Quite a few people have been interested in how I managed to secure my press coverage, and get the speaking gigs and international workshops – and I wanted to share my system to help others.

Here’s a sneak peek into my personal branding course. It takes you all the way from identifying what you could use for your “expert status” all the way through to launching your personal brand.

Also, when I have been doing the coaching with Simon Coulson‘s students about setting up an online business, I have spotted a lot of the same problems cropping up time and time again when it comes to implementing an online business and feeling really overloaded about what tools (free and paid) to use that get your consultancy up and running in the global market place.

So to help people struggling to work out how to promote their brand, once they have sorted it out, I’ve written a book on how I coach people to get results. It’s available on Kindle at the moment and will be available in printed format in about 8 weeks on Amazon. You can take a look here:

http://www.amazon.com/Launch-Successful-Personal-Brand-ebook/dp/B007EF0D38/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1330962267&sr=8-2

So all in all a  busy few weeks!

If you want help launching your personal brand, just give me a shout – I’d love to help you take your business to the next (and far more interesting) level!

If you’d like to share your thoughts, post up a comment below!

I’ve just been watching the news and seen the latest UK Youth Unemployment figures.  I can’t speak for you, but the situation young people currently face has got my blood boiling!

Something has to be done. 

It was 21.3% in October 2011 and it’s gone up again!

UK youth unemployment rate: 22.3%, up 1%: 1.04 million unemployed 16 to 24 year olds.

Now your mileage may vary, but I think young people being shown that a “permanent job” is the best option to aim for is doing them a massive dis-service. It limits their options and promotes a way of working that is on its knees.

There’s just not enough traditional “jobs” for the people looking for opportunities.

It’s time to face the facts. Jobs for life have gone. Young people (and the older ones who are made redundant and find themselves also stuck on the scrap heap) need to be shown how to be flexible and significantly more entrepreneurial in the way they view the world of work.

The Old “Jobs For Life” Model Is Dead! Stop Promoting It As The Best Solution!

When I look at the US Bureau of Labour Statistics as an example, the figures from a Sept 2011 study state the average worker will now have a whopping 10 to 15 jobs each lasting around 3 years at a time. So the idea of you joining a firm, being there for 20 or 30 years and getting a gold watch when you leave, well I’m afraid that’s long gone and whether you’re freelance or employed, not only will you be changing jobs types, you’ll also be changing career. This study also estimated you will change career 5-7 times during your whole working lifetime.

And I strongly believe this is a global phenomenon, not just a US thing. So why is this still peddled (can I say peddled) as the silver bullet and what young people should be aiming for? It really does amaze me.

Young People Need More Entrepreneurial Help

What job-seekers need to be able to do more than anything else is adapt and showcase why they are the perfect choice for a specific opportunity or project. They need to be able to go from opportunity to opportunity, to be flexible and to follow what the market needs to have these really, great career chances given to them. If people are not flexible,  not dynamic, not motivated, not proactive then it’s very, very easy to get stuck in a rut and get nothing but low-paid, dull work – or worse still nothing at all.

I’ve been lucky enough to be able to adapt. I’ve only ever had 1 permanent job, which I did for 11 months, back in 1994 – after that I’ve always created my own opportunities. I could have plodded going from 1 two year job to another (so I didn’t look like an unreliable “jumper”), but that just wasn’t for me.

I started playing around with computer at the age of 12 and had my first computer job at 15 – a job I created for myself by showing I could solve a problem (stock control and customer lists) for a local business.

And that’s what I think is missing – that ability to assess personal strengths and expertise and use those as a basis for an adaptable, successful professional career.

Unemployed? Interested In Trying A New Strategy? I Genuinely Want To Help!

So, what I want to do is reach out to motivated, entrepreneurial young people and mentor and coach them to follow a strategy like mine. (You can see what I’ve been up to here: Press. Events. )

I just want to be clear – this isn’t about me – it’s about people who know how to create opportunities to pass that knowledge onto our young people.  I’m more than happy to share how I’ve created these opportunities. It’s time to step up and do something.

This is completely free for the candidates. I have sufficient time to work with 5 people for now via email and skype 30 minutes a week.  I want to share my system with you. All I ask in return is we keep in touch and you let me know how you are progressing after we’ve finished working together. I reckon we would need 2-3 weeks to share what I know and for you to apply it to your situation – and we can do everything online – so it really doesn’t matter where you’re based.

