Jeremy Schoemaker. Gary Vaynerchuk. Zac Johnson. All names you know or should know if you read this magazine. But have you ever thought about why?

The reason you know their names is that these marketing mavens have taken the time to build and maintain a personal brand. You know them because they want you to know them. They work at it. They invest in it. They view building their personal brand as an integral part of their business endeavors.

Personal brands are powerful. In many ways they can be more valuable than a product, service or corporate brand. Want to sell more wares? Slap Trump’s name on a building, have Britney Spears front a perfume or leverage the ShoeMoney name to sell a set of Internet Tools. People identify with people. Marketable people with solid personal brands can sell almost any product.

I believe every affiliate marketer should invest time and money creating his or her personal brand. Whether you are working for yourself or an employer, a personal brand can be an incredible long-term asset that can open doors and create wealth. You aren’t going to be a rock star overnight, but if you start now you can build over time.

Ted’s Tips for Starting a Personal Brand

Define Your Brand Promise
What are you all about, your interests, your specialty? Successful branding is about promoting your natural strengths. If you are a geek; be a super geek. If you are good looking; show off that pretty mug of yours. List out your assets and determine what will appeal most to your audience. Create a simple statement that defines your brand promise, such as “Creative disruption of the marketing industry with a smile”.

Own Your Name
If you don’t already have your own personal domain; go out and get one. Your domain should either be based on your real name or on a persona you plan to go by. Any persona you create should complement your brand promise. You should try to lockup the name throughout the socialsphere. Don’t be @johndoe on Twitter and have the domain technojohn.com. Be consistent whenever you can to avoid confusion.

Make Your Mark
Every notable brand has a distinct logo mark, color palette, font and style. If you are not a designer, hire a real designer with experience in branding. Share your brand promise and collaborate to create a professional graphic identity you like.

Share and Promote
Your new domain should serve as the hub for all things you. Update your content on a regular basis and use social media tools to start spreading the word. If you really want to grow you are going to need to invest some cash or other currency. Consider having custom swag made, attending industry events, and buying ads to get your name out as much as possible. If you want to be perceived as a rock star you have to promote like a rock star.

A serial entrepreneur, Edward “Ted” Murphy has founded six companies since 1994, has a reputation for disruptive creativity, and in a short time has built one of the most recognizable personal brands in the social media community.

Download the entire FeedFront issue 7 here – http://www.scribd.com/doc/17376069/FeedFront-Magazine-Issue-7
FeedFront issue 7 articles can be found here as well: http://feedfront.com/archives/article00date/2009/08

There is probably nothing more insulting or demeaning for a successful person to hear than “I wish I was rich like you!” Unfortunately, there are some people that neither realize, nor appreciate the amount of effort it takes to get to where many successful people are today.

How many times have you heard or even said, “I wish I was rich as Bill Gates”, “I wish I could play golf like Tiger Woods“, yet have never took the initiative to start your own business, or even sign up for a golf lesson. While many are sitting back wishing, the successful people are DOING!

With that said, here are a few motivation quotes from people over the years that have experienced success and failure.

“To be successful, you must decide exactly what you want to accomplish; then resolve to pay the price to get it.” –Bunker Hunt (Former billionaire that lost his fortune)

If your work is becoming uninteresting, so are you. Work is an inanimate thing and can be made lively and interesting only by injecting yourself into it. Your job is only as big as you are.”- George C. Hubbs

“Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.” – Peter Drucker (Author known for predicting many of the major developments of the late 20th century)

To have success, you must put forth an investment. That investment can be almost anything, ranging from time, training, and work to just reading or listening. Your success starts with you.

If you are afraid of failure and the possibility of losing money by trying to start your own business, you most likely won’t succeed. Look at how many people have spent $100,000+ to go to college for 4 years (or more), and end up with a job they hate, or no job at all.

In the end, this was still an investment of time and money, putting many on the path to the career they were looking for. Why are so many people so scared of spending a few dollars to test their ideas, but so ready to pour everything they have into attending college?

It takes a different type of mindset to be your own boss, but that is your decision to make. Not everyone has what it takes to make the plunge, that’s why so many people are “wishing” instead of “doing“.
No big success was accomplished in one day; today is the day for you to start working towards your goals.

