7 Ways to Be Everywhere – Building a Brand Online
Last week, an SPI reader asked me the following question:
“Pat. You seem to be EVERYWHERE online. Everywhere I go, people are talking about you and your name always comes up. How do you do it?”
To be honest, I never believed I would become this successful online, especially with SPI – a blog in the “make money online” niche, which as you probably know is wildly over saturated. Although my success is partially accidental I know exactly why I’m here.
What it really comes down to is this:
If you want to become successful online, you must think about what you do as building a brand. In order to build a brand, you must do what you can to be everywhere.
A successful blogger is not just a blogger. True – it’s the blog where things get started. It’s where authority is constructed and content is published. But if you stick to just a blog, you’ll be just that – stuck to your blog.
Your blog or your website is only the beginning. It’s your hub, your homebase where people can go to find out more about who you are and what you do, but it’s also just one piece of the giant puzzle that is your brand – your omnipresent, influential and (if applicable), money making brand.
Below are 7 ways to simply be everywhere:
1. Step Out of Your Comfort Zone
Before I get into more specific, actionable items, you must first realize that “being everywhere” isn’t going to be a walk in the park. It’s going to be uncomfortable at times because you’re doing things that you aren’t used to or even scared to do.
With that said, let me tell you this: the only thing holding you back is you.
In The 4-Hour Work Week. Tim Ferriss gives us some exercises to perform throughout the book to help train our entrepreneurial minds. One particular exercise was to enter a crowded area and lay yourself down flat on the floor, looking upwards.
What’s the point?
The point is that it will train you to do things that you wouldn’t normally do, to get you to not worry so much about what other people are thinking and just take action – no matter how silly or ridiculous an idea may be at the time.
When I first thought about writing my first eBook, it was something I honestly did not want to do. I was afraid of the process and I didn’t know if it would sell even one copy. Well, I’m glad I stepped out of my comfort zone and decided to write that eBook, because it turned into a six-figure online business.
2. Keep Your Brand Consistent
The goal is to be everywhere, but the trick is to make it as easy as possible for people to recognize that you are indeed everywhere. This means using the same graphics and the same logos where ever you are online.
This is important, because image recognition is the number one way that people make connections in their brain. Huge companies know this, and even babies know this when they recognize the face of their mother for comfort and food.
This is why I do my best to brand each of my pages online the same. My blog, my Twitter account, and even my Facebook Landing Page all look very similar. My gravatar (which stands for Globally Recognized Avatar – the image that shows up next to my comments on any site that I leave comments on) even uses the same exact picture as in these profiles.
3. Explore Other Forms of Media
So you have a blog.
Have you ever thought about expanding your brand onto other media types such videos? How about podcasting? Live streaming? Printed books?
Only only will this help you get more traffic by reaching people you wouldn’t normally reach with a blog alone, but it will definitely expand your brand as well.
Darren Rowse from Problogger.net was the first person I knew from online that was “everywhere”.
I knew about his blog, but then I went to Barnes and Noble and saw his printed book in person. Seeing that book really changed my view about who he was and made him (and his blog) even more of an authority in the blogging niche in my eyes. He has definitely done a great job expanding his brand because he also has videos, podcasts and has done some live streaming in the past, not to mention an additional printed book that he just recently published.
He’s at the top of his niche for a reason.
For myself, I’m getting there. I have a great following on YouTube and am about to launch a podcast as well.
4. Get Onto Social Networks
This one should be a given.
If you’re not utilizing Social Networks like Twitter or Facebook as an extension of your blog (not just to spy on your friends, but to network with your audience and actually provide good, relevant content on), then you’re not doing everything you can to be everywhere. The thing is: THIS is where everyone is!
Plus, the simple viral nature of these sites alone does wonders to help expand your brand and get noticed by people who would never have heard of you otherwise.
Luckily, it doesn’t take more than 5 minutes to setup a Twitter account (although it may take a bit more time to change the graphics and “brand it”), and I’ve laid out exactly how to setup your Facebook Page here.