If you’re a young person struggling to get started in your professional career, contact me via my contact form NOW and let me know about how you would like me to help you kickstart your worklife.  I’ll choose 5 people at random by Wednesday 1st February.

What’s you’re opinion?

Are you a student who is affected? Are you a business owner who could offer some advice and support? Post your thoughts below. Thanks.

My inspiration has come from a friend of mine, John Richardson, who set himself a “1000 hour challenge” – you might find it a useful technique to try yourself.

John decided to spend 1000 hours improving his golf skills – dramatically!

1000 Hour Challanges

I have to confess I know very little about golf, but I met John at a marketing event a couple of years ago he told me what happened when he set his challenge. He says a person needs around 1000 hours to master a brand new skill and he used that as a starting point and went on to devote himself to his golf training.

After his 1000 hours, he wrote a book based on his experience, called “Dream On” which went on to become a bestseller. The book explained what happened when he spent his time on the course improving his skills to hit his goal targets, doing something others said was “impossible” if he was to keep his day job and be a good dad and husband.

Now they’re making a film about his story – he shared a link to the IMDB page. There’s not much to see right now on there but filming starts soon, he says,

What a story though. Not only did his investment in 1000 hours to improve is golf skills lead to him succeeding on the course,  but the success lives on as others get inspired by his story. Plus he became a published author and is hitting the film industry too!

My Challenge for 2012

Galvanised by John’s experience, I’ve decided to set my own 1000 hour challenge last week – (my mission which I have chosen to accept is) to study advertising and copywriting maestros and work on my written word in the wonderful world of online sales. I’ve always looked for someone else to write my sales copy for me. But really, there’s no reason why I can’t work on it myself – apart from me flapping and worrying and just not getting on with mastering it.

I am 19 hours into my challenge so far, and I have written over 5000 words of sales copy in 4 days, which I am quite pleased with. I get to test it next week when it goes live – let’s see how it performs.

So what would you like to conquer? What do you need to master once and for all? Would a 1000 hour challenge help you succeed at something that really matters to you?

Got an idea??? –  Go do it!

If you want to do some general goal setting for 2012, I did a blog post on it and you can download a free SMART goals form - if you’ve never set one before, it’s all explained.

So all that remains now is for me to wish you all a very happy 2012! And a cross off a few more hours mastering copywriting today….

Professional covers show you care about the quality of your information and want to create great products for customers – you’ve not just flung any old stuff together in the hope that some sucker will buy it (As a high-calibre online professional you want to distance yourself from that strategy as much as possible! Period.)

I have Photoshop on my PC and I’ve had some brilliant results from using “ActionScripts” ( – macros for Photoshop) which take my flat design, work the magic and create a 3d Cover in minutes.  A well presented flat design can turn into a high quality cover at the touch of a button. Fantastic!

I know I could outsource getting the covers done, but by the time I have specified the job and outsourced it, I could have done it myself. Investing once in the software has saved me a lot of time and trouble.

Here are my suggestions. Why not take a look.

3d Covers Design Tools

• Easy Cover Action Script
  If you’ve got Photoshop and you can design your covers yourself, with a click of a button, you can turn your 2D design into a 3D design, creating books, magazines, boxes, membership cards and more.
• eCover Go
  This is an online tool, so it’s great if you haven’t got Photoshop:)  Just upload your flat graphic of your book cover, choose a 3d view you like, press a button and your 3D product shot is ready for download. There are all the usual things like boxes, booklets, DVDs and more.

Do you have another way of creating 3D eCovers? It would be great to hear your experiences. Just send me a comment using the form below! Thanks.

p.s. if you need free software to edit Photoshop files (.PSD), take a look at Gimp – crazy name, but a great free tool.  http://www.gimp.org. It has a lot of the features that Photoshop has, but without the hefty price tag!

To combat that, here’s 101 ideas for blog posts you can use to get you going again. If you have a favourite, post up a comment below and let me know!

