Confession: I’m obsessed with thinking up new and original ideas. Unhealthily obsessed?  Maybe.  Some time ago, a reader here commented that there’s “nothing new under the sun”.  In other words – people have been on this Earth for a long time and nearly every good idea has already been taken.  And she was 99% correct.  But that remaining 1%?  That 1% is what keeps me up at night.

Many bloggers today run successful websites and drive loads of traffic by repackaging and finessing work that sits elsewhere on the web.  Take an existing idea, tweak it a bit, slap it on the web, and repeat.  This practice is nearly fool-proof in attracting site visitors and wooing search engines.  But, it is fool-proof in all ways but one – these bloggers are actually fooling themselves.

In my view, your blog should be an outlet of your brain.  Take those one-of-a-kind neurons firing around in that head of yours, and deliver messages that are uniquely yours.  Communicate enough unique messages, and before you know it your “personal brand” tends to emerge.

But, if you are simply regurgitating the ideas of others, you aren’t building a personal brand. You are showing that you can turn on a computer, search the web and use copy/paste.  You and about 3 billion other people.

What can you do then, to recognize great ideas that are already out there?  Lots.  Take this article by Naomi Dunford entitled Make Them Love You. THEN Ask For Money. I read it, and instantly loved it.  My first instinct wasn’t to steal this idea and repackage it on my blog.  My first instinct was to share the hell out of it.  In no particular order, I:

• Tweeted a link to it.
• Shared it in Google Reader.
• Bookmarked it to Delicious.
• E-mailed it to a friend.
• Stumbled it.
• Commented on it.
• Vowed to myself I’d find a way to link to it here (check).

Naomi deserved full credit for a superbly intelligent article, and my network deserved to learn from it.  Mission accomplished.

Admittedly though, reading brilliant ideas from writers like Naomi does make me jealous for about half a second – until I realize that we all have the same opportunity to stretch our brains and find a bit of our own brilliance.  That thought is precisely what keeps me up at night.

Case in point:  This article of mine from last year on using QR codes on resumes and business cards seemed to be an utterly crazy idea at the time.  I hadn’t seen the idea anywhere else.  And when I published it, the post seemed to be a major flop.  But strangely enough, fast forward to today and that article of mine gets more Google hits than any other.  Being that it was (at least to me) my own original idea, it makes me pretty damn proud.

So, my suggestion to you is this:  If you are blogging to build a brand – strive to find ideas that you can claim as yours and nobody else’s. Will you swing and miss at times?  Absolutely.  But keep in mind that those other content regurgitators are never going to hit one out of the park – but you just might.

What do you think? Am I overvaluing the power of new and original ideas?  Or, do you have an original idea of yours that made you particularly proud?

photo credit: Cayusa

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The Stone Age…The Industrial Revolution…The Information Age…we’ve come a long way in the last several thousand years.  Where exactly are we today?  We’ve entered The Era of Social Sharing. Today’s generation is one that salivates to share anything and everything.  Articles, images, videos, location, status updates, etc.

In this web-driven world, sharing and networking go hand in hand.  Give folks the information they want, when they want it – and you become indispensable.  If you need a little help finding ways to share content online, try one of these 11 methods.

11.  Google Buzz

When Google Buzz first launched, there was an amazing amount of, well…buzz.  The buzz has since died down to a bit of a low hum, due to initial privacy concerns and a tendency towards information overload.  But, the fact remains – via its’ GMail integration, Google Buzz has an enormous user base built in.  And it works via mobile.

10.  Digg

Digg.com is a way to share articles and videos that you find particularly compelling.  If enough of your fellow Digg’ers do the same, the content finds its way into a featured position.  Not the most efficient way to share every piece of relevant content you come across – but a good spot for the best of the very best.

9.  Flickr

For the artistically inclined, Flickr represents a fantastic way to share images across the web.  Even for the utterly un-artistic like myself, Flickr is a unique place to store and link to relevant graphic images.

8.  Stumbleupon

Stumbleupon is an often forgotten way to share content online.  The main premise is simple – add links to articles you like, and they enter the stream of randomly served pages that users see.  If other users also like the article, it is served to more and more people.

