This blog was originally posted and featured on FastCompany.com. The original post can be found here: http://www.fastcompany.com/1679211/personal-branding-goes-gaga

Not satisfied with the small screen any more, reportedly Lady Gaga is looking to move to the big screen in what she hopes will be the next blockbuster music movie even though there is no script, producer, director, or plan.

The slight negative tone to this blog is not to diminish the music star’s ability to keep her career in the news and everyone guessing, “what’s next”? Does anyone know, may be the better question.

Naturally, an announcement of a potential movie deal is a long way from the appearance of one and hints of movies give Gaga and company many opportunities to continue to stir the press machine as more information is leaked to a willing press and fan base.

From our brand positioning perch, we naturally applaud the next expansion of the Gaga brand but would hope that someone in the Gaga camp thinks strategically and doesn’t just jump from project to project without focus. There is clearly lots of money to be made from her growing brand and fan base, but at some point you have to make decisions on direction if for no other reason than to solidify what you have. This is not to suggest that Lady Gaga go conservative, heaven forbid the disastrous affect of that. On the contrary, it is an urge to focus and fill in the core of your brand base, making it stronger and ready for bigger challenges. Movies are coming but in the meantime, keep cranking the music machine and building your core fan base.

Nick Nanton, Esq., The Celebrity Agent, one of America’s leading personal branding experts, recently hit Amazon.com’s Best-Seller List with his new book, “Power Principles for Success.”

Orlando, Fla. – August 18, 2010 – In collaboration with America’s PremierExperts®, Nick Nanton, Esq., one of the country’s leading marketing and branding experts, known as The Celebrity Agent, recently released the book, Power Principles for Success. The book features the authors sharing their biggest success secrets for a life of health, wealth, happiness and prosperity. America’s PremierExperts® is a group of America’s leading experts in various fields of business. They are celebrity experts who are dedicated to spreading knowledge and awareness in their field of expertise and making significant contributions to their industry and the marketplace as a whole.

Power Principles for Success was released on July 28, 2010. On the day of release, the book was a #1 Best-Seller in the Direct Marketing category. The book also reached the best-seller list in two other categories. Nick Nanton, Esq. authored a chapter in the book titled, “Process Yields Progress.”

Nick Nanton, Esq. is known as “The Celebrity Agent” 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 and the Wall Street Journal, among others.

On Friday, July 30th, America’s PremierExperts® and all of the authors held the official launch party for Power Principles for Success in Times Square in New York City, NY.

To order your copy of Power Principles for Success, please visit http://www.amazon.com/Power-Principles-Success-Brian-Tracy/dp/0615369596/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1281555230&sr=1-1

To find out more about and Nick Nanton, please visit http://www.DicksNantonAgency.com and http://www.NickNanton.com

To find out more about America’s PremierExperts® visit http://www.AmericasPremierExperts.com

About Nick Nanton, Esq.:

Nick Nanton, Esq. is known as “The Celebrity Agent” 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 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.

Nick serves as the Producer of America’s PremierExperts® television show and The Next Big Thing® radio show, both designed to recognize the top Experts in their field and bring their solutions to consumers.

Nick is an award winning songwriter and television producer and has worked on everything from large scale events to reality tv pitches with the likes of Bill Cosby, President George H.W. Bush, Superbowl Champion Don Shula, Legendary Basketball Coach Bobby Knight and many more. Nick is recognized as one of the top thought leaders in the business world and has co-authored the best-selling books, Celebrity Branding You!®, Big Ideas for Your Business, Shift Happens and Power Principles for Success and has interviewed the top business leaders in the world, including Donald Trump, Richard Branson and Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com. Nick also serves as editor and 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 has published books for more than 60 best-selling authors. Nick has been featured in USA Today, The Wall St. Journal, Newsweek, The New York Times, Entrepreneur® Magazine, FastCompany.com and has appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX television affiliates 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 prestigious Warrington College of Business. Nick is a voting member of The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS, Home to The GRAMMYs), a 4-time Telly Award winner, and spends his spare time working with Young Life, Florida Hospital and rooting for the Florida Gators with his wife Kristina, and their two sons, Brock and Bowen.

To find out more about and Nick Nanton, please visit http://www.DicksNantonAgency.com and http://www.NickNanton.com

About America’s PremierExperts® LLC:

America’s PremierExperts® is an organization dedicated to recognizing business experts in their field of expertise and offers business owners, entrepreneurs, professional speakers, authors, professionals and corporate CEOs exclusive opportunities for further exposure and growth in the marketplace. JW Dicks, Esq. and Nick Nanton, Esq., Media and Business development experts, founded America’s PremierExperts® to showcase entrepreneurs, CEOs, authors, professional speakers and businesspeople who are dedicated to spreading knowledge and awareness in their field and making significant contributions to their industry and the marketplace as a whole. For more information on becoming one of America’s PremierExperts® visit http://www.americaspremierexperts.com/become-an-expert

By: Nick Nanton & JW Dicks

How Writing Your Own Book Makes You the Center of Conversation

In “The Relationship Age,” it’s sometimes really difficult to be heard. Everyone else is texting and Facebooking, not to mention IM-ing and emailing, and sometimes it seems the longest you can get someone’s attention is for 140 characters or less.