1. Write a tutorial

2. Listen to some great music and let your mind wander to something random

3. Interview someone interesting

4. Write a follow up to an earlier post

5. Write a rant

6. Write a post for beginners on a specific topic

7. Read your journal (keep an idea/dream log at all times)

8. Write about “the ugly truth” about something

9. Pay attention to daily events

10. Explain a new term or concept

11. Watch a great movie

12. Review article directories for your niche

13. Create a list of your most favorite posts or websites

14. Share a really good decision you made recently

15. Draw inspiration from your children or your pets

16. Change your routine (get a whole new perspective)

17. Write about your to-do list and what you have planned

18. Watch Magazine Format TV shows

19. Run a contest/giveaway

20. Write about three wishes you would ask your genie

21. Take something complicated and break it down into a bite sized step by step list

22. Write a “____ for Dummies” post

23. Write about a famous person you’d like to be friends with

24. Do a case study/conduct an experiment – reveal the results

25. Is there a new product that has just been released?

26. Watch a sunrise or sunset and meditate for inspiration

27. Google’s auto-suggest

28. Listen to talk radio

29. Write about a quote that is meaningful to you

30. Create a mini-course from a mindmap you have and create a series

31. Praise another blogger/visionary that you really admire

32. Write about something you’d like to invent

33. Write about a success tip for your industry

34. Write about poetry or music that you have written

35. Visit your local library or bookstore and research something

36. 75 Blog Quotes For Inspiration, Creativity & Success

37. Solve a problem

38. Create some visual eye candy with beautiful pictures

39. Chec out TED: Ideas Worth Spreading

40. Talk to other bloggers and exchange ideas

41. Highlight a useful video on YouTube

42. Write a “The Best of ____” post

43. Draw inspiration from your readers, and the comments that they leave

44. Write a post to make your readers laugh

45. Write about a good or bad habit that you have

46. Create a top 10 list

47. Think about conversations you’ve had with friends in person or on the phone

48. Write a post that is for advanced readers on a specific topic

49. Is there something interesting in your email?

50. Write about ideas and places where your readers might find blogging inspiration!

51. Write about challenges you’ve faced

52. Take an idea from another industry and write about how it could work in yours

53. Write about an event you attended

54. Write about your favorite book

55. Answer a question from a reader

56. Visit online forums

57. Create a Flickr photo album and explain it

58. Create a massive series – 100 Inspirational Posts To Make You A Better …

59. Read magazine headlines

60. Tell people how to by inspired by…

61. Make a list of resources that will help your readers

62. Write about a historical event

63. Write a book review

64. Invite a guest writer

65. Video yourself doing something funny or complicated

66. Visit Your favorite blogs/websites

67. Expand on someone else’s post or comment

68. Write about new trends or new technologies

69. Check TV shows that are popular

70. Give a tour of your blog

71. Get out in nature

72. Describe something from your childhood

73. Look for some popular topics on Delicious

74. Write about your opinion on something that is different than the standard opinion

75. Pose a question

76. Write a ‘part 2’ or follow up to a previous post

77. Write about a concept design you read about

78. Write about the greatest lesson you’ve learned in your life

79. Analyze a graph, pie chart or flowchart

80. Write a stream of consciousness post

81. Conduct a poll and write about the results and your conclusions

82. Google image search

83. Interact with someone in person or in a platform like Google+

84. Write a how-to about something you do really well

85. Write about someone you love

86. Write about comment sense things that everyone should know

87. Is there something interesting in the news?

88. Write about a success story

89. Write about FAQs for your niche

90. Write a mission statement for your blog

91. Hot Topics – Inspiration for people in your industry

92. Give away secrets to your readers

93. Write about the things or people you are thankful for

94. Listen for ideas at your workplace

95. Write about the internal dialogue you have with yourself

96. Write about inspirational artwork you found online or in a gallery

97. Twitter trending topics

98. Write about the pros and cons of something

99. Write about common mistakes your readers might make

100. Go people watching

101. Write about “How to remain productive when ______”

So there you g0 – 101 ideas for blog posts. I hope this helps you get creative and get blogging again ASAP.

If one of these tips inspired you, why not post a link to your blogpost in the comments?

Checkout the video version or read on.

Why Bother Blogging?

