If the word “celebrity” makes you cringe or cry, let me clarify a bit. This isn’t about pouring champagne up in the club, bling bling, red carpets, PR people speaking for you and being a jackass. It also isn’t about being a household name in every household in the world with paparazzi chasing you around town.

Instead, entrepreneurial celebrity is all about being viewed as an approachable, trusted resource to a specific niche of people or around a topic of interest. The go-to person and company. A leader.

A better term is a trusted resource.

A trusted resource brings a specific subset of people together and leads them. A trusted resource also:

• Educates, entertains and inspires.
• Makes a lot of money because people know, like and trust him or her.
• Is often a person as opposed to a faceless company.
• Is accessible and transparent on social media sites, via e-mail, etc.
• Is not all-knowing and stuffy, but instead friendly and helpful.

Contrast that with the “old school” concept of the expert or “celebrity” which was focused on a public persona deemed interesting to mainstream media, based on the illusion of perfection, and heavily hidden behind gatekeepers (agents, publicists, etc.). These people were unattainable (good luck getting an e-mail back) and often took the “I’m better than you!” stance.

But here is the interesting thing. If you want it, you can become the next trusted resource. Here are three things to consider so you can become the next Chris Brogan, Anita Campbell, Ali Brown or Gary Vaynerchuk in your niche in your way:

#1: Show Your Face & Personality

Yes, you. Young or old. Male or female. Whatever. The social Web and new media have completely changed the entrepreneurial world. Today, if you think about it, it is a return to the way business used to be in small towns. We do business with people we know, like and trust. Just like the butcher on the corner who knew the names of his customers’ kids in 1943, there is a craving for personal connection with the people we do business with.

Here is the secret: People rally around people. That is why wine lovers love Gary Vaynerchuk. It is why boxing lovers love the White Collar Brawlers. It is why female entrepreneurs love Ali Brown.

What are some simple ways you can jump on this?

Show your face on your website. It doesn’t have to take up the entire screen, but I bet we would all love to see the man/woman behind the company.

Show your face on social media sites. Yes, you. Not just the logo. For example, my Twitter handle is @therisetothetop but I use my name and also my photo. People know it is me and not Intern Izzy or whatever (I don’t actually have an intern named Izzy…you know what I mean).

Inject your personality in everything you do. Your website copy. Your videos. Your blog. Your content. Can you eliminate jargon and replace it with with key traits of your personality? For me, I strive for:

• Non-boring
• Fluff-free
• High-energy and personality-filled

What about you?

#2: Consistent, Free, Public, Interesting Content

There is no way around it. After interviewing over 100 of the Web’s top influencers and personalities, they all have something in common (drum roll, please): consistent,  free, interesting content. Period.

Are there “rules” to this? A few, but they are more “guidelines” such as:

The content has to be entertaining, educational and or inspiring…and injected with personality. Otherwise nobody watches, reads, links to it or takes any kind of action. If it is just about products, nobody will care. If it reads like a textbook, nobody will care.

What is the bigger picture?

Consistency trumps frequency. You might post a new video one day a week. Or a new blog post three days a week. Or a new funny drawing twice a week. The frequency is less important than the consistency.

• Gary Vaynerchuk posts a new episode of Wine Library TV 5 days a week.
• Chris Gueillebeau blogs about world travel twice a week.
• The White Collar Brawlers release a new episode of their Web series every Tuesday and Friday.

No walls or rules: Public content wins if you are looking to grow a fan base and community. It doesn’t mean everything you do is free (that would be a not-so-good business model), but the top trusted resources do offer something valuable for free. It might be a blog filled with tips and stories. Or an online show. Or….the list goes on. Why? Because people and bloggers link to free and public. People share free and public on social media sites.

#3: Interaction, Caring & Building Relationships

This is the secret sauce and something that genuinely can’t be (and shouldn’t be even if it could be) faked. The people online with the fascinating personalities get in the trenches and interact. It might be replying to every single tweet on Twitter. It might be replying to every single e-mail (like Seth Godin). It might be commenting on every comment that comes across your website.

Back in the day, this was not part of the formula. If you wanted to be a “quoted expert,” you would have to beg for media attention and media had the platform and controlled the one-way conversation.

