This is THE book for personal branding new comers (Not so much for everyone else though!)
929404
I was actually turned on to Dan Schawbel through David Meerman Scott, another amazing social media powerhouse.

I told him I wanted to be a "social media consultant for indie artists, small business owners and other independent under 30s." He said, in so many words that "Dan Schawbel is the person to study. If he can do it, so can you." Dan's book is really the book I wish I had straight out of high school. It would've changed my life and I probably would have been on the path I am now 7 years earlier! However, since I have been studying social media for a while now, this book is filled with stuff that is "common knowledge" for someone like me who already knows a thing or two about social media. I'm much older now so I know so much I didn't know fresh out of high school and college. For someone looking to strengthen their knowledge on personal branding, this is really NOT the book for you.

However, if you're young and want to really immerse yourself in personal branding and want to a) turn yourself into a personal branding powerhouse b) land an amazing job fast or c) propel yourself into the spotlight as someone who knows talks a big game and knows a great deal, I couldn't recommend a better book than this! Forget hard knocks and trial and error. Schawbel has done all the dirty work for you and lays out an impressive map for someone who's clueless on how to make themselves a personal branding star. It's packed full of information that will change your way of thinking overnight and set you on a path to greatness (provided you do some hardwork yourself, of course!)

I can't express how powerful this book is for people being thrown into the job market from day one. This is a powerful book for people who don't have the time to sit around and read books and blogs all day about how to learn how to market yourself and your brand. This book has the power to change many young people's lives. If you don't know where to start but you know you have it within you to become great, get this book ASAP.
3772214
I give StoryBranding five stars and I am glad that I kept reading until it applied to me! I am an author in search of my brand, hence I assumed that "Story Branding" would assist me in developing my unique brand. I felt like an idiot when I discovered that the book is a business resource with a significant portion tailored for businesses that sell products. What was I thinking? I don't think of my books as 'products' but even the retail business info gave me useful information that I will apply. That said, I was delighted towards the end of the book to discover deeply relevant and insightful understanding of branding as it applies to my needs. So much so, that anyone who is promoting a product, a form of art, a service, or even themselves to a potential market, population, or job would do well to buy this book.
3430621
I'm pleased with this book because it provides a lot of practical advice, a warm & friendly delivery, and enough ideas to inspire me to think creatively about my use of Twitter.

Not everything in this book is ground-breaking.  And yet many of us think we're fairly well-schooled in the Twitter universe -- even when we don't do the simple things that might expand our reach.

VISIBILITY is the real issue here:  Such as, how do you get it?

Read on, be inspired, create your own plan based on these simple concepts.

Douglas Glenn Clark

<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Get-Digital-Now-How-to-win-fans-expand-brand-with-a-Kindle-eBook/dp/B008N06VCK/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Get Digital Now: How to win fans & expand brand with a Kindle eBook</a>
285177
I am 1/3 in. It's a great book. My first marketing book. Author gave me great ideas and instructions that I can do to effect my businesss.

This books can be life changing if you are brand new to marketing. So no doubt. Please buy it!

The reason for 3-stars is:

1-Like many self help books, the material can be condensed to about 3 pages. And for more in depth discussion, maybe author could expand it to an intelligent 45-page booklet.  But it's hard to sell it for $20 if it's a thin book.

2- So far, it seems self promotional of his own businesss. I find this conflict of interest and I TRUST the author LESS. I don't like his character that's is too blatantly self-serving.

I will say I haven't checked his website yet. But because I don't trust him in this book, therefore it is highly unlike I will use and recommend his service.

In any case. objectively speaking , his advice is workable for small or big business.

I suggest that, to make good use of the book, business owners should take a break from the book, and correct/work on your business material as the author's suggestion inspires you. For example, following the author's points, I reduced my websites home page to half of the info and redesign my brochure.

So put his advice in action right away. And always, run a successful business on ethical platform. That means, even if you can get away with things, you will always choose to do the right thing for others.

Hope this helps fellow entrepreneurs!
4097617
I signed up for a free review copy of this book because the subject matter intrigued me. While I am not a professional writer, or even an amateur one, I do have an interest in using social medial to promote ones "brand" so I was interested in seeing what recommendations the author of this book would make in that regard.

