branding

I met my soon-to-be wife on eHarmony.

The site's claim of matching people up based on some compatibility questionnaire is absurd. I was on the site twice, each time for about 6 months, and I was matched with 3,000 people. The power of an instant deep connection, which they prophesize in their ads, is thrown out the window as soon as you're bombarded with 10 new matches every day.

What matters at this point? First impressions.

Both her and I said we were excited about each other's profile. How often do you think I felt that? Maybe one out of every 100 profiles. I saw profiles I liked, I started communicating with a number of women, but only 1% of my matches made me excited and hopeful.

How is this important?

You could use your first impression to make yourself presentable to the highest number of people possible. You can get your foot in the door right away with ease.

On the other hand, you could use your first impression to snare the people you want and get most everyone else to go away. You speed up the process by doing this.

I'm glad my profile snared the right person in the end.

Tell me what you think when I post this name:

Rush Limbaugh

Talk about a controversial figure. Forget that he has rabid fans and harsh opponents, because Rush is far more than that. He has people who cannot stand him yet agree with his views, and people who love his personality yet disagree with him on so many levels.

His willingness to stand for what he believes in is what has brought him his success. He is has the most-listened to radio show in the USA. He released a pair of #1 best-selling books in the 90's. It's the kind of success so many dream about.

It also stands in his way of some things in life.

Rush was dropped from a group of investors looking to buy the St. Louis Rams NFL franchise. On the surface it makes little sense. Limbaugh was a minority investor, not the leader of the group, and would not have much power over the Rams.Read more

Have you ever thought about your personal brand?

This has been the first 8 months of my blog's purpose. To figure out who my writing self is and what he likes to discuss. I've bounced enough ideas around to get a feel for what I can bring to the table and what I should keep tucked away. In the end, the writing I set out to do is not the writing I am going to continue to do.

Because I need to write about what I do and think about, not what I envision myself as.

That's what branding strikes me as. It's a reflection, it's a photograph. Don't worry, you can still clean up nice and tell the photographer to get your good side. Give yourself credit where credit is due. Embellishments are bad and noticeable, like a bad photoshopped picture. Remember these rules, because you're not marketing to customers, you're marketing to people, and some of them are brighter than you think.

So many people focus on the branding side of things, as if drawing people in is the most important thing in the world. In the end, what you offer is what keeps someone around. Branding is just projecting the best you have to offer. The key here: you need to offer something worth branding!Read more