Those rules are out the window now. It isn’t just about showing your face and personality. It isn’t just about creating awesome content. It is both of those mixed with a healthy dose of building one-on-one relationships online and off. At events in your niche. On social networking sites. In forums. On other blogs.

Without the secret sauce, the meat and potatoes end up pretty dry.

Bottom line: As a small business owner or entrepreneur, now is the opportunity to stake your ground as a trusted resource. It isn’t rocket science, but it takes dedication, caring and drive. But, I bet if you own your own business…you already know that.

What is your take?

The post How to Become a Celebrity in the Eyes of Your Niche appeared first on Small Business Trends.

On the other hand, having a strong personal brand can also be a challenge of scalability. Can I scale myself? Am I too accessible? What happens if I go away?

While there is no perfect answer to the scalability question, here are a few examples of forward-thinkers who have successfully scaled their personal brands. Sure, they are present and accessible. Sure, if you shoot them a Tweet or e-mail, there is a good chance they will get back to you. But they have also created something bigger than themselves–and you can too.

The big lesson, though, is it takes time. These folks worked their butts off to build their brand before they scaled. If you are willing to put in time and effort in the trenches, if you have passion and patience, there are numerous paths to success.

#1: John Jantsch, Duct Tape Marketing

John Jantsch is a bestselling author, speaker, etc. for small businesses. But he can only be in so many places at one time. He can only speak so many times. He can only coach so many people. So, what was his scalability solution?

Twofold. First, John created the Duct Tape Marketing Coaching Authorized Coach program. In a nutshell, he trains people to be authorized coaches under his philosophies and run their own businesses. Sort of like a franchise.

Second, he licensed a special marketing plan software, Marketing Plan Pro, that sells for $179.95. This higher-priced product leverages his knowledge, and John doesn’t have to be present for it to sell.

#2: Gary Vaynerchuk, Wine Library/Vaynermedia

We all know Gary as the crazy wine/social media guy who is an online TV star, speaker, etc. Gary built his brand around his own personal brand (or, as he calls it, his own DNA). He is also very accessible and credits his ability to answer every single e-mail for years as one of his secrets to success. But we all know that is difficult to sustain. How does Gary scale?

Again, there are two parts to his equation. First, he created Vaynermedia, a consulting company. Now, that isn’t revolutionary in itself; however, I like the brand name because it tells me this: “Gary Vaynerchuk has a hand in it, but it is bigger than just him.” Meaning, his brother runs the company and they now employe a relatively large number of folks. Contrast that with “Gary Vaynerchuk Media”…the name alone tells me you will always be working with Gary, which is impossible to scale (I actually made this mistake when I started an agency under my name several years ago before founding The Rise To The Top.)

Second, now that Gary’s hard work and years of effort are paying dividends, he has begun to invest in early stage companies as an angel investor. Why? His personal brand has opened the doors, and now Gary has the opportunity to build wealth that, again, goes beyond what he alone can do. Smart.

#3: Patti Stanger, The Millionaire Matchmaker

Best known for her reality TV show, Patti Stanger is pretty much the name when it comes to matchmaking. But does every person who calls her company expect to talk to her? How does she scale her time between a TV show, radio show and clients?

For Patti, it comes down to leveraging her name. That means licensing deals on certain dating social networking sites and books. And, of course, her core services (The Millionaire’s Club) have other employees and leaders that can lead the charge.

What are the similarities between John, Gary and Patti?

#1: Their company name is not their name. Duct Tape Marketing, Wine Library, Vaynermedia, The Millionaire’s Club. All are bigger than one person.

#2: Their personal brand is extremely present–on social media sites, via e-mail, on videos. THEY are the face of the company. Not an actor or actress. The leader. The personality.

#3: They all have worked extremely hard building up their brands. Now, years later, they are able to scale with some efforts that create passive income.

The lesson? Don’t let the uncertainly of scalability hinder your progress. You are the face of your brand, and if you work hard enough, and build the foundation, the question will be not “How do we scale?” but instead “Which way(s) do we want to scale?”

Your thoughts?

