Recently I have been writing a series on blog branding. I hope people will get some ideas for how they can improve the blog, personal or company brand with some of the tips I have included.
Many people asked that I link the series up so I have implemented the WordPress “in-series” plugin so now each post has a table of contents and next and previous links.
Then it occurred to me to open up the topic to you guys!
Have you written a good post on branding?
- Blog Branding
- Personal Branding
- Branding Companies
- How are personal, blog or company brands different? The same?
- Pro-Branding
- Anti-Branding
- Branding Is Dead?
- Branding Will Never Die?
- Agree with me about Branding?
- Disagree with me about Branding?
- Anything to add to my series?
- Found other content elsewhere you want to tell us about?
Whatever you have got, send your links to me (even if you think people might have seen it already) with a short description and I will compile a list of all the contributions on Wednesday.
Just fill out my contact form, or if you have my email address, email me directly. Make sure you mention it is for the “Branding Round-Up”.
I want to know what you think about branding in all of its contexts and arenas. I know you have got some good stuff so get writing and sharing 
If you are interested in posts concerning Personal Branding, my blog is dedicated to the subject matter. All the posts revolve around Personal Branding.
Let me know one post from your blog that stands out for you and I will include it in the round-up
Personal Branding is over-rated. People should just discover me as I go about my day doing what I do. Shouldn’t my every move be the inspiration for discussion and debate? Isn’t my image clear from what I say and do? Why should I have to be bothered writing about it so that you lazy people can just read about it instead of experiencing it for yourself?
The phone lines are open…
Kind of the “build it and they will come” school of personal branding, eh?
Exactly – I know that any day now I will be discovered as I sit at my computer and type. Hollywood, Fox News, and Paris Hilton will be at my door just to be near me. Customers will line-up to buy what I sell just because I am me.
This is why my phone lines are open…so I can take that important phone call. It’s a good thing that some customer is not ringing me up right now because I need the line to be free.
Well, maybe when I have 3000+ feed readers I’ll be more famous, popular, and successful. Perhaps I should set a goal and work on achieving that? Hmmm…but it is Friday. I’ll think about it over the weekend and get back to you.
Yeah, time for a beverage. Success can wait, beer/juice/tv/newspaper is calling
Thanks Chris. Just last night I was posting about branding inspired by your series and asked if you would make it easier to find all the posts in the series.
I guess I have some good timing.
Cool, thanks Steven, I will look up your post and include it in the round-up
http://personalbrandingblog.wordpress.com/2007/06/18/the-3-most-important-personal-branding-skills-to-have/
Hi Chris
I will send few of my posts related to branding through your contact page.
It’s a useful effort.
Rajesh Shakya
Helping Technopreneurs to excel and lead their life!
@ Anti-branding: Isn’t it obvious that an empty brand which doesn’t fulfill its promises won’t ever be successful? Isn’t branding and especially personal branding about creating and selling a coherent package, wrapping some kind of legend around it and refining and controlling subsequent expectations for future expressions?
Also, we once established that “it’s not about what is delivered but about how it arrives” — the way I wear my pants, the manner I lace my shoes, style my hair, and keep my posture are fortunately/unfortunately elements that DO make a difference, hence, branding isn’t dead yet and won’t be too soon. The same goes for corporate identities and blog layouts, color schemes, the punctuation and grammar of comments…
Branding will die when someone invenst a new name for the same game.
[@ Chris: E-mail sent separately.]
Cheers,
Alex
@Dan @Rajesh – Thanks
@Alexander
Funny, I said something similar on Hughs blog back in 2004 (last comment)
Just emailed you a bunch of links, Chris. Of course, today’s biggest example of brand love trumping reason is the iPhone release. People haven’t seemed to notice there are no lines at the AT&T stores.
What? So, “The ‘new’ AT&T” isn’t cutting it?
What’s worse than using ‘branding’ as a verb instead of an adjective is when people do that with ‘positioning’–which is basically the sum total of what your customers think of you, divided by their apathy for what you tell them to think about your brand.
