What is a Domain Name? It's the name that you will give to your website. It's the URL that people will type in to gain access to whatever you are offering online. It's the name that over time people will come to associate with you.
Choosing a domain name is step that requires careful consideration and should involve some research for a number of reasons:
1)   You can make the decision to use your name; however, while I strongly recommend that you purchase your name if it's available, if you are new to the internet you may want to park it temporarily. An important reason for this recommendation is that you may not be sure at this stage what you want your name to represent in the online community. You may need time to determine how you'd like to brand yourself online and what (more…)
A customer is anyone for whom you provide a service or sell a product and the names or terms customers are referred to may differ depending on your market. A customer may be called a client, a purchaser, a buyer, or even a student. A customer who has not yet made a purchase or exchange of service or product may be referred to as a prospect. Regardless of the terminology unique to your business the bottom-line remains the same: your customer if the lifeline of your business. The service that you as the business owner provides will have a direct impact on the success or failure of your online business and so it becomes critical to be sure that you always provide superior customer service. This is a part of building your personal brand.
In building your brand online your goal should be to be recognized as someone who goes over and beyond what is normally required to take care of their customers. I happen to like the term ‘over-deliver.' No one usually complains if you over-deliver. This is the kind of reputation that will set you apart from the pack and make you stand out. On the other hand using underhand tactics and not keeping your promises is the way to go to experience the death of your business. Pete Blackshaw says it very well in the title of his book, Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000: Running a Business in Today's Consumer-Driven World. (more…)
Yesterday we talked about 5 personal action steps that are essential to building your brand for success online. Today we will focus on how to build your brand in practical ways. What are some of the action steps you should start taking, if you have not done so already, to build your reputation online? This is only a brief list, but it covers 4 of the most readily available steps you can take and they are all free. These are also the first four steps that were recommended to me by my Mentors and have proven to be very effective.
1) Join Social Networking Sites and set up a well thought out Profile on each. You want to be authentic but reveal only what is relevant and in keeping with the brand you are building. The sites most frequently recommended are: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
2) Blogs: You may start your own blog, which is one of the easiest way to become known online. If that seems daunting at first or you don't have the know-how, start by leaving comments on blogs in the category you will be focusing on initially. Leave meaningful comments that add to the conversation and demonstrate your knowledge or expertise. People in your target audience will begin to know you and associate your name with quality information. You will usually be asked to leave your website address when you leave a comment. If you do not have a blog or other static website set up, use an addresses from one of your social networking sites, for example, your Facebook or LinkedIn address.
3) Article Writing: If you like to write and are willing to share your knowledge then article writing is an effective way to build your brand. There are many Article Directors on the Internet and you can easily find these through Google, but the only one I've used is Ezinearticles.com. It's very easy to join and start submitting articles, being careful to follow their guidelines to avoid rejection. These articles can be as short as 250 words. At the end of each article is one of the most valuable ‘real estate' online – your Resource Box, which allows you to include information about yourself that is relevant to the articles you've written as well as include links to your blog, if you have one, or to your profile.
4) Book Reviews: When we read a good book we are usually excited about sharing the valuable information with others. When you read books that are specific to your area of expertise, you have the opportunity to do book reviews for both Amazon and Barnes & Noble. There may be others, but those I personally know of. This benefits you significantly because you first create a profile, then by providing a thoughtful and beneficial review you add value to other readers and enhance your position as an expert. These reviews are also indexed by the search engines, which further builds your brand.
5) Be consistent. A hit and miss attitude does not contribute to success; consistency does.
As you work to build your brand, keep track of your progress towards your goals and be prepared to add further steps or make adjustments to align your vision with your goals.