The post 3 Ways to Scale Your Personal Brand appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Those five words are uttered over and over by small business owners, entrepreneurs (and, believe it or not, big, scary brands) when it comes to maximizing this new world of online marketing and brand building.

Variations include:

“I don’t have time to create really interesting content.”

“I don’t have time to visit blogs and forums and become a part of the conversation.”

“I don’t have time to reply to my followers on Twitter.”

What is interesting about this complaint is the word time used to be replaced by “money.”

Pre-social Web days? Buy some ads. It took money, but far less time. Hire some awesome creatives and watch the magic happen. However, this was never really a (good) option for small business owners.

The problem is many businesses have taken this “pre-social Web” approach to the social Web–and it just doesn’t work. What I mean is hiring an agency to tweet on your behalf or come up with “campaigns” (some agencies are doing it right and spending their effort advising clients, as opposed to doing it for them).

There is no beating around the digital bush. If you want to build a brand online (or bring a brand online) for the long run, it takes a lot of time, effort, drive, creativity, passion and patience (along with personality and caring).

Here is the good news, though: The social Web offers a huge advantage for hustling entrepreneurs as opposed to big brands. Everyone has a shot at building a community and/or becoming a trusted resource online….as well as having a thriving business (what could be better?)

The social Web is similar to the dating world. I’m sure you have heard stories (or experienced them yourself) of the guy (or girl) who casually dates but tells their date that right now they “don’t have time for a relationship.” When probed, it is easy to come up with excuses:

“I’m really focused on my business.”

“I travel a lot.”

“I like to spend my time naked watching Pokemon.” (awkward)

But suddenly, this person meets the right guy or girl and is head over heels in love! Suddenly, he or she does have time for a relationship and is married a year or two later.

Whoa! Where did that time come from? Did it just magically appear out of nowhere?

Or maybe it’s this simple:

We make time for things we care about.

We make time for things that are valuable.

We make time for things when we want to make time for them.

My suggestion?

Simple: Make the time. View brand building in the social Web era as a long-term relationship. You have to put the effort in, knowing that the fruits of your labor are down the line (not today, not tomorrow, but later).

Take the time to strike up new relationships.

Take the time to create interesting content, whether it be text, video or audio (or a combo!)

Take the time to interact and make small talk with people.

Take the time to answer your e-mail.

Take the time to reply to your messages.

Once you start seeing the value of the social Web, it will be hard to remember where all that time was going in the first place.

The post Why The Social Web Is Like Falling in Love appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Yes, I’m talking those insolent little brats who are entitled to everything (And yes, I’m a Gen Yer, so stop laughing.)

There is a tremendous opportunity as these newly spending information gatherers are a gold mine if marketed to correctly. On the other hand, ill-fated attempts can result in a barrage of negative publicity for your business.

Is there some secret sauce for bursting through the clutter?

Here are a few ways you can gen-yify your marketing efforts:

1. Lose the formality: Be a human.

Dearest Young Customer,

It is with exceeding pleasure that I invite you to become a loving customer of ours. If it is agreeable to you, I would be most appreciative if we could connect via these new “social networking websites” and do business in the utmost of fashions.

Sincerely,
Out of Touch

Seriously? The jargon. The fluff (if you want some fluff, go pet a bunny). You can take off the suit (or pantsuit) and tie.

Have a personality. Don’t be afraid of self-deprecation and poking a little fun. This doesn’t mean you should not be yourself and start wearing skinny jeans, but show that personality…through and through.

Where does this apply? Everywhere. On your website. On social media sites. In the videos and content you make. In person. Everywhere where you are communicating.

People trust people, not stiff companies (big or small).

2. Go for the long-term relationship, not the one-night stand.

It used to be your job as a business owner was to create a product (or service) and sell, sell, sell, sell. Without sales, you had no business.

Now, in every industry, there are more options available than ever before. More competitors. More noise. What do you need to do to stand out?

The answer is create trust. Believe it or not (and contrary to popular belief), Gen Y’ers are very loyal. But we aren’t loyal to product pushers looking for the quick sale or to overbearing salespeople (think of the used car salesman with the mustache and tweed coat).