5. Write Guest Posts on Other Blogs
This is huge.
HUGE!
Guest blogging is probably the easiest way to get a load of relevant traffic to your blog in the shortest amount of time. Beyond that, and even more important for your brand, you and your site’s url (and possibly your logo too) will be shown to tons of people who may have never heard of you or your website before. After getting published, you’ll be instantly known by that much more people when they come across the blog post live on the site or in the blog owner’s RSS feed.
There are several free guides about how to guest post online. My favorites are Glen Allsop’s Guest Blogging: The Ultimate Guide and Chris Guthrie’s Guest Posting [Ultimate Guide]. Yep – that’s two ultimate guides right there.
6. Over-deliver On Your Content
Okay, I have to mention by buddy Glen at Viperchill.com once again. He’s the master of over-delivering and a prime example of what can happen to a blog when you over-deliver on your content.
About 95% of the posts he writes on his blog are massive, tutorial-like blog posts that I’m sure take hours and hours of research and work. His posts are art in the form of words, and he goes into so much depth about everything that it literally makes me drool.
Recently, he just surpassed the 10,000 subscriber mark (although Feedburner is acting weird lately, but nonetheless), which means he earned about 9,000 subscribers in less than a year. That’s unheard of in the blogging world.
It didn’t happen because he writes blog posts consistently. He doesn’t – even though that’s “the rule” we’re all supposed to follow. It happened because his posts always over-deliver, and because they do, they spread like wildfire and his subscribership grows as a result.
When I’ve taken the time to write KILLER posts (and I mean posts that take days of research and just really have a ton of great content in it), I’ve seen all of my numbers grow as a result, including viral numbers like retweets and likes, which help expand my brand to people I’ve never reached before.
7. Create Raving Fans
It takes time, but if you continue to provide good content on your blog and build a nice community behind it, after a while you’ll eventually see that you and your blog may accumulate a number of “raving fans”. I like to think I have a few here on SPI, and I love each and everyone one of them to death.
Ravings fans should be treated like royalty, and you should go out of your way to make them happy. Do favors for them, or just spend time talking to them on Facebook or through email.
Why?
Because they are the ones who spread the word about you and your site. Some raving fans are more enthusiastic than others, but each one plays an important role in expanding your brand and influencing people who you alone cannot.
Let me say that again: your raving fans will influence people who you alone cannot.
This is why each and everyday I notice a huge influx of traffic from a few random websites that I’ve never been to before. My name and a link to my site show up on forums and blogs around the world not because of me, but because of my raving fans and their recommendations.
Thank you – you know who you are.
Posted on : July 7th, 2010
Related posts:
- The Smart Passive Income Brand and Plans for the Future
- 5 Little Known Ways to Grow Your Blog
- Quick Ways to Utilize These 4 Non-Google Search Engines
- Cold Selling Sucks – 5 Ways to Build a Relationship With Your Traffic
- 5 Ways to Hack Giving Up
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66 Comments (Click Here to Leave a Comment Below)
Hey Patt..
This is awesome post. All 7 tips are really mandatory for building brand online. Thanx for making this valuable post.
Thanks Hetal, I appreciate it!
Really great post Pat!
exactly, get out of your comfort zone.
Thanks a lot for the great post,
-Onibalusi
Thanks Onibalusi – it can be hard at times, but it feels great to accomplish things that would normally not be on your list of things to do. Cheers!
I agree with you Pat. It’s not easy, but doing it the hard way will always be the sweetest once you accomplished you goal.
Thanks for pointing me to that ViperChill website. It seems to me like a good blog to subscribe to. A lot of great tips there. So can you write a guest post on my blog? haha just kidding. I know you’re too busy.
Glen is the man, for sure. Definitely my top recommendation as far as another site to subscribe to.
Although I’m busy, I wouldn’t mind spending time later on writing a guest post for your blog. Just let me know. Cheers!
Hi Pat,
Excellent advice. I am guilty of not following a quite a lot of those, so thanks for pointing out these ways of being everywhere.
