244: How to evolve your personal brand over time [ Interview with best-selling author, Mark Schaefer #EncoreEpisode ]

CRANK THE 3RD: Exploring the entrepreneurial + creative side of life post 50

One theme we dip in and out of here on the podcast is how do we continue to evolve as entrepreneurs and professionals, while concurrently build a sustainable and consistent personal brand over time.

No doubt you've seen the marketing advice around picking a niche and staying in it. And there are elements of that school of thought that stand the test of time.

The niche argument is certainly applicable to bona fide experts - those who genuinely have deep domain expertise and who want to establish themselves as go-to authorities in their field of endeavour.

But, many of the people I work with (and follow on social media, and interview here on the podcast) are curious, multifaceted individuals - they're thought leaders who often cross boundaries and cover different territories.

Yes, they're experts as well in certain areas, but they're also big picture thinkers who spark conversation and connect dots. They don't always have the answers, but they're not afraid to ask questions, explore ideas in public, and bring people along for the ride.

This is why we find their content so interesting, and often challenging at the same time. They force us to rethink the status quo; sometimes they can change the way we think about a particular topic or issue with their concepts and ideas.

In turn, they often build large engaged audiences as a result of their content, their speaking and their media appearances.

Which brings us to today's episode: it's a replay of a previously-published interview with world-renowned blogger, best-selling author and keynote speaker Mark Schaefer.

It's actually part two of my interview with Mark. In part one (episode #192 - 'How to build momentum for your ideas'), we discussed Mark's book, Cumulative Advantage, so you might want to check that one out as well as this one if you haven't already done so!

In part two (episode #193 - this particular interview), the conversation heads down the path of thought leadership, and how Mark has managed to continue to evolve as an author, a speaker, a blogger, and as as a personal brand.

This discussion will interest anyone keen to grow their professional personal brand and position themselves as a thought leader in their chosen field of endeavour. Enjoy!

Quotable Quote: "It doesn't matter how hard you work and how well you execute, if the strategy is wrong in the first place."

CONNECT WITH MARK:

• Website
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• YouTube

*********************************

Reputation Revolution is the professional personal branding show for experts, entrepreneurs and emerging thought leaders.

Hosted by the PR Warrior, Trevor Young, the show focuses on helping credible individuals to build visibility, influence and trust in the marketplace, and in doing so, position themselves to take advantage of today's 'reputation economy'.

Reputation Revolution covers the four core pillars of building a successful and respected professional personal brand:

1. ESTABLISH your voice
2. ENHANCE the credibility of that voice
3. EXTEND the reach of your voice
4. EXTRACT value from the profile and reputation you build in the marketplace

Follow Trevor on Twitter and/or subscribe to the Reputation Revolution newsletter