Are you going for the hot, sexy one-night stand, or do you want to build a relationship with a customer for life (or at least a long time)?

What are some ways you build trust as a small business owner? One key point is never making the first point of contact an attempt to make a sale (unless someone of course inquires). Offer something of value instead. This value, of course, varies.

A great way to build trust is to create content around your knowledge, not your product. Perhaps it is a blog. Or a webinar series. Or an online radio or video show. Or a series of speeches and workshops. Or fun events. Something that screams trusted resource, not sketchy salesman.

3. Rethink advertising.

Is advertising dead to Gen Y? No. Is traditional advertising ineffective (especially for the small business owner/entrepreneur on a budget)? Absolutely.

Are there paid options that work? Yes.

What are they? (Stellar question!) Here’s the thing. Gen Y eyeballs are online and on mobile phones, consuming blogs, watching and listening to online shows and participating in online communities. And we trust the writers of our favorite blogs and the hosts of our favorite shows. They are like friends to us.

Contrast that with traditional TV, radio and print…all of which have essentially have become irrelevant in many cases to our generation. This just isn’t how we get our information and entertainment.

And just because the location of eyeballs has changed doesn’t mean all you have to do is apply the same principles of traditional ads (which essentially means interrupting people with “clever” ads).

Effective advertising online to Gen Y is based on trust and authenticity. There is a new rise of trusted resources online in every niche.

Let’s pretend you sell sausages. The old school approach would be to buy an ad in food magazines, on the Food Network and maybe on a food show on the radio. Problem? These ads are expensive and there is no guarantee the audience actually likes sausages. You pay for 100 percent of the audience, but probably only 2 percent like what you are selling. And you have to spend money on creative (graphic designers, videographers, etc.) all to take a risk.

Now, a simple Google search and maybe a little sleuthing would reveal BBQ blogs, online sausage shows and more. Perhaps their audiences are big. Perhaps they are small. But, either way you are laser-focusing on your niche.

If someone reads a sausage blog every day, it is safe to say they like sausages (or they are nuts) and they trust the blogger. Nobody forces them to read it. It isn’t like browsing through TV channels.

Perhaps the blogger, for a fee far less than traditional media, will allow you to sponsor a series of posts, or interview you about your sausages or plug your sausages before each Sausagecast. I promise cost and benefits will destroy the traditional way of thinking about advertising.

Bottom line:

Of course many of these principles are generation-shifting. In many cases, Gen Y is more of a mind-set as opposed to an age (you know…those people who act really old and others who are young at heart).

But, by shifting your mind-set and strategy regardless of your generation, you can tap into the new world of marketing and promotion that rewards the passionate entrepreneur and small business owner.

The post 3 Smarter, Faster, Cheaper Ways to Market to & Earn the Trust of Generation Y appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Things are humming along, but then you notice you are in a David vs. Goliath situation. Bigger brands might be undercutting you. Or stealing your web traffic. Or writing angry notes on your car window (well…maybe not that).

The bigger company is outspending you and has 500 more employees than you do.

How do you become David and outmaneuver Goliath?

The short answer:   By being smarter, faster and cheaper.

1.) Outcreative-ing As Opposed To Outspending

Taking on Goliath by trying to buy more ads then him will never work. So what can you do instead? Where is the playing field leveled or give you the hustling entrepreneur the advantage?

The answer: Creating compelling content.

And we are not talking about banner ads here. Your channel online to connect with customers and clients. Whether it be an online TV show, a blog bringing the most interesting articles in your niche or perhaps a Podcast, you have the opportunity to out-create.

The key to compelling content? Making it about your niche and not you. You might not be able to out buy, but you can out-educate, out-inspire and/or out-entertain Goliath.

Who is doing this? 37 Signals. In the words of 37 Signals’ David Heinemeier Hansson: “You can’t outspend, but you can out-educate.”

2.)  Be First:

Goliath has a lot of things to worry about. Sometimes it leads them to worry about the wrong things like how many lawyers to hire for the next lawsuit or whether every other Friday should be short shorts day at the office. That is a good thing.