Talking in Twitter-sized bites, however, doesn’t really help you get a lot of meaningful ideas across. For example, here’s how Honest Abe Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address would have gone if he had tried to Tweet it from an iPhone…

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty and dedicated to the propositi

Never really was able to get even close to the point, was he? Hey, I even took out two commas, and I still couldn’t get to the end of “proposition.”

Lincoln wouldn’t have been the only one caught in mid-sentence. Here’s how far baseball great Lou Gehrig’s famous Yankee Stadium goodbye speech would have gotten through Twitter:

Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the

On the face of the what? The clock on the wall?

To be fair, let’s get away from the speeches – they always have way too much set-up anyway. Let’s try Tweeting the 23rd Psalm – that’s a little more direct:

The Lord is my shepherd – I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures – he leadeth me beside the still waters – he restore

Wow, that’s a letdown. We’re all set up to relax in the pasture and by the still waters…ready for the great, good thing that’s going to happen…and bam! We’re left bereft of restoration of whatever was going to be restored (in this case, your soul – kind of an important detail).

It’s kind of interesting to put the Twitter 140 character limit on all kinds of things – famous songs, poems, jokes, whatever – but I’m not doing this just to play a game. I’m also doing it to make a very important point: that is, today, in our constantly-communicating ADD society, it’s hard to really put your ideas out there in a meaningful way.

We see this in politics – the constant repetition of out-of-context sound bites that often trivialize a candidate’s viewpoint – and we see this in movies and TV shows, which keep being edited faster and faster in an attempt to retain a viewer’s interest. The pace of all of our social interaction keeps accelerating to faster and faster speeds that make it increasingly difficult to make anything stick beyond catch phrases and slick slogans.

So how do you have the kind of lengthy conversation you need to have in order to build your circle of influence and establish your name—to build a relationship with a potential client or customer? How do you communicate who you are and what you have to say in a way that has lasting impact and in a way that has a long marketing afterlife?

The answer lies in something basic that existed ‘way before’ our current electronic age – a book.

THE OLDEST FORM OF SOCIAL MEDIA

I quoted the Bible before – and that wasn’t a random choice. Books like the Bible were the original form of Social Media. Would Christianity have grown to the size it is today without having the Bible as a cornerstone of the religion – a book with all the religion’s philosophy contained in it that could easily be passed around? It would have been a lot more difficult, at the very least. And consider the fact that, in its time, the Bible was even interactive, as prophets and apostles of the time added on to it as events kept occurring.

Books have usually been the basis of any major movement – and that fact still holds true today. Major motivational speakers like Anthony Robbins and Jack Canfield depend on regular book releases to continue to grow their base. And superstars in sports, politics and entertainment make it a point to get a book out, even though it’s usually ghostwritten, to expand their ‘brand’ and put out their side of the story, without a reporter or interviewer beside them ready to instantly poke holes in it.

That’s why I say books are the oldest form of social media. Social media is anything that starts a conversation and builds a relationship – and for hundreds of years, books have prompted millions of hours of discussion, have created relationships between writer and reader, and still do. That’s why thousands of people participate in social book groups all around the world – there’s even this woman named Oprah who happens to have a very famous book club of her own, don’t know if you’ve heard of her…

At the same time, authors are also seen as unique and smart. It’s a hard, time-consuming task to finish a tome of your own – especially when most of us really don’t like to write. It just feels like leftover homework from English class in high school. That’s why most people would never think of attempting to write a book – and anyone who actually does finish one, let alone have it published, is instantly held in higher regard.

And that’s always a good thing.

HOW A BOOK BOLSTERS YOUR BRAND

Let’s return to what we talked about at the beginning of this chapter – how hard it is to impart your ideas to an audience when everyone is chattering away in tiny texts and status updates on their electronic gadgets.

A book is the ideal base for you to have the conversation you want to have with people. It gives you the opportunity to craft your message and have it delivered without any interruptions. When somebody reads your book, you get to go inside their head for hours and hours, so you can make your case in the most impactful way possible – and again, no one’s there to argue against you, except the reader. You’re no longer just a sound bite or a one-liner – you’re someone who has a fully realized vision of how something should work—you now have a “platform.” And again, that brings you instant respect.

Of course, the argument to all that is…who has time to read anymore? People don’t want to be bogged down with a book, they want to watch what they have recorded on their DVRs, play videogames or hang out on their favorite websites, however they like to spend their leisure time.

Well, this is the best part. It doesn’t matter if people read your book or not.

