Why brand Yourself?
Today’s What’s Up Wednesday, I talk about the importance of branding yourself as the go to expert even as an affiliate.
Just because you’re an affiliate marketer doesn’t mean you’re off the hook for branding. You could adopt this not necessary attitude – but it certainly won’t help you build a flourishing online business.
Yeah, you may make some sales and commissions – but you won’t see your profits explode without it.
To achieve the top tier levels of affiliate income in any market, you still have to brand yourself as a leader in your niche – and it doesn’t mean you have to create your own products to do it.
Leaders are coaches and guides, not necessarily innovative product creators.
Unique sales position
Figure out a unique point of view for your business that reflects the message you want to share and others will remember.
Don’t just be the “home improvement guy”. Think of it in a way that will build a buzz around your brand. Have you ever heard of the Fly Lady?
Her gig is all about cleaning and organizing your home – on the fly. Nothing heavy duty or overly detailed – just enough to help you sustain neatness and not go insane. She’s wildly popular. You can develop a brand like that.
Curate
Start curating information for your niche. Curation is when you go out and gather information in your niche, sort through it and then select bits and pieces to share on your site – even provide your own commentary about it.
You can think of it like how a museum curator goes around the world finding pieces for the museum and then shares them with visitors and walks around giving the history and background on it.
Graphics
Have professional graphics done for your site. You really want to have a design that reflects the message you want to project to your customers.
If you’re good at graphics, then create your own – but if you’re new, it’s always best to hire a professional. It’s possible to have an entire mini-site design done for under $200 that’s unique for you and represents your brand.
Social Network Sharing
Don’t forget to share on all of the major social networks. Many top marketers in the world have a presence on multiple social networks. Make sure you are part of whatever is trendy at the time – Twitter, Google Plus, Facebook, Pinterest and more.
Conduct interviews
Ask to interview other experts in your niche. You can create weekly or monthly interviews with other experts and leaders in your niche, making your website home and the go-to place where tons of great advice is shared.
Develop your own product
Whenever you can, it is a good idea to start working on your own product for the niche. Having your own book or course will further your position as an authority figure. You can even outsource the process to a ghostwriter and put your name on it.
Final thoughts
As you can see, branding yourself and business helps to keep you in the minds of others. Not only that, but it also helps you to build a reputation as the go-to person. Once this happens, everything from sales to traffic generation becomes easier.
What about you? Have you made a concerted effort to create your own brand? Something memorable and unique that sets you apart from the rest? Perhaps you can share your thoughts, ideas, opinion or questions below!
When it comes to branding, it’s all about the USP in my opinion… otherwise you blend in with everybody else.
Great article Michel, thanks for sharing! 🙂
I agree that the USP is important, but I’ll be covering in a future article something better referred to as the Irresistible Offer
Hi Michel, I like the eg. you gave above. I had been wondering what exactly is curation n how does it work. With your museum eg., I got a clearer picture now. Thanks for that.
Branding, interesting ‘Fly Lady’. What a name and preposition. Brilliant.
Everyone can make a name for him / herself. Simply because everyone is unique n social. It’s really the ‘top of the mind’ recall that sets each apart. Especially when comes to biz.
Awesome post 🙂
Exactly, Sandy and thanks for the complement! 🙂
Aww…I kind of like the “home improvement guy.” And no; I have never heard of Fly Lady. But joking aside, your points are good advice.
Curation is a good way to quickly put together interesting articles. But be sure to give credit where credit is due.
I love graphics and am always looking for ideas that improve my messages. Some are bloopers, but it is something I enjoy working with. So it is difficult for me to agree that you should outsource your graphics. Perhaps your logo and header should be outsourced if you know nothing about graphics.
The “home improvement guy” could work if you are on PBS or similar channel every week 😉
I did mention that you could do your own graphics if you are good at it and it doesn’t occupy a lot of your time. I do almost all of my own graphics for this site and my other sites. But there are times when it becomes overwhelming and time consuming – that’s when outsourcing can be beneficial or when you have little talent with it and it comes off as… well, bad! 🙂
Great tips, Michel. Affiliate marketing is a very viable and lucrative business for some. Even done part time, you can build up a nice income for yourself.
Yes, affiliate marketing is a good way to make money online. That is why it is important to develop a brand around it so that you can build a lasting business with it. 🙂
Some great advice here Michel and agree that it is so important to work on creating a brand for yourself. Can be a little harder if you promote more than one niche though.
It sure can be harder to build separate brands when promoting multiple niches, Sue! 🙂
Hi Michel,
Great post, my friend.
I can’t say that I’ve ever heard of the Fly Lady. Her wings probably haven’t brought her over here.
I especially like the point about curating. All too often people seem to think that it’s about copying and pasting content and just slapping it together. But your point about a what a curator in a museum does is spot-on and it’s that way that content curation should be done, presenting it in a way that really makes it your own.
All in all, some great points about branding there, Michel. 🙂
»Glenn«
Thanks Glenn! I appreciate the compliments and the visit. 🙂
Hi Michel!
I recently discovered your excellent blog, while leaving a comment on Andrea Ansari’s excellent blog.
And I see that you are an expert and very experienced affiliate marketer.
So I knew your site would definitely be worth visiting!
As tons of inexperienced newbie online marketers attempt affiliate marketing in some form or fashion initially, in order to get their feet wet online so to speak.
And the vast majority fail miserably! So any knowledgeable, experienced source such as yourself, that’s willing to offer proven guidance, is definitely worth listening to!
I too now (thanks to you!) and your very simplified explanation, have a much better grasp and understanding of what’s meant by the phrase “content curation.” So thanks for that!
I’ll definitely be studying your proven methods more closing going forward! Thanks!
Wow, I appreciate the complements – you helped make my day! 🙂