Zac Johnson is the President and CEO of MoneyReign, Inc. You can read his blog at ZacJohnson.com.

Download the entire FeedFront issue 6 here – http://feedfront.com/feedfront-issue6.pdf
FeedFront issue 6 articles can be found here as well: http://feedfront.com/archives/article00date/2009/06

We all know that blogging is one of the fastest and most effective ways for you to have your voice heard. However, blogging is also one of the slowest methods for generating money online.

Not only do you have to establish yourself or your blog, but you also need traffic, readers that interact, and a blog that people actually want to read.

Once you have established your blog, it’s time to focus on increasing the overall value. I recommend you implement the following tips for instantly increasing your blog’s revenue month over month.

Stop Making the Middle Man Rich

There is no reason why you should be giving up 30% or more to a middle man ad serving company. Take advantage of direct sales on your blog and you can rapidly increase your income.

You know what type of advertisers your readers have an interest in. Do not wait for advertisers to contact you, contact them and make a deal.

Residual Income is Awesome

There is nothing better than residual income. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the harder affiliate programs to come by.

If you can generate leads from your blog that will earn you residual income, you will rapidly see a wave of increasing dollars in your pocket every month.

You Must Have a Newsletter

I cannot stress how important it is to have your own newsletter. The majority of your blog visitors will probably come to your Web site once, and most likely will never come back again.

If you can get them to subscribe to your mailing list, not only can you provide them with exclusive content, but they will also receive a notification every time you write a new post. It’s never too early to start building your newsletter list.

Give Your Readers Something Free

An excellent way to make your blog stand out from the competition is to offer a free ebook or service to your readers. You are most likely already writing a blog about a niche topic you know very well, so why not offer your readers a free ebook in exchange for joining your newsletter?

I’m sure you have seen many of these tips before. The difference is that you may not have implemented them yet.

Now that you have finished reading this article, go to your computer right now and make the necessary changes to improve your bottom line.

Zac Johnson is the President and CEO of MoneyReign, Inc. You can read his blog at ZacJohnson.com.

Download the entire FeedFront issue 4 here – http://feedfront.com/feedfront-issue4.pdf
FeedFront issue 4 articles can be found here as well: http://feedfront.com/archives/category/issue-4/

Tips from a super affiliate to become a successful blogger.

It seems like every day there is a new “make money online” blog popping up. Where are all of these new bloggers coming from? Are they skilled marketers finally coming out of the basement and exposing themselves, or are they simply trying to make a quick buck in a fast growing niche area?

Either way, the number of marketers coming out and sharing information is increasing daily, and I am going to share several reasons why affiliates and affiliate managers alike should start blogging now.

1. Build Your Name Brand and Trust
   Having your own blog will not only get your name out there, but what you write about will reflect upon your name and build recognition. As you become a prominent player in the blogosphere, your “name brand” could be your next big project. Establish yourself; build the trust of others, and your name brand will soon be your most powerful asset.

2. Make Even More Money
   Making money with your blog is always an option, but the contacts, information, and new relationships that will form as a result of your blog are priceless.

3. Help Others, While Helping Yourself
   Not only will you start helping others by sharing your knowledge and experience with online marketing, but you can also ask for help and feedback on existing projects or ideas you have, as well. Bloggers love to talk with other bloggers on how they can work together or share ideas.

4. Blogging is Fun & Motivational
   Business can get stressful, and sometimes you just need to step away from your email and ad campaigns. When you have a blog, not only will you inspire others with your posts, but you will also get motivated, as you stir up new ideas with your posts and receive feedback from your readers.

5. Networking Opportunities Await
   It’s one thing to attend marketing conferences and events for networking, but with a blog you are gaining new readers and contacts 24/7. Without a blog, you are losing out on so many business relationships and opportunities. Put yourself out there and make more contacts than you could ever imagine.

Whether you are an affiliate manager at a network, or just getting started in the affiliate space, these are just a few of the reasons why you should be blogging. I started my own blog at ZacJohnson.com just over a year ago, and it’s made an amazing impact on my business ever since day one. Don’t wait another day, start your blogging adventure now!

Zac Johnson is President/CEO of MoneyReign, Inc. You can read more about Zac at ZacJohnson.com.

Download issue 1 of FeedFront at http://feedfront.com/feedfront-issue1.pdf.