(This is a revision of my RefreshPDX talk, "A Skeptic's Guide to Branding".)
Even the most skeptical geek has to market themselves at some point in their career. All the jargon and tacky buzzwords can turn you away from the idea, but there are benefits to be had. And there's science to back up those benefits.
3. “ I'm an author and programmer.
And a few other things, but we'll get
to those later.
For now, let's judge some books by
their covers.
4.
5. J.D. Robb vs. Nora Roberts
One is bold, strong, masculine.
It evokes action, suspense,
danger.
Looks very much like a thriller.
The other, more feminine and
relaxed.
Even with that title, it feels
non-threatening. A romance,
perhaps.
6. “ Two very different genres.
Two very different books.
Written by the same person.
7. “ That contextual difference, that
sense of targeted brand, is
something authors are great at.
And, in a way, geeks can be too.
9. Audience
Seriously. Pause for a moment. These slides will still be here
when you get back.
Think about what you consider your audience to be. Who are
you marketing to? Whose attention do you want to grab?
Hiring managers?
Potential clients?
Other geeks?
11. “ I know. Sales can be a dirty word.
But sales is all persuasion, and
persuasion is vital to marketing
yourself.
12. “ You know yourself better than
anyone else, even though others
may think they know you.
You have to persuade people that
your interpretation of you is the best.
13. Persuasion
So, how do you persuade someone?
Depends on the audience. This deck has sources cited
because those better persuade a technical audience - my
audience, right now.
But if we're gonna talk about persuasion, let's talk about the
pinnacle of the field: politics.
14. “ People who dodge questions
artfully are liked and trusted more
than people who respond to
questions truthfully but with less
polish.
-- Todd Rogers and Michael Norton
15. Rogers & Norton
These guys are political researchers. They analyzed a bunch
of political speech, ran surveys, so on and so forth.
They found that the most persuasive and likeable
candidates were the most eloquent ones - regardless of
whether or not they actually answered the questions posed
to them.
17. “ This would be really disappointing if
it weren't for paraverbal indicators
of dishonesty.
When most people lie, they stammer.
Their speech becomes less eloquent.
18. “ Really good politicians can overcome
this, but most people give either
subtle or overt tells (described by
Sporer and Schwandt) that make
them seem less eloquent when lying.
People notice, if only subconsciously.
22. Non-bullshitting
When you're trying to market yourself to your audience, you
need to sell them on the idea of you. If you're lying to them,
not only will you not be terribly convincing in the process,
eventually you get caught out. That ruins a lot.
This does require knowing what your audience expects, and
knowing where you do and don't fit that. It means knowing
when an audience isn't for you. It can be tempting to be all
things to all people, but a lot of people suck. It's not worth it.
24. Perception
If you're going to market yourself, it helps to know how
you're seen.
Be honest with yourself. This isn't about what you want
people to see, but what you think (or know!) people see of
you right now.
This can be physical, psychological, anything about you.
Positive, negative, true or false.
26. Brand
Whatever you came up with, that's part of your brand.
Because everything that's perceived about you - true or
false - is part of your brand.
Which means you can't control it. Nobody can.
Brand is in the eye of the beholder.
27. “ However, as design cannot
respond to each person on an
individual basis, designers must
search for some areas of
commonality.
-- Robert Jacobson
28. “ This whole topic is the basis of
Gestalt psychology. Perception and
reality have a complex relationship.
Adjusting reality can adjust
perception, but there are other
approaches that work too.
30. Stories
The human brain likes stories. Just about all advertising is
telling stories, either explicitly or implicitly. Because it works.
We get plenty of opportunities to tell stories - introducing
ourselves, explaining a project, and so on. What we say in
those stories influences what people know and how they
feel.
Truth helps here, but it's not strictly necessary. For example...
31. “ An early 2000s web project called
Significant Objects took small, $1
thrift store items and listed them on
eBay.
But first, they got stories attached to
them. Stories like...
32. “ It dumped snowed one evening, so
I got out my velvet swatch, antler-
handled magnifying glass, and ice
crystal identification guide to take
to the riverbank at sunset.
-- Trinie Dalton
33. “ That's just the first sentence.
It goes on for four paragraphs.
What was it selling?
34.
35. Stories
A butter dish.
It sold for $9.50.
Because it had a strong, evocative story attached to it that
influenced what people felt its value was.
37. “ ...They can also help create a
perception you don't want.
Consider McGregor and Holmes'
research on conflict in romantic
relationships.
38. “ ...the cognitive side effects of
storytelling may help cause
idealization and satisfaction in
relationships.
-- Ian McGregor and John G. Holmes
39. Car Crash Effect
The choice of words can drastically alter a story. Conflict that
once seemed minor can become major.
Say two cars "bumped" and people will think the speed was
lower than if you say those same two cars "smashed".
Stories are vital, but they can do harm just as well as they
can help.