There are lots of valid reasons why you should have a business blog, including to:

• Keep learning
  You have to come up with new ideas to talk about which means you have to keep your finger on the pulse of your industry
• Share your knowledge
  Sharing knowledge is a great way to build trust. You can feel like you’re giving too much away for free but given that the internet is full of characters trying to scam the unsuspecting, the more honest, open and trustworthy you appear, the easier it is to come across as credible and authoritative
• Be a thought leader
  Always strive to create a new perspective on a topic when you talk about it. Combine a couple of principles together and come up with a new one, unique to you
• Generate awareness in the market of your products/services/your personal brand
  Blogging and commenting on other people’s blogs is a great way to get your face in front of your online customers
• Get to know other thought leaders in the space
  By engaging with high-profile bloggers and backing that up with social media connections, you’re well on your way to being associated with those people in the minds of others.
• Obtain feedback from your audience (readers, customers, etc.) on new products and services
  I always end a blog post with a call to action asking people to share their thoughts and feelings with me so that I can understand them better and help them more.
• Make sure your blog appears for specific terms on organic search
  Blogs are often ranked highly in search engines, and a keyword targeted blog post can bring thousands of people to your website each month. Also adding fresh content to your website helps your search engine results page ranking
• Differentiate from the ‘big guys’
  One of the things about big business is it is less soulful, attentive and human than a smaller business. Your blog is a great way to highlight this
• Create and manage your company perception
  A blog is different to other communications media in that it can be more relaxed and have a different angle to more formal communications like an annual report or printed brochure. It can be more “editorial” in tone and can be used to express your opinions.
• Increase personal value; a way to self-brand
  I use my blog for this all the time. People can find out what I am doing in my work life, and also learn more about me and the unique things I offer
• Demonstrate to your customers and users that you are capable of adapting and that you are willing to try new things
  Participating in social media and blogging is a great way to show you’re a progressive business/entrepreneur
• Represent a form of transparency that many companies do not have when it comes to their communications
  Blogs are often synonymous with “telling it like it is”, “no BS”, “the real deal” and can help show you are a genuine, helpful business

For me, the writing part was easy. The bit that took the time was the formatting and the proof-reading, and sorting out the final formats for print, PDF and Kindle. That took nearly 4 weeks of full-time work, as I had to sort out quite a few issues because I had never done it before.

Also, I suffer from perfectionism and my “good enough” bar is pretty high! I can easily end up perfecting something for months if I am not careful and I have learned the hard way, no matter how uncomfortable the idea may be, a high level of perfectionism does not guarantee profits. You have to get it out there when it feels 95% good enough – no one can buy something that is still a file on your hard disk and a pipe-dream in your heart.

Here are my top tips for avoiding common publishing problems.

1. REWRITE! Revise your first draft several times to make sure it presents well on paper – especially if you are working towards publishing a printed book.

2. PROOFREAD. Read, re-read and be sure there are no spelling or grammatical errors. No matter how many times you run the spellchecker over it, you need human eyes checking.

3. READ your work aloud. It will help you catch small mistakes on how it flows. Concentrate on the tone and rhythm of your work and make sure it doesn’t sound too dull or complicated for your intended audience.

4. LET the piece sit for a while. Sometimes the best revisions occur after you have had a period of time and distance from the work. Then re-read with fresh eyes. Just be careful you don’t slip into perfectionism and continually revise and revise when it’s already perfectly “good enough”.

5. PREPARE your work in a presentable fashion. print it out on clean paper with standard type fonts and generous margins. Every market has formatting rules – follow the guidelines carefully.

6. CRITIQUE. Have someone else read your work. You might find someone in a writer’s group or workshop. You may have a reliable friend, mentor, or teacher. Choose someone you can trust to be honest and thoughtful about your writing. It may help to have several people look over each draft. A good critique will address such issues as your work’s grammar, content, style, and overall effectiveness.

7. CONSIDER hiring a professional editor. Investigate your options and check the credentials of the copyeditor before you hire them. Editors often work with only one aspect of your work. For example:

• Substantive Editing – dealing with clarity of subject, logic and consistency, sentence analysis and syntax.

• Copyediting – Line by line, grammar and punctuation, sentence structure, passive voice, word choice, consistency of details, spelling, consistency of style, and clarity.

• Proofreading – Details missed in editing stages: spelling, punctuation, stylistic, serious grammatical errors in heading/footer, widow/orphan, bad hyphen breaks, et al

8. TRIAL RUN. Get some samples of your finished book printed and doublecheck how it comes across in physical format. You will find you interact with the information when it has been printed and bound – strange but true!

