Building Your Brand

Buy a domain name, ideally in your name, and define what your site should be; create a basic calling-card site with a bio, links, and a contact page.

Learn how to hire a site designer by choosing a reliable freelancer over a firm, researching references, testing sites across browsers, and building a WordPress-based, budget-friendly site.

Balance SEO with high quality content to avoid ranking tricks. Write blogs and input full articles for better search visibility, and add meaningful links and social icons to drive traffic.

Build your brand on Facebook and Instagram by creating a professional fan page, sharing relevant updates to a targeted audience, and using your real name as your consistent handle.

Build your brand on Twitter by sharing engaging content, avoiding constant self-promotion, and live-tweeting big events with hashtags. Master three networks—Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter—to gather more followers.

Create a focused blog on your own site that strengthens your brand, using trends to map topics, ask questions, run surveys on Twitter, and guest blog to attract traffic.

Write for other sites to boost your career by submitting pieces to Huffington Post, Thought Catalog, and Hello Giggles, aiming for about 800-word posts, then pitch as you contribute more.

Sell yourself as an expert to editors and present clips that prove your interests. Pitch ideas proactively, treat pitches as communication currency, and handle editors with respect.

Flesh out your site by expanding the original design with a Twitter feed, published clips, links to favorite blog posts, and a thoughtful, regular newsletter.

Learn to host a Twitter chat to boost your brand by coordinating with industry leaders and emceeing the event. Use a dedicated hashtag and prepare questions.

Network however you can by attending events and meetups, and by sharing your work with influential bloggers on platforms like Facebook and Twitter; develop thick skin to handle feedback.

Develop a strong ebook idea, verify its originality, and choose a title not in use on Amazon. Compare self-publishing with traditional publishing and hire an editor to ensure quality.

Publish your book by getting a cover and e-reader formatting for Kindle, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords, then set royalties to 70% at 2.99–9.99 (65% otherwise).

Promote your e-book by leveraging blog and social media audiences, running contests and prizes, and securing excerpts and coverage to drive sales and lower Amazon rankings.

Turn your book into an audiobook by recording and uploading to Audible with room tone, opening and closing credits, a five-minute sample, and royalties on Kindle single and Audible.

Learn to boost visibility by getting listed on media networks like ProfNet and HARO, and using PR Newswire and ExpertClick to connect with reporters.

Getting on TV can boost your brand and credibility with reliable, on-camera performance. Use each appearance to showcase your topic, build clips for promotion, and pitch yourself to future shows.

Create and publish your own podcast to amplify your brand, showing that independence from large networks can yield success. Start quickly—you can post a podcast in about an hour.

Plan your podcast by dividing topics into sections—opening monologue, interview, and games—to build segments, then record with a USB microphone and publish via a hosting network to iTunes, encourage ratings.

Writers can earn money by building credibility and marketplace presence, inviting paid opportunities through teaching, hosting classes, or conferences.

Explore building a lucrative college speaking circuit by contacting speaker agents, submitting a strong video to NAC, and booking showcases that fund travel and generate ongoing income.

Craft a memorable college speaking video by preparing a 45–60 minute speech, memorizing it, using a photo-based PowerPoint, filming several takes, and editing to a crisp three-minute showcase.

Embrace self-promotion in a social media obsessed world and lead the pack by helping people with what you know, not selling when you don't have.