Seth Price, whom many of you know, is a leading expert in Personal Branding. With the launch of his book coming up, now is the perfect time to share this great piece of content he and his co-author Barry Feldman created! For the A-Zs of personal branding, keep reading below:

Personal Branding: A-Z

26 milestones on the road to recognition 

Who knows your name? The answer is all-important to your professional success.

Your personal brand is the engine of your career. It’s fueled by the content you publish and the things you do. Recognition ignites it.

Ready to rev it up? Here are your keys:

A – Is for authenticity. Understand your brand’s all about the real you. You, my friend, you are a brand. Anything other than the real you won’t do. Discover exactly what makes you fascinating. Build your brand on your true strengths and allow it to navigate your road to recognition.

B – Is for blog. Build your personal brand with a blog. Publish your point of view. The most important personal branding development in the age of digital media is the power to publish at will and express your ideas. Start a blog and keep building on it.

C – Is for content. Create content to connect with your target audience. Valuable content has magnetic power. On your blog – or in addition to it – create an interesting mix of content in various formats to earn the mindshare and trust your brand needs.

D – Is for design. Design a smart and stylish identity. Look good. Everything you create should be presented with class and continuity. Develop a tasty logo, colour palette, and design standards that reflect well on your brand.

E – Is for email. Establish and expand a list of email subscribers. Own an audience Email is your ace, the money medium. It’s private, permission-based and pervasive. Commit to developing an email list and using it to nurture relationships with your subscribers.

F – Is for followers. Grow a following and lead the conversion. New Media is a two-way street. You can’t have a brand without an audience. Social media makes it possible to develop a tribe of followers – like-minded people with common interests – you’ll aim to educate and inspire.

G – Is for Google. Assess how the world sees you. Search yourself. Think of goggle as the business card the entire world has instant access to. You need to “Google yourself,” evaluate the results and create and execute a plan to look good in the eyes of the searcher.

H – Is for helping. Offer what you can, whenever you can. Put goodwill to work. Don’t wait for opportunities to come to you. Find ways to be helpful! Be the first to volunteer, connect people, or get behind meaningful missions.

I – Is for influencers. Lookup and connect with the people you look up to. New friends will open doors. Influential professionals have prominent friends. Seek out leaders, surround yourself with them, and find ways to be of value to them.

J – Is for joining. Join communities where ideas are incubated. Make your way into social circles. Affiliations are all important to the growth of your brand. Find groups you’d be proud to be a part of, get involved and make your presence known.

K – Is for keywords. Position your personal brand with some choice words. Got a personal glossary? When surfers go a-Googling, which words will lead them to you? Build a shortlist of relevant keywords and use them often on your site and across all your social media profiles.

L – Is for LinkedIn. Master the branding epicentre of the Internet. Cats and dogs don’t belong here. LinkedIn is the social network that means business. It’s the personal branding epicentre of the Internet. Take LinkedIn seriously and learn how to work it.

M – Is for media. Channel your energy into the right channels. The web is wide. Media is more complex than ever and more vital. Identify the outlets that are most valued in your field and use the tools available in them to elevate your brand.

N- Is for network. Connect with professionals— and with purpose. Make friends. Make connections fearlessly and frequently—locally, regionally and globally. Have a business card or something of even greater value to distribute. Follow-up and follow-through

O – Is for offers. Offer your visitors great value—for free. Meet readers where they’re @. Expand your email list, build relationships and position yourself as an authority by offering your readers value-added content—or lead magnets—in exchange for an email address.

P – Is for podcast. Turn on a mic and say what’s on your mind. Get people to listen to you. Top professionals appear on podcasts and create their own shows to capitalize on the format’s growing popularity and because the power voice offers for making genuine connections.

Q – Is for questions. Ask your audience to join the conversation. Everyone loves a good listener. Identify the questions your audience seeks answers to. Ask questions. Ask people to tell you their stories. Ask for their ideas. And listen closely.

R – Is for recognizing others. Point to the people that empower you. Share the spotlight. You won’t achieve your goals on your own. Privately and publicly, recognize the contributions of every person who’s played a part in your brand development.

S – Is for speaking. Get in front of an audience. The power of the podium is undeniable. Public speakers gain credibility as subject- matter experts and enjoy many networking benefits. You need to step up to the mic and share what you know.

T – Is for target. Develop keen insights of your target market. Who cares what you have to say? Develop a clear understanding of your target market. Develop personas with a focus on the needs of your audience and their pain points. Conduct interviews and surveys to learn as much as possible.

U – Is for unique. Identify your unique value proposition. What makes you special? Every meaningful brand has a unique value proposition. Though you may be one of millions specializing in your field, you need to develop and nurture a one-of-a-kind point of differentiation.

V – Is for video. Look into the lens and engage viewers. Roll video into your media mix. Video increases trust and helps you come across as human and sincere. It’s become easy to make and distribute video. Look in the lens, relax and let it roll.

W – Is for website. Construct a home on the web in your name. Master your domain. Your website is the mousetrap and your content is the cheese. Work with professionals to plan, design, write and publish a website that is the HQ of your personal brand.

X – Is for eXAmine. Keep close tabs on your progress. Measure what matters. Your x-ray for all online efforts is analytics. Deploy Google Analytics and/or additional tools to stay informed of how visitors behave on your site and what you can do to improve their experience.

Y – Is for “you do”. Make a plan to achieve your personal branding goals. Know what you’re doing? The development of your personal brand is a perpetual exercise. Create a plan for getting started as well as a list of proactive actions YOU DO regularly.

Z – Is for zeal. Let no roadblock slow you down. Shift into overdrive. Zeal is a “strong feeling of interest and enthusiasm that makes one determined to do something.” There is no more essential ingredient of a successful personal brand.