Nike, Coke-Cola, Budweiser, McDonalds, Levi's, Amazon.com... these are branding masters. Now question is, HOW CAN YOU MODEL THEIR SUCCESS?

These days, online branding is being preached as one of big "Do or Die" marketing strategies. So everyone wants to brand their e-business -- but no one is exactly sure what branding is, how it's done, or where to start.

What is branding, anyway?

Branding is about building a COMPELLING ASSOCIATION between...

A) Your company, your logo, your products, etc.

AND

B) An image, an emotion, or a memorable message that embodies -- implicitly or explicitly -- BIGGEST BENEFIT you have to offer your customers.

Effective branding creates kind of FIERCE PRODUCT LOYALTY that leaves customers indifferent to marketing tactics of competition.

It's what compels you to walk past all of those no-name- brand on-sale colas at local grocery store and pick up 6-pack of Coca-Cola that costs three times more. It's what makes children plead and beg to go back to McDonalds again and again. And it's what has made phrase "Just Do It" synonymous with Nike.

Say "Amazon.com," and people think of "The Earth's Biggest Bookstore." Go to Burger King because you can "Have It Your Way." Buy Energizer batteries because they "Just keep going, and going, and going." And "When you care enough to send very best," send a Hallmark card.

But slogans and taglines are only part of it. Think of Hallmark commercials. These tearjerker mini-dramas are built around love and family values, ending with someone showing they "care enough" by giving a loved-one a Hallmark card. THEY EVOKE STRONG EMOTIONS THAT DRIVE THEIR SLOGAN HOME.

And think about Nike logo -- "Swoosh" that represents wing of Greek goddess Nike, personification of victory. While it's probably safe to say that majority of people are unaware of its mythological significance, THEIR LOGO HOLDS JUST AS MUCH MEANING AS THEIR NAME.

It's all very impressive, right? Well... yes. But before you jump on bandwagon, let's take a realistic look at "big branding picture" to see where your small or home- based e-business fits into this.

First, let's debunk THREE MAJOR BRANDING MYTHS I frequently encounter...

MYTH #1: I need to make my company or product a household name.

TRUTH: You'll be most successful and most profitable if you CLOSELY TARGET YOUR MARKET! Focus on getting your business name and your advertising in front of your best potential customers -- people who have an expressed interest in what you're offering -- as opposed to everyone!

MYTH #2: Branding my business online means buying thousands of dollars worth of high-visibility banner impressions.

TRUTH: Banner advertising just isn't as profitable as it once was. Ads that once pulled 5% to 10% click-throughs are now lucky to pull 0.6% to 0.8%, if even that.

You'll be far more successful if you focus your limited advertising dollars on more performance-based advertising. Pay for customers... not overpriced, unproven advertising.

MYTH #3: I'll need to spend a lot of money if I want to gain brand recognition.

TRUTH: There are plenty of free and low-cost techniques that you can use to brand your e-business.

If you're a small or home-based business then, chances are, you don't have millions of advertising dollars it takes to build a nationally recognized brand and make your company a household name -- at least not yet!

So let's SKIP THE HIGH-PRICED LARGE CORPORATE BRANDING TECHNIQUES that I'm seeing pushed everywhere I look...

-- after all, these strategies simply don't translate to e-businesses with limited advertising budgets --

... and instead, let me give you some practical information.

COST-EFFECTIVE BRANDING TECHNIQUES THAT YOU CAN START USING TODAY:

1) DEVELOP A STRONG UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION

Imagine yourself sitting across table from your best potential customer. In one sentence -- one very short sentence -- clearly communicate how he or she will benefit from doing business with you.

Your message should be clear, language simple, and it should be easy to remember. There's no room for wordy corporate mumbo jumbo here.

I know this is a pretty tall order... but your hours of agonizing, writing, brainstorming, and rewriting will pay off in end. This will be message that your market will identify you by and associate you with.

2) TARGET YOUR MARKET

The beauty of running an online business is that you can reach literally hundreds of thousands of targeted potential customers all over world -- people who want to buy what you're selling -- for little or no cost.

It's what has made it possible for small and home-based business owners like you to take Internet by storm and MAKE OUTRAGEOUS PROFITS WITH VERY LIMITED ADVERTISING BUDGETS.

Why would you turn a blind eye to this CRITICAL ADVANTAGE by spreading your limited advertising dollars across entire web -- trying to sell your product to everyone -- instead of focusing on those people who want to buy from you?

It just doesn't make sense.

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