The social media techniques outlined in this book are what I'd call basic techniques, someone who is familiar with building a brand online won't find anything radically new here. The books strength is in the techniques presented specific to an author wishing to promote their work but who might not be familiar with building a brand using social media.

This book gives a step by step plan for a writer that wants to promote themselves and their work online and gives it in an easy to follow format.  The only caveat I would suggest would be that a basic knowledge of how to sign up for and use the social media tools recommended is required, someone who is a complete novice to blogging, twitter, etc., might have difficulty implementing the plan without first learning a little about how those things work.  This book won't tell them that.

I would definitely recommend this book to any author who is looking to promote their work.  I would even venture to say that some of these techniques could also be used by people in other genres such as artists, movie makers, singers and other creative endeavors that have a product to promote and sell.
4283874
I have a degree in Advertising (graduated in 2011), but I never worked with naming because I, honestly, suck at it. Now I am starting a small business together with a friend, so hence my "professional degree" I was tasked to come up with a name and a brand, preferable one that rocks, not sucks. So I was looking for a book to remind me of the process of naming and possibly give a few insights on the way, and I stumbled upon Alexandra's book.
Her method may be a bit unorthodox - mostly because she's using Internet in her daily routine, and back when all the orthodox methods came to be, Internet weren't there yet - and certainly I was taught different in my university, but turns out Alexandra knows better.
She writes very clearly and give step-by-step instructions, which are pretty easy to follow. I did everything she wrote, and I must confess that at first I had no good results - just couldn't come up with a fine name, Alexandra's method or not - so after a couple days I stopped thinking about the names and the process, to let my unconscious do the job.
And then one sunny day after about a week, it just pops into my mind, the perfect word I was looking for, and a slogan to go along with it - everything complicit with Alexandra's list of a good name's qualities. I needed a two-word name, and used the method again to come with the second word, which only took couple of evenings more.
So, the resume: I can wholeheartedly recommend this book for anyone who needs to come up with a fine name, it's totally worth the money, and I am very glad that I own it now.
4172483
I personally like this Book more than my other Books. Because I feel happy for telling about my YouTube Channel which is helping me to earn money comfortably comparing to the other ways including Software Development and Testing that I did for many years. I am not sure whether this Book can help the readers to taste the similar success in running YouTube channel, but it can inspire them to try it which is not going to cost them anything.
I am not a professional writer and English is not my mother tongue, And, as explained in the Description, this Book is not telling about any Secrets for earning Money, and it is not containing any detailed tutorial for running the YouTube Channel. So, this Book is not suitable for the people who are expecting those things.
2108713
Today we are going to be taking a look at Michael Hyatts book Platform:How to get noticed in a noisy world. This book is a moderate length coming in at 288 pages long and just over 60 chapters. Each chapter is 5-8 pages long give or take a few. Many of his chapters are based off of blog posts he has published on his website. I wanted to share this book with you because at this point in my journey it has been very helpful.

As many of you know I am trying to build my blog in to a place where people come to see Jesus in the midst of everyday life. From time to time I do book reviews either of books I have chosen to read personally or for class. This is one I've chosen to read for pleasure and it was definitely enjoyable.

In this book you will find tons of tiny little nuggets of great information. If you are trying to launch anything to the next level I would highly suggest you look into getting this book. The version I read was the kindle edition. So in my references there will be locations and not page numbers.

Hyatt give us a very simple definition, "a platform is the thing you stand on to get heard". (loc. 297) That sounds simple enough doesnt it. But it begs the question of what then is my platform? He spends the  next several chapters outlining what a persons platform may actually look like. He tells us, "As in times past, success today is not so much about what you know; its about who you know. And the who is your platform. (loc. 304)

So now we know our platform is not our product, our blog, or even our service. Its people. Building relationships with people and serving them is one way to build your platform.  He goes on to tell the reader, If you want to build a platform, its time to get the passion back. (loc. 417).

If you don't push yourself and others to expect excellence you are doomed to failure. You need to be excited about what it is you are offering, if your not you may want to reconsider what you are doing.  You want to offer your customer/client a wow experience. He goes on to list about 9-10 different things a wow experience entails.

