Wow, what a fun interview with so much gold from holistic voice and public speaking coach, Sally Prosser.

Sally helps leaders, entrepreneurs and professionals to unleash the magic of their voice.

Initial focus of our chat is all around TikTok, and how the channel is really working for Sally's personal brand.

Sally has been on TikTok for a few years now and has amassed nearly 350,000 followers and 4.4M 'likes' of her videos.

But we broaden the conversation into using voice as an expression of oneself, and how to use it strategically across social media, and the 'virtual stage' generally.

As Sally says: "Nobody ever changed the world by staying quiet!"

So, if you want to know more about TikTok and how it can work for your brand and your business - along with short-form video and voice more broadly - you'll get a lot of value from this episode!

It's a very free-flowing and energetic chat. I hope you enjoy it.

Let's hear from Sally now!

I've invited content strategist and podcast producer Brendan Keogh back on to the show to help me recap a previous interview I recorded with LinkedIn expert, Richard van der Blom.

My interview with Richard was all around 'unlocking the LinkedIn algorithm', as we delved into his recently-released, well-researched LINKEDIN ALGORITHM REPORT.

Richard shared so many insights and tips (in episode 254), so it was terrific to sit down with Brendan to dig deeper into topics raised in that interview.

We also riff on another previous episode (#255) all around building your brand on LinkedIn with Michelle B Griffin & Michelle J Raymond.

Lots and lots of LinkedIn gold folks - I hope you enjoy it!

In this episode, I chat with Michelle B Griffin and Michelle J Raymond (AKA #MichelleSquared) about their new book - The LinkedIn Branding Book: The Power of Two: How to Double Your Personal and Business Brand for Exponential Growth.

Michelle and Michelle met on LinkedIn through the power of commenting in December 2020.

Together they have supported each other with complimentary yet different strengths to rise up and stand out on LinkedIn with their personal branding and business branding businesses.

Both quickly realized that the “Power of Two” as #MichelleSquared was a force for good that would propel success more than what was possible on their own.

This is a fun and informative chat!

We get the nitty-gritty on why and how Michelle and Michelle wrote the book - plus they dig into topics such as:

• the importance of mindset when building your presence on LinkedIn
• how to start strong by getting your branding foundations right
• what both Michelles learned while writing the book
• the multiplier effect that comes with collaborating with others, and how to find 'power partners' for mutual benefit

... plus we hear Michelle and Michelle's respective stories, and the lessons learned along the way while building their profiles on LinkedIn, and growing their business generally.

If you're interested in expanding your presence on LinkedIn in a way that's going to contribute to your business in a positive way, this episode is definitely worth a listen!

Read more about #MichelleSquared and their new book here

If you're wanting to elevate your professional profile and grow your reputation as a leading, credible voice in your industry, there's every chance LinkedIn should be a key part of your communications armoury.

No doubt you are already on the platform ... but are you using it well?

Are you putting in the requisite effort to gain the benefits in terms of building your brand, positioning yourself as a thought leader, developing relationships ... and even generating new business leads?

Whether the answer is "yes" or "no", I think you'll get heaps out of this podcast interview.

LinkedIn has undergone - and continues to undergo - significant change.

It may have been a latecomer to the social media ball in terms of user experience, uptake and usage - the ugly duckling, as it were - but LinkedIn has certainly transformed into something of a social swan!

My guest today comes to us from Valencia in Spain: his name is Richard van der Blom, and he's a world-renowned expert on LinkedIn, and in particular, its algorithm.

Richard runs a LinkedIn and social selling agency called JUST CONNECTING, and he's an absolute gun when it comes to LinkedIn; his content is top notch, and I recommend you follow him to learn more about how to use the platform more effectively.

I got Richard on the show specifically to chat about his recently-released LINKEDIN ALGORITHM REPORT, which has gone viral on the platform, and rightly so. The report is comprehensive and took over 1200 hours of work, with some 10,000 posts analysed in the process.

Plus we cover heaps more! Let's get into it!

