There are thousands of internet businesses out there.  You see them everywhere in the free search results to the paid advertised results from all the major search engines.  There are affiliate programs where you sell a specific product that may or may not be favorable to your personality.  There are multi-level marketing (MLM) programs that allow you to build residual wealth with little upfront costs.  There are mini-MLM programs, called a “matrix”, where once a small group is filled, the system cycles and you are then paid.  There are services, where the elite internet professional trains others on a specific aspect of the internet, such as search engine optimization, marketing, web page development, and so on.  There are advertising based businesses, where the goal is to get as much traffic to a free website as possible in hopes that an advertising banner or link is clicked.  There are also direct sales businesses that operate either independently or using a company’s marketing system.

Of all these internet business systems, the ones that offer the greatest returns are the ones that benefit the most from personal branding. Personal branding is when the main marketing focus for a business opportunity or product is on an individual that has benefited from it, personally endorses it, explains it to others, and personally conducts the sale.  In short, personal branding is when the business owner makes a personal connection with a prospect before a sale is made.

This is incredibly powerful, since a person only buys from someone they know, like, and/or trust.  This may not be the case for items under $50, but for products and business opportunities that cost hundreds or thousands of dollars up front, making a personal connection with potential customers is a must and separates the successful entrepreneur from the failures.

How is a connection made with a customer or prospect?

This is done through social marketing.  Social marketing is when the entrepreneur reaches out and “invites” the prospects to read, watch, or listen to some relevant content regarding an aspect of their business, their life, or their philosophy.  This builds trust and begins to brand the entrepreneur as an expert in their field and promotes trust.  Media used to promote social marketing can be articles (like what you are reading now), blog posts, videos, press releases, and popular social media sites, such as Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter.

Think of it this way:  When a prospect reads an article or watches a video, or by chance visits your sales page right away from an advertisement, as soon as they read your name, the savvy customer (the kind you want) will enter your name into a search engine and investigate you further.  What do you want them to see in the search results?  I would expect you want them to see links to articles, blogs, videos, press releases, and lots of other media that promote you as an expert in your field; someone that can be trusted.  Get the picture?

Without social marketing, the entrepreneur is forced to “sell” the prospects through direct advertising.  This can be effective to the personal branded business if the advertising medium allows for relevancy, such as Google AdWords, where the advertisement is targeted to a specific type of prospect.  Otherwise, typical advertising media, such as free classifieds, scrape the bottom of the customer pool and target only the anonymous sale.  These types of businesses are your affiliate products that do not fit your personality so they are indifferent to you, or the typical MLM and matrix programs, where you are not affiliating your name to the advertising web site (most likely out of embarrassment).

What types of businesses thrive on personal branding?

There are many internet businesses that are perfect for personal branding.  But unless you invented a cool product, authored a “got to have” eBook, or perform some needed service through a membership site, your best choice is a direct sales internet business where you are a marketing consultant and have personally used the product or service, and that the business system that provides the product also allows clients to become business owners themselves. Combining a useful product that you personally use (such as a financial education course, fitness product, etc.) with a business opportunity that provides full training on personal branding and social marketing, is the ultimate 1-2 punch in online businesses.  This type of business allows you to become a coach and not just another sponsor, where you connect with your clients whether they just purchase the product or also become a part of your team.  They are not just revolving door customers.  They are people, who will purchase from you again and again, and will even be successful in their own business, providing you with residual income for life.

If you have any questions, please feel free to comment on this article or contact me through the information in my profile.

Many blessings to your success!