Agreed, we need to separate in our conversations the terms and the actual “things”. Hugh thinks people who use the word “brand” are assholes. That is wrong in my opinion, (*cough* *cough*) but there is a grain of truth in that it is easy to fixate on “branding” and “positioning” as things that put nice lipstick and wigs on pigs and call it a beauty pageant
Chris, yeah, the notion of uniqueness is what appears to be the lowest common denominator for brands these days — and the only thing with SOME marketing future.
What Hugh said about Microsoft bloggers and Apple not-bloggers is about DEFENDING a corporate ego/unique brand which existed at Apple in contrast to Microsoft which, on the other hand, didn’t have to fear CREATING a brand on top and on the foundations of personal or corporate uniqueness(es).
Trying to extrapolate, the static brand which needs defense of any kind IS dead, while the dynamic, recursively self-inventing and re-creating brand is immortal.
Yes, the construction of a static, cardboard and plastic façade brand won’t stand up to todays market, but brands will always exist as they are created by your customers regardless. Our best hope is to be consistent in our words and actions and always provide a great, fluid, responsive experience.
Exactly. Brands are created by the costumer and have to live up to their expectations. Consistently dynamic and always responsive, perfect.
Hi Chris,
A new reader of your blog, I’m nevertheless quite the fanatic about branding.
After attending a Ben Mack workshop in Atlanta back in September I created this.
http://msms2.com/Legend_Platform/index.htm
However, I must tell, my newest interests include these topics…
==> a tyranny of words
==> attention deficit trait
==> futilitarianism
==> mindfulness
==> utilitarianism
==> anti-authoritarianism
… All of which go hand-in-hand with branding!
Keep up the excellent work, my friend.
Lark
I post 3 new marketing tips every week on the PERSONAL BRAND MARKETING podBlog for Lawyers, Accountants, Financial planners, Real estate, and Health Experts.
As self-employed experts, we have our own personal branding considerations: Of course, like most professionals we want our positive reputation to proceed us (in our target market community). But experts with certifications and licenses must conform to professional codes of conduct.
This affects our personal brand marketing: Compliance & certifications assure the public that we are just as good as the next guy. This defeats the purpose of positioning our expertise as different and unique.
My podBlog explores clever ways to leverage our Personal Brands (as self-employed certified experts). Case in point…
How well do you know your Compliance Officer?
http://www.viksmarketingblog.com/2007/06/25/how-well-do-you-know-your-compliance-officer/
Bottom-line though, if all we have is our personal brands … then while your ego can inflate indefinitely… our time is limited. The point is to develop a reputation so powerful that we can then endorse other products & people, upon our personal brand platform. That is, we should Leverage our Personal Brand!
Hi Chris: Cat and the great folks at Designers Who Blog have recommended me to you. I do remember quite fondly a series of posts that I made in tribute to Colin Morley, who was a very passionate branding expert with a humanitarian agenda. Colin was killed in 7-7 in London and as we are coming up to the anniversary of his passing, I thought I should mention it. The first is here:
http://www.jackyan.com/blog/2006/06/brand-mystique-tribute-to-colin-morley.html
The rest are linked from there. You may find them useful.
Hi Chris,
I’ve sent you a message through your contact form. I’m liking the idea here and your series of posts is excellent.
Keep up the great writing.
Hi Chris,
The trackback didn’t work on this post, so here you are – http://www.designers-who-blog.com/index.php/archive/chris-garrett-wants-your-branding-links/
Hey Chris,
Thanks for pointing my way to the In Series Plugin. What a marvelously easy way to link all the posts in a series together!!!
Much appreciated.
And LOVING your work by the way – you and Slade Roberson are the only two authority ‘how-to’ pro-bloggers I read, and you compliment each other nicely.
Much joy,
KL
(Can I link Slade?)
http://www.sladeroberson.com/blogging
He rocks too!