In this episode, I'm joined by a semi-regular guest of the show - Mark Masters, fromYou Are The Media - to recap last weeks episode in which I spoke to leading marketing blogger, Mark Schaefer, about his new book, 'Belonging to the Brand'.

[ Check out episode 252: The power of community with best-selling author, Mark Schaefer ]

Mark (Masters) happens to feature in Mark Schaefer's book with his "supportive marketing learning community" You Are The Media (YATM), based on the south coast of England (but operating virtually, globally).

Under the YATM banner, Mark produces a long-running email newsletter, and runs social events, conferences and training days; he recently extended the community on to the Circle platform, giving it an interactive online hub of its own.

Mark also operates a consulting business - called We Are The Media - in tandem with YATM.

This is a fun and informative chat. While Mark and I refer often to Mark Schaefer's book (and the interview I did with him), we also take the topic of 'community' and run wild with it!

I hope you enjoy the convo!

Let's face it ...

It's pretty damn tough running a business today, getting your name out there and connecting with clients and customers, and the people who influence them - especially if you lack a sizeable budget to do so.

Traditional advertising is rarely effective these days and is out of reach for most small business owners anyway, while many default digital marketing tactics no longer seem to work as well as they used to.

But there is a way through for those entrepreneurs who are willing to explore some new ideas while at the same time be respectful as to how they show up in the marketplace.

At the Reputation Revolution, we're all about building a sustainable base of communications for our professional personal brand which, for many of us, also adds considerable weight to the overall marketing of our businesses. In many cases, we ARE the business.

We look at strategic PR and communications and all that entails, including content creation for our owned media channels, we cover social media of course, as well as earned media such as publicity, media relations, influencer relations and public speaking.

Growing an audience of followers and subscribers is all part of the program: an audience of fans and allies, champions of our personal brand, of what it is we do and stand for - an audience made up of potential advocates, influencers, clients and customers.

But can we go deeper, and build a genuine community around our ideas, or a specific topic or issue?

Community as a concept has been kicking around for a while now, but it's taken on new significance in recent times, for many of the aforementioned reasons.

At best, it's grossly misunderstood, at worst, it's been consigned to the bin of marketing buzzwords!.

But we're about to change that in this episode!

Today's expert guest gives us the rundown on communities from a strategic marketing standpoint.

Indeed, he's just released a book on the topic!

His name is Mark Schaefer, and the book is called BELONGING TO THE BRAND: Why Community is the Last Great Marketing Strategy.

Mark is one of the world's leading marketing futurists and keynote speakers; he's also a best-selling author, a veteran blogger and podcaster, a business consultant and educator of note.

He's a true thought leader, in a world where there are plenty of wannabe's - and he embodies all the things we talk about here on the Reputation Revolution.

Let's meet him, shall we?

Web3 - the Metaverse - virtual reality, NFTs, AI, Blockchain - and let's not forget crypto and digital wallets.

You've heard the terms, but what do they all mean? How do they relate to one another?

And, importantly, when it comes to building a professional personal brand - growing your profile and enhancing your reputation in the marketplace: what role can Web3 and the Metaverse play in all of this?

You'll want to tune into this episode because we have a genuine expert in the space to guide us through the Web3 jungle: his name is Mitch Jackson, he's an award-winning litigation lawyer from California who is renowned for being ahead of the pack when it comes to social media and digital marketing ... and now, Web3 and the metaverse.

Mitch also runs a consultancy called ManeuVR, which shows creators, entrepreneurs, and business owners how to leverage web3 and the metaverse to create unique brands, new opportunities, and drive additional lanes of revenue.

He has recently published a book with his son Garrett: The Web3, Metaverse and AI Handbook - check it out on Amazon.

There's a lot happening in this space, and as business owners, professionals, thought leaders and content creators, we need to stay in touch with what's going on, so we can adapt quickly and see opportunities as they arise.

This is a bumper episode folks. Let's get the lowdown from Mitch right now!

In this opening episode for Season 7 - our 250th no less! - we have something special in store for you 👏

To mark the occasion, I invited some past guests of the show to give us a brief answer to an open-ended question:

"From a personal branding or professional marketing perspective, what's the one thing that's really working well for you currently?"

