In her weekly diary Dawn Winder, a confidence and communication expert, shares her personal branding strategies. Discover Dawn’s’ world of brands’ and learn how you can create a brand identity for yourself and your business.
July 2005 – Networking to raise your profile
This month I ran a workshop for Cockpit Arts on ‘Profile Raising’ I spoke about the importance of understanding your target market and branding yourself and your business towards them.
I believe that when you work on raising your profile you create more opportunities, therefore more business.
Why is it that so many business owners are unwilling to invest their time and money into developing their brand to raise their profile?
Most of the businesses I come across are fairly new to the marketplace and haven’t build up a awareness of who they are and their unique brand value. Many of you will be in the same boat. If you are new to your market and no one has heard of you, why would they buy your products or services?
If you have not built your reputation you are going to blend right in with the thousands of other businesses that are competing for the same clients and customers as you.Business is getting tougher; your marketplace is not just local, it is now global. If you have not built a strong brand you will be lost.
So how do you start to deal with building your reputation? Well, I suggest it is not sitting in your office or workroom producing.You need to start analysing your time and efforts and realise that the key to your success is ‘Raising your Profile’ to create new and exciting opportunities.
So how are you going to raise your profile in a market that may not know you or have heard what you have to offer, or to customers who are unwilling to look away from their current supplier?
You need to get yourself from an 'unknown' business owner to an expert who is sought after.
My top tips are…
Look for people to connect with – there are opportunities in your past, present and future, you just have to make the effort to connect.
Connect outside your industry as well as inside – many people don’t know people outside their industry even thought their clients are unlikely to be found in it.It is also important that your competition knows who you are.
Take a long-term view – things may happen instantly, but often it can take months or even years for you to see any return.
Focus – have a plan, think strategically: if you start to network with a purpose you will connect with the right people.
Get out of our comfort zone – stop networking in the same place in the same ways, just because you attend an industry event once a month it doesn’t mean that you should stop there.
Brush up on your skills – start to develop yourself personally and get better at communicating.Read books, enrol on courses, hire a coach, find a mentor.
If you want to be a success start to ‘Raise your Profile’ by raising your game.
Dawn also writes for the women’s online magazine handbag.com.
Over the last few weeks I have enjoyed meeting a lot of new people on-line and off-line. Last time, I spoke of some of the misconceptions of networking. Today I will talk about some of my experiences of off-line networking.
This month I was speaker for the Surrey Institute’s launch for their graduates ‘creative entrepreneurs club’; a place for graduates to network. I spoke on my favourite topics ‘personal branding’ for effective communication, and networking. Let me share a few things with you.
Many of us now know the importance of networking but we often do not know how to go about it effectively. It is on our to-do list but when it comes to it, we don’t put ourselves out there or get out of our comfort zone. As I said before, networking is a skill that can be learned and developed.
Over the years I have found most successful people are not smarter or harder working, they have better communication skills. They know how to communicate effectively in all situations and are especially good Networkers.
While out at various networking events this month I observed various groups and individuals and noted how, even with the best intention of networking, they fell into the common traps that put you off someone before you even get to know them.
I will share a few of these observations with you.
one more thing …
These are people who just have one more point to share, even when you say you must get going, they will not let you leave. They are the people who cannot read the signs, they don’t know body language and that it is time to for them to ‘shut up’. They prey on people at the end of the night when they are tired and low on energy.
group huggers …
I am sure you’ve seen these types before. These are the people who came out with the intention of networking but ended up with a group of people they knew already. When anyone goes over to their group they closed in tighter together as if they were going to be invaded or having a group hug.
hi/bye ‘grasshoppers‘ …
Have you ever been deep in a conversation with someone, getting on rather well (or so you thought!) and then the person sees someone they think is ‘very important’ or ‘more important’ than your conversation and cuts the conversation off, and is gone as quickly as when they said “hi”.
flying card …
I do like to get the business card of someone I want to keep in contact with, but the flying business card type throws you a card before you can even say your name and what you do. If you notice these people are always ‘just running out’ and prove this by pulling out a pile of other peoples cards to show you how well they are doing.
Well, these are just a few. Just be aware that networking with the types of people above will not be effective. Next time I will share some more.
Until then, can you help? What are your observations, good and bad? Are you a successful networker? Have you any success stories to share? How do you deal with these types? Have you examples of types of Networkers to avoid?
Contact me at
with your stories I am giving away a consultation to the best one.