After spending several chapters talking about having a wow product. He discusses the why? Why do you need to do this and what will happen if you dont. We should set S.M.A.R.T. goals, and think of was we can achieve them. He says, "before you can find your way, you must discover your why. (loc. 903)  After that he gives five reasons why you should commit your goals to writing.

Later in the book he moves into a section on how to work with and use Twitter.  I found this section to be very helpful since i am new to the twitterverse. He gives a great tutorial on how #s work and just a great overall introduction to the outlet.

This was a great book for someone just starting out on their exploration into trying to build a brand. This is a book you need if you want to be a better blogger, businessman, or general sales person.

I highly recommend this book to everyone. Especially to those looking for a place to start building their platform and brand recognition. I chose to write this review just because I have enjoyed so much of Mr. Hyatts work, not only this book but his blog as well.
3532894
This book made me look at my identity as a thing that needs to be managed for a favorable outcome. The author walks you through step-by-step the process to first identify what your brand represents and then how to fully leverage it. You are made of both your credentials and your personality - failure in either can be brand destroying. She shows you how to optimize both and then convey this package to the world. While you can get a little lost in the technical marketing speak, she eventually breaks it down for you and provides plenty of examples to illustrate her points.
3207412
If you can get past the dated references (Yahoo being the dominant search engine, some discussion of companies that you won't recognize) you'll find that there are some very important and oft-ignored bits of branding wisdom in this book.  It's the amalgamation of two 11 Immutable Laws works, one on offline branding and one on internet branding.  The bifurcation at this point feels somewhat unnatural, and you may find that you get most of the juice out of the first half of the book.

It is a quick read (maybe 2-4 hours), so if you find yourself getting diminishing returns, you won't lose that much time over it.
68408
This is a good book for the entrepreneur who is interested in setting thier business apart from the pack. To create more than just a brand, but a "LOVE MARK." Its got some good points and Ive applied some of it to my small photography business. I recommend it, but only gave it 3 stars.
2309330
<div id="video-block-RUUJ72OISHL3D" class="a-section a-spacing-small a-spacing-top-mini video-block"></div><input type="hidden" name="" value="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/D1loD4XeWTS.mp4" class="video-url"><input type="hidden" name="" value="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/11htNCs0Z0S.png" class="video-slate-img-url">&nbsp;Hi Im Douglas Burdett, host of The Marketing Book Podcast and Id like to tell you about the book "UnBranding: 100 Branding Lessons for the Age of Disruption" by Scott and Alison Stratten.

So, what is this age of disruption? The authors explain that technological innovations and increased access to information have transformed the traditional practice of branding. These changes have disrupted all our traditional relationships: how we hire, how we find a job, how we research our purchases, how we buy and how we learn about the world around us. And they have changed the dynamic between brands and their markets. Our digital age has put a world of information and connections in our hands, and the way we market and are marketed to has changed forever.

Great branding is really easy to explain and really hard for companies to do. Heres how you do it: be good to your customers, employees and vendors and have a great product and/or service. In other words, branding is in every part of your business how and whom you hire is branding, your front line is branding, what your CEO likes on Facebook is branding. Branding isn't a department or a campaign; in fact, branding isn't in your hands at all. Your brand belongs to your customers it's what they think of when they hear your name and how they tell your story.

The book has 100 chapters - each an entertaining if not occasionally horrifying lesson on how to build or trash the loyalty youve built with your brand. My favorite chapter? Its Chapter One, entitled Logos Dont Matter. That's right, logos don't matter. And they certainly aren't the be-all and end-all of branding. The authors explain that organizations spend so much time and money on logos, but our brands aren't in our business hands; they belong to our market. Your brand changes with each interactiona living, breathing relationship between your organization and the world.

One other really important point made in the book is that human resources is the most powerful branding division in your company. The authors explain that the ethics and practices behind your companys hiring policies are what constitutes branding. Branding is not about logos and colors. Its about being good to your customers, employees and vendors and have a great product and/or service. This book will help you wrap your head around how to approach branding in this disruptive age.

