Internet Marketing Strategy: Brand Yourself

Branding your name (or your pen name) is very important on the Internet, no matter what niche you're in. You need to establish yourself as an authority in your market, because people trust authority figures and authority confirms perceptions of expertise.

Authority figures are able to influence people. Others trust their recommendations; they trust that their products will be of good quality; and they trust that they have integrity. It also lends credence to the buyer that you're a real person - not just some nameless, faceless entity trying to sell them something on a static, automated website.

You should put your name on everything you create. Whether it's a membership site, an eBook, or something as small as a PLR article pack for sale - you should put your name on all of it. Getting your name out there is so essential to your ongoing success and an established presence.

Think about all of the marketing gurus you've heard of. Some of them you may not have heard of yet, especially if you're new, but chances are you've heard of at least a few of these. Have you heard of John Reese, Mike Filsaime, Frank Kern, Dan Kennedy, Joe Vitale, Willie Crawford, or the late Gary Halbert?

If you've been in marketing long at all you've surely heard of at least one of these people. People know and remember the names of these people because they put their names on everything they produce and distribute.

Their names are all over the marketing forums, their eCovers, their headers, and everything else they do. They work very hard to brand their names, because their names become the brands. People buy their products simply because their name is on it.

Buyers think that the product must be good, because the person is so well-known. You should do the same thing with your name. Always use the same name on everything you do within a particular niche.

You may not want to use your real name for whatever reason, but your name needs to be a "real name." A nickname usually won't cut it in most markets, but sometimes it works - like in the case of Travis "The Bum" Marketer, the "Rich Jerk", and of course, "Iceman Baldy."

If you've signed up for forums under a nickname, ask the moderators if they can change your name to your real name or pen name. You might not want to tell the moderator's it's a pen name. That's up to you.

Keep getting your name out there any way you can. Host teleseminars, JV with well-known people if possible, and offer to help create content for well-known people in your niche in exchange for a Bio Box that hosts your name and link to your website.

Offer to be an interview subject for someone. Be a "guest author" for popular websites and blogs in your niche, and create 100% original content for them. Never stop branding your name. Even when you're as famous as Donald Trump, the king of name branding, don't stop.

Donald still puts his name on everything he does. His name appears in huge, bold letters on his books. He names buildings after himself. Think of Trump Tower, Trump Taj Mahal, and Trump Plaza. His name is all over everything.

Not only is it a matter of pride, but it keeps his name everywhere. You may never be as famous as the Donald, or even as famous as John Reese, but you might become known as the king or queen of your own little niche or for a particular slant that grows in popularity.