How to Create a Brand?

How about you watch your competition closely, and see how they branded their own products, and what they did to create a brand.


How about watching the masters, so you don't make the same mistakes as them?


I think those two would be the MOST effective and helpful when it comes to creating your own brand, and knowing what to do. Just check out Frank Kern. He's the big buzz on here all the time.


But why is he such a buzz all over the place? He used to just be "some guy" too. What did he do to change that?


Look at Eben Pagan as well. He branded his things as well. How did he do that? He used to be some guy too! Or how about T Dub Jackson and "the magic of making up"...he was just some guy too at one point and time.


There are tons of public examples of what to do, how to do it, and also how to do it effectively. I suggest then that you watch them, take strict notes, and IMPLEMENT those things into your own actions.


Being the best in your market DOES NOT get you noticed. Neither does a very presentable website.


There are tons of those things floating around, but why aren't they all #1? Why aren't they all known?


The difference is what some did, that others did not. I have seen many products, which are actually the best in their business and the best of their kind, however they are not well branded, nor are they well known.

Also some more tips:


#1: Make it simple and easy.

If people have to guess what it's about, or find it too difficult they will leave. This relates to the product, your salescopy and even your marketing of the product itself.

Simplicity sells. Want some examples? Look at the launch of apple "I" products. They are so simple. Other MP3 players have tons of buttons and gadgets and can do 1000 times more things than the original Ipod did, but the Ipod conquered and is now pretty much the #1 mp3 player.


Why is that? BECAUSE SIMPLICITY SELLS.


Look at walmart as well. Everything there, for a rather cheap price...that's simple for people. Instead of having to go all over to get this and that, they can just head over to walmart, and without draining their wallet. That's simple for people.

WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE SIMPLE?


People are lazy. They want things fast and NOW. If they could they would get the world handed to them on a silver platter. You are the silver platter.


What about being easy? What does that mean?

Why are automatic vehicles so popular? They are EASY to use. Manual vehicles with the stick shift are becoming a thing of the past, because people prefer the COMFORT of having something EASY to work with.


Why is FARMVILLE so popular as well? Because it's exciting? Because it's stimulating? Because it is challenging? HECK NO, because it's EASY and SIMPLE.


Therefore, keep your website easy to read, easy to understand, and keep whatever products you are selling to the point and as effectively married to COMMON SENSE as possible.


#2: Make sure it actually solves a problem EVERYONE encounters!

Sure people have problems all the time. But does your product speak to everyone, or just a SMALL group of people, who once their problem is solved, will pretty much never mention or think about your product ever again?


There is a reason why the health niche and relationship niche are ALWAYS ON FIRE. People are ALWAYS going to be having issues there. People fall sick DAILY. People also encounter others DAILY, which means they are always in a relationship one way or another with another human being.


Therefore, if you had a product in either of the above niches (and others too like this example), you will always find them coming back, and that THEREFORE brands your product for itself.


They will need more and more, always, and unless you are delivering something which can give them more and more, you are not successfully branding, and you are not successfully reaching you client base


Your client base is IMPORTANT, and true it is important to keep them happy, and it's also important to make sure they are so happy that 'word of mouth' spreads. They will unknowingly become your little affiliates, telling people about your product, and freely promoting it, because it solves their problems as they come.


Who doesn't love something that solves all of their problems, or close to? That is a powerful way to get something done, and also an even more powerful method to brand something...That is what Eben Pagan did.


He actually answered people's questions, and even gave things away for free. When people feel they are getting a value for something, they will TALK about it in great detail. TALK is key, which brings me to my next point:


#3: Get the word out NOW, and get it out to as many SOURCES as possible!

What do major companies do when they have a new product coming out? They get the word out. They create HYPE. They make everyone talk about it, and they make everyone become so excited that they are practically peeing in their pants!


Look at Frank Kern, once again. Every time he brings out something new, even if not directly, there is a post here on the forum now talking about it, discussing it, or asking what people THINK.