All the best,
Dawn Winder
personal branding, communication & confidence
Dawn’s Diary - Through my fashion capital diary I will share with you my experiences and observations. I will give you tips on how you can use branding strategies to build your own personal brand identity, enabling you to increase your confidence and communication, which will strengthen your marketing and PR and sales efforts. Subscribe to the i-define living e-newsletter on www.i-define.co.uk for more information.
The last couple of months have been hectic. I have been getting my brand out there and spreading the word about the importance of branding yourself to increase your confidence to communicate.
I was key speaker in April for the Handbag.com and Barclays Business Plan Awards to Women entrepreneurs on branding themselves for Marketing. (If you have a business plan and you think your idea is unique and worth a prize please apply. With £10,000 worth of prizes, including a Brand MOT four week course with my company i-define living, why not?)
This month I ran workshops on ‘networking’ for groups of students from Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication. The students will graduate in a few weeks, and the workshops were to inform them of the benefits of networking to enable them to find opportunities and potential employment.
Business Networking is something that has become a hot topic over the last few years. However it is not only essential for business owners, everyone needs to understand the benefits of networking and appreciate that it is a life skill, not unlike reading and writing - it is not an ‘opt-in’ skill, it is essential.
So what is networking?
My definition of networking is that it is about developing and maintaining mutually beneficial and valuable relationships.
What it is not:
It is not – like my old boss would do, getting drunk on a Friday afternoon with a mate. It is not asking for help from someone you have not been in touch with for a few years but decide to contact when you need help or advice. Many people I come across think of networking as schmoozing, selling yourself or your business, small talk or handing over your business card, this is why they find it difficult an ineffective.
I believe that the key to ‘effective networking’ is to establish contacts and develop relationships constantly and before you are in desperate need for them. Many people only start networking when they are doing badly in their career or business.
I recommend you make the continued building and developing of your network part of your life, something that is done as part of your overall life, career and business plan.
This week I did a talk for SEW EAST the Eastside Designer Forum. One of the questions that I was asked is a common one:
“I don’t have time to network, what should I do?”
My answer is: you don’t have time not to network – a successful business is not developed in isolation. You cannot expect people to know about you and your brand if no one has heard of you, spoken to you or met you.
5 key benefits of networking to think about:
meet people who have knowledge about the industry
be visible within your industry and marketplace
get support
share experiences
establish partnerships and collaborations
A way to start is to think of networking as contributing to others, participating in your community (local or industry), sharing knowledge, ideas and making contacts.
Until next time … learn more about personal branding on the newly launched articles page on www.i-define.co.uk. To find out what events I am speaking at, or running, check out the i-define events page.
Sign up for inside out my monthly newsletter, for practical strategies, ideas, inspirational stories and special offers and discounts.
In my next diary I will give you some more insights into networking – take care.
Dawn Winder
personal branding, communication & confidence
Dawn’s Diary - Through my fashion capital diary I will share with you my experiences and observations. I will give you tips on how you can use branding strategies to build your own personal brand identity, enabling you to increase your confidence and communication, which will strengthen your marketing and PR and sales efforts. Subscribe to the i-define living e-newsletter on www.i-define.co.uk for more information
We all know networking is important but how do we make it work?
I recently ran a workshop for people within the creative industries on ‘taking the work out of networking’
Two of the most popular issues were;
1)How do I get clients from networking?
2)How present myself without selling myself?
Over my next few diary entries I will be sharing with you some of the secrets to effective networking.
With more and more networking groups emerging, the pressure is getting greater than ever to ‘go out and network,’ but the reality of making it successful once you have been is more tricky. Let me explain…
The process from stranger to client is not easy or quick. The reality is
we have been fooled into thinking that networking is where we should go to get out business.
There are four steps to go through to get from business card to business your potential clients have to:
meet you
know your work
understand the benefits of your product or service
pay for your work
During the 4 steps there will be various clues that your potential client will be looking for in order that they become a client, repeat client then an evangelist. It is not always a straightforward process and you have to invest time and effort to make it work.
I suggest you consider the purpose of networking is not to go and find clients but to do the following:
contribute & participate
share knowledge & contacts
These are the rules of effective networking that will bring long-term benefits to you and your business.
Find out the benefits of personal branding for networking next time!
OK one thought for now:
If your network understands you, what you do, how you add value and what makes you unique to your industry, they will be able to promote it for you!
Check out my blog shameless communication for my news, views and reviews on communication while your there write a comment, I’d love to here what you think.Or sign up for inside out my monthly newsletter.
