Archive for the Business and Careers Category

Building Your Brand

Posted in Business and Careers, Self-Development with tags , , on May 12, 2008 by Helen Grant

Nowadays, when it comes to promoting yourself, there’s no better place to do it than cyberspace.

Many creatives tend to think of a website as a promotional tool that they’ll sort out once they start getting major commissions. But the thing is, without a website it will be really hard, if not impossible, to get those commissions in the first place.

If you’re a writer, when a publisher buys your book, they’re really buying your platform, or the audience that you can offer them. A lot of agents have been known to say, “Why would anyone buy his book? No one knows who he is.” Unfair or not, that’s the way most publishers think too. But the good news is you can use your site (or blog) to get yourself known. Start servicing your audience by posting articles and photos and seeking publicity for yourself and your work. What better place to start than with a website and newsletter?

Use your own name

Your brand is YOU so your domain name needs to reflect that. It’s easier for people to find you when you use your own name, preferrably followed by .com but if that’s not available go for .co.uk or whatever country domain you’re based in. If you have an unusual name, such as Apple or Peaches, you can get away with using your first name only, so if your full domain name isn’t available try other variations.

Funk it up

To start with, your site will be a small fish in a big pond. To keep visitors interested, and draw them back time and again, your site needs to stand head and shoulders above your competition. Paying a designer to do a good job is a small price to pay for a product that will be one of your strongest promotional allies.

Keep pages as uncluttered as possible, and if your writing skills are not your best asset, pay a copywriter to turn your thoughts into a literary masterpiece. Think clean, bright, simple and easy to navigate, and you won’t go far wrong. Oh, and remember: your product is YOU so the way you come across to your audience is even more important than colour and layout. Get some professional pics taken and promote yourself as the exciting, charming and talented person that you are.

Build your audience

Now start building your audience by sending out a newsletter. Include useful content relevant to your target audience. Give them an insight into what you’re working on, and let them in on your thinking process. Once they know you and your work, they’ll be all the more excited about buying your books or artwork, downloading your music, or watching your films when they come out.

Ask your subscribers what features they’d like to see, or what they’d like you to help them with. Most people want to help, and will be more than happy to pitch in. It makes them feel part of the process. Oh, and remember to include links to your website. Sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people forget. A good place to start is Constant Contact - an easy to use newsletter management system that allows users to design their own templates - or Hype London, who will design a template for you.

Offer samples

Make sure you’ve got plenty of samples of your work on your website, and make your newsletter available for download too. You want industry bosses to see at the click of a mouse that you’re able to dish out the goods. Oh, and here’s another tip: take advantage of other websites, especially the popular networking sites like H ezine, MySpace, Facebook, and Ecademy. The more sites your work appears on, the more frequently your name will show up on Google when industry bosses are looking for new talent.

You won’t have to work as hard finding a commission or assignment when you have a website and newsletter because people will already know about you, and will hopefully recommend you to others. Remember, word of mouth is the best form of advertising, and your website is a great place for editors/producers/publishers/agents to see what you’re all about.

Do your own maintenance

Your site needs to be constantly evolving, with fresh content adding regularly, news updates and engaging new material. It’s a hassle having to find someone to update stuff for you, and pay them for it, so do yourself a favour and get hold of some decent HTML editing software such as Macromedia’s Dreamweaver.

Maintaining your own site is not as difficult as you might think. If you can use Word or update your profile on My Space, you can manage your own content. When you commission someone to design your site, choose a company who specialise in content management sites, such as Hype London.

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How to do a Radio or TV Interview

Posted in Business and Careers, Self-Development with tags , , on May 12, 2008 by Helen Grant
Okay, number one rule when doing a radio or TV interview. Being interviewed that is, not doing the interviewing. Although, I suppose the points I’m about to outline will be useful for those on the other end of the microphone too, not that they need it. For some, good broadcasting comes naturally.

But whatever, the first thing to remember is to speak slowly, with authority, but naturally. Not as easy as it sounds when your palms are clammy and your tongue is stuck to the roof of your mouth. But hey, we’ll deal with nerves later. For now, practise talking to yourself in a calm and authoritive voice. Read aloud from a book, and practise being natural. Talk as you normally talk, but s-l-o-w-l-y. Not too slow, just slower than you would normally.

Next up, know your subject inside out. There’s nothing worse than listening to someone on the radio or on TV, pretending to know stuff when it’s obvious they don’t know what the heck they’re going on about. Do your research, mountains of it, and talk with conviction.

How are you feeling so far? Nervous? That sick feeling is difficult, but the trick to combating nerves is to forget you’re talking on the radio and pretend you’re talking to a friend. This will get easier with practise. If you’re in a studio with your host, make eye contact, smile and breathe normally. Smiling instantly puts you (and him) at ease.

Fear can cause the brain to shut down, making you unable to function. The best advice I can give if your nerves are truly hanging by a thread is to quote the author Susan Jeffer’s wise words to ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’. Keep repeating in your head that you can do this, and that you will do it well. Repeat silently like a mantra and visualise a successful performance. Remember the world’s most powerful leaders get nervous sometimes too!

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