Branding Yourself? What to do?

What does it take to brand yourself?
What is Branding?
How do I brand myself?
Why is branding important?

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These are all questions I have asked myself NUMEROUS times. They are also questions that I am STILL finding the answers to.
The AMA (American Marketing Association defines "branding" as "a name, term, sign, symbol, design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers." For reference go to http://marketing.about.com/cs/brandmktg/a/whatisbranding.htm

When I first read this I thought "WOW, what a mouthful" but as I began to understand it, this became one of the best definitions for branding I could find. Allow me to simplify it. Branding yourself simply means giving yourself a "name" that others will recognize such as Pepsi, Coke, Pizza Hut. All of which are Brands.

So how do we "brand" ourselves? The best answer I have is what I am doing right now. Giving people VALUE for free. Once you give them value they begin to know you, like you, and kind of trust you. As they continue to come to you for answers they will bring more people to you which will essentially "brand" your name, products, and services. You can give FREE info to people in forms of books, knowledge, or anything of value to the other person that they can use to benefit from.
First you must understand what your customer wants or needs. You can't sell ice to an Eskimo but you can sell him a heater.
Once you identify what they want you show them that you have value to give to them for free so they will trust you when you show them you have what they want. You can't just SELL SELL SELL. You have to build a rapport. To find out how you can go here for reference.
Build a Rapport

Once you have a friendship you can then show them you have what they want. But let them sell themselves! This is the most important thing I can think of. When you chase someone they RUN AWAY. But when you let them look for themselves they buy!

Branding is SOO important only if you want to have profit in ANY business you are in. If you don't want to make a significant income then you don't have to worry about branding. BUT if you want more then you have to become more. People have to know, like, and trust you. So start a business NOT by making a fancy site, or by buying A TON of products. Start it by being valuable to the marketplace. Having something that others want. EVEN if it is just your knowledge. After you do that word of mouth advertising is how you get MORE customers and it will spread like wildfire!

If you have ANY questions feel free to contact me through my blog or directly to my email or even skype.
Skype: corey.otten
Email: corey@successwithcorey.com
http://successwithcorey.com/