Business Branding Archives | Digital Marketing Guide for Authors & Online Entrepreneurs

Showing Up, Modeling, and Taking a Leap of Faith

Life doesn’t always go as planned or expected. I’ve been running (actually “wogging”) since 2007. I’ve had my share of trips and aches and sprains, but never any serious injuries. The worst physical injury I’ve ever experienced was a torn ACL in my right knee in 2013 that happened as I was attempting to get out of a boat on Lago de Sandoval in the Peruvian Amazon. That was excruciating and set me back for months.

Two weeks ago I was near Bass Lake, just south of Yosemite National Park, three miles into a half marathon when I tripped and fell flat on my face. I knew I was going down and was cursing all the way. Thankfully several runners stopped, helped me, and called the sweeper truck to come get me. [Read more…]

LinkedIn ProFinder Gives a Big Visibility Boost to Freelancers

By Denise Wakeman

Quick question: how many paying gigs have you received from your LinkedIn profile?

Over the years, I’ve attracted a few students to some of my programs and one or two private clients. Moving forward, that could change with the launch of LinkedIn ProFinder.

When I started seeing an article on Inc.com circulating among my colleagues on Facebook, I was intrigued. The article, LinkedIn Just Made a Savvy Business Move and Nobody Noticed revealed that LinkedIn had quietly launched a new service called “ProFinder.” It’s a freelance-for-hire marketplace. I’ve not seen much mention of the service on LinkedIn, nor have I received any announcement, but they’ve been beta testing it since October 2015. So I checked it out. [Read more…]

7 Harsh Realities of Self-Publishing as a Side Hustle

By Ryan Hanley

Guest post by Ryan Hanley.

It’s easy to romanticize self-publishing.

Indeed, self-publishing is an amazing experience for sure, but romantic, it is not.

I’d like to share with you a few realities of self-publishing learned while producing my first book, Content Warfare: How to find your audience, tell your story and win the battle for attention online.

Writing Content Warfare was my side hustle. I have a full-time job. I’m the managing editor of Agency Nation, a digital publication for the insurance industry. Not to mention maintaining my own podcast and blog.

Self-publishing is a side hustle for many first-time authors. But as a first-time author, there are aspects of self-publishing you haven’t experienced yet. [Read more…]

How to Present Like a TEDx Speaker | Conversation with Britta Wenske

By Denise Wakeman

In this episode of Conversations with Experts, I welcome Britta Wenske of Speak Up Now. Britta’s passion is to help you take your public speaking skills from adequate to amazing – on stage, on camera and beyond!

Does this sound familiar? You are delivering your presentation and somehow you cannot seem to captivate your audience. People seem bored and uninspired. You leave the stage feeling you have not made your point. That’s what we address in this Conversation… how to turn that around.

[Read more…]