11 Crappy Personal Branding Tips

I'm working on my master's degree; my focus is personal reputation management. I've been doing a lot of reading lately from the "experts" and a lot of what I read is the same stuff you mention ad nauseam. Most of the books, articles, and videos out there want to "brand" people like they are products, using the 11 tips you mention. Thanks for giving me a chuckle by turning the "do" list into "don'ts." BTW, I'm sure there are people like me who have to get vanity URLs because, despite their unique names, other people (Angela, for me) show up on the first page of their search results who seem determined never to be employable in this lifetime. Arrrghh.

Interesting article! I have stopped using business cards 5+ years ago because if people REALLY wanted to find me, they can look up my name (which isn't even that long considering my first and last name combined may be shorter than some first names). I also did this when I saw people throwing biz cards in the trash after networking events and I thought, "what a waste of a resource". And yes, I admit, I throw them away too. The ones I really connected with, I didn't need their cards. I remember their names and we connect afterward immediately via phone or email, rendering cards an impotent reminder of the meet. That said, I do think getting your "name domain" and "usernames" across key social networking sites is critical, as is keeping certain pictures similar (such as profile pictures). I do this to be consistent and more out of consideration for the other person ("Is this the same person? She looks a bit different here... maybe it's her but you know how it goes... they can all look alike, pardon the political incorrectness..."). I don't do it thinking "this is for my personal branding ". We're at a time where we have to prevent confusion or dilution or misinformation if someone else takes that name and starts posting things that you may be in complete disagreement, if the name is common - or - there may be cases of mischief or "brand-jacking" that can happen to people too. Working from your core platform and identifiable values is key, but these "peripheral" items can be important as well.

Oh I so enjoyed that laugh - thank you Jay for being "snarky and cynical" just loved it. That's what i call going the zero filter...

You took the words right out of my mouth Jay with one of your comments above - "None of these tips are bad, they’re just over used." Exactly right. I think the examples you stated above are taking the whole personal branding/digital persona thing to the uber-extreme. Depending on what you are trying to accomplish, much of this or none of this would make any sense to use or pursue - however I do feel that some consideration should be given to figuring out how to stand out. No matter "what your cup of tea", the field is always crowded and competitive and will continue to be so - whether your a business trying to compete or an individual struggling to find work - you have to figure out a way to stand out. Personal branding, brand image, whatever we choose to refer to it as, has been around and will continue to be relevant in one form or another.

This is refreshing! It's so easy to get caught up in the hype (I even purchased a book on personal branding recently), and some of it is very beneficial, but just don't get crazy. Hilarious!

Hysterical! Love this! I wish the people who say these things, and actually mean it, listened to how ridiculous they sound.

I was sent here by Patricia because she said she found someone as cynical as me. But I see she told you that. I almost didn't leave a comment because I arrived so late to the party, I figured that my Brand will be pretty watered down this low on the totem pole. But then I thought, what the heck, my niece is an anarchist, so she may send all her friends over here, and then you would owe me a favour. That's what this Social Networking thing is all about, right? Gotta run; I think there was a domain I missed somewhere along the way... Anyway, fun read, Jay :-) Rick

Hi Jay I will have to send you over some of my lovely lavenders to get you relaxing lol I have a marketing friend who sounds as cynical as you ;-) He is successful so I guess he can laugh at himself occasionally. Really glad I found your blog cos you do expose a lot of the ridiculous teachings that go round on the net that newbies take as "expert guru" methods that must be adhered to!!! You may be snarky but you have me smiling with your posts. Way to go Jay. And I don't think you will be kept wondering what my small niche blog is about either lol It definietly isn't about me ;-) Patricia Perth Australia

I am so sick of those elevator speeches. At least when they're writing their blogs, you're not forced to listen to it.

Love this!! Great to see a contrarian approach for once!! Btw, should it be "Now Go" at the end?