You are absolutely right about raving fans. But they do not just become raving fans instantly. It is because you provide EXCELLENT value and information from the bottom of your heart. You really are sincere to your readers and that is why in turn you get raving fans.
Wish you even more success in future!
Nabeel
You’re right, having raving fans doesn’t happen instantly. In fact, it takes quite a long time, and it’s been only recently, after a year and a half, that I’ve noticed a handful of people really going out of their way to help promote SPI. It really means a lot, and they’ve been instrumental to my recent rapid growth.
I appreciate the kind words. All the best to you!
Hey Pat,
I just wanted to say that I appreciate the fact that you admit that you were scared to do things and that to successfully build your online brand you need to move outside your comfort zone.
Thanks for keeping it real and keep up the good work!
Kris
I’ve been keeping it real from the beginning, and I’m definitely not changing that
Indeed, doing business online is scary for the newbie, but after some time and some practice, what to do almost becomes second nature. Thanks Kris!
Wow! Good for you Pat. After a year and a half, you have several people promoting your blog, so that’s passive traffic for you.
Congrats! =)
Gary
Hey Pat,
Really Awesome Post. Those are Some Brilliant points dude.
Thanks for sharing this great Post man.
~Dev
Thanks man!
YES! This post totally just fired me up. I have been sitting on a couple of ideas that I kept “forgetting” to take action on. Deep down I know I have been avoiding them because they are out of my comfort zone. You totally kicked me in the ass with this post and I’m very motivated to take action… which I’m going to go and do right now :O
Hehe, that’s what I’m here for Justin. I’m glad I coulc help you get back into gear. Cheers bud!
Hey Pat,
I, for one, as a new reader of your blog, absolutely love what you have put together. I agree that Glen at viperchill is doing a rave job. You are also. I absolutely hate blogs that have the same rehashed junk on them.
You know the social thing has served you well. It’s obvious from the FB page, etc.
Keep doing the good work friend.
Brandon
Hey Brandon – if there’s anyone who I know is doing most, if not all of these things I mentioned, it’s you. Your blog has seen rapid growth similar to Glen’s, and I know we’ll be seeing a lot more of you in the future. Keep up the good work as well buddy! Cheers!
Hey Pat,
I must say getting out the comfort zone is a big one. I’ve been emailing and calling people I don’t know to get them to post to my site and it has been working just fine. People have just started to post soccer events – I’ve only got a handful. But I figured if I work hard at it, I can get more people to post. If I can get 1 person to post, I can get 5. If I can get 5, I can get 10. If I can get 10, I can get 50 and so on. It might take a while for me to get the monetization for the site going but I am definitely down for the ride!
Cheers,
Ricardo
Ricardo – I’ve got to commend you because any work that requires calling people on the phone is almost just as nerve-wracking as selling things door to door, face to face with people. If you can do that, then you can definitely do anything it takes to expand your brand and build your business. Keep up the great work! It definitely is a wild ride!
Honestly, I think “Over-deliver On Your Content” is the magic bullet if there ever was one. Glen’s blog (and your blog!) are prime examples. While you do need all the other items on your list to really make it big online, over-delivering on content is really what separates the best from the rest.
I know you’re already aware of this, but Glen only seems to write 3-5 posts PER MONTH and he’s experienced growth that few blogs have seen in a relatively short period of time. “Content is king” might be an understatement!
- Eric
Thanks Eric! It’s true, he only posts like 3 to 5 times a month, which like you said just shows that content has A LOT to do with it. One other connection is that case studies from personal experience tend to be easy pieces of great content to write – both Glen and I do a lot of case studies as well.
Cheers Eric!
Excellent, Pat! I try my best to use each and every one of these strategies. There is an ebb and flow to which one(s) are most prominent at any given time, but I can’t agree more with the list you’ve provided here.