And to listen to an interview with Alison Stratten about "UnBranding", visit MarketingBookPodcast.com
2046879
Although I have a strong understanding of the concepts behind branding products and services, my knowledge was still lacking regarding branding myself (ie. personal branding). As a result, I searched for and found, "Branding Yourself", by Erik Deckers and Kyle Lacy. I had previously read, "Twitter Marketing for Dummies", which was authored by Kyle, and which Erik had a strong contribution to, so I knew that I had to get this book. I was not disappointed. "Branding Yourself", has opened up my mind to not only the importance of my personal brand as it relates to my overall success in business and life, but also the steps to take. This book with give you the blueprint to ensuring that when people come into contact with you, it will be abundantly clear to them why they need to be associated with you for their own benefit. Moreover, "Branding Yourself" actually shows you exactly how to build and then launch your brand, whether you are looking to take your career to the next level, or experience a high level of success in your business. All in all, this book is worth every penny, and I plan to read it again.
4233164
As someone planning to self-publish in the spring, I've been doing lots of research. Including marketing and brand building. I have a blog, Facebook, Twitter, and a website. Did I have a brand statement?

Uh no.

So I dove into Jennifer Fusco`s Market or Die with gusto. I'd met Jennifer at the CTRWA and knew her to be a lovely southern lady with a tremendous talent for marketing.

Her book is a straight-talking, workshop-style experience. I felt like Jennifer was leaning over my shoulder helping me form my brand statement.

And let me tell you, I was dubious about coming up with one. I wasn't sure I could. I'd been trying to for years. And never had any luck.  Then I answered the three questions she outlined in her book and a gem popped up in them. I've rebranded my blog, Twitter, and Facebook with it.

I was so excited by this success, that I bought the rest of the books in Market or Die series and plan to read them soon.

Thanks Jennifer for sharing your amazing branding experience!
139562
As a student of personal branding, I have read almost every book published on the subject. I only write reviews on the best of what I read and this is one of the best primers to be written on the subject.

First time author Jeff Beals covers all the basics and does so in a well organized manner. He manages to weave in just the right amount of motivational thinking while remaining primarily focused on the nuances of personal branding.

Rarely do I agonize over what to rate any of the dozens of books I review each year, here on Amazon. I seldom bother writing a review on a mediocre book and so my choice is usually narrowed down to a choice between four and five stars. This is one of those rare times I have vasilated as to the right rating. I so enjoyed the author's authenticity that I wanted to give this book a five star rating...but there is certain small town style to the voice that, regretfully, detracted from the power of the ideas for me.  Alas, four star seems the right rating. This book is just a notch below what is widely viewed as the reigning champ in this area, "The Brand Called You" by Peter Montoya.

I am at peace with the four star rating, notwithstanding the superb effort made by this first time author, because I am confident that his next book will be even better and deserving of a five star on the scale I use. I eagerly await that book as I have become a fan of this author for his delightful authenticity, a refreshing style in a world where puffery has too often become the norm.
4441106
Liked this book a lot because it offers a new way of working with your personal style through the crafting of two word personal statements.

I'll admit, I'm not sure that it's truly possible to express all of a person's strengths and persona in two words, and when you look at the book's appendices, it seems like the author's are truly helping you to find dominate themes in your life.  I found the methods the authors shared for identifying those two words to be confusing.  However, I liked the case studies of people who worked with the authors personally.

I found the best way to identify a two-word personal statement was to read and re-read the examples in the appendices and then go back and look at some of the questions in the chapters.

I bought the Kindle version of this book, and that may have been a problem for me.  I would probably recommend buying a printed copy of this book to make the exercises in the book easier to do.
3299972
I have used the Writer's Market, the Artist's Market, and now, the Photographer's Market books in the past and present. There are lots of good tips in the book for people who are just starting out. I've been freelancing since the 1980s, so, I am not new at this, but, there is always something new to learn. These books are great time-savers. They give you the information you'll need to get your foot in the door.

You want to pay close attention to what each agent, publisher, or other representative wants. Follow those guidelines to the letter and you CAN get results.

Don't shotgun submissions to publishers or publications. Pick your potentials from the fields that various publishers say they accept. You want to use these books to identify those publishers that work within your niche. If you don't have a niche, trust me, you need one. Figure out what your particular area of interest is and specialize in that until you are just too good to ignore. Then, follow that niche to the publishers that would give you an opportunity.

By the way, don't get discouraged. I am an award-winning photographer and I still have to go through this same process. That's the way the game is played. Good Luck.