As often happens, an article (entitled "How to brand yourself") on The Times' website got me thinking...because, really, as bloggers...isn't that what we're trying to do? Or, I should say, to be successful as bloggers isn't this something we need to do? For, without a "brand"...a unique voice...what is there to make your (or my) blog different (and hopefully readable)?

It's a take on the idea of first impressions or, to quote the article, “We are branded every day of the week,”...“At cocktail parties, or business meetings, or whatever it might be. Personal branding is about starting to manage your personal brand.” Something which, to be entirely honest, I have never been particularly good at. Even trying to describe my job at a cocktail party leaves me mumbling incoherently about "doing stuff"...the thought of attempting to give a snapshot of me (the total package) is terrifying.

And so, I'm sharing the article's six tricks for creating a personal brand...not because I have any answers, this is definitely something that I need to work on...but because I thought these were useful for fellow bloggers. Though, if anyone would like to respond to question one it would be rather interesting...as the poet Burns said, "O would some Power the gift to give us, To see ourselves as others see us!"

Tricks of the trade: how to build your personal brand

Personal brands need to be four things: compelling to their market; authentic; consistent; and known.

1. Find out how you are actually perceived or what your reputation is. Ask a variety of people.

2. Spend time exploring what it is about you that is compelling to your target market.

3. Ask yourself if what you are offering is authentic. If not, it will breed only mistrust.

4. Make sure that your message or what you deliver is consistent. If it is erratic, it will undermine your efforts.

5. Create a personal brand statement outlining who you are, what you do, how you do it and why it is compelling . . . and use abridged versions of it consistently wherever appropriate.

6. Explore how you can make your personal brand known to your market or audience and then act on it.