How To Build a Good Online Reputation.
January 27th, 2010 · Articles, Careers
Online branding is an integral part of self-promotion, necessary to making yourself visible to your niche audience and customers. Presenting yourself as a professional will not only make you appear as an expert in your field, but will build trust into your brand in the mind of the consumer.
Here are some ways to build a good online reputation for an emerging brand.
1. Join as many social networking sites as possible.
This should be a given. Everyone is on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn — but are you? Social networking sites are free, so take advantage of this amazing marketing tool that’s fun, easy, and will span your reach globally.
2. Be a know-it-all.
The way to establish trust in a brand is for the consumer to know that you are an expert in your field. In other words, you have to allow your audience to see that you have the best knowledge of your industry, inside and out. Are you blogging? Are you involved in any speaking engagements? Are you outsourcing the best help to represent your brand? A good question to ask yourself would be…
Are you the best at what you do?
If not, how can you improve? What books can you read and what seminars can you attend to build up your knowledge base? Not knowing every angle of your industry will present itself as you being seen as the weaker competitor to the next brand that stays on top of its game.
3. Communicate.
No, really, communicate. Add comments on a regular basis on a blog that you admire. Leave personal messages to your fans on Facebook. When someone adds you as a new follower on Twitter, send a direct message to personally thank him or her to show that you are appreciative of the networking opportunity. Generic messages copied & pasted then blasted out to everyone generally get ignored. Try to make each member of your audience feel special and seen. If you really want to make social media work for you, actually get to know people. Learn and remember names. Try to build a new friendship or work relationship. Be open to respectful constructive criticism and other suggestions directly from the mind of your consumer. Take full advantage of the power of the Internet and the millions of users across the world who log on every day.
4. Keep the disagreements to a minimum.
Sometimes, a person online could take a comment the wrong way and make a smart remark in retaliation. You want to snap back, right? Well, by all means, don’t be a doormat, but there is a way to do it professionally and in good taste. No one likes to witness what is called internet beef. How silly is it to argue back and forth over someone through a keyboard? Think about it. If such an occurence arises, take the high road, agree to disagree, and leave it as that. If a person insists on harping on you, maybe the best response would be no response at all. While building a brand in the public eye, it is vital to a brand’s healthy growth to stay professional at all times. Getting yourself involved in internet arguments will linger in the minds of your audience, and therefore tarnish your online repuation and diminish your brand equity.
5. Don’t tYp3 lYKE THiiS!.
Please. We aren’t high-schoolers sending text messages to each other. We are adults conducting business. When doing your social media networking, type out each word in its correct form — and the only exception to this rule would be on Twitter where there is only a 140-character limit. Sometimes it is necessary to replace “you” with “u” or maybe “through” with “thru.” But habitual childish character typing will be automatically dismissed as an immature, teeny-bopper business that won’t be taken seriously. Also, keep a dictionary and thesaurus handy as part of your business library. Occasional typos are understandable, but if it’s clear that spelling and grammar were not your best subjects in school, refer to your dictionary whenever possible. Or hire someone to do your online marketing for you, and just stick to what you do best.
Were You Born To Do This?
January 23rd, 2010 · Articles, Inspiration
Ever feel like dropping everything and saying, “I’m done with this?” Ever get so frustrated and stopped dead in your tracks that you have to ask yourself, “Am I going down the right path?”
The hard work doesn’t seem to be paying off and business is at a standstill. The customers aren’t knocking on your door. The money isn’t rolling in. You figure you might as well chuck this stupid idea of being an entrepreneur as a pipe dream, and go back to working a 9 to 5.
But something deep down inside of you can’t let go of what you started. This is your new career you’re trying to get off the ground, and you’ve already envisioned all the wild successes of the fruits of your labor. But when is it going to come?
Life has a way of testing you to see if you really want it.
According to a 2006 Inc. Magazine article, two-thirds of entrepreneurs claim they were inspired not by education or formal training, but by an innate desire from within to succeed.
So ask yourself, were you born to do this? Is your presence the exact thing that’s missing from the industry you aspire to enter into? Is there a fiery, burning passion inside your spirit to succeed? Are you going to finish what you started? Do you have enough faith, will, and drive to make your dreams come true?
Or will you give up?
If you were born to do what you do, then there should be no force or obstacle in this world to kill that dream inside your spirit. No matter how many “no’s” you receive. No matter how long it takes to get that first client. No matter if you have to get in through the back door or the side door. If you know something is destined for you, then no person in this world can stop you — but you. Nothing in life is going to be handed to you, unless of course, you’re some royal heiress spending your daddy’s money. If you’re an average Joe or Jane like me with a big dream, you’re going to have to exert your own power and skills and work hard towards your goal. Emphasis on hard.
Are you working 12-hour days? Are you pulling all-nighters? Are you sacrificing Saturday night bowling with the buddies to stay home and strategize your social media campaign?
Your dream has to be bigger than your temporary defeat.
Once you do that amazing thing that you were born to do, wouldn’t it be nice to look back on these days and say, “I’m glad I didn’t give up?”