How do I know that Stumbleupon is still a relevant mode of content sharing?  Roughly 40% of this blog’s traffic is referred by the site.

7.  Google Reader

I can’t explain how much I love Google Reader as a content absorption tool – I simply couldn’t live without it.  But, it is also a fantastic method for sharing content.  By clicking the “share” button after reading an article, it instantly enters the streams of those who follow me.  My RSS feed delivers work from my favorite authors, and my shared items list serves as a repository for the best of the best.

6.  Delicious

Delicious.com is a tasty way to bookmark favorite articles and websites for both storage and sharing.  Firefox and Chrome add-ons make it a one-click process to bookmark any site on the web.  The simple tagging feature allows you to organize bookmarks by category for future reference – at the same time allowing your network to easily sort through your favorite articles.

5.  Linkedin

To some, Linkedin is a static Rolodex of contacts.  To others, it is a dynamic place to share and view content of all sorts with your immediate network and relevant groups.  I highly recommend the latter!  Linkedin is constantly updating their interface to allow for super-simple sharing of status updates, profile changes, and interesting web content.

Who better to share relevant info with than your closest network of professional contacts?

4.  Facebook

Like it or not, Facebook is the 800 pound gorilla of social networking today.  Yet, many forget that the site represents a way to share so much more than mundane daily updates.  By sharing compelling articles in your news feed, you just might surprise a few friends and family.  Similarly, by “Liking” pages or links, you are sharing your approval of that content with your network – a very powerful way to spread content around.

3.  Twitter

Ah, yes – Twitter, the golden child of the social sharing era.  Over 20 billion tweets have been sent to date.  And yes, 40% of them contain pointless babble…but so many other tweets represent a concise way to deliver insights and/or link to long-form content.

Most of the content I share or absorb in a given day comes from my Twitter network.  The most trusted form of shared content is that which is retweeted – signaling that multiple people find it to be compelling (a good sign you will too).

2.  E-Mail

You might not view your old Yahoo! Mail account last used in 1999 to be the ideal form of content delivery.  Yet, behind Facebook, e-mail still represented the 2nd most common way to share information as of 2009.

For the quick and direct delivery of content (one-to-one or one-to-many) e-mail simply can’t be beat.  Tweet an article to 5,000 followers and 10 might read it.  E-mail the same article to 10 colleagues and all 10 just might click the link within minutes.

1.  Your Blog

As usual, there is no better way to communicate than via your very own blog.  For example…when I collect and broadcast the best personal branding articles of the month, I’m able to accomplish several things at once.  I efficiently distribute the info to a wide group, I show the authors my appreciation for their work, and I store the list to be viewed by anyone at a later date.  Triple whammy.

What about you?  Do you use these tools regularly, or are there any other super modes of content delivery that I’ve missed?

Share the Love by gr3m.

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This article by Cassie Wallace is a follow-up to Why Undergrads Can’t Ignore Social Media.  For more of Cassie’s digital marketing, SEO or social media work, visit her website or say hello on Twitter.

Last time, I discussed why undergrads are lacking strong online social media presences, and why they really can’t keep ignoring it.

As I wrote in the 1st article in this 2-part sequence, expanding your social media usage beyond Facebook stalking allows you to “populate the first page of search results for your name with content you control and establish yourself as someone who “gets” it to potential employers.”

“Okay, that’s great,” you’re thinking. “But what do I do?”

First, find out your Google Grade. If you haven’t done much online, it’s probably not so good. And since a majority of employers scope out applicants on Google, that’s not so good either.

So here are the 5 easiest, yet most crucial, ways to establish a stronger brand and produce better search results for your name. (Don’t believe me? Google me. I didn’t have 1 result on the first page 6 months ago.)

1.  Reserve your domain name. It costs about 25 dollars a year on GoDaddy to register and host a .com. Use your full, most frequently used name. Tip: If the .com is taken, try hyphenating or buying the .net or .org.

2.  Read. Keeping up on current trends in your field is crucial to knowing the best way to position your personal brand. In fact, 85% percent of your personal branding efforts should take place behind-the-scenes. Following relevant people on Twitter is an easy way to stay informed; also, sign up and familiarize yourself with Digg, use Google Reader to subscribe to and stay in touch with blogs, and stumble with StumbleUpon to unearth random yet relevant tidbits. Tip: These tools have a learning curve. Take it slow, but keep on plugging. Eventually, your Google Reader will look like a perfectly organized library of industry information.