* Dawn’s Diary - Through my fashion capital diary I will share with you my experiences and observations. I will give you tips on how you can use branding strategies to build your own personal brand identity, enabling you to increase your confidence and communication, which will strengthen your marketing and PR and sales efforts. Subscribe to the i-define living e-newsletter on www.i-define.co.uk for more information.
Do you know what you stand for?
Last time we spoke about writing a blog to make your personal PR, marketing and sales efforts strong and stand out - it takes an internal knowledge and a bit of work from the inside out.
Us ‘Brits’ do not always embrace successful people and high achievers, but when you know what you stand for you can stand tall.
Jamie Oliver, is a great example of the fickle culture we live in. It was once that we loved Jamie for his cheeky chappy behaviour. However as soon as he became commercial, over processed by the media, it became unfashionable even to own one of his books.
Now he’s back, and love him or hate him, there is no denying he knows what he stands for and is not afraid to live by it. The media may have hated him for his over exposure but look how perceptions can change. The lesson is this: know what you stand for and stick with it. If you don’t know who you are and what you stand for people will tread all over you; you can soon become unstuck and loose direction.
Jamie and others like him take one issue that they are knowledgeable and passionate about and use this to a greater purpose. They integrate it into their brands and are valued by others for being contributors to society. If you haven’t watched Jamie Oliver's School Dinners or seen the media coverage check out www.feedmebetter.com
Like Jamie, we all have unique talents and gifts that we can share, not just at work, but with people we love and care for; our community, our network.
To have a strong personal brand it is not enough to be ‘good’ or ‘great’. To be remembered and valued, and to leave a legacy you have to offer something more.
Strong, leading brands add value to people within their marketplace. They have something they stand for. They position themselves so that we know what they stand for and how they add value. Jamie has done this by starting a food revolution and standing for investment in kids health and education.
For your Personal Brand to be successful and fulfilling you need to contribute in some way.People are looking to invest in people, products and services that add value. Not always just to them, they want to see you are working for a greater purpose than your financial gain.
As I promised I have launched my blog. ‘Shameless Communication’ a place where I publish my latest news and reviews of current events, websites and blogs. It's an informative and inspiring tool, which will help you improve the way you communicate.
Have you started yours yet?
Confidence and communication expert Dawn Winder shares her personal branding strategies in her weekly diary. Discover Dawn’s’ world of brands’ and learn how you can create a brand identity for yourself and your business.
* Dawn’s Diary - Through my fashion capital diary I will share with you my experiences and observations. I will give you tips on how you can use branding strategies to build your own personal brand identity, enabling you to increase your confidence and communication, which will strengthen your marketing and PR and sales efforts. Subscribe to the i-define living e-newsletter on www.i-define.co.uk for more information.
N: B the site has been having technical difficulties due to the host please revisit if you have any problems.
March 05
One of the questions clients ask me all the time is ‘How do I gain credibility?’
I always tell them to remember that all business is based on relationships and that people work with you for three main reasons.
Because they know you
Because of your character or reputation
Because you create value.
Think about it for a minute: don’t you find it easier to relate to people who you meet with an online presence? Doesn’t it add to their credibility when you can look them up online? Have you ever ‘googled’ someone to find out more about them?
If you haven’t, you can guarantee someone has tried to search you. If there is no sign of you out there how will you be perceived? Check it out … type your name into google and see what you find: you may be surprised.
If you don’t have an online presence, how are you going to be known? We all have less time and patience and, with technology moving so fast, I suggest you don’t get left behind.
I spoke last time about blogs and I wanted to give you some more information …
If you are self-employed or have your own business, when done well, a blog can give you added advantages, either on it’s own or in conjunction with an existing website.
It is an excellent tool to update content and keep your information current at a very low cost.
It gives you an opportunity to share your knowledge.
It is a fast way to receive feedback, start discussions, and provide tips and insights.
It helps you to position yourself as an expert and leader in your field of expertise.
I came across an article in the Independent Media Weekly on the emap fanzine awards; they mentioned various magazines but also blog sites.
I thought the runner up webzine category http://www.catwalk-queen.net/ Gemma Cartwrite "blog-a-zine" was a great concept and would be of interest.
A blog is a great place to successfully build your brand, have your voice heard and create your own distinct style and personality online.
Check out some of the providers available.
Blogger.com (free) Typepad.com (small monthly charge) If you type into google "free blog" you will find thousands more.