HAVING PEOPLE TALK ABOUT YOU, is SO IMPORTANT, when you want to brand something, even if what they are saying is bad, they are still talking about YOU, NOT YOUR COMPETITION!


So consider the fact that their energy is on you. Now let's get a little more specific here:


Twitter, Facebook, TMZ, etc etc etc


What do these websites do? They provide people with FAST updates on things. When they get the news, THEY ARE IMMEDIATELY letting others know. That is why these things have become so popular. You can tell mass amounts of people one thing in one go, instead of having to email each person specifically, or call each person, you just tweet it, or blog about it etc etc etc....


But either way, you are getting the word out. That is why twitter is on top now. People love INSTANT things, INSTANT news, INSTANT updates, and keeping to point #1, they also love easy and simple things.

Twitter is easy and simple, because it forces people to get a message out in (I believe, could be wrong, but still they limit it) 100 characters or less. So you get straight to your point.


Look at the websites FML, (fmylife.com), short and sweet, and to the point, but also giving information.


Now I am straying here a bit, but the main point is that you recognize the fact that you need to get the word out. Write about it, blog about it, submit to RSS feeds, get others to talk about it, make videos about it, have someone famous promote it or mention it, etc etc etc...


Do ALL of the above, because when you are trying to brand something, there is nothing more vital than talk, because if no one's talking about it, no one's hearing about it, and if no one is hearing about it, you won't be getting many sales.


#4: Give Away The Secrets (BUT NOT ALL)!

Something my mentor told me is that he may show me the lock, and may even unlock it for me, BUT he will ALWAYS have the key. Which means, that it's not a bad thing to reveal the secrets and let people know things, but you should always be one step ahead, and you should also ALWAYS be in control of how much information you are giving out.


See, this is where you will set yourself apart from other competition in a HUGE and DRASTIC way. You will be giving people NEW information, information which they CANNOT find anywhere else, and this is THE MOST CRITICAL point when trying to brand something.


It's not a brand if it can be found anywhere, it's just a knock off then, right? So once again looking at my previous examples, let's talk about Frank again.


What is Franky up to this time? Well he is giving out marketing tips, those same tips that SOME may know, but never talk about. Why do others never talk about them? Because they are afraid that if everyone knows their secrets, that everyone will come in and overpower them.


Of course that just isn't true, and they live in a fear based reality, but that fear based reality left the window WIDE OPEN for Frank to come in and take those tips and market the heck out of them, so much so that people now look up to him and await his very next move every single time....because he tells the secrets NO ONE ELSE WILL.


Again, looking at Eban Pagan, he did the same thing. He exploded into the dating Niche, because he actually gave tips other experts were keeping to themselves, people saw Eben's work, and of course it skyrocketed from there.


HE also talks about this, giving away the secrets and free information in his own marketing products, and that's coming from a guy (Eben) who makes I believe 10,000$+ a day from affiliates alone.


Knowledge does not die out, and when you give out a secret, that doesn't mean it's the end all, end of the earth sort of situation. NOPE! Information is always coming, and you will always be learning new things. Which means you will always have new secrets to share, and even more secrets....which is why you should never be afraid to give out real secrets.


You just don't give out ALL of the secrets. That is what sets you apart, and it's also what creates even more hype, and it's self branding...you brand yourself by setting yourself apart.


Remember that when you get the balls to truly market, to do the thing that everyone else is too scared to do, you AUTOMATICALLY win. You AUTOMATICALLY earn respect, and AUTOMATICALLY receive the attention by default, because you are doing the thing that no one else can. (of course as long as you are doing good things lol...but you will find that still stands true for the opposite, because people fear power).

outstanding, 24/7 customer service.

..plus, an offer "they" can't refuse, like "your squeeze page design done in 24hs or you pay nothing".

Little tip that had worked for me: Use the same avatar in all forums that you had joined (never change it). Rent the avatar spaces from popular members on busy forums.

