Personal branding is catching fire in all kinds of places.
My buddy Marie Bernegger, a professional quilter (her NJ state fair first-prize winner “Beyond the Shadow of a Scrap” is shown here) and avid brand spotter, sent me an article from the September/October 2008 Quilter’s Home Magazine, “Hey baby, what’s your QI? Establishing your personal Quilting Identity”.
In her article, Shelly Loveland advises that quilters pay attention to personal branding and the message their quilts send, whether they quilt professionally or for pleasure:
“I know . . . you’re thinking: ‘I’m an artist. I only make quilts as a hobby. Why would I care about this crass marketing stuff?’. . . If you want your work to become instantly recognizable and prize-winning at shows, you definitely need to care about it . . . Identifying your personal brand is important, because you can enjoy quilting more by not sinking time into projects that aren’t Brand You.”
She suggests quilters get started on their QI by:
- Assessing their technical skills and personal attributes,
- Listening to what others admire most about their work,
- Considering what makes them stand out, and
- Moving forward with what they’d like to be known for in the future.
Some of her tips to nail “a rockin’, shockin’, don’t-bother-knockin’ quilting brand identity”:
Give presentations or teach classes to brand themselves as experts in their chosen quilting niche.
Craft a compelling, tight elevator speech that exudes their brand and ignites interest in them.
“Put (their) quilty fabulousness front and center” on their own Website and blog.
Purposefully network to “get the word out about quilting’s ‘Next Big Thing’ (that’s you).”
Monitor the search results when they Google “their name” to see how all their efforts are paying off and to be sure their ever-increasing results are accurate.
Do these tactics sound familiar? If you’ve been reading my posts on personal branding, you’ll find all of them on this blog. Loveland’s dead-on advice aligns precisely with the kinds of things you should be doing to spread your personal brand in executive job search and for overall good career management.
Embrace what is uniquely valuable about you and carry it with you to find a mutually good fit in your next great job opportunity.
Related posts:
Embrace Your Personal Brand and Put It To Work in Your Executive Job Search
Do You Care About Personal Branding and What it Can Do For Your Executive Resume?