Confidence and communication expert Dawn Winder shares her personal branding strategies in her weekly diary. Discover Dawn’s’ world of brands’ and learn how you can create a brand identity for yourself and your business
* Dawn’s Diary - Through my fashion capital diary I will share with you my experiences and observations. I will give you tips on how you can use branding strategies to build your own personal brand identity, enabling you to increase your confidence and communication, which will strengthen your marketing and PR and sales efforts. Subscribe to the i-define living e-newsletter on www.i-define.co.uk for more information.
21st February 05
Last week I asked you to think about some of the things, issues and concepts that you are most knowledgeable and passionate about. How did you do?
Well if you have done your homework, the next stage is to think about how you can start communicating your personal brand attributes. This will give you visibility and therefore credibility. “HOW?” you may ask – when you have no time and no budget?
Build a blog!
You are no longer limited to having a costly website in order to be able to communicate on the web. Blogging is increasing in popularity and can be used as a powerful marketing tool to communicate effectively who you are, what you do and what makes you different.
Definition of a blog: Taken from using the two words web and log and then cramming them together a BLOG was created. It is simply a website which contains periodic posts from one or more authors. These posts are usually (but not always) listed in reverse chronological order. Many blogs enable their visitors to post comments in order to create a discussion on the topic.
Blogs are unique to you. Where better to showcase your skills, interests and attributes? It can also be non-work related, focusing on a particular topic of interest, be it fashion, politics, sports, or any other subject. Many people use blogging to discuss current affairs or interests of concern. By using a blog you can start adding value to your clients: building it around what your target audience want or need to know using an aspect you are knowledgeable about. If you already have a website, a blog adds to your online presence and it can set you apart from your competition and give you a competitive edge.
So where is yours Dawn? I hear you ask.
Next week I will be sharing information about my blog, which is to be launched next week. So watch this space.
Dawn also writes for the women’s online magazine handbag.com.
*New* Weekly Diary – Through my fashion capital weekly diary I will share with you my experiences and observations. I will give you tips on how you can use branding strategies to build your own personal brand identity, enabling you to increase your confidence and communication which will strengthen your marketing and PR and sales efforts. Subscribe to the i-define living e-newsletter on www.i-define.co.uk for more info.
Confidence and communication expert Dawn Winder shares her personal branding strategies in her weekly diary. Discover Dawn’s’ world of brands’ and learn how you can create a brand identity for yourself and your business.
11thFebruary 05
One of the keys to a successful career or business is what you know; your area of expertise. You need to have knowledge about something people want to learn about and are interested in. This is one of the most significant factors for a successful Personal Brand.
Do you know how to communicate your area of expertise so that someone could identify you as being that person to work with, employ or recommend?
Many of my clients, especially those working within the creative industry, have a product that has the ability to stand out in some way. However the world of work is changing fast. More and more people are starting up their own businesses, coming out of university with the same competing qualifications. Creative Review reports that there will be more than 4 million self-employed people by 2006 – an increase of almost a million on the current figure.
Without a competitive edge you may be left out in the cold.
My question for you is: What is going to make you stand out? Apart from your great products and designs, how are you going to grab people’s attention?
To create top-of-the-mind status you need to know what you are knowledgeable about and then communicate it to your marketplace. It is no good knowing about something that no one can understand or relate to.
Think about some of the things, issues and concepts that you are most knowledgeable and passionate about and write down the answers to the following questions:
What makes you an expert within your field? Is it your experience, education or personal experiences?
What is your story? How will it be of interest to your target audience?
What words define you?
Next week I will be sharing more on how to stand out in an overcrowded marketplace.
Dawn also writes for the women’s online magazine handbag.com.
Last time I shared with you my thoughts on how we use brands as a shortcut to help us make quick choices and recognition in an overcrowded market.
This weekend I experienced the overcrowded and confusing world of mobile phones. So much choice: not only deciding which shop to buy it from, then the service provider, the tariff, and then, more importantly, the mobile phone.I realised why I hadn’t changed mine over for a few years: too much trouble, in the end I wished I had stuck with what I had even though the service was poor. I managed to select one thanks to some strong brand recognition and the value I found in a phone that met my needs. After all, what else could measure it by? What do I know about mobile phones?
It is not only phones that need a strong brand in an overcrowded market. With so many people competing for jobs and clients it is now essential to get the tools to enable you to stand out.