3. Get at least 85% complete on LinkedIn. This means your current job, 2 previous positions, where you go to school, a profile summary, text in the specialties section, and a photo. The remaining 15% is awarded in increments of 5% for each of 3 recommendations that are required to become 100% complete. It can take some time to connect with people and encourage them to recommend you (and you definitely should).  But, the rest you can do on your own, so there is no excuse for not doing so. Tip: If you haven’t had 2 previous internships, research positions, or other relevant experience, use a job from high school like churning out bagel sandwiches. It looks better than nothing.

4.  Tweet, tweet. Ideally, your Twitter handle would be your full name. If that’s not possible, try to do some variation on it or at least something unique to you. Fill out all of the information, including providing an interesting, professional bio.  Tweet about recent news in your industry, and follow others in your field. ‘Social’ize with them. You’ll be surprised with how quickly you can make connections with people on Twitter; the communication barrier between a CEO and a freshman in college is significantly lowered. Tip: That said, don’t be obnoxious. Learn, synthesize, and comment, but don’t shout opinions like a know-it-all youngin’.

5.  Put something on your domain name. The sooner the better. Even if it’s a one-page, slick, professional, black & white version of your resume with your photo on the side, Google will find it.
Tip: Now that you have something solid on here, put this domain as your Twitter URL and one of your LinkedIn links (the other 2 could be your school and last internship company).

Give it a few weeks to a few months, stay active on social media networks, and check your Google Grade again. I guarantee it will improve, even if I can’t give you your money back for this free post.

Cassie Wallace is a junior at Carnegie Mellon University who specializes in social media and search engine optimization. You can find her marketing portfolio at http://cassiewallace.net, and connect with her on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Photo credit, mburpee.

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A common misconception is that personal branding involves “all broadcasting, all the time”.  In actuality, to build a strong personal brand, the near opposite must be true.  You need to spend a much greater percentage of time bettering and refining your brand than actually showcasing it.  Thus, I’d like to offer the following “85% Rule of Personal Branding”:

While building your personal brand, allocate 85% of your time to behind-the-scenes work and allow 15% for public-facing activities.

The infographic below serves as a visual representation of the rule above.  As seen, the personal branding process can be compared metaphorically to an oceanic iceberg.  Only a small percentage of an iceberg is above water – the bulk of the structure remains hidden, under water.  The same principle applies to your personal branding efforts.  That which is public facing will only make up a small percentage of your actual body of work.

This “rule” need not be adhered to strictly, the percentages are merely a rough guide.  My hope is that it will serve as a reminder that the sometimes monotonous behind-the-scenes work is just as essential as your killer articles and well-timed blog comments.  A constant intake of information is what will inform and educate your brand, and a meaningful conversation behind closed doors can be more beneficial than 100 tweets.

What about you?  What percentage of your branding efforts are behind-the-scenes?

Update: After stellar feedback from Melissa Cooley and Angelique of AFMarCom, I’ve revised the visual to include “in-person networking” in the public view section, and “observe presentations” in the behind-the-scenes category.  An important distinction!

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June is here – time to celebrate the 10 best personal branding articles written in May 2010.  All of these phenomenal articles will fuel your personal brand in some way.  Yet, very few of them reference “personal branding” a single time.  Why do I include them?  Because personal branding is about constant improvement – however you can achieve it.  Enjoy!

How to Build Your Brand Working for Someone Else by Lisa Barone.

“Branded employees sometimes get a bad rap for being time-wasting job hoppers, but the truth is forming a strong personal brand while working for someone else benefits both the employer and employee when done correctly.”

An 18-Minute Plan for Managing Your Day by Peter Bregman.

“How can you stick to a plan when so many things threaten to derail it? How can you focus on a few important things when so many things require your attention?”

We need a trick…”

Career Advice for New Grads in 140 Characters (more or less) by Kelly Lux.

“The class of 2010 is graduating on Sunday.  In their honor and in the spirit of true alumni networking, I asked many of the alums I interact with on Twitter to tweet me their best career advice for 2010 grads, in 140 characters or less.”