Lots of interesting answers, including some timely reminders for us all! #Gold

It is indeed a bumper episode and a bit longer than usual as we feature 17 contributors all up (in no particular order):

1. Mitch Jackson
2. Nic Hayes
3. Susanna Reay
4. Adam Franklin
5. Tristan White
6. Jane Tabachnick
7. Heath Evans
8. Julian Mather
9. Sarah Mitchell
10. Mark Masters
11. Michelle B. Griffin
12. Alan & Emily Braithwaite
13. Mark Schaefer
14. Dr Jen Frahm
15. John Espirian
16. Myles Harris
17. Michelle J. Raymond

Thank you folks for giving up your time to contribute to this episode, and thank you dear listener for lending us your ears and taking time out of your busy schedule to check out the podcast!

SUBSCRIBE TO THE REPUTATION REVOLUTION NEWSLETTER HERE

Welcome to the finale to season 6 of the Reputation Revolution podcast.

In this special bumper episode, we recap our wonderful guests and play sound-bites of their interviews.

Expect stories, lessons, tips and advice from people who are in the trenches and are out there building, or helping others build, their professional personal brand.

If this is the first episode you're listening to, lucky you, you'll get a really good flavour for what we cover here on the show.

If you're a regular listener, get ready to be reminded of some of the highlights of the season; maybe you missed some guests and this might prompt you to go back and listen to those episodes for the first time, or perhaps you caught them initially and will be motivated to check back and listen to a particular episode again.

Either/or, this is an all-encompassing episode featuring a lot of insights and ideas in one self-contained package:

I hope you enjoy it. 

Topics touched on include:

• Personal brand vs business brand
• How to grow your personal brand-based business using paid media & digital ads 
• Grounding yourself in your story and your message
• How to use press releases to increase personal brand visibility & credibility
• How Oscar Trimboli built a global business around his professional personal brand
• Expert vs thought leader: what’s the difference?
• Unlocking & shaping your ideas through deep content
• How to build your personal brand using LinkedIn Company Pages
• Productise your knowledge + scale your impact
• How Joyce Ong uses transparency & fun to cut through the noise
• Exploring the possibilities that come with today’s Reputation Economy
• Developing a digital media mindset & experimenting with short-form video
• Going small to make it BIG with earned media
• How lawyer Alex Martin uses LinkedIn, podcasts and the media to build strategic visibility and trust in the marketplace
• How brand strategist Mark Drager built a YouTube show generating 4M views

If you only listen to one episode of the podcast this year, this is surely it!

One of the trends I've been highlighting for a while now is producing a 'destination' show instead of simply doing a podcast, or just a YouTube video.

Add a bit of meat to it. Theme it. Make it multimedia so people can listen if they prefer that, or watch it on YouTube, or read about it if necessary. Cut it into snippets to share across social media. Give it a name, create a sub-branded media property, as I've been calling it for years now: turn it into a platform with editorial integrity!

It's a destination show for a couple of reasons: (a) people go looking for it, they subscribe to it, they opt-in - it's a regular thing in terms of their content consumption. And (b) with all the bite-sized snippets you're putting out there - micro videos, quote cards, photos and images, pithy lessons learned ... these act as digital breadcrumbs to draw people back to your show, it's the destination, as it were.

It's a doorway into your personal brand orbit. For some people, it's how they find and interact with you.

So if you're an entrepreneur, a professional expert, an emerging thought leaders and you want to take things up a notch or two, creating a show is potentially something you might like to think about.

This is the key theme of today's episode.

My guest is brand strategist and agency owner, Mark Drager.

Mark produces a combination YouTube show and podcast (We Do Hard Things), through which he delivers terrific interviews with big names in their respective fields e.g.

• Lisa Bilyeu (BILLyou), cofounder of billion dollar company Quest Nutrition;
• motivational speaker Les Brown;
• TV presenter, Charley Boorman, who did the Long Way Around series with Ewan McGregor;
• author and podcaster James Altucher;
• Anthony Trucks, a former NFL Athlete, American Ninja Warrior.