Some will, some won’t…but keep in mind that I said the book was the ideal base for your conversation with people. But it’s certainly not the be-all and end-all. As a matter of fact it’s really only the starting step to a whole world of marketing opportunities.

I always like to use Donald Trump as an example of a guy who knows what to do with a book. The Donald puts out a new book one, two, sometimes even three times a year. He certainly doesn’t need to for the money – no, he does it for his brand.

Think about it – when you see him on Larry King Live or The View or a late night talk show, it’s usually because he’s got a new book out. It gives the show a reason to book him, it gives him something new to talk about and it continually refreshes his brand. He will also then usually spin off other products from the book… a motivational CD, an online sales course, speaking engagements, etc.

His main business may be property development, but Donald Trump does the best at selling Donald Trump – and he uses his books as the platform to do it. If he just came on talk shows and discussed his latest condo project…well, let’s just say he’s sharp enough not to be dull.

THE POWER OF THE BOOK PLATFORM

Of course, there aren’t many Donald Trumps out there – and odds are you’re not going to get yourself booked on Larry King (at least not right away!) simply because you’re not that kind of media celebrity. Again, this is not a problem.

So how do you leverage a book that you’ve written and published?

There are literally thousands of ways to do it – to endlessly reuse, reformat and recycle the content you’ve created – but let’s break it down into three stages:

1) YOUR PRE-LAUNCH SEQUENCE

When a big movie is coming out, the studios want to make sure you and everybody else in the world knows about it. You want to treat your book the way a studio would treat the next “Transformers” sequel, and spread the word every way you can.

Begin by creating a website about the book before it comes out – offer a free portion of the book (a “sneak peek”) through an opt-in box that will allow you to capture leads. You can even feature a “countdown” to the publication date and time to generate more excitement. Create Tweets and Facebook posts about the preparations you’re doing for the book’s release – create an air of anticipation.

When the website is up, put out a press release announcing you’ve got a publishing deal, making sure you have links back to your website. Syndicate the press release and post it on all the social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, etc.). Also consider doing a podcast by having a friend interview you about the book and put it up for download on iTunes.

2) PUBLICATION PUBLICITY

Once your book is published, you can now use it to your advantage to get your own media bookings. Again, a real author gets attention – and you should at least be able to ‘nab’ some local air time.

Send out copies of your book to local radio and TV stations, as well as print publications, and offer to be interviewed. Also put in a listing in Radio-TV Interview Report (find out more at RTIR.com) to make yourself available for national interviews. You can also mail copies to your top clients, send them out to get yourself booked for speaking engagements at business and civic events, and host a book signing event at a local book store.

Consider continuing to produce podcasts for distribution through iTunes with a theme of something like “Beyond the Book,” offering additional/updated information and conversation about topics you cover in the book.

Finally, remember to distribute blogs and articles online based on your book. You can use excerpts from your book for the articles and write about the experience of being a published author on your blog. Spin off as much content as you can to establish yourself as an authority in your field.

3) LENGTHENING THE AFTERLIFE

Now that you’re an author, it should become an important part of your professional profile. Make sure it’s added to your official bio and put the name of the book and a link to it in your email signature.

You can also break down a chapter and make it into an ongoing free special report, available on your website through an opt-in box. Definitely rework the material into speeches or seminar material for your personal or recorded appearances.

Your office should also reflect your author status. Put a framed copy of the cover of your book on the wall in your reception area or office – it’s easy to do through canvaspop.com. Also, leave copies of your book on the coffee table in your office with “Take Me” stickers on the front. You should also donate copies to the local libraries in your area. Make sure your contact information is contained in these copies – either put a business card in the book, or have your info stamped on the back page.

Those are just a few of the ways you can continue the conversation you start with a book. The book is the vehicle to get you in the door – for interviews, for speaking engagements, for online content and for every other kind of publicity opportunity you can work. And you work it as much as possible so that people will begin to hear your name in different venues – and always in an authoritative, knowledgeable context.

At our Celebrity Branding Agency®, we help our clients do all this and more – and we add another, very powerful step. We’ve created a foolproof way to make our authors’ books best-sellers in certain Amazon categories. We then honor them by getting them inducted into the National Academy of Best-Selling Authors™ – and send out another round of press releases noting their honor and best-selling status, which opens up more major marketing opportunities – still from the same book.

A book establishes you as an authority in your field. It gives you credibility and influence – and it also gives you the launching pad for an incredible marketing ride. The opportunity to have lengthy, persuasive conversations are rare in The Relationship Age – but a book allows you to have that opportunity and maximize it over and over to your advantage.

A book stands out. You stand out. And that’s the essential element to any marketing triumph.

JW Dicks, Esq., personal branding and business growth expert, discusses the possibility of shifting your personal branding focus.