Top 10 Ways to Declutter Your Digital Life, 2010 Edition by Kevin Purdy.

“We live out so much of our modern lives on personal computers and web servers—yet so much of it is messy and over-stuffed. Clean up your email, fix your files, and tidy up your digital life with these 10 tips.”

How to Ruin (Or Build) Your Personal Brand by Dave Fleet.

• How to ruin your personal brand
• How to build your personal brand
• Things you can do today

What your personal brand can learn from the legend of the ninja by Christopher S. Penn.

“Ultimately, the goal is for each member of your clan to appear to have the skills of the whole, for you to be seen as a consummate expert alongside your fellow clan members – and the general public may have absolutely no idea that you’re all working together.

Who’s in your ninja clan?”

5 Good Personal Branding Habits for Bloggers by Jacob Share.

“The best habits lead to effective results while becoming second nature so that you don’t even notice yourself doing them. Here are 5 worth making part of your blogging routine.”

5 Good Ways NOT to Network by Nisa Chitakasem on The Undercover Recruiter.

“Networking has been quite a ‘hot’ topic recently and seems to be the ‘thing to do’. Everyone is doing it! I thought that it might be useful to jot down a few learnings and observations of what feel like pretty common mistakes made when ‘networking’ or building connections…”

8 Must-Dos for Aspiring Writers by Amber Naslund.

“…I want to tell you my unabashed truths about what it takes to make writing part of what you do and who you are instead of an accidental task on your list.”

When You are the Brand by Chris Brogan.

“The trick of being in a personal brand is that there’s a big difference between being known, being known for something, and also being able to turn that into business.”

Which was your favorite?  Any glaring omissions from the list above?

Photo credit, Leo Reynolds.

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Last week, Chris Brogan sent the world into a brief tizzy by revealing his services are worth up to $22,000 per day.  If you are reading this, there is a pretty damn good chance that $22k represents a large chunk of your annual salary.

So, why aren’t you getting offers left and right for a paycheck worthy of armed guards and a Brinks truck?  Let’s go exploring for reasons.

Whether you love him, hate him, or are easily intrigued by unique facial hair, you probably know of Chris Brogan.  He is everywhere.  My Google Reader feed tells me that chrisbrogan.com averages 8.9 posts per week, all free for anyone to read.  In 2008, Chris produced this personal branding e-book, and charged a whopping $0 for it.  The guy sends out this newsletter full of information and charges….you guessed it, nothing.

The result of all this incredible content being pumped out for free?  A lot of folks salivating to take it all in.  48,000 blog subscribers and 126,000 Twitter followers soaking it up 140 characters at a time.  Essentially, Chris has been building brand equity over time, keystroke by keystroke.  Throughout the years, his authority and credibility have grown with every unique idea or person or company helped.

Today, it is easy to recognize Chris’ authority on new media marketing, and realize just how valuable it would be for a company to secure his uninterrupted focus.  Yes, even $22,000-for-a-single-day valuable.  So then…

The secret to becoming filthy rich starting “tomorrow”?

Give great stuff away for free today.  Offer even better stuff tomorrow, for a price.

Chris Brogan isn’t the only one to have perfected this art.  Gary Vaynerchuk’s Wine Library TV is on episode #827, and all 827 are available for less than a penny.  Guy Kawasaki has been giving away advice across platforms for years.  Problogger Darren Rowse essentially teaches a free course on professional blogging that is in session every single day.

But, if you want 1-on-1 time with one of these three for consulting or speaking – you might want to plan an extra trip to the ATM, it’s going to cost a pretty penny.

Now, on to you.  How do you compare?  What are you giving away for free today that will build a powerful (and lucrative) brand for tomorrow?  Are you…

• Blogging regularly?
• Making certain your tweets/articles/updates add value to your community?
• Engaging in conversation?
• Sharing the work of others as much as you promote your own?
• Building relationships, not empty follower counts?

What about at work?  The same principles apply at the office too, in an even more concentrated way.  Are you…

• Putting in extra time without being asked?
• Working on projects above and beyond your “job title”?
• Helping co-workers without expecting anything in return?

