Most business owners recognize the importance of networking—it’s a great way to meet other professionals, identify opportunities for collaboration, and even bring in new clients. Business owners often approach these events with specific goals—such as passing out a large number of business cards, identifying new prospects, or gathering more information regarding a specific industry. Very rarely is “build my personal brand” a priority—and as a result, the opportunity is wasted.

Below are five ways in which you can effectively build your personal brand while networking:

1) Start by listening, not talking. Many networking events primarily consist of individuals looking to promote themselves. But in most cases, the best way to build a connection with a potential client is to listen first. Display an interest in the individual and in their business. Ask questions. They’ll be impressed that you took the time to listen—and much more likely to hear you out when you do begin to talk about yourself.

2) Dress the part. It goes without saying that you need to dress in a manner which reflects the brand you are seeking to build. Your choice of clothing plays a significant factor in communicating your personal brand—so choose accordingly.

3) Make a strong first impression. The first impression you create while networking goes a long way. Not that you have never heard this before, but a little review can’t hurt: offer a strong handshake, speak clearly, and project confidence. You’re great at what you do, and you’re working to brand yourself as an expert in your field. Carry yourself accordingly!

4) Focus on your points of differentiation. What makes you different from others in your industry? There are plenty of real estate agents out there, for instance, but what makes you different from all the rest? Do you have an advanced degree? An exceptional level of experience? A unique business model? Stay away from generic information and try to focus conversation on your points of differentiation as much as possible.

5) Tell stories. Sharing stories (work related, of course) has a number of benefits. It gives your audience a tangible idea of who you are and what you do. It demonstrates your experience and expertise. And storytelling holds the attention of your conversation partner much more effectively than the typical “this is what I do” spiel. Take some time right now to come up with stories that demonstrate your expertise—and use them when the opportunity arises!

Networking is a valuable exercise for a variety of reasons—and branding is one of them. The next time you attend a networking event, make building your personal brand a priority!

If you’d like to learn more, check out "Building the Ultimate Network", a book I co-authored with Dr. Ivan Misner. Dr. Misner is the founder of BNI, the largest business networking organization in the world.

Orlando, FL – January 7, 2012 - Nick Nanton, Esq., Founder of The Dicks and Nanton Companies, a Personal Branding company, recently published a Blog on his website (http://www.nicknanton.com) discussing personal branding. The Blog, titled “Capitalize on Your Points of Differentiation to Create a Powerful Personal Brand,” urges business owners to incorporate their unique traits and talents into their brand.

Nick Nanton writes, “A strong personal brand is both distinctive and memorable—which means that it is essential that your brand highlights traits or talents that make you unique. To accomplish this, it’s important to identify your personal points of differentiation and to identify several that can be incorporated into your personal brand.”

The Dicks and Nanton Companies specialize in Personal Branding. They help clients to elevate their recognition and credibility in their business or professional niche.

The entire Blog can be found at http://www.celebritybrandingagency.com/blog/capitalize-on-your-points-of-differentiation-to-create-a-powerful-personal-brand.php

To learn more about Nick Nanton, please visit http://www.nicknanton.com and http://www.CelebrityBrandingAgency.com

About Nick Nanton, Esq.:

An Emmy Award Winning Director and Producer, Nick Nanton, Esq., is known as The Celebrity Lawyer and Agent to top Celebrity Experts for his role in developing and marketing business and professional experts, through personal branding, media, marketing and PR to help them gain credibility and recognition for their accomplishments. Nick is recognized as the nation’s leading expert on personal branding as Fast Company Magazine’s Expert Blogger on the subject and lectures regularly on the topic at the University of Central Florida. His book Celebrity Branding You® has been selected as the textbook on personal branding at the University.

The CEO of The Dicks + Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency, Nick is an award winning director, producer and songwriter who has worked on everything from large scale events to television shows with the likes of Bill Cosby, President George H.W. Bush, Brian Tracy, Michael Gerber and many more.

Nick is recognized as one of the top thought-leaders in the business world and has co-authored 10 best-selling books, including the breakthrough hit Celebrity Branding You!®.

Nick serves as publisher of Celebrity Press™, a publishing company that produces and releases books by top Business Experts. CelebrityPress has published books by Brian Tracy, Mari Smith, Ron Legrand and many other celebrity experts and Nick has led the marketing and PR campaigns that have driven more than 300 authors to Best-Seller status. Nick has been seen in USA Today, The Wall St. Journal, Newsweek, Inc. Magazine, The New York Times, Entrepreneur® Magazine, FastCompany.com. and has appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX television affiliates around the country speaking on subjects ranging from branding, marketing and law, to American Idol.

Nick is a member of the Florida Bar, holds a JD from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, as well as a BSBA in Finance from the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business. Nick is a voting member of The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS, Home to The GRAMMYs), a member of The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Home to the Emmy Awards) co-founder of the National Academy of Best-Selling Authors, a 6-time Telly Award winner, and spends his spare time working with Young Life, Downtown Credo Orlando, Florida Hospital and rooting for the Florida Gators with his wife Kristina and their three children, Brock, Bowen and Addison.

To learn more about Nick Nanton, please visit http://www.nicknanton.com and http://www.CelebrityBrandingAgency.com

1) A prominently featured picture of yourself. Many business owners are shy about using their picture—but doing so is essential to build a connection with your audience.

2) A video introduction. Video is an effective way to catch the attention of your audience. A well-produced video gives you instant credibility and positions you as an expert—take advantage of the power of video! (Check out the video on the homepage of my website as an example: http://www.nicknanton.com/)

3) A list of your credentials and your accomplishments. Have you authored a book? Written articles or appeared on TV shows? Managed a remarkable project or event? Your website should highlight these accomplishments!

4) An emphasis on your points of differentiation. Let’s be realistic for a moment—it’s rare that your website will be the only one a potential client visits. So it is essential, if you are going to bring in business, that your website communicates why you are different from others in your industry.

5) A touch of your personality. If you have been paying attention to this blog, you know that a memorable personal brand can’t be all business, all the time. Whether it is your obsession with American Idol, your love for a local sports team, or a unique hobby—find a way to work a bit of personality into your site.

Your website represents a fantastic personal branding tool—but many business owners fail to capitalize. We’ve covered five ideas today… but it is a list that is far from exhaustive. Think outside the box, be creative… and find a way to communicate your brand effectively!

1) Start by identifying your objectives. What do you hope to accomplish through your social media presence? Are you hoping to directly sell products and services? (Note: in-your-face sales tactics are rarely successful via social media.) Are you hoping to spread awareness amongst your market? Are you seeking to build stronger relationships with current clients? Or are you simply trying to drive traffic to your website? As you see, there are a variety of ways in which social media can be approached. Define your objectives before jumping in!

2) Look to build relationships and form community. Social media is a fantastic forum to strengthen existing relationships and to develop new ones. It is easy to plug yourself in to communities of people that share the same line of work, the same geographic location, or even the same hobbies as you. Start conversations, pursue relationships, and work to integrate yourself into various communities. You will find that these relationships often lead to productive collaboration and are well worth the time you invest.

3) Use Facebook and Twitter to share more about yourself, your interests, and your personal life. Whether it is sharing photos of your family or keeping your followers informed of your latest travels, social media platforms represent a great opportunity to “open up” and let your connections get to know you even better. This is an excellent way to build trust, as well—as it gives your audience a chance to see the “real” you. As you probably know, consumers prefer to do business with people that they trust—so take advantage of the opportunity!

4) Remember to stay true to your brand across all platforms. Whether it is Facebook, your blog, or even your latest TV appearance, it is always important to stay consistent with your brand. The ease and frequency with which you can communicate via social media makes it easy to stray off course, so discipline is important.

Social media is a powerful tool for personal branding. Thanks to platforms like Facebook and Twitter, today you have the ability to reach a massive audience in real-time and for virtually no cost. Thirty years ago, marketers would have stood in line for days and paid untold sums of money for this type of reach. The only question is… will you take advantage? And it all starts with a strategy—contact us today if you’d like to learn more!

For instance:

Do you have a unique educational background? Perhaps you attended a prestigious college or earned a prestigious degree? Or maybe you are a lifelong learner and have acquired multiple degrees. If your educational background makes you uniquely qualified to provide services to your market, emphasize it! You spent plenty of time and money pursuing your education—it only makes sense to leverage it as much as you can.

What are some of the more interesting facets of your personality? Incorporating your personality into your personal brand is important—but only in a way that is relevant. Your phobia of spiders, for example, probably won’t add value to your brand. On the other hand, your non-stop work ethic or your creative approach to problem solving are likely worth working in to your personal brand.

What are your hobbies and passions? Remember, a strong personal brand is distinctive as well as memorable… and what better way to create a memorable brand than by incorporating your unique passions? I am a Florida Gators fan—and my clients, friends, and colleagues are well aware of this fact. You may not be a sports fan, but what are you passionate about? American Idol? Your vintage car collection? Traveling the world? Don’t be shy about working these hobbies and passions into your brand!