Orlando, Fla. – August 17, 2010 – Co-founder of the Dicks and Nanton Branding Agency® and best-selling author, JW Dicks, Esq., America’s Foremost Expert on Personal Branding for Business Development, recently published an article exploring the shift in Sesame Street’s brand focus, and what businesses can learn from it.

The article, titled “Personal Branding: Do You Need To Shift Your Focus,” was posted on August 16th, 2010, on JW’s website, http://www.JWDicks.com. The post includes the following excerpt:

Why am I writing about Sesame Street today? Because we can all learn a valuable lesson about personal branding from this quintessential American brand.

Sesame Street is a business just like any of ours. Even when we think that we have developed the perfect personal brand, there may always be an opportunity to change the focus of that brand. I’m not advocating changing the things that have made your business brand a success, just finding a way to re-focus your brand to a new audience that will not alienate those who have come to trust and respect your brand the way it is.

Try to think of ways you can re-focus your personal brand that appeals to the new generation – without sacrificing the traits that made your brand the success that it is!

The entire post is available at http://www.celebritybrandingagency.com/articles/personal-branding-do-you-need-to-shift-your-focus.php

To learn more about JW Dicks and the Dicks and Nanton Agency please visit http://www.JWDicks.com and http://www.DicksNantonAgency.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 – to the tune of more than $500,000,000 in sales.

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 14 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.

In addition to coaching and consulting for clients nationwide, J.W. is also a successful entrepreneur living in the trenches himself. He has built his own businesses, with annual sales exceeding $35 Million, developed real estate in excess of $200 Million and created and sold intellectual property rights for as much as $1.8 Million.

J.W. is a graduate of the University of Florida and George Mason College of Law. He is a member of the American Bar Association, NASD, National Association of Realtors, the Florida Bar and the Virginia Bar.

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 37 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

By JW Dicks

As a small business owner or entrepreneur, the ability to find new ways to market yourself and develop your personal brand, can be the catalyst to unlimited success.

About 2 years ago, I became a proud grandfather! Other than the obvious joys that this brings into my life, I have also been reintroduced to one of America’s national treasures: Sesame Street. Yes, Sesame Street.

This American children’s television series premiered on November 10, 1969 and is still a daily fixture in homes all across the country. Sesame Street is one of the longest running children’s programs in television history. I can remember my girls watching this show when they were young, and now my granddaughter finds the show completely amusing!

Why am I writing about Sesame Street today? Because we can all learn a valuable lesson about personal branding from this quintessential American brand.

How has Sesame Street lasted so long? Two main reasons come to mind. First, their content – educating young children through a quickly paced fun format – is top notch and something that most parents welcome into their home. The producers of this show have created a formula that works – it educates effectively while successfully keeping the attention of the young ones. If you’ve ever tried to hold the attention of 3-year-old for more than 15 minutes, then you know why this is such a big deal!

The second reason that this brand has been able to enjoy incredible longevity is through its creative and unique characters. Much like Disney, Sesame Street has developed their brand through the use of fun and interesting personalities. In the seventies and eighties, it was hard to find anything involving Sesame Street that didn’t feature the loveable character Big Bird. From movies to lunchboxes, Big Bird was the superstar of children’s television.

Then something (or someone) interesting happened. Elmo.

In the last 15 years or so, Elmo, the little red 3½-year-old Muppet who often refers to himself in the third person, has become the new face of Sesame Street. Big Bird has not gone away – but he is no longer the focus. You would now be hard pressed to find any promotional materials or product line for Sesame Street that doesn’t have Elmo’s smiling face in the forefront. Elmo has starred in two full-length motion pictures and has appeared on The West Wing, Emeril Live and The View, among many others. He’s an international superstar!

There’s nothing wrong with Big Bird, of course. He is still one of the main characters on the show. But Elmo has clearly become the new focus of the show. The core purpose and theme of the show (and their brand) has not changed at all – it has merely shifted focus.

So what can we learn about personal branding from this change in focus?

Sesame Street is a business just like any of ours. Even when we think that we have developed the perfect personal brand, there may always be an opportunity to change the focus of that brand. I’m not advocating changing the things that have made your business brand a success, just finding a way to re-focus your brand to a new audience that will not alienate those who have come to trust and respect your brand the way it is.

Is your personal brand built on being wholesome? Traditional or cutting edge? Is your brand and reputation built on customer service? Reliability?

These things do not need to change (and shouldn’t for that matter.) These traits are ones that will be relevant to generation after generation. However, the next time you are thinking about how your personal brand can last for generations, think about what each generation finds the most appealing.

Try to think of ways you can re-focus your personal brand that appeals to the new generation – without sacrificing the traits that made your brand the success that it is!

by J. W. Dicks, Esq. & Nick Nanton, Esq.

Akira Mori, president and chief executive officer of Mori Trust Company, Limited, said, “Past success stories are generally not applicable to new situations. We must continually reinvent ourselves, responding to changing times with innovative new business models.”