9) ENJOY IT. Few people get to create a printed book in their lifetime – enjoy the experience. Don’t beat yourself up. Don’t let your perfectionism slow you down unduly. Do you best and share your story, knowledge and skills!

If you would like help publishing your book, please do get in touch. I love helping other people experience the thrill of being a published author!

I’ve tried many microphones over the years and these are some of the ones I’ve had the best results with.

• Audio Technica ATR3350 (ATR-3350) Lavalier (Tie Clip)
  A great microphone to use with the Kodak Zi8 pocket video camera. It has a very long cable, making it really easy to position the camera a little further away, so viewers can see more of your surroundings when doing some video, not just the normal headshot. It’s great for cutting down on background noise too, so if you want to do recordings outside, or in busy public areas, you can make sure the camera clearly picks up what you’re saying. This tie-clip microphone is perfect for connecting to the Kodak Zi8 pocket camcorder, or any other HD camcorder with an external mic input.
• Logitech Premium Notebook Headset Microphone
  This is great for recording Skype calls and also for doing Camtasia voiceovers. It’s easy to keep your voice at a constant volume, even when you move your head, so it’s less distracting to use over longer periods of time. You don’t have to concentrate on keeping your voice at a constant level which can be a bit of a distraction when you’re working on a longer audio or video service.
• Samson C01u Studio Condenser Mic
  This is a great quality mic at a mid-range price, perfect for podcasting and video voice overs. This is a USB mic that comes on it’s own small stand. You need to keep your mouth close to the microphone as you speak to accurately capture the richest tones in your voice. If you lean backwards and forwards your volume level will change.
• Blue Snowball
  Another mic that’s great for podcasting, and other audio work. The manufacturer says: “Finally, a USB mic that’s not only easy to use, but sounds as good on your desktop as it does in a professional recording studio. Meet the Snowball; the world’s first professional USB mic. Whether you’re recording a guitar at your kitchen table or a complete band in the studio, the Snowball can capture it with detail unheard of before in a USB mic”

So that completes my review of some great microphones suitable for podcasting and video marketing.

Remember, audio and video are one of the quickest and easiest ways to build your personal brand and demonstrate your professional abilities – as well as being perceived as higher-ticket items so you can charge more for them.

If you’re looking for a free tool to record your audio files so you can create your own podcasts, check out Audacity which is an open source audio file editor.

Have you got a favourite microphone? Why not post up a comment saying you why you prefer your make and model?

Watch the video or read on…

Experts can be found in every field.  Reporters like to quote people who are knowledgeable about the subject they are covering.  But did you realise that often, the person isn’t always the absolute world-beating expert in that subject. A lot of the time the person being quoted is simply the person who has diligently built a relationship with that reporter, who became their trusted advisor.

The thing is, journalists are often up against very tight deadlines. It’s quite conceivable that there is a person out there with a higher profile than you. A person with more recognized credentials.  But the probability of the journalist being able to secure an interview at short notice before their impending deadline is very remote indeed.  So journalists look to other people with experience and credibility in that subject to comment instead to help bring their story to life.

Why shouldn’t you be that commentator – that expert in your field. (And the more you do it, the more you become the recognised expert )

How This Applies To You

Offline media relationships are very important because they increase your exposure to your potential customer base both online and off.

Media loves to use experts, so why not establish yourself as one.  A helpful one, that is always on hand to provide a high quality answer.

So How Do You Establish Yourself As An Expert?

As well as keeping your eye on requests for information that journalists publish, be proactive and start building relationships.

1. Research the key publications in your industry and call and introduce yourself to the reporter that covers your industry or a related field.
   Offer to be a source whenever they may be doing a story on your industry. Make the call short and let them know you’ll follow up with an email with all your contact info. Then follow through. Ideally give them the link to your media pack which explains the sort of stories you are comfortable commenting on.
2. Strengthen your relationship by being the “Go To” person they can rely on at very short notice.  Be trustworthy and courteous. As the reporter won’t be as familiar with the subject as you are, make sure you ;et them know of the current hot topics if it’s important to the piece they are writing.
3. Maintain the relationship by contacting them reasonably regularly. A great reason to get in touch is to let them know when there is a lot of buzz about a related topic. Why not let them steal a march on a hot topic and explain it’s significance to their audience.  A lot of times a reporter can’t spot the trend or its importance. It usually takes someone with knowledge of the field to point it out and help it the information get shared to a wider audience.

remember: Every reporter loves a go-to person who is accessible, full of information, and has lots of story ideas about their industry.