Essentially, Chris Brogan’s $22,000 revelation is the world’s most effective case study on the positive effects of a strong personal brand (no, not a contrived brand built just for appearance’s sake, but an authentic brand built organically over time).

Compile every public tweet, blog post, guest article and keynote speech – and imagine that instead, Chris kept all that “valuable” information to himself.  He’d still be the same brilliant dude today.  But, who would know it?  Without established credibility, what company would want to shell out even $22 for his day of work, let alone $22,000?

No, you won’t really become filthy rich overnight because you gave away great insights and added value today.  Building a brand isn’t a sprint, and it isn’t even a marathon – to do it right, you are going to be running a long, long time.  And don’t expect the path to be paved with riches.  But the destination? It just might be.

What about you?  Are you “adding value for free”, or are you “keeping it for me”?  Either way – why?

Photo credit, Rodrigo Amorim and Koka Sexton.

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Many blog experts graciously and frequently share their secrets on how to create and maintain an amazing blog.  Unfortunately, I’m neither a blog expert or willing to pretend like one.  Instead, I’ll share with you seven features of my own blog that presently keep it from being superb.  As you read the public airing of my own “suckiness” below, ask yourself whether or not you are making any of these same mistakes.

1. Inconsistency

The top blogs pump out consistently great content literally every day.  Me?  Not so much.  I post an average of 1 article per week here at Personal Branding 101.  I can imagine that if my favorite blog only posted once a week…it wouldn’t be my favorite blog any longer.  Consistency is key when attempting to establish and continue an ongoing relationship with blog readers/subscribers.

For a great example of a consistently awesome blog, check out Altitude Branding by Amber Naslund.

2. Boring design

You know the popular joke about blogs that have clearly been designed by someone’s 14 year nephew?  Well, I don’t even have a 14 year old nephew.  Loyal readers might see the inner beauty of a site, but new visitors are fairly likely to “judge a blog by its cover”.

Check out Jorgen Sundberg’s site Undercover Recruiter for an example of a simple, yet cool design.

3. Lots of words, no video

Last I checked it was 2010, not 1998.  Adding video to a site is so incredibly easy today that there is no justifiable excuse for omitting the element.  Simply including a quick video now and again allows you to connect with your site visitors in a way that just isn’t possible with text articles alone.

For a great example of a wordsmith who also uses video extremely well, check out Chris Brogan and his video archives here.

4. Few links to external resources

No blog is ever going to be a one-stop shop on a subject, no matter how small the niche.  Since my goal is to help educate my readers on the subjects of interest to them, I need to do a way better job of linking to external resources.  By not including a blogroll or resources page, I am doing a disservice to my readers who want to learn more elsewhere.

Check out  Mohammed Al-Taee’s “Resources” section of AltaeeBlog.com for the best example I’ve seen yet.

5.  Lame “About” pages

About pages are the digital equivalent of the Wal-Mart greeter for your blog.  Unfortunately, my About pages are a bit like a bored, out-of-date greeter who is barely interested in making eye contact.   I haven’t done a good job of addressing the likely question on the mind of every About page reader: “How can you help me?”

For a superb example of how a page can answer the question above, check out Miriam Salpeter’s About page on Keppie Careers.

6.  No guest articles

I think I’m a pretty bright guy (and humble too…), but in no way do I consider myself to be the final authority on personal branding, social media, etc.  By not including any guest posts by peers in my field, I’m inadvertently taking a somewhat pompous stance that my opinions are all that need to be shared.

(Consider this an open invitation – would you like to guest post on Personal Branding 101?  Send an e-mail to ryan@personalbranding101.com)

For guest blogging inspiration, check out Matt Chevy’s page detailing his incredible Guest Blog Grand Tour.

7.  Lack of comments

On the surface, a lack of reader comments might not appear to be the blogger’s fault.  But, there is certainly a reason that some bloggers always generate a ton of comments (besides having more readers).  Comments come as a byproduct of an intriguing call to action.  Personally, I need to do a better job of engaging readers, and highlighting the importance of your opinions – not just mine.

Let’s start now – leave a comment below with a link to your site, and be honest – what could you change to improve your blog?

“Sad cookies” by jima. “Comment” by premasagar.

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