Just discovered your site Jay. Love the personality in it and your irreverence. We need more intelligent, fun critiques like these. Kudos. My input? There are those out there trying to make their living telling us what we should be doing in social media. They base their expertise on their use of overused keywords, buzzwords and a supposed understanding of 'trends' (not hard and fast rules) and we all know these change from moment to moment. The key? Take their advice and balance it with all the other advice out there. But above all, be true to yourself because ultimately no matter what you own, post or say online, people will only really find real value in you based on what you do in real life.

I completely agree with the overarching principle of what you're saying. Making a name for yourself/obtaining work isn't about how many times you plaster your name around the web, or how creatively you tweak a wordpress template, it's about the quality of your actual work. However, with some exceptions - like not doing interviews for the sake of branding - or not being yourself - I think most of what you have on your list is just basic... "why not?" tips. Why not own your name on a domain? Why not have a business card? How do these things hurt you? As long as you have examples of good work on your website... or you actually followup on the contact that you swapped business cards with... these are all useful foundations to growing your network. No. Having a blog will not guarantee work Yes. Having a well written blog in which you write thoughtful and interesting content may help you obtain employment or work (my podcasting work got me a job in PR) No. Having a 15-second elevator pitch won't rocket you to personal branding stardom. Yes. Knowing how to articulate what you do to someone who has very little time may come in handy (it did for me when I pitched VPs of major radio companies in my broadcast days). tl;dr Don't throw the baby out with the bath water, focus on content and quality first, but there's no reason to avoid some basic branding techniques that may aid... but will rarely harm... your career.

I must disagree with buying your name as a domain name as well. It works for me as a voice over artist, but I don't use it as a blog or any some-such. It would also work if you were a freelance writer. I also must disagree with the niche thing. I have a lot of hobbies and interests, but I'm not going to promote my brand of dog food (for example) on a motorcycle website - it just doesn't make sense. If those motorcyclists wants to find dog food, they'll find me through their research because I've made myself available and noticeable within that niche. I agree with everything else, though. Although, just a side-note, and this doesn't pertain to most normal people, but I've worked for someone once where we had to claim their name on every domain and every social media platform simply so the haters couldn't do it and pose as said client. So for that aspect, I would do it, but for straight up marketing purposes, I wouldn't. We didn't even use those websites or social media platforms, but we at least made it harder for others to use his name in a negative light. I kind of like interviews, though...where would late-night television be without interviewing people?

That reminds me, I would like to interview you :-p

I must respectfully disagree on the 'name url' point, Jay. You could get me there for general principle maybe, but if you've been unemployed for a long period of time before, it is invaluable. I say this for 2 reasons: 1. It gives you more control over your search results. It goes without saying your prospective employers will google you, so its important to control what they see, or better yet steer them to it. 2. It sets you apart from other candidates; just the fact that you have such a site shows inititiative and creativity. If you are in the social media/web marketing game, its almost expected. Still, a good post as always!

Many -- much -- all of these marketing and branding people are applying 20th corporate advertising mantras to the internet, and showing much stupidity concerning this new media. They forces traditional, narrowing business practices on the human level conversations that the internet is. I usually ditch reading those who use terms such as "monotize", "brand", "identity", and so on. Isn't this just about putting some quality stuff out there, let people know about it, repeat? You sink or swim on that. The rest is hustle.

Brilliant as always. I always find the "get your name website(s)" and "get your personal branded email" to be largely useless and counterproductive advice. Is it really easier for me to remember www.jaydolan.com than www,theantisocialmedia.com? I think not. The second is original and reminds me what I'm looking at/for, whereas the first is just some wanker's name. As for your email address, I don't care what it is because 10 seconds after I meet you it's either in my address book, where I'll never think about it again as long as I live, or I've already decided that you're a wanker with a name-based website and I've forgotten you. Seriously, who wanders around thinking to themselves, "Oh, I really must remember to email Jay Dolan at jay.dolan@jaydolan.wanker.net?" I do think business cards are worthwhile if you're actually going to be meeting people in person, but again, I doubt anyone is judging you based on your Bateman-like fixation with the embossing on your business card.