If you have to give a talk to a live audience or make business presentations to prospective clients or stakeholders, then someone will almost certainly check beforehand. 2,200 years ago Aristotle understood the importance of reputation. He suggested that while logic (Logos) and emotional reasoning (Pathos) might eventually win a debate, it is Ethos, our character and values, that pre-set the level of acceptance we are accorded.

So with Google and the like, making it as easy for others to verify us establishing a credible reputation is as essential these days as having a business card. Here are some essential and useful ways you can build your reputation and personal brand.

1. Be very clear with yourself! Create a clear statement of what you do, and more importantly describe what you really do for your customers. Clarify what your signature skill is that sets you apart in a relevant way in your particular market. Write this down in a story you can deliver as a 1 minute 5 minute speech and with more case study examples as a 20 minute talk.

2. Add something special about yourself. Olympic champion would be fantastic, but self-help through sponsored runs, standing up for others, changing your own life, practicing martial arts, all say something extra about you.

3. Write about what you do. Being an author makes you an authority. The hardcover book variety is great, but eBooks provide an easier entry level. Read how others do it and learn from them.

4. Write articles that share your knowledge and post them on your website as free downloads. Learn by modeling the style of the most widely read authors. Publish your articles on article directories like EzineArticles, articlebase, and goarticles, all of which offer great editorial support. Regular article submissions linking to your website provide fresh content that search engines like.

5. Write a blog (weekly is good) that in theme and content is consistent with your personal brand. Sync it with your current articles and also search for current news links to get the most topicality and take advantage of search keywords. Blogger.com and wordpress.org offer simple to use platforms. Seek help from experienced bloggers who want to share their knowledge. Yaro and Gideon at Becomeablogger.com and Leo Babauta are typical of many.

6. Find blogs of common interest and then write a guest post on your blog to start sharing reciprocal interests. Turn it into a value-added post that encourages them to follow you. Check out Digg and Stumbleupon to see what’s drawing interest from the blogging community. Join common discussion groups.

7. Join Linkedin and offer testimonials for your ex-colleagues, remembering the “Paying it forward” principle. Find common interest groups and join their discussions. Post your own questions and create your own discussion group. Collect the answers to your questions as source material for articles. Link your blog to Linkedin.

8. Join Twitter. Set a weekly tweet goal so you remember it. Search for current news and relevant links of interest to keep your Tweets interesting. Keep them consistent with your personal brand and relevant to your blog and articles. Use Twitterfeed to submit your blogs to Twitter.

9. Scan online newspapers and magazines for your particular market. Join their blogs. Post answers to your readers’ questions and polls. Keep answers consistent with your brand, they may come back and bite you! Submit articles to professional journals.

10. Create your own personal brand website. Basic self-build packages with free hosting are available through guys like weebly.com and wix.com. Post your blog and articles and other free giveaways. Offer a “public service” with reviews of products, services or vendors relevant to your market. Make it a site that visitors want to bookmark and share with others. Publish a newsletter with recent customer case histories, plus your glowing testimonials. Use a web design company if image is a key attribute of your brand.

11. Create a bio that will be used across all of your online locations to provide a consistent story. Make sure it’s consistent with both your business proposition and distinctive talent, and your brand personality.

12. And don’t forget the offline world. Attend the Business Networking Groups that are relevant to your Brand and Market. Offer free sample sessions of what you do. And never stop giving recommendations from people who have worked with you, what happens, comes back! And always ask for referrals from people you’ve worked for – word of mouth is still the best reputation builder of all!

Copyright © Bob Howard-Spink