Dustin, your blog is a prime example of just how great a blog can be in a non-make money online niche, using these very same strategies. Keep crushing it dude! I’m seeing you everywhere now
Hah, I didn’t know that Glen made a post like that and used “Ultimate” in it as well otherwise I may have chosen a different title lol. Ah well, I want to use the “Ultimate Guide” phrase to tackle a variety of topics so that eventually I’ll have free ultimate guides on nearly every subject related to blogging, internet marketing etc.
Great closing line though. I’m sure you get emails every day where people mention they heard about you from a friend of a friend etc. It’s very cool to see how people find a site when they haven’t done it via the more traditional style methods.
Very cool Chris – I think having a bunch of ultimate guides would make you, well, the ultimate guide for helping people how to do various things online!
You’re right on: Guest posting is absolutely awesome. It directly provides traffic, and you get to build in a couple links in your bio. It’s been my most successful method of growing traffic, hands-down.
On the other hand, I’m still getting rolling on twitter, and have yet to even make a facebook page for my blog…
Things take time Mike, but I’m glad you’ve utilized guest posting because like you said, it’s one of the most successful tactics one can do to grow their blog. For sure.
Err, just checked my comments and it looks like Glen thinks I copied him… that’s disappointing.
Hey Chris – I don’t think he really thinks you copied him, he just said the styles are similar. I wouldn’t think too much of it really. Both are different in my eyes and provide a solid background to guest posting. Plus, like you mentioned, the topic has been covered in several places online, and there are only so many ways to say the same thing. By reading his comment, I don’t think he thought you copied him. Plus, he gave you a winky eye as a way to let you know it ‘s all good yo.
Yah good call. Ah well, can’t please everyone even if he does think I copied him. Thanks for the link and looking forward to seeing you at Blog World. (I was thinking of going early to play some Texas Hold Em Tournaments – let me know if you’re interested)
Hey Pat,
Thanks for this post. Definitely some valid points I’d like to follow. To go along with point #2 I think transparency and explaining your story helps too.
Absolutely – good call Sean. Thanks!
All very valid points for me.
Got to make headway in these areas in the second half of 2010.
Thanks for reminding us again the importance of networking and guest posting.
Yep, we still have a lot of time left in 2010 to really get some good work done. Keep at it! Cheers!
Most important thing you said in this post, IMHO: “But if you stick to just a blog, you’ll be just that – stuck to your blog.”
“True – it’s the blog where things get started.”
Not ENTIRELY true, Pat (I think I know what you mean, though)….Granted, I may be a bit different than the ‘norm’ with my heavy emphasis on Web 2.0 Social Media/Revenue Share/Content Aggregation sites, however, it’s these very sites that have already provided me a great platform to establish authority by utilizing forums/articles/Author Bios/etc to really HELP people. I’ve done this with Info Barrel, Squidoo, and a few other sites….and, I truly believe, when I finally release my blog, that these Web 2.0 sites, if used correctly, can really help to develop, promote, and reinforce my personal brand/website, as well. Even though I DO favor Info Barrel, in that respect, very highly, my hope is that people will come to value my research and look forward to my content as someone who is always willing to help and go the extra mile to see people succeed.
Howie – you’re an exception to the norm, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone crush it as much as you have OFF of their site. Well, I know you don’t have a site right now, but it’s coming and it will be interesting to see how rapidly you grow since you have a following already. I guess where ever you start – blog, podcast, revenue share sites, etc. we can apply these rules and branch out from there.
“I knew about his blog, but then I went to Barnes and Noble and saw his printed book in person.”
That’s where I came across his book, as well, Pat. Since reading it, I determined to the same.
I will. Just watch.
Let’s do it
Another point one can add is pure hard work and dedication.
Pat you obviously spend a lot of time and effort to get your name and brand out there.Thanks for of all the effort you have put in, I first came across you from the podcast you did with Yaro, and admire they way you about representing yourself and your business.
Thanks Phil – I appreciate the kind words.
Definitely, hard work and dedication are a part of the equation too. Without that, none of this other stuff can really happen.
Cheers Phil!
