First Impressions Matter

Putting your best foot forward
What’s the best thing you can do for yourself as an independent artist? You can create an amazing first impression. Before you even start to mess around with logos and colors for your business card, give some thought to a website. MySpace, ReverbNation and Facebook are great and valuable to augment your web presence but they really shouldn’t be your only presence.

First and foremost, utilize your best asset – you and your authenticity. Do you have a unique name? Consider using that for a domain name. It’s a great way to brand yourself as, well, YOU!

What if you have a more common name like Jenny Smith? If JennySmith.com is already taken then be creative. How about JennySmithRockChick.com? Then, your email address can be jenny@jennysmithrockchick.com. It will get you a lot more serious attention then jennysmithrockchick@yahoo.com will. If you’re serious about putting yourself out there, then you need to consider this – BEFORE you make your business cards.

Want more information on branding yourself and your work? Here are 3 great resources for more information on branding and creating

Ted Demopolous
http://www.effectiveinternetpresence.com
Ted’s free ebook is outstanding and helpful for understanding how to create an effective internet presence.

Phil Gerbyshak
http://www.makeitgreatguy.com
In addition to writing some very helpful articles, he’s a branding guru who can help you find what you’re looking for. You can download a free ebook from Phil on personal branding at http://makeitgreat08.com

Dan Schawbel
http://personalbrandingblog.wordpress.com/
Dan has book reviews, interviews with experts, and tons of other resources that you can learn from.

Remember you only get 1 chance to make a first impression! What are some resources you have found to be successful? Please let me know. I’d love to share some more ideas.