Fashion PR Virtual Assistant
December 18th, 2009 · Careers, News
Location: Anywhere
Industry: Fashion Public Relations, Marketing, and Promotions
Company: Dream Cartel
JOB DESCRIPTION
Seeking self-motivated virtual assistant to work from home. Must be willing to work effectively with a Los Angeles-based start up agency. Must have own computer, internet access, and mobile phone. Must have exceptional sales performance in order to add new accounts to client roster. Must have great communication and writing skills. Assistant will work with client proposals, pitching to media outlets, building contact database, writing press releases, social media branding and other duties. Must have solid interest in fashion, beauty, and lifestyle. Public relations experience preferred but not required. Willing to train the perfect candidate.
SALARY
Commission-based only. Assistant will be paid a percentage of monthly retainer fee from each client account opened.
CONTACT
Lauren Francis
email: lauren@dreamcartel.com
Five Tips for Emerging Fashion Designers on a Bootstrapping Budget.
November 17th, 2009 · Articles
Are you a new or aspiring fashion designer that wants to launch your own line, but a little low on funds? You can still make it happen. Bootstrapping is a term for new business owners who pull together their own start-up capital from their own resources. Most new entrepreneurs do it this way, and here’s how you can work with what you have now in order to make your way into the fashion industry.
Tip #1: Throw your own launch party and charge an entry fee.
Announce what you are selling — to everyone! Let all your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and ex-boyfriends know that you are venturing off into the entrepreneurial world. More likely than not, they will be very supportive of your endeavors and will want to reach out and help. Throw a party at your house or apartment to celebrate the launch of your new career in fashion and charge $5.00 at the door for each person to get in. Ask your closest friends or family to chip in to provide drinks and hors d’Oeuvres. Turn the music up and celebrate. You’re in the fashion industry now! Say 100 people show up — that’s $500.00 to pocket for your start-up costs. (Just don’t forget to send out thank you notes to all of your guests the following week.)
Tip #2: Take out a percentage of your paycheck from your day job to fund your new business expenses.
Pursuing your dream, but still maintaining your 9 to 5 gig? That’s understandable. It’s great to have that “guaranteed” salary coming in every two weeks while you get your fashion line established. Just take out a percentage of your paycheck and set it aside in a small business account with your bank for your business expenses, i.e. fabric and sewing supplies. The ROI on the production of your fashion line can be doubled or tripled for each piece that is designed and sold. (A classic case of taking your money and flipping it.)
Tip #3: Do-it-yourself PR.
Okay, so you just finished a 10 piece collection….. now what? How are you going to make any sales? There’s no way around the fact that in order to sell your merchandise, people need to know about it. You can start your own publicity and marketing campaign by using free and low-cost ways to push your products. There are tons of free press release submission websites, which are always scanned by media professionals looking for a new story to cover. Create your own lookbook with your digital camera, and use an image editing program on your computer to touch up the photos. Be your own model for your lookbook, or even scout out models who are willing to work for free (in model terms, it’s called TFP, or time for profit) in exchange for photos to be added to their portfolios. Sign up for your own website and/or blog, and upload the lookbook for your visitors to view. Need street marketing? If you’re artistic enough, you can cut out your own flyers or just use index cards to illustrate your own street promo material to hand out to everyone you pass on the street. Last but not least, don’t neglect the power of social media marketing. It’s all free. Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, YouTube, LinkedIn, Blog Talk Radio, message boards, forums, and so much more. If you resist “new media,” you will be left behind.
Tip #4: “A la carte” options from a PR firm.
You may be too busy to do all of that in Tip #3. Maybe you would rather delegate that work to a PR professional, and there are lots of PR firms these days that have foregone the traditional monthly retainer fee and have adapted to a new trend — an “a la carte” service menu. Maybe you can’t afford a $2,000 monthly retainer fee on a one year contract just yet. “A la carte” menu options allow you as the designer to pick and choose which services you want and do not want on a month-to-month basis with heavily discounted prices.
Tip #5: Participate in sample sales and trunk shows in your city.
In the frenzy of social media and everything being virtual these days, don’t forget to pound the pavement and make your face known. Don’t be scared to meet people in person and pick up the phone and make a cold call. Let people see who is behind your brand. On the weekends, participate in local events in your city where you can set up your table or booth to showcase your collection and make direct sales. Sample sales, trunk shows, art walks, and other types of designer’s markets are always in a city near you. All you have to do is just look.
It may take a while to see the fruits of your labor (unless you’re one of these rare cases of being an overnight sensation), but don’t give up. The fashion industry is a hard one to break into. There may be times when you get frustrated and run into obstacle after obstacle. Your will, faith, and determination will inevitably be tested (plenty of times!) but that’s just a part of the ride. This is the season of paying your dues and hustling your way to the top. Starting something out of almost nothing is a courageous task that you should applaud yourself for. Focus on your dreams, and always be sure to keep yourself inspired and driven at all times. Take what’s yours. Cheers to your success!
xoxo
-L
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