Personal Branding 101: How to Make the Right Branding Decisions for Your New Business

<h1>Personal Branding 101: How to Make the Right Branding Decisions for Your New Business</h1>Author: <a title="Chris Marlow" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/authors/chris-marlow/2155.htm">Chris Marlow</a> Personal Branding 101: How to make the right branding decisions for your new business Inevitably, at some point for freelancers who target corporate decision-makers, the question comes up: "Should I create a company name?" And usually, the answer is "no"...but the answer is not always "no." Here's the logic: When you are an individual who provides a service...a designer or copywriter or coach or speaker (you get the idea)...you are the company. Therefore it makes sense for you to brand your name. Word-of-mouth about your work, your byline on articles or publications you write, your name as a "draw" for public speaking events...your name on your business card, in your URL, on your Web site...all of this adds up to name recognition. Think for a minute... Do celebrities and speakers have a company name? Think Sigfried and Roy...Elton John...Jerry Seinfeld...Tony Robbins. What about copywriters? Here are some contemporaries: * Bob Bly * Gary Bencivenga * Gary Halbert * Dan Kennedy * Clayton Makepeace * Joe Vitale * Michael Masterson And some who are not contemporary, but who are nevertheless still "present": * John Caples * Rosser Reeves * David Ogilvy * Claude Hopkins Do (and did) these icons also have company names? Probably yes. For example, Jay Abraham sells seminars and information products. He has a company in the background, like many other entrepreneurs. But it's his name you know...and that's what carries the branding. If you have a partner, or employees who interface with your customers on a significant level, that's when it makes sense to have a "company" name if it fits your long-term goals. Do you want to build a boutique agency? A consortium of consultants? A traditional corporation? If so, then it makes sense to brand your company...and that means a company name (which can also be your name or the names of your partners, or something else), and usually, a logo. Just be careful. One known agency was named after the principals...Richard Rosen and Bill Brown (Rosen/Brown Direct). But when the partnership ended, the name was no longer representative. A costly renaming and rebranding effort took place (the agency is now called AlloyRed). The potential loss of name recognition is a very serious risk. Imagine a decade of reputation-building up in smoke...poof! Just like that you could be starting all over again. So if you're selling your skills as a service, and it's just you, use your name and a tagline for your branding. But if you have long-term goals to build something bigger than yourself, or a team you're working with, it makes sense to consider a company name and the logo (and sometimes tagline) that comes with it.About the Author: Chris Marlow publishes a free newsletter for consultants who want to land the high quality, high value clients.
<a href="http://www.GetGreatClients.com/signup">Sign Up</a> for a FREE subscription to the monthly newsletterArticle Source: <a href="http://www.articlesbase.com/">ArticlesBase.com</a> - <a href="http://www.articlesbase.com/copywriting-articles/personal-branding-101-how-to-make-the-right-branding-decisions-for-your-new-business-150526.html" title="Personal Branding 101: How to Make the Right Branding Decisions for Your New Business">Personal Branding 101: How to Make the Right Branding Decisions for Your New Business</a>

Personal Branding 101: How to make the right branding decisions for your new business

Inevitably, at some point for freelancers who target corporate decision-makers, the question comes up:

"Should I create a company name?"

And usually, the answer is "no"...but the answer is not always "no."

Here's the logic:

When you are an individual who provides a service...a designer or copywriter or coach or speaker (you get the idea)...you are the company. Therefore it makes sense for you to brand your name.

Word-of-mouth about your work, your byline on articles or publications you write, your name as a "draw" for public speaking events...your name on your business card, in your URL, on your Web site...all of this adds up to name recognition.

Think for a minute...

Do celebrities and speakers have a company name?

Think Sigfried and Roy...Elton John...Jerry Seinfeld...Tony Robbins. What about copywriters? Here are some contemporaries:

* Bob Bly
* Gary Bencivenga
* Gary Halbert
* Dan Kennedy
* Clayton Makepeace
* Joe Vitale
* Michael Masterson

And some who are not contemporary, but who are nevertheless still "present":

* John Caples
* Rosser Reeves
* David Ogilvy
* Claude Hopkins

Do (and did) these icons also have company names? Probably yes. For example, Jay Abraham sells seminars and information products. He has a company in the background, like many other entrepreneurs. But it's his name you know...and that's what carries the branding.

If you have a partner, or employees who interface with your customers on a significant level, that's when it makes sense to have a "company" name if it fits your long-term goals.

Do you want to build a boutique agency? A consortium of consultants? A traditional corporation? If so, then it makes sense to brand your company...and that means a company name (which can also be your name or the names of your partners, or something else), and usually, a logo.

Just be careful. One known agency was named after the principals...Richard Rosen and Bill Brown (Rosen/Brown Direct). But when the partnership ended, the name was no longer representative.

A costly renaming and rebranding effort took place (the agency is now called AlloyRed). The potential loss of name recognition is a very serious risk. Imagine a decade of reputation-building up in smoke...poof! Just like that you could be starting all over again.

