The
Domain Success Manifesto
The Domain Success Manifesto
There is no secret that a domain name plays a critical
role in a company's overall brand strategy. But what role does a
domain name play when building the most important brand you have
control over, your own personal brand?
This valuable, but less implemented, brand strategy
is arguably one of the best investments that many individuals have
yet to take full advantage of in today's wired world.
One of the most effective ways to build personal brand is through
a domain name. To show what I mean, let's look at Michael Simmons
of SuccessManifesto.com, a successful entrepreneur who is using
a domain name to build his personal brand while also helping bring
attention to his new book The Student Success Manifesto, The Guide
to Creating a life of Passion, Purpose and Prosperity.
At the age of 21, Michael is a student at the Stern School of Business
at New York University, an author, and an award-winning entrepreneur.
Michael has written popular articles on entrepreneurship that have
been published by Entrepreneur.com, College Bound Magazine, and
Whizteens in Business. He has a unique perspective on the importance
of personal brand and how it plays a role in helping people achieve
their goals.
According to Michael's book, knowing how to brand yourself is critical.
In the same way that companies have a brand, individuals have one.
By becoming aware that you are a brand, you too can leverage it
to achieve your goals.
In The Student Success Manifesto, personal brand is composed of
three parts. I have listed the three parts below, but for the purpose
of this article I have changed the meanings to better relate them
to domain names:
1: Communication - The overall message a domain name says about
you 2: Credentials - The phrasing in the domain name that communicates
experience 3: Reputation -The phrasing in the domain name that communicates
trust
In order to have a positive image associated with a personal brand
it is important to have a domain name that is able to bring all
three of these parts together to deliver one meaningful message.
Just think of the benefits of having your own personal brand associated
with a well known and successful domain name!
An individual's association with a highly credible, trusted and
meaningful domain name can be leveraged to get jobs, network with
people, acquire customers and clients or fulfill any other desirable
goal. By having a domain name associated with these three intangible
assets, personal brand can be leveraged to achieve any purpose.
Michael knows how to leverage a domain name to improve personal
brand recognition. Michael is not only the successful brand strategist
behind SuccessManifesto.com but he also co-founded PrincetonWebSolutions.com
when he was only sixteen years old.
The company later went on to become the #1 youth-run web development
company in the nation in the year 2000. Michael credits much of
his personal brand building success to his carefully planned domain
name strategy.
Michael's latest domain name strategy involves the launch of SuccessManifesto.com,
a domain name and web site that prominently displays his personal
brand as the main theme. The site features his own image, personal
achievements, and an online journal that helps bridge the gap between
him and his inspired readers.
The domain name and web site also serves the purpose of helping
him gain credibility with young people and giving them access to
his new book The Student Success Manifesto.
Another interesting brand strategy Michael has implemented with
his domain name and web site is his ability to blend his company
brand with his own personal brand. After visiting SuccessManifesto.com,
visitors come away with the perception that Michael Simmons, the
person, displays the same characteristics and values that the Extreme
Entrepreneurship Education Corporation, his company, holds.
Whether he is starting a new business or promoting a book, Michael
has always demonstrated an ability to use a highly brand-able, trusted
and persuasive domain name as part of his strategy. This method
has been used to build credibility with his target market.
His innovative approach of using a domain name for his personal
brand building through SuccessManifesto.com gives Michael a clear
and competitive advantage over other individuals who do not have
a domain name or are only using conventional means to build their
personal brand.
To date, using a domain name as the foundation to build one's own
brand can still be considered an unconventional route. The good
news is that only success and growth have come to individuals who
have chosen this less traveled path towards personal brand building.
About the Author Shaun Cronrath is the
President & CEO of DomainPurpose.com (http://www.domainpurpose.com),
a domain name registration company offering all the major domain
extensions -- .com, .net, .org, .info, .biz, .name, .ca, .us, .cn,
.eu, .de, .pro and more.
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