Mark's YouTube channel has generated close to 4 million views, and his podcast continues to grow in leaps and bounds.

How does Mark approach the production of such a show, and what motivates him to put himself out there, to play big and be bold?

Our conversation covers a lot of territory, and it zips along at a decent clip.

Mark discusses:

• why being "safe and soft" was the impetus to create his show WE DO HARD THINGS 2 years ago: "It's for dreamers and entrepreneurs who need to hear the stories of people who have the courage to put themselves first and pursue their passions at all costs"
• how he secures high calibre interview guests: entrepreneurs, athletes, professors, authors ... "bad ass people", as he lovingly describes them
• how getting your pitch right can help you stand out
• the differences between the video and audio-only experience (and how that affects how the show is produced)
• the reason why he is going all-in on YouTube: "We are producing a level of assets ... I want this to look and feel like a television show"
• The 'e' storytelling technique, which he's found useful in developing his interview style

We also address the vexed question: Should a lawyer produce a podcast about coffee? (Mark's answer might surprise you).

MARK'S QUOTABLE QUOTES:

• "Eventually, people don't come to you because of the thing you make, they come to you because of how you think." 
• "There's an audience for everything. It's your job to create content that's worth listening to ... to stand out and be different."

It's an inspiring high-energy conversation: I think you'll like it!

CONNECT WITH MARK:

• Website
• YouTube channel

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LEARN HOW TO BECOME A CREDIBLE, INFLUENTIAL VOICE IN YOUR INDUSTRY!

LEARN MORE:  https://bit.ly/CAAPlus2023 (or feel free to drop me a DM here) ... or book in a no-obligation free Zoom call  https://bit.ly/TY_AMAzoom

In the previous episode (#246), I spoke with lawyer Alex Martin about his personal branding journey, and how he's spent this year strategically building his professional profile and reputation in the marketplace.

In this episode, content coach Brendan Keogh and I dissect my conversation with Alex, unpacking key insights and takeaways that we found interesting, informative and relevant.

From pretty much a standing start (publishing the odd post on LinkedIn, but not with any purpose or direction), in 2022 Alex has:

• adhered to a strategic content plan
• regularly produced videos for LinkedIn and YouTube
• co-hosted 23 podcast episodes ('A Lawyer and Financial Advisor Walk into a Bar', alongside Dave Murdoch)
• appeared on national TV (Sky News)
• written articles for business publications
• been interviewed some 20 times on commercial radio about topical issues that showcased his legal expertise

In short, Alex has had a big year in terms of creating content, being in the media and building personal brand visibility.

Brendan and I dig in deep into Alex's case study.

Our discussion (and the previous episode with Alex) will be of particular interest to anyone keen to grow their professional personal brand and in doing so, position themselves as a credible, influential voice in their field.

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LEARN HOW TO BECOME A CREDIBLE, INFLUENTIAL VOICE IN YOUR INDUSTRY!

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LEARN MORE:  https://bit.ly/CAAPlus2023 (or feel free to drop me a DM here) ... or book in a no-obligation free Zoom call https://bit.ly/TY_AMAzoom

Cheers, Trevor

This show is dedicated to people like today's guest: business owner and litigation expert, Alex Martin, from Taurus Legal Management.

Twelve months ago, Alex's personal branding endeavours largely revolved around in-person networking, but as he says, you can only shake so many hands!

He also published the occasional post on LinkedIn, but not with any purpose or direction.

But Alex is an action-taker. He knew he needed to raise his profile and position himself as an expert in his space if he was to build his professional reputation and that of his legal firm.

So Alex went back to basics, and started following a strategic plan.

Having a plan, he says, "makes a lot more sense and has a lot more impact".

Today, Alex takes an integrated approach to content across owned, earned and media channels.

On LinkedIn, he regularly publishes videos that address the common challenges and pain-points faced by his audience, owners of growing medium-sized businesses.

Plus he uses the platform to share commentary on relevant commercial legal issues that are covered by the media.

But that's just one leg of the three-legged 'media stool'.