41. “ It's worth mentioning that you have
several "brands", depending on the
context. Each comes with its own
stories.
Sometimes, like pen names, you
want to keep them separate.
43. Identity
Don't worry about what other people see, but don't get too
aspirational. Focus on what you are and do now.
Those aspects are key to your brands, and to the stories you
tell. The overlaps between those - if overlaps exist at all -
are also vital.
For example, I'm a bit of a Venn diagram.
45. Complexity
Different parts of me have different importance. Being an
author is important to me. Musician, not so much.
Most of them overlap, but not all. Being a musician and
being a furry are completely separate.
All of them have stories behind them, each for a different
audience.
48. Pseudonyms
This separation is often why authors have pen names. It
keeps distinct genres apart, so there's less confusion.
In the regular world, there are ways to do this to various
degrees (unique Github or Twitter handles, for example).
But, just as some authors own up to their pen names, there
can be value in letting your stories overlap.
49. “ Furthermore, novel stimuli are
known to activate brain regions
also related to emotional
processing, specifically the
amygdala...
-- Judith Schomaker and Martijn Meeter
50. “ Those overlaps are opportunities for
novelty.
People pay attention to novelty.
Done right, it can help draw in and
build your audience.
52. “ There's a line here. Too weird and
you trigger fight-or-flight reactions.
Not weird enough and you don't
stand out.
Often, it's better to be more familiar.
Birds of a feather and whatnot.
53. Localized Weirdness
What determines "too weird" is very context-driven. This is
one more reason it's so important to know your audience.
Sometimes it takes serious effort to stand out. Sometimes,
just being the one woman in the room does it.
And what's weird enough for one person might be too weird
for another. It takes care to optimize, but it helps you
market yourself.
59. “ For the rest of us, it helps to think of
marketing simply as exposure.
That's because effective marketing is
the Mere Exposure Effect in action.
60. “ ...mere exposure to a briefly
presented stimulus can increase
positive affect through familiarity...
-- John G. Seamon; Nathan Brody;
David M. Kauff
61. Mere Exposure
In a broad sense, the more people see you the more
positively they think of you. It takes a long time for
familiarity to breed contempt.
This has been observed since Robert Zajonc did his work in
the 60s. It turned out, it almost doesn't matter what you do.
The exposure was what really mattered.
62. Want Exposure?
▪ Go to meetups
▪ Write some code
▪ Make some design mockups
▪ Write a blog
▪ Give talks
▪ Write a book
▪ …
▪ I dunno, just make stuff
▪ (Hopefully stuff your audience would like)
▪ And show it to them!
63. “ "To your audience" is the key part.
Even the luckiest of us have limited
resources. There's only so much
money, and we'll all die one day. So
focusing your exposure is incredibly
important.
65. “ Remember that whole Venn Diagram
thing? Slide 44? Good times.
Each circle is a different audience.
How you market to one isn't
necessarily how you do another.
66. “ After all, Nora Roberts doesn't
mention J.D. Robb on her website.
But then, Dean Koots has a
bibliography column for his pen
names, so...
67.
68. Audience Focus
Paul Jarvis has his "rat people". It's not his main audience, but
it's got some overlap, and it's important to his marketing.
A narrower focus on marketing to an audience gives you more
freedom to be honest without hitting the fight-or-flight stage.
Kevin Kelly popularized the "1,000 True Fans", but the size of
this audience doesn't matter as much as the focus and honesty.
70. “ That narrowness helps minimize
fight-or-flight reactions.
Doesn't avoid them, though.
Remember, brand is relative.
Everyone has their own idea of
what's "too weird".
71. “ …[evidence] suggests that
oxytocin, in conjunction with
female reproductive hormones
and endogenous opioid peptide
mechanisms, may be at its core.
-- Shelley E. Taylor, et. al.
72. Fight-or-Flight
"Too weird" can be something as innocuous as being female or PoC.
It's extremely relative.
It probably won't surprise victims of harassment to learn that fight-
or-flight can be gender biased. Men lean to fight, women lean to
flight. Not always, but it's a studied lean.
No matter what, it's an inherent evolutionary reaction, and an
inescapable part of marketing yourself - or anything else.
Sometimes you just get a bad reaction.
74. Gut Checks
Sometimes marketing is just bad, tone-deaf, offensive. But many
times, it's perfectly acceptable, but it still turns someone away. It
was too weird for them, or not weird enough to grab their
attention.
Remember, brand is relative. But you have to consider how many
people is too many. If you think you're losing too much audience,
regroup. You don't want to market yourself into a bubble.
76. What Next?
A lot of effective marketing requires self-awareness - knowing
who you are, what your audience is, what you could and should
offer. It's a difficult, ongoing process that requires constant
experimentation.
And it requires a lot of self-trust.
After all, you know you. It's your career you're marketing. Tell
your story the way you know is right.
77. Thank You!
Zoe Landon - @hupfen
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Irrelevant stock photos via Death to Stock