A strong personal brand will inspire your audience to trust you—because they will feel like they already know you. But such a brand cannot be built without highlighting the areas that make you unique. You’re not a robot—you’re not all business, 100% of the time. So don’t build a robotic personal brand. Focus on your points of differentiation and your unique characteristics and you’ll be well on your way to building an effective personal brand.

Orlando, Fla. – January 16, 2012 – Co-founders of the Dicks and Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency® and best-selling authors, Nick Nanton, Esq., Top Agent to Celebrity Experts and JW Dicks, Esq., America’s Foremost Expert on Personal Branding for Business Development, recently published an article on their website (CelebrityBrandingAgency.com) discussing the opportunities presented by a new year. The blog, titled “Your New Year’s Resolution: Take Your Personal Brand to the Next Level in 2012,” notes that a powerful personal brand is an effective differentiating factor in today’s competitive environment.

Nick and JW write, “We want you to become a celebrity. Now, before you laugh, understand that we are not talking about turning you in to the next Justin Bieber or Lady Gaga. Those two are international celebrities—we want to turn you into a celebrity within your own market. ”

JW Dicks is one of America’s leading experts on using personal branding to build a business.  JW emphasizes branding, and the importance of online marketing and social media to his clients and gives them strategies to expand their business in the current economy.

Nick Nanton, Esq. is known as The Top Agent To Celebrity Experts for his role in developing and marketing business and professional experts into Celebrity Experts in their field, through personal branding, to help them gain credibility and recognition for their accomplishments. Nick’s expertise on branding and marketing has been sought out and featured in the Los Angeles Times, Orlando Sentinel, The Chicago Tribune, The California Chronicle, DailyMe.com, FastCompany.com, USA Today, Newsweek, Wall Street Journal, along with NBC, CBS, ABC and FOX affiliates around the country.

Read the entire article at http://www.celebritybrandingagency.com/articles/your-new-years-resolution-take-your-personal-brand-to-the-next-level-in-2012.php

For more information on Nick Nanton and JW Dicks, visit http://www.CelebrityBrandingAgency.com, http://www.NickNanton.com and http://www.JWDicks.com

About Nick Nanton, Esq.:

An Emmy Award Winning Director and Producer, Nick Nanton, Esq., is known as the Top Agent to Celebrity Experts around the world for his role in developing and marketing business and professional experts, through personal branding, media, marketing and PR to help them gain credibility and recognition for their accomplishments. Nick is recognized as the nation’s leading expert on personal branding as Fast Company Magazine’s Expert Blogger on the subject and lectures regularly on the topic at at major universities. His book Celebrity Branding You®has been selected as the textbook on personal branding at the University of Central Florida.

The CEO of The Dicks + Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency, an international agency with more than 800 clients in 23 countries, Nick is an award winning director, producer and songwriter who has worked on everything from large scale events to television shows with the likes of Bill Cosby, President George H.W. Bush, Brian Tracy, Michael Gerber and many more.

Nick is recognized as one of the top thought-leaders in the business world and has co-authored 15 best-selling books alongside Brian Tracy, Dr. Ivan Misner (Founder of BNI), Jay Conrad Levinson (Author of the Guerilla Marketing Series), Leigh Steinberg and many others, including the breakthrough hit Celebrity Branding You!®.

Nick serves as publisher of Celebrity Press™, a publishing company that produces and releases books by top Business and Professional Experts. CelebrityPress has published books by Brian Tracy, Mari Smith, Ron Legrand and many other celebrity experts and Nick has led the marketing and PR campaigns that have driven more than 300 authors to Best-Seller status. Nick has been seen in USA Today, The Wall St. Journal, Newsweek, Inc. Magazine, The New York Times, Entrepreneur® Magazine, FastCompany.com. and has appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX television affiliates around the country speaking on subjects ranging from branding, marketing and law, to American Idol.

Nick is a member of the Florida Bar, holds a JD from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, as well as a BSBA in Finance from the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business. Nick is a voting member of The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS, Home to The GRAMMYs), a member of The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Home to the Emmy Awards) co-founder of the National Academy of Best-Selling Authors, a 6-time Telly Award winner, and spends his spare time working with Young Life, Downtown Credo Orlando, Florida Hospital and rooting for the Florida Gators with his wife Kristina and their three children, Brock, Bowen and Addison.

About J.W. Dicks:

J.W. Dicks, Esq. is America’s foremost authority on Personal Branding for Business Development. He has developed some of the most successful mass media and multi-channel business marketing campaigns in the country and built multi-million dollar businesses on the back of them.

J.W.  represents some of the top marketers and professional experts in the world in the growth of their businesses using online and offline business development systems, social media, multi-dimensional marketing, franchising and strategic legal structure to accomplish their goals and capitalize on the assets they create.

A “Best Selling” author with more than 22 published books, and hundreds of articles, J.W. has also been quoted or appeared in Newsweek, The Wall street Journal, USA Today, NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX affiliates as well as Entrepreneur’s Start-Up Magazine, Forbes.com, CNN.com, and many other national and local media outlets.

J.W. is a graduate of the University of Florida and George Mason University College of Law. He is a member of the American Bar Association, National Association of Realtors, Florida Bar, Virginia Bar, and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Academy of Best-Selling Authors, and America’s PremierExperts®… and was recently nominated for an Emmy(R) as an Executive Producer.

J.W.’s business address is in Orlando, and his play address is at his beach house where he spends as much time as he can with his wife of 39 years, Linda, and their two Yorkies. His major hobby is fishing… although the fish are rumored to be safe.

JWDicks@DicksNanton.com •  800.980.1626
http://www.DicksNanton.com

Orlando, Fla. – January 12, 2012 – Co-founders of the Dicks and Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency® and best-selling authors, Nick Nanton, Esq., Top Agent to Celebrity Experts and JW Dicks, Esq., America’s Foremost Expert on Personal Branding for Business Development, recently published a blog on their website (CelebrityBrandingAgency.com) discussing personal branding. The blog, titled “This Year, Think Outside of the Box,” explains that the perception of growth is important in creating an appealing brand.

Nick and JW write, “Humans are attracted to motion, growth, and change—and the world of business is no exception. An appealing personal brand is always developing.”

JW Dicks is one of America’s leading experts on using personal branding to build a business.  JW emphasizes branding, and the importance of online marketing and social media to his clients and gives them strategies to expand their business in the current economy.

Nick Nanton, Esq. is known as The Top Agent To Celebrity Experts for his role in developing and marketing business and professional experts into Celebrity Experts in their field, through personal branding, to help them gain credibility and recognition for their accomplishments. Nick’s expertise on branding and marketing has been sought out and featured in the Los Angeles Times, Orlando Sentinel, The Chicago Tribune, The California Chronicle, DailyMe.com, FastCompany.com, USA Today, Newsweek, Wall Street Journal, along with NBC, CBS, ABC and FOX affiliates around the country.

To read the entire blog, please visit http://www.jwdicks.com/blogroll/this-year-think-outside-of-the-box.php

For more information on Nick Nanton and JW Dicks, visit http://www.CelebrityBrandingAgency.com, http://www.NickNanton.com and http://www.JWDicks.com

About Nick Nanton, Esq.:

An Emmy Award Winning Director and Producer, Nick Nanton, Esq., is known as the Top Agent to Celebrity Experts around the world for his role in developing and marketing business and professional experts, through personal branding, media, marketing and PR to help them gain credibility and recognition for their accomplishments. Nick is recognized as the nation’s leading expert on personal branding as Fast Company Magazine’s Expert Blogger on the subject and lectures regularly on the topic at at major universities. His book Celebrity Branding You®has been selected as the textbook on personal branding at the University of Central Florida.

The CEO of The Dicks + Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency, an international agency with more than 800 clients in 23 countries, Nick is an award winning director, producer and songwriter who has worked on everything from large scale events to television shows with the likes of Bill Cosby, President George H.W. Bush, Brian Tracy, Michael Gerber and many more.

Nick is recognized as one of the top thought-leaders in the business world and has co-authored 15 best-selling books alongside Brian Tracy, Dr. Ivan Misner (Founder of BNI), Jay Conrad Levinson (Author of the Guerilla Marketing Series), Leigh Steinberg and many others, including the breakthrough hit Celebrity Branding You!®.

Nick serves as publisher of Celebrity Press™, a publishing company that produces and releases books by top Business and Professional Experts. CelebrityPress has published books by Brian Tracy, Mari Smith, Ron Legrand and many other celebrity experts and Nick has led the marketing and PR campaigns that have driven more than 300 authors to Best-Seller status. Nick has been seen in USA Today, The Wall St. Journal, Newsweek, Inc. Magazine, The New York Times, Entrepreneur® Magazine, FastCompany.com. and has appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX television affiliates around the country speaking on subjects ranging from branding, marketing and law, to American Idol.

