What Is Personal Branding?

Personal branding is a description of the processes whereby people and their careers are marked as brands. Personal branding is a concept first used by Napoleon Hill in 1937. He is the author of the seminal self-help book, Think & Grow Rich.

Another way to help you understand personal branding is in answer to this questions: “What do people say about you when you are not there? How do they describe you when they cannot think of your name?”

Branding is not optional. It happens whether you do anything about it or not. It's your choice to decide if you will control how people describe you or let strangers do it for you. Of course, you can't control what people say, but you can influence what they think, and that affects what they say.

Personal branding helps artists stand out from their competitors and leverage the different ways they reach their audience. The three reasons for you to work at your personal brand are to be:

• Definable
• Understandable
• Recognizable

Your brand is your promise to your customer. It helps them know who you are and what your art means to you, and potentially to them. Your personal brand is how you stand out from your competitors. It is a composition of who you are, where you are going with your career, and how you want people to perceive you.

About Your Instructor

My name is Barney Davey. I launched my first marketing and advertising business in my 20s. Over the course of my career I have helped thousands of small businesses learn how to market their products and services.

Eventually, I sold my business and took a position as a senior account executive and then VP of Customer Development for a top trade magazine publishing and trade show exhibition company.

We served a variety of small business markets, including:

• Artists, Galleries, Publishers & Picture Framing Retailers
• Property & Casualty Insurance Agents
• Life & Health Insurance Agents
• Private Club Management & Operations
• Hospitality & Travel
• Interior Design & Decorative Accessories

The exposure into how small businesses succeeded in such a wide range of industries was a fantastic learning experience. I use the wisdom and insights I gained to start helping artists and other entrepreneurs create profitable marketing systems.

I am the author of six bestselling books on the business of art:

• Straight Advice: How to Market Art Online
• Guerrilla Marketing for Artists: How 100 Collectors Can Bulletproof Your Career
• How to Sell Art to Interior Designers
• The Zen of Selling Art
• How to Profit from the Art Print Market
• How to Price Digital Fine Art Prints

My articles have been published in Art World News, Art Business Newsand The Artist’s Magazine. My How to Profit from the Art Print Marketbook was featured in the North Light Book Club. It is the book club for F+W Media, the parent company of The Artist’s Magazine.I have produced and delivered hundreds of live workshops and online webinars for artists on art marketing.

I have been featured in, written for or worked with these industry leading media companies, and more.

Artists Hone Their Art Marketing Skills with My Help.

You can get a clear idea of the marketing insights and industry knowledge I share by visiting my Art Marketing News blog. You’ll find more than 600 art business and marketing posts. Among art business blogs, it is ranked #1 by Art Business News. Each of my six books on art marketing have ranked #1 on the “Business of Art” bestsellers liston Amazon.com.

Unique Background Pays Off for Artists & Photographers.

My Art Marketing Wisdom Comes out of My Experiences.

I have been blessed with the good fortune to work with top producing small businesses in a variety of industries. The experiences gave me a treasure trove of insider knowledge. I put those first hand observations on what the most successful artists do to succeed to work for you.

I was honored to be interviewed by Bottom Line Personal in December 2016. Its 750,000 circulation helped boost my bottom line that month.