How That Benefits You

Without wishing to dash your hopes, it’s unlikely you’ll get an interview piece written especially about you (I’ve only had a couple so far). However, being quoted or used as a source in a story positions you as the expert above others in the field. You’re seen as a trusted, respected thought leader. And everyone wants to do business with the best in the industry.

Forming these relationships with the media takes a a moderate amount of time and effort, but can create massive pay offs in terms of repeated exposure and credibility.

So my question to you is, what are you an expert in online that you can pitch to the offline media? If you’ve had some success it would be great if you could post up some tips for others.

• When you have a system to follow it’s easier to stay focused and see that you’re making progress
• If you need someone else to help you with something, you can share your process easily, making training new team members a breeze. Although it would be brilliant to have new people join the team, fully able to mindread what you have in mind and what they need to do, it seldom works that way

Here are some tools I use to help me systemize what I do and work with others more efficiently. Have you tried some of these out in your business?

• Firefox’s Most Popular Add-Ons
  Firefox add-ons can really boost  your time spent surfing. From blocking popups, to making Amazon easier to browse, there is a wide range of add-ons to suit your preferences.

• Google Chrome Extensions
  Googles’ most popular extensions for its superquick Chrome browser.

• Evernote
  The goal at Evernote is to give everyone the ability to easily capture any moment, idea, inspiration, or experience whenever they want using their smartphone or a PC, whatever’s most convenient, then to make all of that information easy to find. From creating text and ink notes, to snapshots of whiteboards and wine labels, to clips of webpages, Evernote users can capture anything from their real and digital lives and find it all anytime. Great when you’re doing web research! (Note: there’s an iPhone app for this too)

• Basecamp
  Basecamp is an online Project management tool. Over 5 million people worldwide have used Basecamp to collaborate on over 4 million projects, track 57 million hours of work, share 46 million files, and complete 43 million to-dos. How will you use Basecamp? I use it for working with my outsourcers and also when I am creating an information product with clients/friends. It comes with an iphone app, so if you want to login with just your phone – that’s cool. You can work on the move without being weighed down with your computer.

• Log Me In
  In a matter of minutes you can get fast, easy and secure access to remote computers (PCs and Macs) with LogMeIn. Simply install LogMeIn on the computer you want to access to gain remote control of its desktop, files, applications and network resources over the web through your browser. You can also access your PC with your smartphone with a paid app. There is a free version of the software, its hidden a little bit but it is there. (Note: I used this tool as I wrote my first ebook so I could remote control onto my PC at home – when I was sat at my desk at work, supposedly doing something  work related. As it was normal for me to be working on a Word document, no-one realized I was shirking . Tim Ferriss of “Four Hour Work Week” fame would be so proud!)
• iGoogle
  I signed in and created a Google account a few years back and made it my homepage. I added key links to my online business tools using the Google bookmarks tool. Wherever I logged in in the world, I could access key information, without having to remember URLs. One of the best free tools I have ever used.
• Passpack
  Need to share passwords with someone, or provision passwords across your company? Say Hello to Secure Sharing. With Passpack you can share one (or batches!) of passwords with single people or with entire groups. Combine that with fully integrated transfer of ownership, and password management starts looking a bit more manageable. The freebie account lets you store 100 passwords
• Roboform
  Roboform makes it easy to login to your favorite websites and applications. RoboForm makes the process effortless by automatically saving, then entering your usernames and passwords. No more illegible bits of paper and post-its with logins scribbled down. Simply click and login-similar to a browser bookmark! You’ll never need to remember or type another password again. It also generates passwords that are very difficult to guess – and then remembers them for you securely.
• DropBox
  If you need to email someone, and you’re wondering just how you’re going to manage it – set up a free account with DropBox and share a file upto 2Gb in size with others – just invite them to your dropbox and they can quickly download the file There’s a desktop client that comes with it too. I tend to just login and use the online one.

So what was some of my favourite productivity tools. Have I missed out your favourite? If I have, let me know! Thanks.