Want to know how to promote yourself? Stop promoting yourself. Start promoting what people find interesting and amazing. Only by doing so will you succeed in promoting yourself, your business, or your passion.
11. In the 15th century, the Printing Press
was the thing, as almost everyone could now
have access to knowledge that had been
sanctioned as “sacred”, or passed to only a
select few throughout history.
12. In the 19th century, the steam engine was the
thing, as both governments and businesses
capitalized on its potential and ushered the
industrial revolution.
13. In the 20th century, nationalism was the thing. Remember
what caused WWI and WWII, those amazing innovations
(driven mostly by the Cold War), and almost every nation
(around 140) declaring independence?
14. And now we’re in the 21st century. So what
is happening in this century?
15. So much content and information is being produced and the rate of production is accelerating
exponentially. The end result is that we can’t keep up anymore, as everything and everyone is asking for
everyone’s attention. Even if you succeed in getting people’s attention, then you have to strive to get
them to listen. And if they listen then you have to strive to get them to believe. And if they believe,
the you have to strive to get them to become loyal; and so on and so forth. Why do you think companies
are paying $4 million for a 30-second Super Bowl ad? Is it because they’re clueless? On the contrary. It’s
because almost every single entity (companies, NGOs, politicians, artists, etc) relies heavily on some level
of public awareness to survive. But more importantly, they want you to know only a certain portion of
their message or image, and discard the rest.
22. But before going into branding,
here is what you need to know
first.
23. EVERYONE IS NOW A SALESPERSON
When you apply for college, you’re selling yourself to the college. And
guess what admission officials do these days? They look you up to
determine your brand.
When you apply for a job, you’re selling yourself to the employer. And
guess what HR professionals do these days? they look you up to
determine your brand.
When you’re searching for a partner (online or off), you’re selling
yourself to that person. And guess what prospective partners (or at
least the smart ones) do these days? They look you up to determine
your brand.
When you have a business, you’re selling your business to the general
public. And guess what prospective customers do these days? They
look you up to determine your brand - which includes what previous
customers have to say about you - some statistics show that up to
90% of the buying cycle is done (online) before the customer attempts
formal with contact the business/salesperson.
24. So the question now is not
weather you have to do sales. The
question is how good of a
salesperson are you?
25. To put things into perspective, here
are some of the most famous
salespeople you may know.
48. And by Amazingly Different, we don’
t mean Amazing and Good. You
could be Amazing and Bad, as long
as it’s Amazingly Different.
49. Remember the song “Friday” by Rebecca
Black? That song wasn’t the best of
songs (or of any artistic work). And Do
you know how most people felt about it?
52. The point is, if you want to be
Amazingly Different, the goal is to
instill a strong emotional
reaction (good or bad) from
people.
53.
54. Globalization = Equality
Globalization has leveled the playing field. Now everybody can can look
amazing, or produce something amazing, so being amazing is not enough
anymore. If you’re not Really Amazing, then you have to be Amazingly
different.
The best part is, there is no down side to it, because even if
it ends up looking really bad, people will still talk - about how
bad it is. And their chatter will only do one thing: promote you
to others who are unaware.
66. “It is an old and true maxim that 'a drop
of honey catches more flies than a gallon
of gall.' So with men. If you would win a man
to your cause, first convince him that you
are his sincere friend. Therein is a drop of
honey that catches his heart, which, say
what he will, is the great highroad to his
reason, and which, once gained, you will find
but little trouble in convincing him of your
cause.”
68. Basically, he was talking about how to be a great
salesperson - kind of. The point is, that quote is
probably the single best advice you can get if you
want to be good at promoting yourself, or
convincing people of anything.
69.
70. Because People Are Selfish
We all know that you think you’re awesome, and you’re probably right. But you know
who else thinks like that?
72. So talking about how awesome you are will get you nowhere -
not in this century. You have to feed into people’s ego. Talk
about what they long for; what they are interested in; what
they talk to their friends about over lunch.
73. IN OTHER WORDS
If you want to promote yourself but you are
not Really Amazing or Amazingly Different,
produce contents (i.e. blogs), or engage in
discussions, about people and things that are
Really Amazing and Amazingly Different.
75. WHY?
Because for some reason unknown to many, people find
cat videos Really Amazing.
76.
77. IT MEANS
If you’re a salesperson, stop posting shit about
the things you sell.
If you’re a business, stop posting shit about your
business.
If you’re a bum, stop posting shit about your
shitty life.
78.
79. Okay, well maybe you can post a few
things about you.
But
The majority should be about something Really
Amazing, or Amazingly Different, or simply what
your audience cares about.
85. Because if you do that, they’ll come knocking on
your doors, instead of the other way around.
86. Because you want to have a way (i.e. your blog) to
systematically expose yourself to as many people
as possible. Enough exposure eventually leads to
(brand) loyalty and/or recognition.
87. Because you want to establish a platform (i.e.
the comment section of your blog) for your
fans/audience to get to know each other. Allowing
them to do that makes them realize that they’re
not alone in their love for you.
88. Because you want to build relationships with your
audience, like-minded people, or professionals. And
relationships lead to loyalty/recognition. Loyalty
leads to evangelism - you know, people who are
willing to scream at the top of every mountain
about you.
89.
90. FIRST
Clean up your online image.
That includes any images and contents that can harm your
brand.
91. SECOND
Think before you post anything.
If you really think that the things you post on Snapchat will be
deleted forever, then one day you’ll be in for a huge surprise.
92. THIRD
Determine who you are and what you’re trying to
accomplish and then modify your image, message, and
contents accordingly.
Things will change overtime, as you progress in your life, career, business, or passion, but
the most important thing is to create a solid and reputable foundation you can tweak and
build on.
93. FOURTH
Join online communities and forums for professionals,
leaders, and changemakers. This is where you’ll meet,
connect, and learn from very accomplished people and
potential mentors/role models.
There are two types of people in our age: masters and morons. Masters
are people who are actively seeking self improvement and leadership.
Morons are people constantly sexting, consuming clickbait (aka BuzzFeed),
and have little regards for things that truly matter. We all fall into one of two
categories, so choose wisely.
94. And if really want to take things
to another level to promote
yourself, business, or passion, start
a blog.
95.
96.
97. You can blog about anything or everything. The point is to create a
platform that systemically produces engaging and attractive contents
so that
1) You make it easy for people (i.e. prospective clients, mentors, professionals) to find you even if they’re
not looking for you.
2) You can constantly expose yourself to your audience to the point where they become loyal to your
brand.
3) You can build relationships with people who will help you further your cause, passion, or business.
4) You can establish credibility around your brand and look better than the competition.
100. BY THE WAY
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