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Is personal branding important in internet marketing?

by fated82
16 replies
I was wondering if personal branding is important to succeed in your im business or is it ok to stay underground (using a pen name) and still make tons of money like the gurus you know do?

what do you think?
#branding #important #internet #marketing #personal
  • Profile picture of the author Lazy
    Originally Posted by fated82 View Post

    I was wondering if personal branding is important to succeed in your im business or is it ok to stay underground (using a pen name) and still make tons of money like the gurus you know do?

    what do you think?

    Yes to both. In one of my niches I use a Pen Name. In the others, it doesn't matter. It's totally up to you.
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    • Profile picture of the author sal64
      Firstly, I can understand the reasons for using a pen name.

      However, if you are building a real business, then I think branding is important to separate you from the crowd.

      However, brand yourself and not your product... if that makes sense.

      I have numerous membership sites using pen names, but for my PLR business and coaching, I brand myself.

      In the end it's up to the individual and what type of business they are running.

      With the advent of web 2.0 and social media, then I believe that branding is extremely important. It is also important if you are looking to establish yourself as an expert in a particular niche.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dmaind
    Personal branding is important if you want a hype like a guru. It will help you to leverage on your name every single time when you come up with a product. You can also brand your pen name too.

    D Maind
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  • Profile picture of the author masterofinternate
    Dude,
    I must say Yes.Personal branding is obviously needed in internet marketing.I do personal branding and still having a good response.
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  • Profile picture of the author paulie888
    It really depends on what kind of business you're trying to set up. You can make money either way, branding is not a prerequisite in order to make tons of money.

    Let's look at Frank Kern. Everyone thinks he's some big guru and that he's made all this money only because of the unique brand that he projects in his videos and messages, right? The truth of the matter is that he was raking in a ton of money before he ever became a 'guru', creating his own products under pen names in the 'learn guitar' and other smaller non-IM niches before he ever started branding himself.

    Same goes for Amish Shah - the CPA multimillionaire very few people knew about until recently. He was quietly raking in millions doing CPA marketing, and was pretty much 'underground' for a long time until Frank and his buddies probably convinced him to get into the limelight with a big product launch!

    Paul
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    • Profile picture of the author Dmaind
      Originally Posted by paulie888 View Post

      It really depends on what kind of business you're trying to set up. You can make money either way, branding is not a prerequisite in order to make tons of money.

      Let's look at Frank Kern. Everyone thinks he's some big guru and that he's made all this money only because of the unique brand that he projects in his videos and messages, right? The truth of the matter is that he was raking in a ton of money before he ever became a 'guru', creating his own products under pen names in the 'learn guitar' and other smaller non-IM niches before he ever started branding himself.

      Same goes for Amish Shah - the CPA multimillionaire very few people knew about until recently. He was quietly raking in millions doing CPA marketing, and was pretty much 'underground' for a long time until Frank and his buddies probably convinced him to get into the limelight with a big product launch!

      Paul
      Paul you have a point here. But branding always helps to take the business to next level. As far as Frank Kern, John Reese, Jeff Walker and other gurus are concern, these people are enjoying more of there work after they have set themselves as an identity of a master.

      Basically, when we brand our self, we put better value to our products. This happens just because our name is associated with a product and we afraid of losing our credibility.

      If one is in a market where he has to offer multiple solutions to a client then branding is the best way to leverage his position and name.

      D Maind
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      • Profile picture of the author paulie888
        Originally Posted by Dmaind View Post

        Paul you have a point here. But branding always helps to take the business to next level. As far as Frank Kern, John Reese, Jeff Walker and other gurus are concern, these people are enjoying more of there work after they have set themselves as an identity of a master.

        Basically, when we brand our self, we put better value to our products. This happens just because our name is associated with a product and we afraid of losing our credibility.

        If one is in a market where he has to offer multiple solutions to a client then branding is the best way to leverage his position and name.

        D Maind
        I totally agree - it is nice to get name recognition and branding, but absolutely not necessary to make a lot of money or even ramp up your business.

        Take Frank Kern. He could have ramped up his business anonymously, and basically remove himself from the equation. In doing so, I think he'd be able to make at least as much as he could through branding himself.

        Remember that when you brand yourself like that, there's a huge time commitment as you are expected to be prominently featured on your websites and be talking about things that are related to your industry.

        This also makes it harder for you to sell your business later on down the line if you choose to go that route.