Nick is a member of the Florida Bar, holds a JD from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, as well as a BSBA in Finance from the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business. Nick is a voting member of The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS, Home to The GRAMMYs), a member of The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Home to the Emmy Awards) co-founder of the National Academy of Best-Selling Authors, a 6-time Telly Award winner, and spends his spare time working with Young Life, Downtown Credo Orlando, Florida Hospital and rooting for the Florida Gators with his wife Kristina and their three children, Brock, Bowen and Addison.

About J.W. Dicks:

J.W. Dicks, Esq. is America’s foremost authority on Personal Branding for Business Development. He has developed some of the most successful mass media and multi-channel business marketing campaigns in the country and built multi-million dollar businesses on the back of them.

J.W.  represents some of the top marketers and professional experts in the world in the growth of their businesses using online and offline business development systems, social media, multi-dimensional marketing, franchising and strategic legal structure to accomplish their goals and capitalize on the assets they create.

A “Best Selling” author with more than 22 published books, and hundreds of articles, J.W. has also been quoted or appeared in Newsweek, The Wall street Journal, USA Today, NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX affiliates as well as Entrepreneur’s Start-Up Magazine, Forbes.com, CNN.com, and many other national and local media outlets.

J.W. is a graduate of the University of Florida and George Mason University College of Law. He is a member of the American Bar Association, National Association of Realtors, Florida Bar, Virginia Bar, and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Academy of Best-Selling Authors, and America’s PremierExperts®… and was recently nominated for an Emmy(R) as an Executive Producer.

J.W.’s business address is in Orlando, and his play address is at his beach house where he spends as much time as he can with his wife of 39 years, Linda, and their two Yorkies. His major hobby is fishing… although the fish are rumored to be safe.

JWDicks@DicksNanton.com •  800.980.1626
http://www.DicksNanton.com

A strong personal brand is essential in today’s business world because it differentiates you from the competition. For example, let’s say you are a CPA. Now, I’m sure you are great at what you do. But be honest—how many other CPAs are there who could offer the same services as you do, with the same level of quality? This is true of virtually every industry today—lawyers, dentists, financial advisors, real estate agents, and so on. Technological innovation and reduced barriers to entry have created an environment in which competition can spring up anywhere, and at any time.

So how can you build a dominant business, despite the massive surge in competition? As noted earlier, you must differentiate yourself. You must give prospects a reason to choose you, instead of all the others. The best and most effective way to do this is with a powerful personal brand that establishes you as a celebrity expert in your industry.

The primary aim of a personal branding campaign is to create a memorable image for yourself, and to establish yourself as a respected expert within your market.

We want you to become a celebrity. Now, before you laugh, understand that we are not talking about turning you in to the next Justin Bieber or Lady Gaga. Those two are international celebrities—we want to turn you into a celebrity within your own market.

We want you to become not just a CPA, but the respected expert accountant in your town. When prospects in your market need your services, we want you to be the only name that comes to their mind.

How can you accomplish this? There are a variety of tactics, and we aren’t going to go too far in depth in this article. We have discussed these strategies elsewhere in blog entries and articles, so feel free to look around.

Essentially, the strategy we recommend for our clients is to create and leverage media exposure in order to boost credibility and create a celebrity image. That may mean writing and publishing a book. It may mean appearing on national TV networks, local affiliates, and being quoted in national magazines and newspapers. It may include the development of a powerful blogging presence. The options are nearly endless, and the best approach depends on the specifics of your business.

2012 could be your most successful year yet—but only if you find a way to differentiate yourself from the competition in your industry. A powerful personal brand offers the solution—contact us today to learn more!

The NBA season tipped off on Christmas day, which meant a return to the spotlight for Lebron James and the Miami Heat. As you probably know, Lebron James generated controversy (not to mention numerous headlines) last season with his decision to publically jilt the Cleveland Cavaliers in favor of the Miami Heat. In the process, Lebron’s personal brand evolved substantially—from a fan favorite, to a villain, to a gradually “rehabbed” image this offseason. There are a number of lessons that are relevant to business owners seeking to build a strong personal brand in 2012. Below are three of the most important.

1) If you’ve got bad news, deliver it in private whenever possible. Last offseason, Lebron James left Cleveland to play for Miami. This is not uncommon in sports—star athletes relocate often. However, the way in which Lebron handled the process was an unprecedented disaster. Rather than discreetly moving on, Lebron took over ESPN airwaves for an hour to make his announcement. He outraged Cleveland’s management team, broke the hearts of their fans, and disgusted fans across the nation with his seemingly self-centered approach. The moral of the story for business owners is simple: keep negative developments as quiet as possible. Whether it is laying off an employee, discontinuing a product line, or even closing a store location—handle it as discreetly as you can.

2) When you screw up, apologize and move on. Lebron’s “Decision” was handled poorly—this was obvious to everyone, immediately. But rather than apologizing for it, Lebron bristled at the suggestion that he did anything wrong. He then doubled down, so to speak, by appearing in a celebratory rally with his new teammates in Miami. As a result, he faced criticism all season long—a fate that could have been avoided had he simply apologized for his indiscretion. The moral: if you know you’re wrong, don’t fight it. Come clean, set things right—and move past it!

3) At the end of the day, it’s the bottom line that matters. Lebron James, for all of his personal accolades and notoriety, has yet to win a championship. To make matters worse, he has often seemed to “choke” when the stakes were highest. As a result, the media and most fans primarily focus on his shortcomings. Winning would completely change the narrative surrounding Lebron—but until that happens, he’ll be viewed by many in a negative light. As a business owner, the lesson is simple: exceptional products and services will define your brand in a way that nothing else can. Deliver an outstanding customer experience and you’ll never have trouble bringing in new business.

You’re not a superstar basketball player, but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn from Lebron’s personal branding nightmare. Keep these lessons in mind as you create a powerful personal brand in 2012!

Orlando, FL – December 6, 2011 - Nick Nanton, Esq., Founder of The Dicks and Nanton Companies, a Personal Branding company, recently published an article on his website (http://www.nicknanton.com) discussing the importance of creating a brand that resonates with customers. The article, titled “Does Your Brand Resonate With Your Customers?” asks three questions to help readers determine whether their brand appeals to their market. 

Nick Nanton writes, “Social media, book publishing, and dynamic websites are fantastic—but they must stay true to the principles of effective branding.”

The Dicks and Nanton Companies specialize in Personal Branding. They help clients to elevate their recognition and credibility in their business or professional niche.

The entire article can be found at http://www.celebritybrandingagency.com/articles/does-your-brand-resonate-with-your-customers.php

To learn more about Nick Nanton, please visit http://www.nicknanton.com and http://www.CelebrityBrandingAgency.com

About Nick Nanton, Esq.:

An Emmy Award Winning Director and Producer, Nick Nanton, Esq., is known as the Top Agent to Celebrity Experts around the world for his role in developing and marketing business and professional experts, through personal branding, media, marketing and PR to help them gain credibility and recognition for their accomplishments. Nick is recognized as the nation’s leading expert on personal branding as Fast Company Magazine’s Expert Blogger on the subject and lectures regularly on the topic at at major universities. His book Celebrity Branding You®has been selected as the textbook on personal branding at the University of Central Florida.

The CEO of The Dicks + Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency, an international agency with more than 800 clients in 23 countries, Nick is an award winning director, producer and songwriter who has worked on everything from large scale events to television shows with the likes of Bill Cosby, President George H.W. Bush, Brian Tracy, Michael Gerber and many more.

Nick is recognized as one of the top thought-leaders in the business world and has co-authored 15 best-selling books alongside Brian Tracy, Dr. Ivan Misner (Founder of BNI), Jay Conrad Levinson (Author of the Guerilla Marketing Series), Leigh Steinberg and many others, including the breakthrough hit Celebrity Branding You!®.

Nick serves as publisher of Celebrity Press™, a publishing company that produces and releases books by top Business and Professional Experts. CelebrityPress has published books by Brian Tracy, Mari Smith, Ron Legrand and many other celebrity experts and Nick has led the marketing and PR campaigns that have driven more than 300 authors to Best-Seller status. Nick has been seen in USA Today, The Wall St. Journal, Newsweek, Inc. Magazine, The New York Times, Entrepreneur® Magazine, FastCompany.com. and has appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX television affiliates around the country speaking on subjects ranging from branding, marketing and law, to American Idol.

Nick is a member of the Florida Bar, holds a JD from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, as well as a BSBA in Finance from the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business. Nick is a voting member of The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS, Home to The GRAMMYs), a member of The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Home to the Emmy Awards) co-founder of the National Academy of Best-Selling Authors, a 6-time Telly Award winner, and spends his spare time working with Young Life, Downtown Credo Orlando, Florida Hospital and rooting for the Florida Gators with his wife Kristina and their three children, Brock, Bowen and Addison.

To learn more about Nick Nanton, please visit http://www.nicknanton.com and http://www.CelebrityBrandingAgency.com

Orlando, Fla. – December 19, 2011 – Co-founders of the Dicks and Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency® and best-selling authors, Nick Nanton, Esq., Top Agent to Celebrity Experts and JW Dicks, Esq., America’s Foremost Expert on Personal Branding for Business Development, recently published a blog on their website (CelebrityBrandingAgency.com) examining the importance of creating a plan and a system for personal branding campaigns. The blog, titled “Do You Have a Plan… and a System?” notes that many business owners fail to create both, and that as a result, their branding and marketing campaigns are unsuccessful.

