Tips for Branding Yourself on the Web
June 2, 2007
For the last year or so now, I’ve been an avid reader of Fast Company magazine. This evening I’ve been spending some time going through archived material on Fast Company’s website. I came across an interesting blog posting dated May 29 by Wendy Marx entitled, “Constructing A Personal Brand“. The posting discusses the phenomenal success of Tim Carter, an expert homebuilder who turned his immense skills into a successful web business at Askthebuilder.com. I encourage you to check out the posting by clicking on the title.
What I found so interesting about the posting wasn’t so much the fact that Carter has been able to transfer his building skills into a writing career, but his tips for creating a successful personal brand. Here they are:
Make the website personal. “I use the first person and have my photo on every page,” says Carter. “It shows that you’re not afraid to put yourself out there. It establishes immediate trust.”
Tell stories. “Don’t lecture but try to teach people through stories,” Carter says.
Solve problems. “The magic is having good high quality content about real problems people are interested in,” Carter says.
It’s a marathon. “If you want instant riches, forget about it,” cautions Carter. “It takes diligence, determination and hard work.”
Once again, the power of story in solving problems is evident.
Nexxgen Media 
June 3, 2007 at 8:10 am
Excellent point about Tim Carter. What he’s done so well is have an authentic voice on his site. He’s folksy, real and you instinctively trust what he has to say. And, he’s connecting his “stories” to real problems people have.
June 3, 2007 at 12:18 pm
I enjoyed this post by Wendy as well. To captivate your audience, stories are a must write. It takes a long time to build a successful brand, as with any business, but you need to work hard to make it happen.