There is no free lunch. You have got to do the work. Being an artist in today's world means you must take charge of your career. Technology proliferation has created every opportunity for you to do so. Just log-in to your social media and see all the people telling you just how rich they could make you in just  nine steps. They may be winning because they are doing the work and you are buying into their expertise. You can do the same. Your Wordeee Author Lounge provides you with all the tools you need to get your voice heard and, yes, you must be prepared to do the work.

Quite honestly, it is easier than ever to do the work and focus on your own success. The 10,000 hours Malcolm Gladwell talks about that made him a household name allows him to command $85,000 or better per appearance. This is what you should aim for…using your 10,000 hours of honing your talent and platform to create multiple streams of income and become a sought after brand yourself.  So, what did Malcolm, GaryVee and many of the other experts selling you their skills and products do?  They branded themselves big time. Then they marketed themselves and made sure their PR machine was on overdrive.

So what is PR, Branding and Marketing?

First let's start with PR and Marketing.
Marketing and PR has always been a challenge for most authors. It's a numbers and awareness game. Now more than ever, with social media accessible to all, you can level the playing field in the areas of PR and Marketing. It cost nothing for you to do your own PR but your time…and time it will take.  But time well spent will equal money well deserved.

PR: Public Relations is when you can influence content about you or your work in newspaper, on radio, blogs, podcasts and on TV, etc. These are free and are predicated on your access, meaning your Rolodex (the old school rotating paper card filing system for contacts), topic, and relevance to the times. That's why it is always good to organize your contacts from networking events into actionable steps. PR creates awareness and, in order for people to listen, they have to be aware.

Marketing is paid for. For example, you may chose to have your book stand out by taking out a banner ad or doing a video on the Wordeee platform. Digital marketing is dominating the social media space.  For example, all those ads that pop up on your cell phone. So placing Ads on facebook, Google, newspapers, and magazines, etc., are considered marketing.
The sky's the limit and only bound by your imagination.
Establish as proactive marketing mindset.
If you went through the trouble of writing your book, give it a chance to live a long life by being proactive in your marketing efforts. Go to our section on self-marketing and make sure you are taking full advantage of all Wordeee's built in tools to help you market your work.

Branding
My good friend, Ryan Foland, had this to say about branding in his talk, The 7 Habits for Highly Brandable People. He is an amazing branding guy and was a big hit at our Survive and Thrive Entrepreneur Camp. We asked permission to share this with you because as a Wordeee author, this is the information you need to know. Our vision for you is to turn your works into bankable streams of income, from book to TV, Film, Theater, Speakers Bureau…music…whatever. The power of your works should ensure your life. So here goes:

1. Focus on focusing.
We can't say it enough. Focusing like a laser will increase your chances of success.

2. Say 'yes' to the right things.
The Power of Yes is a good thing, but the Power of No is equally as good. Say yes to things that enhance your brand and no to things that do not. Going off brand will only confuse your audience.

3. Be real, not ideal.
There are a lot of posers out there in cyberspace. Buyer beware snake oil salesmen. They have just left the car industry and landed in cyberspace. Same tactics...all talk and no action. Forget all the learned lines and maximum impact speeches. Be yourself. People see right through pretensions and pomposity, and besides, perfection is intimidating. Authenticity is a big deal when you're talking about your personal brand - it's a personal brand, not a perfect brand. Be yourself and people will want to connect with you.

4. The 3 Cs
The 3 Cs stand for creating consistent content. Here is where you have to know your audience…as we like to say, your tribe.  You don't need the entire world, just the people on your wavelength. So what kind of information would they want from you? And what's the best format for you to deliver this content? Is it written, videoed, or recorded?

5. The five-second first impression.
Is your social media presence consistent with your brand? First impressions say a lot. Is your profile picture representative? You can communicate exactly what you want people to know about you visually so make sure a picture speaks a thousand words. Take control over that first impression people will make about you in the first five seconds.

6. DIY PR: Be visible and accessible.
You can't hide in your office behind your computer and expect to build a personal brand. You need to get out and make yourself visible and accessible. As a Wordeee author have you invited your tribe to your Author Lounge? Try holding live video Q&A sessions from your Author Lounge to interact with your followers. The more visible and accessible you make yourself, the stronger your personal brand. And definitely don't wait to be discovered. Be your own media team. Get out there and apply for everything from TED Talks and press coverage to media interviews and local radio coverage. And when you get them, share them with everybody you know. Get in the habit of tooting your own horn in a way that is part of the tune that you play. This way people will know and recognize your tune. Your online footprint goes only as far as your reach, so don't stand still. Get to as many people in your target audience as possible to share in your victories, large and small.

7. Stack successes
Build your success on a stack of small victories. The reality is that building a personal brand is not something that happens overnight. If you build on the small victories, there's be a snowball effect. Ryan says that sequential steps stack success. When they ask, "What is your experience?" recount and be proud to share your little victories to garner bigger successes.

Here are two more tips to add to the suggestions above:

Understand your industry inside and out.
Your business is only as good as the people running it, yourself included. It's important that you understand your industry inside and out -- it's common sense. But, this also means staying up to date on latest trends, breaking news and your competition. When you do this, it helps to position yourself as a thought leader in your industry, elevating your personal brand to a higher level.

Practice 2-way networking.
A lot of people network the wrong way. They focus on their own needs and personal benefit, completely ignoring those needs and wants of the other person. Focus on 2-way beneficial networking, making sure to give the other person an opportunity to benefit from the relationship as well. This approach will help you secure more connections and opportunities, which will all contribute to strengthening your personal brand.

We hope you found this information helpful.  If there are questions you have, reach out to us at contact@wordeee.com.  We are only too happy to share our expertise with you...our Wordeee tribe.