Nick and JW write, “Every successful personal branding campaign features two components: a plan, and a system to ensure that the plan is successfully implemented.”

To read the entire blog, please visit http://www.celebritybrandingagency.com/blog/do-you-have-a-plan-and-a-system.php

JW Dicks is one of America’s leading experts on using personal branding to build a business.  JW emphasizes branding, and the importance of online marketing and social media to his clients and gives them strategies to expand their business in the current economy.

Nick Nanton, Esq. is known as The Top Agent To Celebrity Experts for his role in developing and marketing business and professional experts into Celebrity Experts in their field, through personal branding, to help them gain credibility and recognition for their accomplishments. Nick’s expertise on branding and marketing has been sought out and featured in the Los Angeles Times, Orlando Sentinel, The Chicago Tribune, The California Chronicle, DailyMe.com, FastCompany.com, USA Today, Newsweek, Wall Street Journal, along with NBC, CBS, ABC and FOX affiliates around the country.

For more information on Nick Nanton and JW Dicks, visit http://www.CelebrityBrandingAgency.com, http://www.NickNanton.com and http://www.JWDicks.com

About Nick Nanton, Esq.:

An Emmy Award Winning Director and Producer, Nick Nanton, Esq., is known as the Top Agent to Celebrity Experts around the world for his role in developing and marketing business and professional experts, through personal branding, media, marketing and PR to help them gain credibility and recognition for their accomplishments. Nick is recognized as the nation’s leading expert on personal branding as Fast Company Magazine’s Expert Blogger on the subject and lectures regularly on the topic at at major universities. His book Celebrity Branding You®has been selected as the textbook on personal branding at the University of Central Florida.

The CEO of The Dicks + Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency, an international agency with more than 800 clients in 23 countries, Nick is an award winning director, producer and songwriter who has worked on everything from large scale events to television shows with the likes of Bill Cosby, President George H.W. Bush, Brian Tracy, Michael Gerber and many more.

Nick is recognized as one of the top thought-leaders in the business world and has co-authored 15 best-selling books alongside Brian Tracy, Dr. Ivan Misner (Founder of BNI), Jay Conrad Levinson (Author of the Guerilla Marketing Series), Leigh Steinberg and many others, including the breakthrough hit Celebrity Branding You!®.

Nick serves as publisher of Celebrity Press™, a publishing company that produces and releases books by top Business and Professional Experts. CelebrityPress has published books by Brian Tracy, Mari Smith, Ron Legrand and many other celebrity experts and Nick has led the marketing and PR campaigns that have driven more than 300 authors to Best-Seller status. Nick has been seen in USA Today, The Wall St. Journal, Newsweek, Inc. Magazine, The New York Times, Entrepreneur® Magazine, FastCompany.com. and has appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX television affiliates around the country speaking on subjects ranging from branding, marketing and law, to American Idol.

Nick is a member of the Florida Bar, holds a JD from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, as well as a BSBA in Finance from the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business. Nick is a voting member of The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS, Home to The GRAMMYs), a member of The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Home to the Emmy Awards) co-founder of the National Academy of Best-Selling Authors, a 6-time Telly Award winner, and spends his spare time working with Young Life, Downtown Credo Orlando, Florida Hospital and rooting for the Florida Gators with his wife Kristina and their three children, Brock, Bowen and Addison.

About J.W. Dicks:

J.W. Dicks, Esq. is America’s foremost authority on Personal Branding for Business Development. He has developed some of the most successful mass media and multi-channel business marketing campaigns in the country and built multi-million dollar businesses on the back of them.

J.W.  represents some of the top marketers and professional experts in the world in the growth of their businesses using online and offline business development systems, social media, multi-dimensional marketing, franchising and strategic legal structure to accomplish their goals and capitalize on the assets they create.

A “Best Selling” author with more than 22 published books, and hundreds of articles, J.W. has also been quoted or appeared in Newsweek, The Wall street Journal, USA Today, NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX affiliates as well as Entrepreneur’s Start-Up Magazine, Forbes.com, CNN.com, and many other national and local media outlets.

J.W. is a graduate of the University of Florida and George Mason University College of Law. He is a member of the American Bar Association, National Association of Realtors, Florida Bar, Virginia Bar, and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Academy of Best-Selling Authors, and America’s PremierExperts®… and was recently nominated for an Emmy(R) as an Executive Producer.

J.W.’s business address is in Orlando, and his play address is at his beach house where he spends as much time as he can with his wife of 39 years, Linda, and their two Yorkies. His major hobby is fishing… although the fish are rumored to be safe.

JWDicks@DicksNanton.com •  800.980.1626
http://www.DicksNanton.com

Orlando, Fla. – December 16, 2011 – Co-founders of the Dicks and Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency® and best-selling authors, Nick Nanton, Esq., Top Agent to Celebrity Experts and JW Dicks, Esq., America’s Foremost Expert on Personal Branding for Business Development, recently published a blog on their website (CelebrityBrandingAgency.com) discussing public speaking. The blog, titled “Public Speaking 101: Overcoming Anxiety,” provides valuable tips for overcoming the nervousness that is often experienced while preparing for a speech.

Nick and JW write, “Because of the fear most people have of public speaking, the simple fact that you are willing and able to give speeches on your industry establishes you as an expert in the minds of many people.”

JW Dicks is one of America’s leading experts on using personal branding to build a business.  JW emphasizes branding, and the importance of online marketing and social media to his clients and gives them strategies to expand their business in the current economy.

Nick Nanton, Esq. is known as The Top Agent To Celebrity Experts for his role in developing and marketing business and professional experts into Celebrity Experts in their field, through personal branding, to help them gain credibility and recognition for their accomplishments. Nick’s expertise on branding and marketing has been sought out and featured in the Los Angeles Times, Orlando Sentinel, The Chicago Tribune, The California Chronicle, DailyMe.com, FastCompany.com, USA Today, Newsweek, Wall Street Journal, along with NBC, CBS, ABC and FOX affiliates around the country.

Read the entire blog at http://www.jwdicks.com/blogroll/public-speaking-101-overcoming-anxiety.php

For more information on Nick Nanton and JW Dicks, visit http://www.CelebrityBrandingAgency.com, http://www.NickNanton.com and http://www.JWDicks.com

About Nick Nanton, Esq.:

An Emmy Award Winning Director and Producer, Nick Nanton, Esq., is known as the Top Agent to Celebrity Experts around the world for his role in developing and marketing business and professional experts, through personal branding, media, marketing and PR to help them gain credibility and recognition for their accomplishments. Nick is recognized as the nation’s leading expert on personal branding as Fast Company Magazine’s Expert Blogger on the subject and lectures regularly on the topic at at major universities. His book Celebrity Branding You®has been selected as the textbook on personal branding at the University of Central Florida.

The CEO of The Dicks + Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency, an international agency with more than 800 clients in 23 countries, Nick is an award winning director, producer and songwriter who has worked on everything from large scale events to television shows with the likes of Bill Cosby, President George H.W. Bush, Brian Tracy, Michael Gerber and many more.

Nick is recognized as one of the top thought-leaders in the business world and has co-authored 15 best-selling books alongside Brian Tracy, Dr. Ivan Misner (Founder of BNI), Jay Conrad Levinson (Author of the Guerilla Marketing Series), Leigh Steinberg and many others, including the breakthrough hit Celebrity Branding You!®.

Nick serves as publisher of Celebrity Press™, a publishing company that produces and releases books by top Business and Professional Experts. CelebrityPress has published books by Brian Tracy, Mari Smith, Ron Legrand and many other celebrity experts and Nick has led the marketing and PR campaigns that have driven more than 300 authors to Best-Seller status. Nick has been seen in USA Today, The Wall St. Journal, Newsweek, Inc. Magazine, The New York Times, Entrepreneur® Magazine, FastCompany.com. and has appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX television affiliates around the country speaking on subjects ranging from branding, marketing and law, to American Idol.

Nick is a member of the Florida Bar, holds a JD from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, as well as a BSBA in Finance from the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business. Nick is a voting member of The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS, Home to The GRAMMYs), a member of The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Home to the Emmy Awards) co-founder of the National Academy of Best-Selling Authors, a 6-time Telly Award winner, and spends his spare time working with Young Life, Downtown Credo Orlando, Florida Hospital and rooting for the Florida Gators with his wife Kristina and their three children, Brock, Bowen and Addison.

About J.W. Dicks:

J.W. Dicks, Esq. is America’s foremost authority on Personal Branding for Business Development. He has developed some of the most successful mass media and multi-channel business marketing campaigns in the country and built multi-million dollar businesses on the back of them.