So if you're selling your skills as a service, and it's just you, use your name and a tagline for your branding. But if you have long-term goals to build something bigger than yourself, or a team you're working with, it makes sense to consider a company name and the logo (and sometimes tagline) that comes with it.

Chris Marlow publishes a free newsletter for consultants who want to land the high quality, high value clients. Sign Up for a FREE subscription to the monthly newsletter

Rate this Article:

0 / 5 stars - 0 vote(s)

Re-Publish

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/copywriting-articles/personal-branding-101-how-to-make-the-right-branding-decisions-for-your-new-business-150526.html

Article Tags: copywriting, branding, chris marlow, marketing, freelancing

Related Articles
Related Q&A

Latest Copywriting Articles
More from Chris Marlow

Astrology Refuted: They Should Have Seen It Coming

By: tilakraj | 16/11/2009
Horoscopes seem to pop up everywhere in America. From newspapers to county fair booths, astrologers ply their trade, wishing us to concede that the stars somehow set our futures on an inevitable course. But sooner or later, somebody simply must ask the question: why do astrology types go to doctors to find out whether something bad will befall them, and why do some astrology businesses go under? We all know the truth: they should have seen it coming.

How Compelling Is Your Title?

By: parveen531 | 16/11/2009
Is Your Title Compelling Your title is your selling tool. It is the first thing readers will scan and contemplate whether to read your story. What your title’s job is it has to lure the readers into your story it has to be so compelling that they wolud not even have a chance to ask themselves Will this story interest me Their eyes will glide over the title and into the story before they realize it. The action will be instant. What s a compelling title It is one that instantly grabs our

Designing Your Site For The Search Engines

By: babulalsingh | 16/11/2009
When you design a web site it s easy to focus on what your visitors are going to see. What you have to realise though is that youre going to have another kind of visitor with a completely different agenda: theyre not going to be looking at your pretty logo and they're not going to be passing judgement on your background color. What theyre looking for is the content and structure of your page. Theyre the search engine spiders and they are in control of probably the largest section of your traff

8 Easy Online Ways to Market Your Book For Free

By: Banesh | 14/11/2009
Marketing your book whether you went the POD, e book, or traditional route can be a daunting process. Figuring out what

The Domain Name Game

By: manoj49 | 14/11/2009
You probably know that a domain name is a name given to a web site or email account. Because IP addresses mark individual computers, the domain name is usually much easier to remember as it can be a catchy phrase or an on target description of what the web site has to offer. In this day and age, the game of domain name selection is heated and often times a demanding field. There are also many information portals now devoted to the subject and we recommend reading about it at one of these. Try g

From Book Notes to Book Reports

By: chhote | 13/11/2009
Writing papers and book reports has long been the bane of high school and college students’ existence. It seems that no matter how hard you work to stay caught up, there is always a paper due tomorrow. Using book notes to help get the ideas flowing can save you time, heartache, and the stress of getting a bad grade. There are many styles and formats available now, but a book note typically includes a summary of a literary work, commentary on the subject matter and deeper meaning of the passage

Do You Know What A Plot Is?

By: jayant | 13/11/2009
What a plot is and what a story is can be sometimes confusing. If you think they are the same¡K They are not. A plot is the outline of your story. The story is everything included. I will illustrate the difference by asking you to visualize two pictures¡K 1. Visualize a skeleton. Then 2. Visualize a body. The skeleton is your plot. It¡¦s the outline of your story. It won¡¦t be visible when we flesh it out but it will still be there, holding your story together. The body is your stor

Secrets of Million Dollar Sales Letters – For Mail Campaign and Internet

By: Shawn C. Mason | 13/11/2009
All winning sales letters "talk" to the prospect by creating an image in the mind of the reader. They set "the scene" by appealing to a desire or need; and then they flow smoothly into the "visionary" part of the sales pitch by describing in detail how "wonderful" life will be and, how "good" the prospect is going to feel after he's purchased your product. This is the "body or guts" of a sales letter.

Personal Branding 101: How to Make the Right Branding Decisions for Your New Business

Astrology Refuted: They Should Have Seen It Coming

How Compelling Is Your Title?

Designing Your Site For The Search Engines

8 Easy Online Ways to Market Your Book For Free

The Domain Name Game

From Book Notes to Book Reports

Do You Know What A Plot Is?

Secrets of Million Dollar Sales Letters – For Mail Campaign and Internet

What Is The Single Most Important Thing You Must Know About Landing A High Quallity Client?

Personal Branding 101: How to Make the Right Branding Decisions for Your New Business

To Land High-Paying Clients, You Need an Agency Quality Website

Cultivating Quality Clients With a Powerful Ezine

How to Build Your First Copywriting Portfolio

Two Common Negotiating Mistakes Copywriters Make, and How to Avoid Them

Small Business: When Is It a Profitable Niche