Hi willyboy,

Building a brand starts with separating yourself from your competitors. You have to find a focal point where you will be the best choice for your market. From here, your brand will be remembered for what you do best.

Hope that helps,

Aira

Building an "online" brand sounds very limiting.

I have to ask, a brand for you? A brand for a company? Or both?

The longest response so far is helpful and very informative for increasing reach in marketing efforts, (WHAT to do) but not so much for understanding what a brand actually is and how to create an effective one.

For the sake of simplicity, study some of the big automotive manufactures. Look at their media. Their logos. Emblems. Their advertising. Their special events. Their websites. The colors they use throughout their brochures, websites, and every other form of advertising.

Then, ask yourself this question..

What's their voice?

In other words, what message about their company are they trying to get across to you? What is it that they want to make sure you know about their company?

Take Range Rover for example.

Everything they print, put into video or otherwise ooozes "Luxury vehicles that are fun, dependable and rugged".

Get it?

One person who responded touched on something important about all this briefly.

What they were describing, I think, was a unique selling position (USP). But a brand of a company or yourself encompasses that. A USP is a very small part of the brand.

A USP should match the brand or "main voice" of the company.

Every piece of media from a well branded company should, without question, voice the voice- colors, text style, message tone, and the way in which it's presented to the target market.

Everything is connected, and easily identified. Every piece of media fits. It all makes sense.

You don't even have to read a piece of literature from Range Rover to know that there is no mistake that it's a Range Rover ad. Or a Range Rover video. You can simply glance at it and know for sure.

If you were to collect, spread out and look at every piece of printed material they had- you'd see the main voice. You'd see the resemblance. A common denominator.

That's effective branding.

All the pieces mold together to clearly form the main voice of the company and what it's about.

Where to go from here?

Ask yourself..

1. What is it about you or your company that gives people a powerful reason why they should do business with you? This is your USP. Make it a short, to the point sentance that answers the question: What's in it for my potential customer?

2. Research those big automotive dealers. If you're serious about branding, hire a pro that knows about brand creation, or learn more about the use of color in your marketing as a start. There's a reason why hospitals use light green walls in patient rooms, instead of "fire engine red".

3. Understand that creating a brand is hard work. It takes a lot of thinking after you get your USP. You'll need to learn things about typography, color, and yes, even how photographs can support or weaken the brand itself. But you'll be building a sturdy foundation for anything you publish or use for marketing thereafter.

Hope this gets you on the right track.

Grant

Also, be patient, Rome wasn't built in a day.

Success leaves clues.

they are everywhere.

but nothing will get you anywhere
like good old experience.

Even if you have no idea what your doing!

Ready Fire Aim can be a pretty good motto here.

If you have created a logo and site design, use that brand that you've created throughout all of your marketing materials including creating Facebook pages, Twitter, other social networks, etc.

Also use it in your products.

Realistically, in today's marketplace, it is unlikely your product or service
will have any clear superiority over your competition. If you are honest
with yourself, you'll probably realize that your product is in fact inferior
to that of your best competitors.

This is nothing to be ashamed of. Fiat is an inferior car to Mercedes,
yet both do well in the marketplace. Their products are more the same
than different; both take you from here to there and protect you to
some degree while doing it.

Why then, if Fiat is the inferior car, does everyone buy a Mercedes?

Well, you can laugh, but I'm trying to show you something. Buyers have
different criteria for making their decisions. In this way a market may
be segmented and your company can set itself apart from the competition.

There are really only a handful of factors on which you can compete:

1. speed of delivery
2. product quality
3. product price/value
4. quality/speed of support

Even if your product is not the best, chances are you can undermine
the competition (who does in fact have a better product) on one
of these 4 criteria. Then your marketing needs to call out to people
for whom the criteria you excel at is of highest importance. There
is an art to this of course - part of it called "positioning", explained
in the article below:

Positioning - What It Is and How to Use it to Make Lots of Money With Your Marketing
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