Nothing could ring truer in this New Economy where seemingly every attempt to draw on past success strategies is met with less than stellar performances. The reason for that result is that economic change, while appearing to be the same, is always based on a different set of circumstances than ever before; the flaw is to assume “a recession is a recession just like the last one” and that the results are the same each time. They are not.

Our current economic crisis is the modern-day economic equivalent of the “perfect storm” in which multiple disparate factors collide to create something different, something unexpected, something that doesn’t react very well to the old traditional forms of economic stimulus.

The reason for the slow recovery of the economy is because we are not just seeing an economic crisis, we are seeing a fundamental shift in the nature of how business works; and the recovery, when it happens, will not come from the same old stimulus methods but instead will sprout from a more fundamental change of the very nature of business growth. For the economy to return to a healthy status and for business to resume the mode of successful commerce, the consumer must be listened to and catered to like never before. Today’s consumers are no longer bound by the offerings of their neighborhood store. What the consumer wants may be thousands of miles away but must be deliverable tomorrow on the buyer’s doorstep without the frustration or cost of time and travel.

Jack Welch, chairman and CEO of General Electric between 1981-2001, faced facts when he said, “The Internet is the Viagra of big business.” Just like that, the guy who increased GE’s market value from $14 billion to more than $410 billion—and was named “Manager of the Century” by Fortune in 1999—recognized that where he had taken GE in the past was no longer the route for the future.

The reality is, the Internet has changed the fundamental nature of competition and doing business. And although it has teased us for many years with its false promises and failed attempts at success, including its own industry meltdown and economic crash, that fall was just the foundation being laid for what has emerged in what now seems like the blink of an eye. New ways of building and delivering online products and services have emerged and, whether you know it or not, instantly your competition has increased exponentially. Your established competitors are now joined by new companies, fresh innovations and ideas, and ever-improving processes and products.

This is the real crisis that faces most businesses today, and unfortunately most haven’t even realized it yet. Instead of trying to rapidly adapt, they are desperately clinging to old ways of running a business that won’t work in the New Economy. And it isn’t event the issue of bricks and mortar that was the center of cocktail discussions prior to the dot-com crash; it is a case of “best practices” for the industry or sector you are in.

For example, if you are in the haircut business, bricks and mortar will still prevail because you need to physically go to a location to get the service performed. But if there is any opportunity for you to do your business or service in the virtual world, the preference for most consumers will be towards that—unless they can somehow otherwise be enticed by an element of experience or entertainment.

When it comes to reaching consumers today, it’s clear that you can’t just go on doing “same old, same old” and hope for the best.

The wired world is a universe in constant flux. Bill Gates once called the new Internet era “an environment of constant change” and, more incisively, “punctuated chaos.” As all financial players are digitally connected, any downturn or upturn in a major market creates overnight reverberations in other markets. The digital world is demanding that companies react to change, but the good news is that it includes the tools they can use to stay ahead of the curve. The key is connecting your business strategy with a streamlined response.

So how is business to survive? By understanding the fact that as business climates change, the methods of marketing for those businesses are also “upside down” and in need of change if success is what you are after. Where, normally, you would think global economies would mean larger markets, in reality, for small companies, entrepreneurs, and professionals, the opposite is true because they simply do not have the economic firepower to try and reach everyone or satisfy everybody. In fact, the media has become so fractured it is almost impossible to reach the masses.

Therefore, to be successful in the New Economy, you must think in terms of specialties or niches within broad markets where you can be a difference maker. In fact, the more narrow your focus, the more power you can yield within that niche; and based on this fact, your financial leverage can be multiplied.

A Change of Focus

Instead of the reliance on mass media, your focus needs to be on “targeted media.” Businesses haven’t stopped using traditional media to get the word out, and indeed, it’s often an effective launch point for an ad campaign if you can control the cost and monitor your return on investment (ROI). Clearly, however, the gulf between traditional advertising and online advertising has widened over the past few years as audiences fragment and the Web grows to provide a new media approach.

Mass media of the last century offered a relatively simple structure, with large audiences congregated at a few outlets for a few kinds of programs. But the Internet provides seemingly infinite choices, and it appears difficult to capture the attention of an individual user when that person has split him or herself among a number of destinations for very brief periods of time. One of the biggest challenges for marketers is understanding this self-fragmentation and how to overcome it.

Reaching the individual who is your target customer first requires your understanding of who your target consumer is, and then your application of market segmentation, the process of pulling apart the entire market as a whole and separating it into manageable, disparate units based on demographics. The market segmentation process includes:

1. Determining the characteristics of your target market, then separating these segments in the market based on these characteristics.

2. Analyzing whether the market segments are large enough to support your product or service. If not, you must return to step one (or review its product to see if it’s viable).

