REDFIRE BRANDING CREATE A HOT PERSONAL BRAND AND HAVE CUSTOMERS FOR LIFE Liz Goodgold Published by 20660 Stevens Creek Blvd., Suite 210 Cupertino, CA 95014 Copyright © 2010 by Liz Goodgold Cover design, layout and illustrations by Scott Douglas Ogilvie. All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author(s) assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. First Printing: March 2010 Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-60005-173-9 (1-60005-173-1) Place of Publication: Silicon Valley, California, USA Hardcover Library of Congress Number: 2010923583 eBook ISBN: 978-1-60005-174-6 (1-60005-174-X) Trademarks All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Happy About® cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark. Warning and Disclaimer Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate as possible, but no warranty of fitness is implied. The information provided is on an "as is" basis. The author(s) and the publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damages arising from the information contained in this book. To my son Adam, Always Table of Contents Table of Contents . .vi Preface . .xiii Personal Branding for Survival and Success . .xiii Learning by Example: Thousands of Real People and Companies xiv Red Hot Examples Just Like You . .xiv Battle-Tested and Bullet-Test Strategies . .xiv Quick, Easy-to-Read for Today’s A.D.D. Lifestyle . .xv Exercises to Put Learning Into Action . .xv Chapter 1 Light Your Fire: Understanding Your HOT Personal Brand . .1 This Hot Book Is for You . .2 The Time Is Now! . .3 Welcome to Branding! . .4 Branding Is about Perception . .5 Your Brand Must Be Authentic . .6 Adapting Corporate Branding Ideas to Personal Brands . .6 Brands Stand for One Thing . .7 Create a Council . .8 Create a Niche . .9 Essentials of a Strong Brand Positioning . .11 If Your Services All Don’t Fit into One Brand: . .13 Invent a New One! . .13 Know What You Are and What You Aren’t . .15 Chapter 2 Star Power: Why You Should Brand Like a Celebrity . .19 Become a Celebrity in Your Own Field . .20 The Power of Consistency . .20 Behavior Must Meet Expectations . .22 Pick a Celebrity Brand to Emulate . .22 v Table of Contents Chapter 3 Name Dropping How to Build a Brand That Sizzles . .29 The New School of Thought: Don’t Name the Company after Yourself . .30 Difficult Names Can Lead to Problems . .30 Customers Only Want to Deal with You . .30 Who Wants to Be CEO of You? . .30 Self-Named Companies Limit Expansion . .31 Self-Named Companies Hinder the Opportunity to Sell Your Company or Start a New One . .32 Selling Your Business Means Someone Else Manages It . .32 First Names Are Difficult to Protect . .33 Your Personal Actions Impact the Company Image . .33 The Seven Criteria Necessary to Create a Good Name . .35 Avoid a Name If a Huge Brand Also Uses the Name . .38 When Bad Names Happen to Good Products . .38 ADW—Acronyms Don’t Work . .40 When to Change Your Name . .42 Change Your Name If a Negative Connotation Can Be Derived from Your Brand . .44 Change Your Name If It Is Connected to Insurmountable Negative Publicity . .46 Avoiding Genericide . .46 Become a One-Name Show . .48 Turn a Lemon Name into Lemonade Success . .50 The Power of Nicknames . .50 Welcome to Naming Architecture . .53 The Five Deadly Sins of Naming: . .54 Chapter 4 Fire Starters: Understanding the Basics of Intellectual Property . .59 Trademark Infringement vs. Mindshare Infringement . .60 Neology Meets Its Match . .63 Names of Whimsy . .65 How Names Sound . .65 vi Table of Contents Chapter 5 Master of Your Domain: Heating Up Your Brand in Cyberspace . .67 Yes, All the Good Ones Have Been Taken . .68 Dot Com Remains the Gold Standard . .68 Forever Changing Landscape . .69 Capture All Variations . .71 Be Weary and Wary of Homonyms and Heteronyms . .73 Your Name Must Work as a Domain . .74 Invest in Auto Renew . .74 Chapter 6 Color My World: How to Ignite Your Brand with Color . .77 Branding by Color . .78 The Psychology of Color . .81 The Psychology of Color . .82 The Crayola Box Effect . .85 Integrating Your Color . .86 Chapter 7 It’s in the Cards: How to Create a Smokin’ Business Card . .89 The Business Card Is Paramount . .90 Getting the Fundamentals Right . .90 Business Card Checklist . .93 The Second Side . .94 Reflect Your Brand in Unusual Ways . .96 Chapter 8 Smoke Signals: How Phrases and Gestures Reinforce Your Brand . .99 Use a Signature Greeting . .100 vii Table of Contents Farewell Phrases . .102 Reinforce Your Point of Difference . .102 Use in Business Interaction . .103 Use in Written Communication . .104 Gestures Count Too! . .106 Chapter 9 Dress for Success Turn Up the Heat with a Trademarked Style . .108 Uniformly Good Idea . .109 Dressing to Improve Your Brand Image . .110 Accessory after the Fact . .112 Dress the Part . .113 The Spectacle of Spectacles . .115 Hats On and Off . .115 The Shape of Things to Come . .116 Chapter 10 Spice Up the Silence: Using Music and Voice as Mnemonic Devices . .119 Music Influences Our Mood . .120 Make Music . .120 Using Distinctive Tones . .122 The Power of Your Voice . .122 Chapter 11 Feel the Heat: Using All Senses to Trigger Recall . .127 Smell Is the Closest Link to Memory . .128 Creating Signature Scents . .129 Scent Influences Mood . .130 Using Sense of Smell in Advertising . .131 Smell Increases Value, Perception, and Sales . ..