J.W.  represents some of the top marketers and professional experts in the world in the growth of their businesses using online and offline business development systems, social media, multi-dimensional marketing, franchising and strategic legal structure to accomplish their goals and capitalize on the assets they create.

A “Best Selling” author with more than 22 published books, and hundreds of articles, J.W. has also been quoted or appeared in Newsweek, The Wall street Journal, USA Today, NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX affiliates as well as Entrepreneur’s Start-Up Magazine, Forbes.com, CNN.com, and many other national and local media outlets.

J.W. is a graduate of the University of Florida and George Mason University College of Law. He is a member of the American Bar Association, National Association of Realtors, Florida Bar, Virginia Bar, and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Academy of Best-Selling Authors, and America’s PremierExperts®… and was recently nominated for an Emmy(R) as an Executive Producer.

J.W.’s business address is in Orlando, and his play address is at his beach house where he spends as much time as he can with his wife of 39 years, Linda, and their two Yorkies. His major hobby is fishing… although the fish are rumored to be safe.

JWDicks@DicksNanton.com •  800.980.1626
http://www.DicksNanton.com

Orlando, Fla. – December 13, 2011 – Co-founders of the Dicks and Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency® and best-selling authors, Nick Nanton, Esq., Top Agent to Celebrity Experts and JW Dicks, Esq., America’s Foremost Expert on Personal Branding for Business Development, recently published an article on their website (CelebrityBrandingAgency.com) explaining to readers how their brand can be effectively leveraged. The blog, titled “Personal Branding: What’s the Big Picture?” explains that a powerful personal brand can be leveraged to result in higher sales, better client retention, and ultimately more income.

Nick and JW write, “The vast majority of business owners are in business for one simple reason: to make money! And therefore, for personal branding to be a valuable pursuit, it must result in increased income. Good news: it does. We wouldn’t be in business if it didn’t!”

To read the full article, please visit http://www.jwdicks.com/articles/personal-branding-what%E2%80%99s-the-big-picture.php

JW Dicks is one of America’s leading experts on using personal branding to build a business.  JW emphasizes branding, and the importance of online marketing and social media to his clients and gives them strategies to expand their business in the current economy.

Nick Nanton, Esq. is known as The Top Agent To Celebrity Experts for his role in developing and marketing business and professional experts into Celebrity Experts in their field, through personal branding, to help them gain credibility and recognition for their accomplishments. Nick’s expertise on branding and marketing has been sought out and featured in the Los Angeles Times, Orlando Sentinel, The Chicago Tribune, The California Chronicle, DailyMe.com, FastCompany.com, USA Today, Newsweek, Wall Street Journal, along with NBC, CBS, ABC and FOX affiliates around the country.

For more information on Nick Nanton and JW Dicks, visit http://www.CelebrityBrandingAgency.com, http://www.NickNanton.com and http://www.JWDicks.com

About Nick Nanton, Esq.:

An Emmy Award Winning Director and Producer, Nick Nanton, Esq., is known as the Top Agent to Celebrity Experts around the world for his role in developing and marketing business and professional experts, through personal branding, media, marketing and PR to help them gain credibility and recognition for their accomplishments. Nick is recognized as the nation’s leading expert on personal branding as Fast Company Magazine’s Expert Blogger on the subject and lectures regularly on the topic at at major universities. His book Celebrity Branding You®has been selected as the textbook on personal branding at the University of Central Florida.

The CEO of The Dicks + Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency, an international agency with more than 800 clients in 23 countries, Nick is an award winning director, producer and songwriter who has worked on everything from large scale events to television shows with the likes of Bill Cosby, President George H.W. Bush, Brian Tracy, Michael Gerber and many more.

Nick is recognized as one of the top thought-leaders in the business world and has co-authored 15 best-selling books alongside Brian Tracy, Dr. Ivan Misner (Founder of BNI), Jay Conrad Levinson (Author of the Guerilla Marketing Series), Leigh Steinberg and many others, including the breakthrough hit Celebrity Branding You!®.

Nick serves as publisher of Celebrity Press™, a publishing company that produces and releases books by top Business and Professional Experts. CelebrityPress has published books by Brian Tracy, Mari Smith, Ron Legrand and many other celebrity experts and Nick has led the marketing and PR campaigns that have driven more than 300 authors to Best-Seller status. Nick has been seen in USA Today, The Wall St. Journal, Newsweek, Inc. Magazine, The New York Times, Entrepreneur® Magazine, FastCompany.com. and has appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX television affiliates around the country speaking on subjects ranging from branding, marketing and law, to American Idol.

Nick is a member of the Florida Bar, holds a JD from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, as well as a BSBA in Finance from the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business. Nick is a voting member of The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS, Home to The GRAMMYs), a member of The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Home to the Emmy Awards) co-founder of the National Academy of Best-Selling Authors, a 6-time Telly Award winner, and spends his spare time working with Young Life, Downtown Credo Orlando, Florida Hospital and rooting for the Florida Gators with his wife Kristina and their three children, Brock, Bowen and Addison.

About J.W. Dicks:

J.W. Dicks, Esq. is America’s foremost authority on Personal Branding for Business Development. He has developed some of the most successful mass media and multi-channel business marketing campaigns in the country and built multi-million dollar businesses on the back of them.

J.W.  represents some of the top marketers and professional experts in the world in the growth of their businesses using online and offline business development systems, social media, multi-dimensional marketing, franchising and strategic legal structure to accomplish their goals and capitalize on the assets they create.

A “Best Selling” author with more than 22 published books, and hundreds of articles, J.W. has also been quoted or appeared in Newsweek, The Wall street Journal, USA Today, NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX affiliates as well as Entrepreneur’s Start-Up Magazine, Forbes.com, CNN.com, and many other national and local media outlets.

J.W. is a graduate of the University of Florida and George Mason University College of Law. He is a member of the American Bar Association, National Association of Realtors, Florida Bar, Virginia Bar, and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Academy of Best-Selling Authors, and America’s PremierExperts®… and was recently nominated for an Emmy(R) as an Executive Producer.

J.W.’s business address is in Orlando, and his play address is at his beach house where he spends as much time as he can with his wife of 39 years, Linda, and their two Yorkies. His major hobby is fishing… although the fish are rumored to be safe.

JWDicks@DicksNanton.com •  800.980.1626
http://www.DicksNanton.com

Without both of these components, no branding campaign will work.

This should be an obvious point, but you’d be amazed at how many business owners approach branding (and marketing in general) with only one half of the equation. There are some that have a great vision and an aggressive plan to brand themselves as an expert in their field—but that fail to create systems to ensure that their plan is executed. Then there are others who utilize systems to get things done, for instance, posting on their blog twice per month, using Twitter, speaking at networking events—but that don’t have any overarching strategic purpose behind their actions.

For your brand to be successful, the first step is creating a plan. What does your brand consist of? Who are your target customers? How will you communicate your brand to your target market? How will your brand differentiate you from the competition? How will you leverage your brand into a profitable component of your overall marketing plan?

Of course, there is more to creating a plan than that, but those are many of the important questions that must be addressed. (If you’d like help creating a plan for your personal branding campaign, get in touch!)

Step two requires taking your plan and creating systems to ensure that it is executed.

If an element of your plan includes blogging regularly, the system could be that you (or a staff member) spends thirty minutes every Friday morning writing the blog for the upcoming week. Or perhaps you’d prefer to spend two hours writing your blog entries for the upcoming month. Either way is fine—as long as you have a defined system, and some sort of accountability to ensure that the system continues to run. If your plan calls for regular public speaking, assign as staff member to monitor local newspapers, websites, and organizations on a weekly basis in search of opportunities for you to speak.

This isn’t rocket science—but it’s critically important, and often overlooked!

Stop spinning your wheels in vain when it comes to personal branding and marketing. Take stock of your current efforts right now—do you have a plan, and systems to execute it? If not, get busy! If you’d like help, please get in touch with me today!

Orlando, FL – December 7, 2011- J.W. Dicks, Founder of Dicks and Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency®, a Personal Branding company, recently published a blog on his website (www.jwdicks.com) examining misconceptions relating to personal branding. The blog, titled “Debunking the Myths: Four Common Personal Branding Misconceptions,” discusses four specific myths regarding personal branding. 

J.W. Dicks writes, “In the interest of clearing up common misconceptions and making sure that businesses and individuals recognize the value that a strong personal brand can provide, today we are going to get to the bottom of four particularly common myths.”

Dicks and Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency® specializes in Personal Branding. They help clients to elevate their recognition and credibility in their business or professional niche.

The entire blog can be found at http://www.jwdicks.com/blogroll/debunking-the-myths-four-common-personal-branding-misconceptions.php

To learn more about JW Dicks and Dicks and Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency®, please visit http://www.JWDicks.com and http://www.celebritybrandingagency.com/

About J.W. Dicks:

J.W. Dicks, Esq. is America’s foremost authority on Personal Branding for Business Development. He has developed some of the most successful mass media and multi-channel business marketing campaigns in the country and built multi-million dollar businesses on the back of them.