3. Once you’ve chosen a target market that has the size to produce your needed sales levels, you can develop your marketing strategy to target that specific market. Your focus is smaller, but you are reaching the specific buyers you want.

After creating this group of prospects, you must develop your market’s buying metrics to learn how many prospects it takes to produce a sale, what your conversion ratio is, and how that affects your bottom line.

Shotgun vs. Specialists

So how does this apply to today’s online realities? In the past, advertisers had only one choice—they took the shotgun approach, scattered themselves to every mass media outlet they could afford, and hoped a percentage of those people might pay attention. It was about trying to be all things to all people. It was spending money on local newspaper ads, cable television spots, etc., and hoping potential customers would catch a glimpse of them as they turned the page.

It’s the equivalent of the long-ago era of the general practitioner whom everyone would go to no matter what his or her medical condition. Just as patients now go to specialists who can help them treat their specific injuries and illnesses, consumers have become selective about where they go to get their goods and services. Online it looks something like this: health conscious individuals who might have subscribed to a general magazine on health are now signing up for blogs, newsletters, podcasts, user groups, e-mail lists, membership sites, and more to address their exercise regimen, a preventative medicine program that suits their lifestyle, their specific heart condition, their type of diabetes, etc. More and more people are taking advantage of outlets with increasingly specialized information.

With so much out there floating around and vying for consumer attention, today’s savvy marketers are likewise getting more specific in order to forge a competitive advantage. They’re identifying who their potential customers are, cultivating these relationships, and in many cases even charging them for the privileges of membership. Let’s say you have a dance studio in town that offers salsa lessons. In the past, you’d put a medium-size print ad in the local paper, maybe shoot a local TV commercial, and hope for the best. Now, you can create a sizzling, colorful Web site with step-by-step instructions and high-energy videos of those lessons that “students” can pay an online subscription fee to see. Seeing is believing. Even if folks never step into your studio for the real deal, you get them to subscribe to your service to learn how to dance from home.

It can work the same in the sports world. If you give golf lessons in real life, you have to hope people see those local classified ads, right? But if you give golf lessons online and charge a fee to help your students’ progress, you’ve taken the world in your hands without paying any attention to geographical boundaries. You can now teach at any level you want, whether that market exists in your locale or not! Someone might buy an issue of Car and Driver for five bucks, but fans who want to go behind the scenes and into the pits of NASCAR can probably find a better outlet, which they’re willing to pay more for, to really get them into the action and on the inside of the sport they are ravenous fans of. The list of industries and examples goes on and on!

A lot of these opportunities lend themselves to a virtual delivery with cutting-edge technologies, but some of this ongoing flow of information extends to tangible media as well. There has been a resurgence, for example, of paper newsletters and, although still virtual, teleseminars as well, neither of which are considered new technology. Most of these models of selling information, or ideas, offer the basics for free up front, but if they want what you’ve got to offer, and you promise to go deeper, they’ll be happy to pay for the privilege of regular updates and insider opportunities.

The key to setting the world (or at least your bank account and profit margins) on fire in this world of new media is niche-ing down your market to create value in the people you’ve niched into. By building your audience, you build your value, and that in turn increases your roster of consumers who will be willing to pay top dollar for the incredible things you offer. Remember—the power is all in the presentation to the right audience.

So, when thinking about growing your business during the current economic shift, think big; but then make sure you think small with regards to what niche you can ultimately serve to prosper the most. After you figure that out, if you take the time to determine the best format or combination of formats to deliver your products and services to your audience, you will find a formula that is wildly profitable!

Nick Nanton, Esq., The Celebrity Agent and personal branding expert, asks businesses if they are a “one hit wonder” or a “hall of famer.”

Orlando, Fla. – August 10, 2010 – Co-founder of the Dicks and Nanton Branding Agency and best-selling author, Nick Nanton, Esq., recently posted a blog on his website http://www.CelebrityBrandingAgency.com, exploring ways businesses can market themselves and build long-term success by expanding their information base.

The latest blog, titled “Are You a One-Hit Wonder?” uses a music analogy to explain how businesses can build their brand and their value by offering more information through a variety of mediums. The piece includes the following excerpt:

Ask yourself if the decisions you are making are geared toward instant (and possibly fleeting) success, or the long-term success of your business or personal brand.

Take blogging for example. There’s nothing wrong with blogging. (You’re reading one now!) But are you ONLY writing blogs or “tweets?” When was the last time that you wrote a special report or an article series about something in your area of expertise? Ever write a book? Are you consistently producing contents in different formats, DVD, CD, printed information products, digital products and more?

It all comes down to the music analogy: Are you releasing singles or albums? How about a concept album or box set? Are you touring?

What else could you be doing to solidify a career in the business?

The entire post is available at http://www.celebritybrandingagency.com/blog/are-you-a-one-hit-wonder.php

Nick Nanton and business partner, JW Dicks, are two of America’s leading experts on using personal branding to build a business. They emphasize building a personal brand, and the importance of online and offline marketing to their clients and give them strategies to expand their business in the current economy.

