media company, creating valuable content customers can enjoy and interact with.

And he’d be right.

A recent Vanderbilt University study found that people had more positive reactions to advertisements that were told as stories than those who used facts and arguments.

Which is why native advertising such as sponsored ads, promoted posts, advertorial style or product placements have begun to take over from standard advertising tactics.

So why does storytelling resonate so much better with consumers brains than facts?

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Jun 05

6 Steps To Create A Sticky Personal Brand

By Lauren | Insight , Personal Branding

The Bua Tong Waterfalls are a delightful day trip from Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand. They are also known as the “Sticky Falls”, because of the lime content in the water, making the rocks viscous enough to easily walk up the three tiered, fast flowing cascade.

This quirk of nature certainly confused our brains, which totally expected the rocks to be slippery (and in some patches where algae grew they were), but each time we tentatively placed a foot in the water to ‘walk up the waterfall’, we found a grippy surface we could be sure of.

You can watch a video of the sticky falls here:

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May 27

Your Style = Your Self Confidence

By Lauren | Insight , Personal Branding

The Chiang Mai Night Bazaar is minutes from our apartment and we frequently pop down for dinner, yes our family of 3 can eat a delicious meal including drinks for around $12, so it is an easy option!

We weave through the night market stands and street sellers with their fake brand handbags, electronics and trinkets (yes we’ve bought a few too) and of course often see the very glamorous and glitzy ‘show-girls’ promoting the nightly cabaret.

I got to chat with them briefly the other night and yes, for a tip I also got photos and a video (watch below) to ask them about why it’s so important to look so good.

It takes about an hour for them to get ready for the show (shorter time than I thought it might, which goes to prove, once you know your style, you can look great in an instant) and it’s a lot of fun, making them feel very 'happy'...

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May 18

Give Your Personal Brand Some Zip

By Lauren | Insight , Personal Branding

One of the must-do’s while we were in Chiang Mai Northern Thailand was the Flight Of the Gibbon zip line made famous by the Amazing Race program and we weren’t disappointed.

With over 7 kilometres of zip line stretching high in the canopy, one section an awesome 800 meters long and the possibility of seeing the gibbon apes in their natural environment, adventuring into the mountain jungles of the area was an absolute must.

Interestingly the zip line facility was initially developed by a Kiwi guy and built in just 3 short months. He passed away a few years ago from skin cancer, but the ingenuity and innovation in the platforms, bridges and staircases that link each section lives on as his legacy.

They also have a keen focus on the environment, taking the time to teach visitors about the village and its ecology, the plants and animals and how they are supporting replanting and care for the natural habitat.

Apart from fun and excitement, what on earth can zip lining through the trees possibly teach us about personal branding?

I was amazed at just how many lessons there actually were, and they are pretty zippy to implement too: Watch the video here.

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May 08

The Itty-Bitty-Shitty-Committee Is Killing Your Personal Brand

By Lauren | Insight , Personal Branding

The #1 one thing that is holding you back from becoming well known, well paid and wanted is….You!

If you question whether you are really that good or simply delusional, or consider at times that you are tricking people out of their money because they don’t really need you or that you’re not that good and not worth that much, you are holding yourself back.

And if you believe that there are way better experts out there and that you can’t really charge $$$ for what you do because you don’t have any expertise, you’re nothing special and everyone already knows how to do what you do, then you are only swindling yourself.

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