Are you monitoring your niche online and not just your name and your company’s name? More importantly, if something pops up that is relevant, do you move in like Rambo and offer a thoughtful comment (I guess that isn’t exactly like Rambo…because your goal isn’t to kill people)?

Let’s pretend you are in the wedding flower business. you could have a Google Alert (or whatever Alert you want) setup for every time someone mentions “wedding flowers” or “wedding flower information” or “wedding flower questions” on the web. And then of course, you can leave an insightful comment on the blog or forum.

Who does this well? Dan Schawbel from Personal Branding Blog. Anytime something is mentioned that contains the words “Personal Branding,” Dan is all over it like a kid in a candy store.

Smallness is nimbleness. Use it wisely.

3.)  Be A Human Through Small Talk

Goliath doesn’t care what you had for dinner last night, what your kids names are or how much you love your favorite sports team. Goliath just wants your money (insert evil laughter here).

On social media sites, big brands (not all of them), have trouble being human. Why? Well, for one thing, they might need 4853857 lawyers and 958588 board members to approve a Tweet or Facebook status update before it goes out.

You can out hustle by being a human and focusing on one-on-one relationships. Humans just don’t talk about business 100% of the time. How can you show your personality and care about others? Simple. Ask people how they are doing. Ask what they are working on. Congratulate people on accomplishments. Joke around. Have fun. Schmooze.

It may sound trivial, but it is important and builds genuine relationships. And business is all about relationships, right?

Who does this really well? Scott Stratten aka Unmarketing. One look at his Twitter stream will remind you that business is human. Take that Goliath!

Wrapping it up:

It used to be large and in charge was the way to go. Now, we all have the tools available to become nimble David’s and outmaneuver Goliath.

How are you acting smarter, faster, cheaper and taking on Goliath?

The post 3 Ways David (Small Business Owners) Can Outmaneuver Goliath (Big Brands) appeared first on Small Business Trends.

The bottom line is there are TONS of ways to make money directly and indirectly from your blog including selling a product or service, sponsorships and tasteful (keyword tasteful) advertising (that is what we do), affiliate marketing and many more.

That being said, the most successful blogs aren’t advertisements. They aren’t a bullhorn telling people to buy, buy, buy! The top end of blogs are educational and informative as opposed to hard selling. Meaning they are focused around a topic, not a product.

But let’s not forget the purple elephant in the room for business owners: We want to make money. Money is a good thing.

I always figure a good way to learn is to ask the very best and that is Chris Brogan from ChrisBrogan.com and also the co-author of Trust Agents.

In this video, Chris discusses how he monetizes his blog and my hope is it will inspire all of us to do the same in our own unique way. You can also check out over 45 more minutes with Chris with all kinds of advice for small business owners.

The post How To Make Money From Blogging With Chris Brogan appeared first on Small Business Trends.

With Youtube becoming the second most-used search engine to Google, now has never been a time for small businesses to jump on the incredible opportunity of online video. Here are a few reasons why.

1. Cost Of Production: Your video budget no longer has to have a lot of zeros especially with the rise of high quality pocket cameras including Flip Cameras, Kodak zi8, iPhones and the webcam on your computer.

2. Easy Hosting: All kinds of easy options. If you are using it for selling, talking about your products and other major business functions, Brightcove might be a great solution. Looking to add mobile video? Check out Widget Realm. Creating awesome, engaging content? Nab more eyeballs via viddler, vimeo, youtube, and blip.tv.

3. Many Functions: Entertain, inspire, sell, recruit, add personality, have a show related around your expertise. If you think it, you can create it. One piece of advice is not just talk about you and your product but relate it more to a subject. For example, Zappos rarely talks about shoes. Instead, they talk about customer service and company culture.

4. Personality: People like doing business with people. The second best thing to face-to-face is video. Video creates a much more personal connections with your customers and clients.

5. Easily Spreadable: Like peanut butter, video in 2010 is now easily spreadable. Links can be posted to Twitter and Linkedin. Video can be uploaded Facebook. Plus you can send it out via Tube Mogul to multiple sites.

Bottom line? The opportunity is there. The eyeballs are there. Are you there?

The post Why Online Video Is Key For Small Business appeared first on Small Business Trends.