J.W.  represents some of the top marketers and professional experts in the world in the growth of their businesses using online and offline business development systems, social media, multi-dimensional marketing, franchising and strategic legal structure to accomplish their goals and capitalize on the assets they create.

A “Best Selling” author with more than 22 published books, and hundreds of articles, J.W. has also been quoted or appeared in Newsweek, The Wall street Journal, USA Today, NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX affiliates as well as Entrepreneur’s Start-Up Magazine, Forbes.com, CNN.com, and many other national and local media outlets.

J.W. is a graduate of the University of Florida and George Mason University College of Law. He is a member of the American Bar Association, National Association of Realtors, Florida Bar, Virginia Bar, and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Academy of Best-Selling Authors, and America’s PremierExperts®… and was recently nominated for an Emmy(R) as an Executive Producer.

J.W.’s business address is in Orlando, and his play address is at his beach house where he spends as much time as he can with his wife of 39 years, Linda, and their two Yorkies. His major hobby is fishing… although the fish are rumored to be safe.

JWDicks@DicksNanton.com •  800.980.1626
http://www.DicksNanton.com

Orlando, FL – December 2, 2011- J.W. Dicks, Founder of Dicks and Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency®, a Personal Branding company, recently published a blog on his website (www.jwdicks.com) noting the importance of incorporating personality into a personal brand. The blog, titled “Personal Branding 101: Is Your Brand Consistent With Your Core Personality and Your Values?” helps readers understand the importance of living out their brand. 

J.W. Dicks writes, “It doesn’t do you any good to halfheartedly commit to personal branding—because your brand must be consistently reinforced whenever you interact with your customers and your market.”

Dicks and Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency® specializes

in Personal Branding. They help clients to elevate their recognition and credibility in their business or professional niche.

The entire blog can be found at http://www.jwdicks.com/blog/personal-branding-101-is-your-brand-consistent-with-your-core-personality-and-your-values.php

To learn more about JW Dicks and Dicks and Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency®, please visit http://www.JWDicks.com and http://www.celebritybrandingagency.com/

About J.W. Dicks:

J.W. Dicks, Esq. is America’s foremost authority on Personal Branding for Business Development. He has developed some of the most successful mass media and multi-channel business marketing campaigns in the country and built multi-million dollar businesses on the back of them.

J.W.  represents some of the top marketers and professional experts in the world in the growth of their businesses using online and offline business development systems, social media, multi-dimensional marketing, franchising and strategic legal structure to accomplish their goals and capitalize on the assets they create.

A “Best Selling” author with more than 22 published books, and hundreds of articles, J.W. has also been quoted or appeared in Newsweek, The Wall street Journal, USA Today, NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX affiliates as well as Entrepreneur’s Start-Up Magazine, Forbes.com, CNN.com, and many other national and local media outlets.

J.W. is a graduate of the University of Florida and George Mason University College of Law. He is a member of the American Bar Association, National Association of Realtors, Florida Bar, Virginia Bar, and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Academy of Best-Selling Authors, and America’s PremierExperts®… and was recently nominated for an Emmy(R) as an Executive Producer.

J.W.’s business address is in Orlando, and his play address is at his beach house where he spends as much time as he can with his wife of 39 years, Linda, and their two Yorkies. His major hobby is fishing… although the fish are rumored to be safe.

JWDicks@DicksNanton.com •  800.980.1626
http://www.DicksNanton.com

Over the last couple of months, Netflix has undergone a major brand transformation—and not in a good way. They’ve gone from a trendy, convenient video provider to a bumbling, greedy, corporate entity—and the significance of this transformation has shown itself in terms of cancelled subscriptions (over 800,00 accounts lost in the third quarter alone) and a plunging stock price (a drop of nearly 75% since July).

What caused this massive fall from grace? At its core, of course, were financial challenges. Netflix is facing increased competition and higher operating costs. But Netflix leadership made a fatal mistake while planning their response to these challenges—they failed to consider the power of public perception.

In July, Netflix announce that they were separating their online streaming services from their DVD service—and that customers would have to pay for both. In effect, this amounted to a 60% price increase. In what should have been a predictable outcome, there was a massive costumer outcry, particularly online.

Quite simply, Netflix leadership failed to account for the reality that customers would see their reorganization as a major price hike, and that these upset customers would vocalize their frustration online.

It got worse.

Over the weeks following their July announcement, Netflix held firm. They acknowledged customer frustration, but took no steps to fix the problem.

In September, they announced that they were creating a separate company and website to handle their DVD services, known as Qwikster. Once again, they failed to address customer perception—as this “solution” in no way addressed customer concerns. The response was overwhelmingly negative, and ultimately Netflix scrapped the idea.

The lesson here? Perception matters. Had Netflix created a more palatable strategy addressing their financial concerns, their dramatic fall from grace could have been avoided.

Netflix management appears to have recognized their error, and stated the following in a recent shareholder letter: “$7.99 for unlimited streaming and $7.99 for unlimited DVD are both very aggressive low prices, relative to competition and to the value of the services, and they are the right place for Netflix to be in the long term. What we misjudged was how quickly to move there. We compounded the problem with our lack of explanation about the rising cost of the expansion of streaming content, and steady DVD costs, so that … many perceived us as greedy. Finally, we announced and then retracted a separate brand for DVD. While this branding incident further dented our reputation, and caused a temporary cancellation surge, compared to our price change, its impact was relatively minor.”

Don’t repeat their mistake. Think about the impact of the decisions you make, as the CEO of your business, through the prism of your customer’s viewpoint. It’s not enough to make decisions that work for your business internally—they need to make sense to your customers, as well. Never forget the power of perception when it comes to building a strong company brand!

Orlando, FL – November 30, 2011 - Nick Nanton, Esq., Founder of The Dicks and Nanton Companies, a Personal Branding company, recently published a Blog on his website (http://www.nicknanton.com) warning that failing to define your personal brand can have negative repercussions. The Blog, titled “Personal Branding 101: ‘But I Don't Need a Personal Brand’,” informs readers that, if they do not define their own personal brand, they are leaving it for others to define.

Nick Nanton writes, “As a business owner, you cannot afford to have a miscommunication when it comes to creating your personal brand—which is why it is critical that every business owner deliberately define and communicate his or her personal brand.”

The Dicks and Nanton Companies specialize in Personal Branding. They help clients to elevate their recognition and credibility in their business or professional niche.

The entire Blog can be found at http://www.celebritybrandingagency.com/blog/personal-branding-101-%E2%80%9Cbut-i-dont-need-a-personal-brand.php

To learn more about Nick Nanton, please visit http://www.nicknanton.com and http://www.CelebrityBrandingAgency.com

About Nick Nanton, Esq.:

An Emmy Award Winning Director and Producer, Nick Nanton, Esq., is known as The Celebrity Lawyer and Agent to top Celebrity Experts for his role in developing and marketing business and professional experts, through personal branding, media, marketing and PR to help them gain credibility and recognition for their accomplishments. Nick is recognized as the nation’s leading expert on personal branding as Fast Company Magazine’s Expert Blogger on the subject and lectures regularly on the topic at the University of Central Florida. His book Celebrity Branding You® has been selected as the textbook on personal branding at the University.

The CEO of The Dicks + Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency, Nick is an award winning director, producer and songwriter who has worked on everything from large scale events to television shows with the likes of Bill Cosby, President George H.W. Bush, Brian Tracy, Michael Gerber and many more.

Nick is recognized as one of the top thought-leaders in the business world and has co-authored 10 best-selling books, including the breakthrough hit Celebrity Branding You!®.

Nick serves as publisher of Celebrity Press™, a publishing company that produces and releases books by top Business Experts. CelebrityPress has published books by Brian Tracy, Mari Smith, Ron Legrand and many other celebrity experts and Nick has led the marketing and PR campaigns that have driven more than 300 authors to Best-Seller status. Nick has been seen in USA Today, The Wall St. Journal, Newsweek, Inc. Magazine, The New York Times, Entrepreneur® Magazine, FastCompany.com. and has appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX television affiliates around the country speaking on subjects ranging from branding, marketing and law, to American Idol.

Nick is a member of the Florida Bar, holds a JD from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, as well as a BSBA in Finance from the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business. Nick is a voting member of The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS, Home to The GRAMMYs), a member of The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Home to the Emmy Awards) co-founder of the National Academy of Best-Selling Authors, a 6-time Telly Award winner, and spends his spare time working with Young Life, Downtown Credo Orlando, Florida Hospital and rooting for the Florida Gators with his wife Kristina and their three children, Brock, Bowen and Addison.

To learn more about Nick Nanton, please visit http://www.nicknanton.com and http://www.CelebrityBrandingAgency.com

To help you answer this question, and also to identify areas in need of improvement, answer the following questions below:

1) Does the essence of your brand come to mind whenever your audience hears your name, sees your logo, or meets you face-to-face? This is an easy question to answer—simply ask friends, family members, clients, and employees to write down the first three things they think of when they hear your name. Take a look at the results—do most of the traits identified relate to your brand?