To learn more about Nick Nanton, J.W. Dicks and the Dicks and Nanton Agency please visit http://www.NickNanton.com and http://www.DicksNantonAgency.com

About Nick Nanton, Esq.:

Nick Nanton, Esq. is known as “The Celebrity Agent” 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 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.

Nick serves as the Producer of America’s PremierExperts® television show and The Next Big Thing® radio show, both designed to recognize the top Experts in their field and bring their solutions to consumers.

Nick is an award winning songwriter and television producer and has worked on everything from large scale events to reality tv pitches with the likes of Bill Cosby, President George H.W. Bush, Superbowl Champion Don Shula, Legendary Basketball Coach Bobby Knight and many more. Nick is recognized as one of the top thought leaders in the business world and has co-authored the best-selling books, Celebrity Branding You!®, Big Ideas for Your Business, Shift Happens and Power Principles for Success and has interviewed the top business leaders in the world, including Donald Trump, Richard Branson and Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com. Nick also serves as editor and 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 has published books for more than 60 best-selling authors. Nick has been featured in USA Today, The Wall St. Journal, Newsweek, The New York Times, Entrepreneur® Magazine, FastCompany.com and has appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX television affiliates 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 prestigious Warrington College of Business. Nick is a voting member of The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS, Home to The GRAMMYs), a 4-time Telly Award winner, and spends his spare time working with Young Life, Florida Hospital and rooting for the Florida Gators with his wife Kristina, and their two sons, Brock and Bowen.

To find out more about and Nick Nanton, please visit http://www.DicksNantonAgency.com and http://www.NickNanton.com

Many of you know that I have been involved with music my whole life. I’ve learned that the music business is pretty much like any other industry. A lot of the same strategies we use with our branding agency, I used in one way or another managing bands and artists over that last several years.

I’ve always tried to help others, whether it is in music or other areas of business where developing a personal brand is key to long-term success. I’ve always asked if they want to be a “one-hit wonder” or a “hall of famer.”

Remember these gems?

1974 – “Kung Fu Fighting” Carl Douglas
1983 – “Too Shy” Kajagoogoo
1992 – “I’m Too Sexy” Right Said Fred

All of these were massive hits, but the artists eventually faded into obscurity. As you can see, this is a phenomenon that has been around for decades.

So what does this have to do with personal branding?

Well, ask yourself if the decisions you are making are geared toward instant (and possibly fleeting) success, or the long-term success of your business or personal brand.

Take blogging for example. There’s nothing wrong with blogging. (You’re reading one now!) But are you ONLY writing blogs or “tweets?” When was the last time that you wrote a special report or an article series about something in your area of expertise? Ever write a book? Are you consistently producing contents in different formats, DVD, CD, printed information products, digital products and more?

It all comes down to the music analogy: Are you releasing singles or albums? How about a concept album or box set? Are you touring?

What else could you be doing to solidify a career in the business? Or, you can just sit back like 99% of the bands I’ve ever worked with and wait for “a big record label” to come along and catapult you to success…which can happen, but just remember…he who gives the success, can usually take it away with the touch of the button– or the lowering of a budget.

These are all things that can have lasting effects on your client base, as opposed to a quick thought here and there. Try to think of ways that you can create valuable content for your clients – information that will be a reference for them whenever they need your expertise.

All of us would like to have the “smash hit” right away – and perhaps it’s easier than building a lasting career. Take a look at artists and businesses that have been able to avoid the “one-hit” wonder label. They have lasted and thrived because they are always looking at the big picture. They are always thinking of new ways to build their brand and offer their customers (or fans) interesting, relevant and lasting information.

Are you a “one-hit wonder” or a “hall-of-famer?”

Nick Nanton, Esq, The Celebrity Agent and personal branding expert, asks businesses if they have made it to “It Depends” Status.

Orlando, Fla. – August 9, 2010 – Co-founder of the Dicks and Nanton Branding Agency and best-selling author, Nick Nanton, Esq., recently published an article on his website http://www.DicksNantonAgency.com, explaining how being able to say “It Depends” to your clients means that you have the knowledge and confidence in your abilities to be able to offer multiple solutions to a problem.

The article, titled “Personal Branding: Have You Made It to ‘It Depends’ Status,” explores how businesses can become the “go-to” expert in their industry by having the knowledge and confidence to say “It Depends” to a client’s problem, and then guiding them to make the correct decision to solve the problem. The piece includes the following excerpt:

Many of our clients are experts in their field and are offering their expertise on their particular niche to those who don’t have the same amount of education and training, etc. Many of them have used personal branding to brand themselves as the go-to expert in their field.

