I disagree

Over my vacation, as my wife and I were driving through some mountains, I caught up on some reading and was disappointed with some of the advice I read from a marketing guru.

He said that you don't need to brand yourself, instead you should send out an offer for something free.

To this, I respectfully disagree.

The very best form of marketing, is often when a third party, perhaps a customer, tells others about you in the form of a referral without compensation. This is true word of mouth in its purest form.

I have personally benefited from "branding activities" that have resulted in exactly what I mentioned in the previous paragraph.

Later this month, I will be doing public speaking, authoring an article on marketing and advertising, interviewed for a business news success article and it all comes from the work that I have done "branding" myself.

Branding, when done properly creates trust. It builds relationships, it creates credibility. It eliminates the need to discount, or give away stuff.

Now, I said I "respectfully" disagree, because the man who wrote the book I was reading has achieved a level of success doing what he preaches.

But I wonder how much more successful he would be if he followed my advice instead?