2) Does your personal brand differentiate you from the competition in your market? A powerful brand effectively places you in a different category than the competition—in other words, there may be many tax accountants in your city, but you want to be known as THE premier go-to guy for tax accounting. Come up with a list of ten competitors and compare your branding materials—including website, business cards, blogs, books, speaking events, etc. Are you in a class of your own—or is it hard to identify any differences between you and the competition?

3) Does your brand justify higher prices by establishing additional value? The goal for most small business owners is to stop competing on price. In other words, to be able to charge higher prices and still bring in business. To do that, you must be find ways to add value to your products and services. Examples could include regularly publishing a newsletter, sending out holiday gifts, or even advertising a “24 hour response” policy for all phone calls from clients. The possibilities are endless. What do you do to add value to your services? Create a list—and if there is nothing substantial, get to work!

4)     Does your brand address the needs of your market? An effective personal brand appeals to its target customers—does yours? Take the time to ask several clients to list their biggest fears or worries as they relate to the services you offer. If you’re a retirement planner, these fears may include things like “uncertainty about the future,” “fear of a market crash,” or “fear of running out of money.” Your brand should address these fears by radiating stability, experience, and level-headedness. If you’re a tax accountant, the biggest issues facing your customers may be a sense of intimidation or a fear of overpaying taxes. Your brand should address these concerns by emphasizing your knowledge and experience. Poll your customers—and evaluate whether or not your brand addresses their concerns!

Your answers to these four questions will be instructive. If you are excelling in all four areas, chances are you’re currently enjoying the fruits of a strong personal brand. If you are lacking in several areas, you now have an action plan—let us know if you need any help along the way!

Orlando, FL – October 15, 2011 - Nick Nanton, Esq., Founder of The Dicks and Nanton Companies, a Personal Branding company, recently published an article on his website (http://www.nicknanton.com) highlighting the importance of public speaking. The article, titled “Personal Branding: Why You Need to Start Giving Speeches,” encourages business owners to begin pursuing opportunities for public speaking. 

Nick Nanton writes, “But the truth is that speaking at a seminar or a conference is a uniquely powerful personal branding tool and should be seriously considered by anyone who is serious about building their brand.”

The Dicks and Nanton Companies specialize in Personal Branding. They help clients to elevate their recognition and credibility in their business or professional niche.

The entire article can be found at http://www.celebritybrandingagency.com/articles/personal-branding-why-you-need-to-start-giving-speeches.php

To learn more about Nick Nanton, please visit http://www.nicknanton.com and http://www.CelebrityBrandingAgency.com

About Nick Nanton, Esq.:

An Emmy Award Winning Director and Producer, Nick Nanton, Esq., is known as the Top Agent to Celebrity Experts around the world for his role in developing and marketing business and professional experts, through personal branding, media, marketing and PR to help them gain credibility and recognition for their accomplishments. Nick is recognized as the nation’s leading expert on personal branding as Fast Company Magazine’s Expert Blogger on the subject and lectures regularly on the topic at at major universities. His book Celebrity Branding You®has been selected as the textbook on personal branding at the University of Central Florida.

The CEO of The Dicks + Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency, an international agency with more than 800 clients in 23 countries, Nick is an award winning director, producer and songwriter who has worked on everything from large scale events to television shows with the likes of Bill Cosby, President George H.W. Bush, Brian Tracy, Michael Gerber and many more.

Nick is recognized as one of the top thought-leaders in the business world and has co-authored 15 best-selling books alongside Brian Tracy, Dr. Ivan Misner (Founder of BNI), Jay Conrad Levinson (Author of the Guerilla Marketing Series), Leigh Steinberg and many others, including the breakthrough hit Celebrity Branding You!®.

Nick serves as publisher of Celebrity Press™, a publishing company that produces and releases books by top Business and Professional Experts. CelebrityPress has published books by Brian Tracy, Mari Smith, Ron Legrand and many other celebrity experts and Nick has led the marketing and PR campaigns that have driven more than 300 authors to Best-Seller status. Nick has been seen in USA Today, The Wall St. Journal, Newsweek, Inc. Magazine, The New York Times, Entrepreneur® Magazine, FastCompany.com. and has appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX television affiliates around the country speaking on subjects ranging from branding, marketing and law, to American Idol.

Nick is a member of the Florida Bar, holds a JD from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, as well as a BSBA in Finance from the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business. Nick is a voting member of The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS, Home to The GRAMMYs), a member of The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Home to the Emmy Awards) co-founder of the National Academy of Best-Selling Authors, a 6-time Telly Award winner, and spends his spare time working with Young Life, Downtown Credo Orlando, Florida Hospital and rooting for the Florida Gators with his wife Kristina and their three children, Brock, Bowen and Addison.

To learn more about Nick Nanton, please visit http://www.nicknanton.com and http://www.CelebrityBrandingAgency.com

When I am working with a client to create a brand-building campaign, I suggest many different tactics.  These tactics include everything from social media to book publishing, from TV appearances to article writing campaigns.  One of the tactics that I always seem to get pushback on is the idea of public speaking—whether at seminars or other events.  Of course, it is perfectly understandable that many people don’t love the idea of public speaking.  In fact, just the phrase “public speaking” takes many of us back to speech class in high school or college—and for most of us, it’s not a positive memory.  But the truth is that speaking at a seminar or a conference is a uniquely powerful personal branding tool and should be seriously considered by anyone who is serious about building their brand.  Not convinced?  Below are three good reasons public speaking needs to be part of your branding campaign.

1) Public speaking brands you as an expert. Think about the last time you attended a seminar that featured a speaker.  Without even thinking about it, you granted the speaker “expert” status in your mind, didn’t you?  We naturally assume that someone qualified to address a large group on a specific topic knows what they are talking about—which is why making a speech is such a good idea.  When you speak on a topic, you become an expert in that subject. 

2) Public speaking dramatically increases your credibility. How much competition do you face in your market?  If you’re a dentist, how many other dentists are there in your city?  If you’re a CPA, how many other CPAs are there in your market?  The number is probably high.  Now, of those competitors, how many of them are sought-after speakers?  How many are considered a leading authority in their line of work?  By pursuing speaking opportunities, you differentiate yourself from the vast majority of your competition.

3) Public speaking is like networking on steroids. Do you ever attend networking events?  If so, you’re familiar with the routine—shake hands, swap cards, move on to the next person.  If you are lucky, you’ll leave a networking event with a handful of connections and maybe one real prospect.  Speaking, on the other hand, gives you a chance to tell your story and share your expertise with a large audience.  And in my experience, the members of the audience that are most interested in your services (in other words, the best prospects in the room), tend to seek you out afterwards and engage in conversation.  When you’re finished, you’ll often walk away with several great prospects eager to do business.  And, you’ll already have sold them on your qualifications just by showing up to speak!

Public speaking is an incredibly powerful way to brand yourself as an expert in your field.  It’s a great way to increase your credibility, and it can even be a direct source of new business.  What are you waiting for?  If you’d like more information, please get in touch with me today!

By Guest Bloggers Gregg Rollett and Brett Burky

Building the brand of ‘you’ online is something of an art. Maintaining the niche you carved out for yourself takes dedication and focus as you continue to grow within your respected discipline.  And of course, you want to develop and maintain a congruent brand in your offline world as much as your online world.

This includes things such as ensuring that your social profiles online are congruent with your offline material. It also can involve your business cards and even the clothes you wear, making sure they represent and portray you in a way that you want to be viewed.

But once you have your branding organized and you are out marketing from different media outlets, stages and platforms, how do you maintain the relationships of all of the people that you’ve met in your quest to build your brand?

Enter In Personalized SMS Text Message Marketing

If this is your first time hearing about using SMS marketing to build your brand then you will be pleasantly surprised to hear about the ways you can further engage with your audience.

According to Frost and Sullivan, the open rate for SMS messages is as high as 97%, considerably higher than through email marketing.

Another amazing reality is that, as a society, people have officially been inducted into the mobile era.  This represents an incredible opportunity to connect your audience with your brand. There has never been anything quite like this in the history of marketing and advertising.

Marketers from centuries ago couldn’t have imagined the direct contact that we now have access to.

But how can this benefit you in your own personal branding?

To put this into context, as someone who is trying to build their personal brand, a major goal is to get more people to attend events that you are offering, such as seminars, conferences, or webinars.

SMS marketing allows you to increase the amount of people attending these events you are holding. The ability to send out a text message an hour before your event can drastically increase the amount of people that will actually attend the webinar. That means more people seeing you and your message, and ultimately more exposure to your brand.

Text marketing is particularly powerful because many webinars happen at night, and events on the weekends.  This means that people may not be sitting in front of their computers just checking their email. However there is a high likelihood that they do have their phone on them.  This simple event strategy can easily increase your attendance by up to 312%.

Take that a step further and now you can personalize your text messages with your subscriber’s first name, last name, birthday and other fields to create a highly customized message to each subscriber.

