If you want to build a brand, you’re going to need courage. There are going to be days where you wake up and ask yourself what you’re doing and think the entire concept is ridiculous. Before you make it, you will sometimes feel as though you have wasted a lot of time and money. The irony is this exactly how you want to feel.
Never Quit
That might seem confusing at first, but it’s simple. Take 100 people that are trying to build a brand. Now put them in that time frame where nothing is working and doubt storms its way in. The vast majority of those people are going to give up on trying to build their brand and fall back on a regular job. In order to be the one that stands out, you need to be the one that doesn’t quit. If you truly believe in what you’re building, then you can take out a personal loan. This will either provide a boost to what you’re building or allow you to pay bills while building the brand. This is the easy part. The next part is the secret to building a brand, and it requires boldness.
Portraying Success
You know the old saying, “fake it until you make it,” but you have probably never applied it to building your business. If you truly want to succeed, you need to make is seem as though you have already made it. This is what will draw people to you. When others see success, they want to be a part of that success. Contrary to popular belief, this doesn’t mean you should buy a big house and an expensive car. That is a good way to get into a world of debt and should be avoided at all costs. There are others ways to spend less money and yet make it appear as though you’re already a big success.
The first thing you want to do is contact your local newspaper and let them know about what you’re building. If it’s a local paper, they’re likely to write about it. From there, you want to parlay that into getting on to a local radio show for an interview. They will likely accept. Radio shows are always looking for guests. At this point, you will have some momentum.
From here, you want to contact a moderate player in your industry in regards to an appearance. For example, if you write poker strategy books, then you want to contact a moderate-sized poker room and ask them if they would like to have you as a bounty in one of their poker tournaments. You can bring some books with you to give away. Remember to sign them and talk to other players. Once they get to know you, the word will spread. Be sure to give all of them your social media counts. This can be applied to any type of business.
Putting It All Together
At this point, you will have been in the newspaper, on a radio show, and a guest at a relatively popular venue in your industry. Once you mention all of this on social media, others are going to want to follow you. And you can do all this by taking out a small personal loan just to cover food and travel costs. This, my friend, is the secret to building a brand. It’s more about networking than anything else.