It isn’t a question of, ‘Shall I brand myself or not?’ If you think about it we automatically brand each other and ourselves. When we meet someone for the first time, we instantly give them a label, whether it be: dynamic, friendly, funny, boring, sexy or professional. It is very difficult to get over the initial impression we have of someone, especially when it is bad or uneventful.
Because we tend to be so busy, we use our gut instinct to make quick decisions. It can take less than 30 seconds for someone to form a lasting impression of you, so it is vital we make our first impression count.
Although the initial impression is based 80% on the way we look and move, Personal Branding is not just about image: Brands go deeper than that. You may pick up a product that looks good, but what gives it the power to make you buy? It is about the value it offers.
Find out next week how I helped my clients to identity the value they offer and why it is so important.
Dawn also writes for the women’s online magazine handbag.com.
bi-weekly diary - Through my fashion capital diary I will be sharing my experiences and observations of how enlightening it can be to be aware of brands and how they affect our daily life.
14 January 2005
Hi everyone,
A belated Happy New Year, and welcome to my first diary entry for 2005.
I thought I’d start the New Year off at the good look at the brands I buy and why I buy them.
Have you ever considered what the brands you buy say about you and your values?
Once I started thinking about it, I realised I had been on autopilot for as long as I could remember and that I had never asked myself ‘Why?’ I was making the choices I was. I’d go to the supermarket, pick up a tin of beans of course I never questioned what brand to buy; out of the many on the shelves their was only one…
Well what else? So what was it that I was getting from my tin of Heinz that was making me chose them without a second thought?
This led me to think about some of my favourite brands and what value I saw in them, or believed them to have. I thought they were: the best, quality, tasted great, reliable. In fact I remembered my Mum always bought them – so they had a nostalgic feel.
Well it wasn’t just the beans; what value did I see in other brands? From fashion, cosmetics, technical, TV, music brands, the list of choices I made based on the value I saw in them was endless.
Do we value brands for a certain reason? What leads us to purchase one particular brand over another?
A brand is a set of perceptions that we as consumers have in our minds. We are influenced by many things including advertising campaigns, quality, price, word of mouth, personal experiences even prejudice.
Brands offer customers a tool to enable choice and recognition within cluttered markets.
Brands rely on our values – we all have personal values that we hold.They act as your inner compass guiding you towards what is good and important to you and include values such as respect, honesty, freedom, love.
Although we are influenced by brands because of our personal values, if we think about it we are driven by our ‘consumer values’, the values that we like to be associated with. It is values such as respect, acceptance, ego and humour that relate to how we want to be perceived.
How do I select the brands I buy? Well it seems that on most occasions, I don’t even think about it, it’s subconscious – I am loyal to particular products or services ‘beyond reason’. Kevin Roberts’s talks about this in his excellent book Lovemarks (see www.lovemarks.com to learn more). For example, one of my first choices for make up was MAC. I tended not to buy anything else. So, why do I buy MAC? The main reasons are: used by professional make up artists, packaging, range of colours, new products on the cutting edge, no worries about getting a colour to suit my tone of skin, they are fun and they represent glamour. Their spokeswomen are often divas that are inspiring and support AIDS charities. Lots of good reasons, but what else?
Do brands have a responsibility towards a bigger ethical purpose? I think so. I have now discovered that how ethical a brand is influences me more and more. In light of what is happening in the world, isn’t it everyone’s responsibility to make a difference to the world we live in? I certainly want to be involved in making a difference and have started to see how I can do this through the brands I buy.
So, as a result of this all this reflection, my new year’s resolutions are:
to switch off my ‘brand autopilot’
to query the brands that I choose.
to make more ethical choices.
The next time you pick up your favourite brand, think about why you are buying it. You may, like me, be surprised. Ask yourself ‘ Am I buying this out of habit or does this brand reflect what I believe?’
Well, that’s all for now, but don’t forget to sign up for my e-newsletter on www.i-define.co.ukfor information on Personal Branding and how you can use it as a tool to boost your career or business.
Until next time,
Dawn Winder
Hi everyone,
Just a quick insight of what to expect from my new bi-weekly diary - here is a quote that sums it up…
“As we watch television, open the mail, or go for a stroll, we now live in a world of brands” Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi.
Whether we like it or not we are all branded! From the clothes we wear to the supermarket we choose and the people we choose to listen to. Through my fashion capital diary I will be sharing my experiences and observations of how enlightening being aware of brands and how they affect our daily life can be.
Sign up for my e-newsletter on www.i-define.co.ukfor information on Personal Branding and how you can use it as a tool to boost your career or business.