        At the end of the day, it all really depends on which direction you want to take your business in. You can achieve outrageous success with little to no personal branding, and you can do it through branding as well.
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  • Profile picture of the author Eamon Diamond
    You can use both, it's all depends what type of business you're running, but I think it's best to let visitors know up-front who you are.

    People really do like to know who their viewing and getting advice from on-line, it just builds more trust putting yourself out there.
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  • Profile picture of the author Andrea Wilson
    Its best to have a personal brand name for yourself to build a solid personality online. Just a single pen name for me is enough though. It builds trust and followers that way. Rather than establish yourself with a code name like darkguy or something.


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  • Profile picture of the author BrandonLee
    Personality and story sell, period. Even if your using a pen name you should put personality and story (ie branding) into it.


    Originally Posted by fated82 View Post

    I was wondering if personal branding is important to succeed in your im business or is it ok to stay underground (using a pen name) and still make tons of money like the gurus you know do?

    what do you think?
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  • Profile picture of the author ShaneRQR
    I have to agree with some posters above and say that it's very dependant on what your business model is.

    There are many ways to make money with zero branding. If you look at the model of building some type of website, optimizing it and doing SEO to get Google traffic, you can do that for all sorts of products as an affiliate or monetize the traffic with something like AdSense. You can make a killing with websites like this without anyone ever knowing or caring about your name or any brand. People search for something, find your site, find the links or ads within your site and are on their way again.

    Branding becomes important when you do repeat business. I.e. when you're getting paid again and again from the same people. So, for something like e-mail marketing, info marketing and membership sites, I'd say that branding is one of the most important factors for your business success.
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    • Profile picture of the author fated82
      Originally Posted by ShaneRQR View Post

      I have to agree with some posters above and say that it's very dependant on what your business model is.

      There are many ways to make money with zero branding. If you look at the model of building some type of website, optimizing it and doing SEO to get Google traffic, you can do that for all sorts of products as an affiliate or monetize the traffic with something like AdSense. You can make a killing with websites like this without anyone ever knowing or caring about your name or any brand. People search for something, find your site, find the links or ads within your site and are on their way again.

      Branding becomes important when you do repeat business. I.e. when you're getting paid again and again from the same people. So, for something like e-mail marketing, info marketing and membership sites, I'd say that branding is one of the most important factors for your business success.
      Hi Shane,

      Thanks. I got a clearer idea now. My business model is the latter (membership sites) so I guess I need to brand myself well in order to make things happen. I think it make sense too considering IM gurus will always have cult following.

      Thanks warriors for the input. Now it make my slpless night goes away.
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  • Profile picture of the author Marvin Johnston
    Brand yourself? Yes and no ... there is no right answer as it totally depends on what your goals are.

    Frank Kern has been mentioned. What was not mentioned is that his dog training business was done with a pseudonym and he probably could not have sold it if it had been branded with his name.

    Many other examples, but only you can decide if branding your name is right.

    Marvin
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    • Profile picture of the author Devid Farah
      Hi fated82,

      Whether you’re using a pen name or a real name you’re still using personal branding.

      There is no way for your audience to know whether or not you are using your real name or not, so they will most likely assume that you are using your real name.

      I think that whether you are using a pen name or your real name, you should treat them the same depending on what you are trying to accomplish.


      How important is personal branding?

      Personal branding is only important if that is what you decide to build your business plans upon. Yes, that means you can chose whether or not you want to focus on personal branding. The alternative would be to focus on the product and building the brand around that.


      What are the benefits to focusing on personal branding?

      One of the main benefits of building a personal brand is that you gain the trust of your readers which is a very important thing. Trust is everything when it comes to being a successful internet marketer. The internet is filled with shady individuals who give internet marketers a bad reputation. To be successful you have to be able to convince your audience that you are truly an expert and that you have their best interest in mind. If you can accomplish that, then not only will you see your traffic increase but you will also see your sales increase.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by fated82 View Post

    I was wondering if personal branding is important to succeed in your im business or is it ok to stay underground (using a pen name)
    The two are not "alternatives" at all.

    I "do personal branding" for my niche pen-names.

    For all the reasons given in this current thread, it's very advisable to use 1 pen-name per niche in which you're involved, but that in no way precludes "branding yourself".
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    • Profile picture of the author Gaz Cooper
      Pros and cons to this

      Con is if you Die so does your business if you brand a company name your business can live on without you, and be past along to whomever you want.

      Personally i would brand myself as an IM and then brand my business with its own name such as Gaz Cooper's XYZ I have done this before and sold the business by simply removing my name and it still worked.

      Gaz Cooper
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