Another quality loaded post brought to you by…….PAT
This was great man, thanks for the value you bring with each article.
Thanks Marcus! I always try my best to bring quality content for you guys. Woot!
Really good article. Speaking of over delivering. Pat you do a really good job describing the way you created your brand.
Thanks Dustin! I try to set an example for everyone else, so I don’t just talk the talk.
A subtle message I get from this is that, It’s not about being everywhere but being “perceived” to be everywhere by delivering great value… Good stuff..
Great way to put it James – I wish I had mentioned that in the article. I appreciate your insight, as always, James!
Thanks for sharing this Pat. I know it takes huge amount of time before someone’s brand gets recognized, but once that’s achieved, it’s really a great feeling. You’ve had your breakout moment, now I’m waiting for mine. =)
Keep it up!
Gary
Yeah – I think that’s why many people never get there, because it takes time and people want it to happen right away. Have you read “The Dip? by Seth Godin – I definitely recommend it – it talks about the same kind of stuff, and really motivating for just keeping at it and then exploding!
Nope. But thanks for recommending it. I’ll check that out. =)
Regards,
Gary
Hi Pat,
Thanks for sharing this post. I have followed some of your tip and strategies for a lil’ while now and I must they have certainly put my focus in the right place, so I appreciate that. Thanks for this post. I read your posts, 3-part series for blogging tricks for you tube, would you be able to do a similar video as you did with the facebook landing page on how you can customise your youtube channel page. This is relative to the branding points you make above.
Have a great day and keep up the good work Pat.
Thanks
Marvin
Hey Marvin, I’m glad I could help you get focused! That’s why I do what I do.
I think a video about YouTube would be great, but I’m actually thinking about doing an eBook as well. All I need is to find the time – guess it’s time to reallocate my schedule and priorities again.
Thanks again! Cheers!
Hi Pat,
excellent advice and suggestions here as always! I’ve just started my journey into social media (firstly with Twitter) and even at this early stage I can see the potential is huge. Particularly for some of my other projects.
I also agree with your point on stepping out of your comfort zone. A lot of building an on-line presence is alien to people’s natural sense of privacy and reserve. I may draw the line at lying on my back in the middle of a shopping mall however!
Another great post Pat,
the most of it makes sense, I still can’t work out the social site bit, unless you have a big following you don’t seem to get a following, if you know what i mean! people will follow you and you don’t have a clue why, so you don’t follow them and they are gone!! don’t figure? why did they come in the first place? sorry for getting off the track there, as a said a long time ago GOOD POST
Wow, thanks for these AWESOME tips!
Guest posting is my next step – those two guides were EXACTLY what I was looking for. Many thanks for recommending them!
I agree Pat, we do need to be everywhere. I haven’t gotten into guest posting yet. But I will soon. Thanks for the links and tips.
Good read and great tips. Thanks.
I’m really going to take your advice of exploring other media. I know I’ve been postponing it but I’ll try my best to make time for it this month. You and the other bloggers have proven the power of videos and podcasts and we would like to enjoy its benefits too. Thanks.
You are amazing, Pat. I’m taking your advices and going to start doing it right about now! Million thanks to you.
Hi Pat,
What a find your blog is, which I found via Erica Douglass’ blog, and I’m so glad that I have. Your points are really relevant and extremely helpful. I’m just starting out with a blog, so any help and ideas that I can get are very much appreciated. I really want to earn my living from the internet, and I love your inspiration.
I am on my second reading of Tim Ferriss’ book, and I have found so many good ideas, that lift your thinking beyond what you would normally think on a day to day basis, when you are buried in your business and day-to-day life.
Hey Pat,
I love how you said this. Pretty much everyone who blogs about blogging tells you to “be everywhere” and “build your brand,” but lots of them expect that you already know what that means. Nice job providing an easy-to-follow resource for the beginners out there.
I really enjoy your blog. Good work Pat.
nice article, definitely.
[...] In fact, I just wrote a post about how I’ve expanded my brand, which gives people the illusion that I am indeed [...]