For example,

“Hey Chris, thanks for signing up for our text alerts. Here’s a special gift for joining our exclusive list – link”

Since text messaging is so personal, treating it as such is critical to its success. Treating text messaging as another “marketing” channel can and will hurt you.  You need to treat your messages as personal texts from you, your company, mascot, or whomever. Blasting your contacts can quickly ruin a relationship.

Giving SMS text message marketing a try is a wonderful idea when you are trying to increase your engagement with your current customers, fans or colleagues-- and can be another effective touch point in your personal brand development.

This article was written by Brett Burky from Call Loop and Greg Rollett from the ProductPros. Call Loop is an easy, integrated, automated voice and text messaging system and the ProductPros helps authors, speakers, entrepreneurs and small business owners create more freedom in their business through direct marketing and leveraging information.  Learn more about SMS Marketing at http://callloop.com/ and about monetizing your information at http://productprosystems.com.

Orlando, FL – October 3, 2011 - Nick Nanton, Esq., Founder of The Dicks and Nanton Companies, a Personal Branding company, recently published a Blog on his website (http://www.nicknanton.com) highlighting the importance of relationships. The Blog, titled “Personal Branding: Relationships Are Key,” shares three tips for nurturing and creating strong relationships.

Nick Nanton writes, “As you know, personal branding is all about building credibility, visibility, and establishing yourself as an expert in your field.  But there is another element of personal branding which is often overlooked, and that is relationships.”

The Dicks and Nanton Companies specialize in Personal Branding. They help clients to elevate their recognition and credibility in their business or professional niche.

The entire Blog can be found at http://www.celebritybrandingagency.com/blog/personal-branding-relationships-are-key.php

To learn more about Nick Nanton, please visit http://www.nicknanton.com and http://www.CelebrityBrandingAgency.com

About Nick Nanton, Esq.:

An Emmy Award Winning Director and Producer, Nick Nanton, Esq., is known as The Celebrity Lawyer and Agent to top Celebrity Experts for his role in developing and marketing business and professional experts, through personal branding, media, marketing and PR to help them gain credibility and recognition for their accomplishments. Nick is recognized as the nation’s leading expert on personal branding as Fast Company Magazine’s Expert Blogger on the subject and lectures regularly on the topic at the University of Central Florida. His book Celebrity Branding You® has been selected as the textbook on personal branding at the University.

The CEO of The Dicks + Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency, Nick is an award winning director, producer and songwriter who has worked on everything from large scale events to television shows with the likes of Bill Cosby, President George H.W. Bush, Brian Tracy, Michael Gerber and many more.

Nick is recognized as one of the top thought-leaders in the business world and has co-authored 10 best-selling books, including the breakthrough hit Celebrity Branding You!®.

Nick serves as publisher of Celebrity Press™, a publishing company that produces and releases books by top Business Experts. CelebrityPress has published books by Brian Tracy, Mari Smith, Ron Legrand and many other celebrity experts and Nick has led the marketing and PR campaigns that have driven more than 300 authors to Best-Seller status. Nick has been seen in USA Today, The Wall St. Journal, Newsweek, Inc. Magazine, The New York Times, Entrepreneur® Magazine, FastCompany.com. and has appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX television affiliates around the country speaking on subjects ranging from branding, marketing and law, to American Idol.

Nick is a member of the Florida Bar, holds a JD from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, as well as a BSBA in Finance from the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business. Nick is a voting member of The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS, Home to The GRAMMYs), a member of The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Home to the Emmy Awards) co-founder of the National Academy of Best-Selling Authors, a 6-time Telly Award winner, and spends his spare time working with Young Life, Downtown Credo Orlando, Florida Hospital and rooting for the Florida Gators with his wife Kristina and their three children, Brock, Bowen and Addison.

To learn more about Nick Nanton, please visit http://www.nicknanton.com and http://www.CelebrityBrandingAgency.com

Orlando, FL – September 20, 2011 - Nick Nanton, Esq., Founder of The Dicks and Nanton Companies, a Personal Branding company, recently published an article on his website (http://www.nicknanton.com) with information for creating a stronger Twitter presence. The article, titled “Personal Branding: Tell Your Story on Twitter,” shares three tips to help business owners tell their story more effectively. 

Nick Nanton writes, “Twitter is a great place to engage with your audience and keep them up to date on all of your latest adventures.  Twitter provides a fun, laid-back atmosphere—it is the perfect venue for building an interesting and dynamic brand.”

The Dicks and Nanton Companies specialize in Personal Branding. They help clients to elevate their recognition and credibility in their business or professional niche.

The entire article can be found at http://www.celebritybrandingagency.com/articles/personal-branding-tell-your-story-on-twitter.php

To learn more about Nick Nanton, please visit http://www.nicknanton.com and http://www.CelebrityBrandingAgency.com

About Nick Nanton, Esq.:

An Emmy Award Winning Director and Producer, Nick Nanton, Esq., is known as The Celebrity Lawyer and Agent to top Celebrity Experts for his role in developing and marketing business and professional experts, through personal branding, media, marketing and PR to help them gain credibility and recognition for their accomplishments. Nick is recognized as the nation’s leading expert on personal branding as Fast Company Magazine’s Expert Blogger on the subject and lectures regularly on the topic at the University of Central Florida. His book Celebrity Branding You® has been selected as the textbook on personal branding at the University.

The CEO of The Dicks + Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency, Nick is an award winning director, producer and songwriter who has worked on everything from large scale events to television shows with the likes of Bill Cosby, President George H.W. Bush, Brian Tracy, Michael Gerber and many more.

Nick is recognized as one of the top thought-leaders in the business world and has co-authored 10 best-selling books, including the breakthrough hit Celebrity Branding You!®.

Nick serves as publisher of Celebrity Press™, a publishing company that produces and releases books by top Business Experts. CelebrityPress has published books by Brian Tracy, Mari Smith, Ron Legrand and many other celebrity experts and Nick has led the marketing and PR campaigns that have driven more than 300 authors to Best-Seller status. Nick has been seen in USA Today, The Wall St. Journal, Newsweek, Inc. Magazine, The New York Times, Entrepreneur® Magazine, FastCompany.com. and has appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX television affiliates around the country speaking on subjects ranging from branding, marketing and law, to American Idol.

Nick is a member of the Florida Bar, holds a JD from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, as well as a BSBA in Finance from the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business. Nick is a voting member of The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS, Home to The GRAMMYs), a member of The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Home to the Emmy Awards) co-founder of the National Academy of Best-Selling Authors, a 6-time Telly Award winner, and spends his spare time working with Young Life, Downtown Credo Orlando, Florida Hospital and rooting for the Florida Gators with his wife Kristina and their three children, Brock, Bowen and Addison.

To learn more about Nick Nanton, please visit http://www.nicknanton.com and http://www.CelebrityBrandingAgency.com

Orlando, FL – September 19, 2011 - J.W. Dicks, Founder of Dicks and Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency®, a Personal Branding company, recently published an article on his website (http://www.jwdicks.com) discussing the importance of identifying a niche for branding efforts.  The article, titled “Personal Branding: Have You Identified Your Niche?” asks business owners four questions to help them zero in on their target market. 

J.W. Dicks writes, “If you haven’t yet identified your target market, take a few moments right now to do so.  Without a clearly defined niche, your personal brand won’t be effective.”

Dicks and Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency® specializes in Personal Branding. They help clients to elevate their recognition and credibility in their business or professional niche.

The entire article can be found at http://www.jwdicks.com/articles/personal-branding-have-you-identified-your-niche.php

To learn more about JW Dicks and Dicks and Nanton Celebrity Branding Agency®, please visit http://www.JWDicks.com and http://www.celebritybrandingagency.com/

About J.W. Dicks:

J.W. Dicks, Esq. is America’s foremost authority on Personal Branding for Business Development. He has developed some of the most successful mass media and multi-channel business marketing campaigns in the country and built multi-million dollar businesses on the back of them.

J.W.  represents some of the top marketers and professional experts in the world in the growth of their businesses using online and offline business development systems, social media, multi-dimensional marketing, franchising and strategic legal structure to accomplish their goals and capitalize on the assets they create.

A “Best Selling” author with more than 22 published books, and hundreds of articles, J.W. has also been quoted or appeared in Newsweek, The Wall street Journal, USA Today, NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX affiliates as well as Entrepreneur’s Start-Up Magazine, Forbes.com, CNN.com, and many other national and local media outlets.

J.W. is a graduate of the University of Florida and George Mason University College of Law. He is a member of the American Bar Association, NASD, National Association of Realtors, Florida Bar, Virginia Bar, and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Academy of Best-Selling Authors, and America’s PremierExperts®… and was recently nominated for an Emmy(R) as an Executive Producer.

J.W.’s business address is in Orlando, and his play address is at his beach house where he spends as much time as he can with his wife of 39 years, Linda, and their two Yorkies. His major hobby is fishing… although the fish are rumored to be safe.

JWDicks@DicksNanton.com •  800.980.1626
http://www.DicksNanton.com