As many of us get comfortable in our line of work, surrounding ourselves with people who have similar interests, and who work in the same industry – we sometimes forget that there are so many people out there that don’t know anything about the intricacies of what we do – even the things that we think are common knowledge. When people seek your advice, they are looking for you to cut through the clutter and solve whatever problem they may have.

Read the entire article at http://www.celebritybrandingagency.com/articles/personal-branding-have-you-made-it-to-it-depends-status.php

Nick Nanton and business partner, JW Dicks, are two of America’s leading experts on using personal branding to build a business. They emphasize building a personal brand, and the importance of online and offline marketing to their clients and give them strategies to expand their business in the current economy.

To learn more about Nick Nanton, J.W. Dicks and the Dicks and Nanton Agency please visit http://www.NickNanton.com and http://www.DicksNantonAgency.com

About Nick Nanton, Esq.:

Nick Nanton, Esq. is known as “The Celebrity Agent” 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 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.

Nick serves as the Producer of America’s PremierExperts® television show and The Next Big Thing® radio show, both designed to recognize the top Experts in their field and bring their solutions to consumers.

Nick is an award winning songwriter and television producer and has worked on everything from large scale events to reality tv pitches with the likes of Bill Cosby, President George H.W. Bush, Superbowl Champion Don Shula, Legendary Basketball Coach Bobby Knight and many more. Nick is recognized as one of the top thought leaders in the business world and has co-authored the best-selling books, Celebrity Branding You!®, Big Ideas for Your Business, Shift Happens and Power Principles for Success and has interviewed the top business leaders in the world, including Donald Trump, Richard Branson and Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com. Nick also serves as editor and 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 has published books for more than 60 best-selling authors. Nick has been featured in USA Today, The Wall St. Journal, Newsweek, The New York Times, Entrepreneur® Magazine, FastCompany.com and has appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX television affiliates 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 prestigious Warrington College of Business. Nick is a voting member of The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS, Home to The GRAMMYs), a 4-time Telly Award winner, and spends his spare time working with Young Life, Florida Hospital and rooting for the Florida Gators with his wife Kristina, and their two sons, Brock and Bowen.

To find out more about and Nick Nanton, please visit http://www.DicksNantonAgency.com and http://www.NickNanton.com

By Nick Nanton, Esq.

It is often joked that the most common words heard in a lawyer’s office are “it depends.”

Being a lawyer, I do find this quite amusing. It’s very true. In law school, we were taught to always think about the different paths that clients can take to leverage the situation they may be in – and offer as many options as possible. It’s funny if you think about it, Lawyers are some of the only people in the world expected to understand how grey something looks and then present it as if it’s black and white. Chew on that!

Why do people hire lawyers in the first place? They need to know what their options are. More importantly, they are seeking their professional advice on which option to choose. It is no different when you apply this to businesses. Why do people seek out your services? They need problems solved.

As a branding agent, I often ask clients, “Do you have enough knowledge in your field to be able to say ‘it depends’ when a client or customer asks for your advice? More importantly, do you have enough knowledge to be able to inform that client which option is the best for them?” Here is an example:

A few months back, my wife needed to get new tires for her mountain bike. I would say that I know a few things about a few things, but mountain bike tires are not on that list! When I went to the store, I told the salesperson that we needed some new tires for the bike and asked what he recommended. His answer? “Well, it depends.” Slightly annoyed, I said, “Okay, depends on what?” The man started asking me where my wife usually rides the bike, what kind of surfaces were the most common for her to ride, how often she rides, etc. These are things that hadn’t even crossed my mind. I gave him as much information as I could, and he was able to show me 3 or 4 different brands, different price ranges, warranty options and so on.

The most valuable thing that he told me that day was “If I were you, I’d go with these,” pointing to a moderately priced set of tires. He then proceeded to tell me exactly why he would choose that brand of tire, at that price, etc. I had just found my go-to expert on mountain bike tires! I was impressed with his knowledge, but even more impressed that he had a solution for my problem. He had enough confidence in his knowledge of the products that he was comfortable telling me “it depends” and then offering his advice.

This trip to the store got me thinking about many of the clients of our branding agency. Many of our clients are experts in their field and are offering their expertise on their particular niche to those who don’t have the same amount of education and training, etc. Many of them have used personal branding to brand themselves as the go-to expert in their field.

As many of us get comfortable in our line of work, surrounding ourselves with people who have similar interests, and who work in the same industry – we sometimes forget that there are so many people out there that don’t know anything about the intricacies of what we do – even the things that we think are common knowledge. When people seek your advice, they are looking for you to cut through the clutter and solve whatever problem they may have.

As hard as we try, we can never know everything about everything. We need experts! From mountain bike experts and personal branding experts, to mortgage loan experts and business marketing experts – there are experts everywhere! There are those who spend their career perfecting a skill so others can go to them for solutions in that area.

Do you have the knowledge in your line of work to be able to say “It Depends” and do you have the confidence in that knowledge to provide the right solution?