While steadily building his presence on LinkedIn was an important first step that has resulted in him more than doubling his following on the platform, Alex has also branched out into the other two legs of the media stool - owned media, and earned media.

He hosts a regular podcast with a financial advisor - A Lawyer and Financial Advisor Walk into a Bar - he also publishes videos to YouTube, writes articles for business magazines, and is a regular expert interview guest on commercial radio and national television. 

Critically, Alex is only 12 months into his personal branding journey, but he's doing it in a way that's both strategic and sustainable. The 'runs on the board' are piling up, and he's starting to really get noticed in legal circles for his commentary and content efforts.

Even one of his clients texted him after he emerged from a broadcast studio after giving an interview to say how he saw him on TV!

In short, Alex has had a big year in terms of creating content, being in the media and building personal brand visibility.

This is an all-encompassing conversation: It's not about doing the one thing and knocking it out of the park, it's about blending many of the key elements that come into play when strategically building one's professional profile and reputation.

Alex has done that, and more: this is his story.

In the previous episode of the podcast, I chatted with world-renowned marketing blogger and best-selling author, Mark Schaefer.

Mark discussed how he has managed to continue to evolve as an author, a speaker, a blogger, and as as a personal brand.

In this episode, content coach Brendan Keogh and I dissect my conversation with Mark, riffing on key insights and takeaways that we found interesting, informative and relevant.

Our discussion will be of interest to anyone keen to grow their professional personal brand and position themselves as a thought leader in their chosen field of endeavour.

One theme we dip in and out of here on the podcast is how do we continue to evolve as entrepreneurs and professionals, while concurrently build a sustainable and consistent personal brand over time.

No doubt you've seen the marketing advice around picking a niche and staying in it. And there are elements of that school of thought that stand the test of time.

The niche argument is certainly applicable to bona fide experts - those who genuinely have deep domain expertise and who want to establish themselves as go-to authorities in their field of endeavour.

But, many of the people I work with (and follow on social media, and interview here on the podcast) are curious, multifaceted individuals - they're thought leaders who often cross boundaries and cover different territories.

Yes, they're experts as well in certain areas, but they're also big picture thinkers who spark conversation and connect dots. They don't always have the answers, but they're not afraid to ask questions, explore ideas in public, and bring people along for the ride.

This is why we find their content so interesting, and often challenging at the same time. They force us to rethink the status quo; sometimes they can change the way we think about a particular topic or issue with their concepts and ideas.

In turn, they often build large engaged audiences as a result of their content, their speaking and their media appearances.

Which brings us to today's episode: it's a replay of a previously-published interview with world-renowned blogger, best-selling author and keynote speaker Mark Schaefer.

It's actually part two of my interview with Mark. In part one (episode #192 - 'How to build momentum for your ideas'), we discussed Mark's book, Cumulative Advantage, so you might want to check that one out as well as this one if you haven't already done so!

In part two (episode #193 - this particular interview), the conversation heads down the path of thought leadership, and how Mark has managed to continue to evolve as an author, a speaker, a blogger, and as as a personal brand.

This discussion will interest anyone keen to grow their professional personal brand and position themselves as a thought leader in their chosen field of endeavour. Enjoy!

Quotable Quote: "It doesn't matter how hard you work and how well you execute, if the strategy is wrong in the first place."

CONNECT WITH MARK:

• Website
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• YouTube

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Reputation Revolution is the professional personal branding show for experts, entrepreneurs and emerging thought leaders.

Hosted by the PR Warrior, Trevor Young, the show focuses on helping credible individuals to build visibility, influence and trust in the marketplace, and in doing so, position themselves to take advantage of today's 'reputation economy'.

Reputation Revolution covers the four core pillars of building a successful and respected professional personal brand:

1. ESTABLISH your voice
2. ENHANCE the credibility of that voice
3. EXTEND the reach of your voice
4. EXTRACT value from the profile and reputation you build in the marketplace

Follow Trevor on Twitter and/or subscribe to the Reputation Revolution newsletter

In the last episode of the podcast, I spoke with Shelby Janner of Zilker Media about getting your name out there by being on other people's podcasts.

In PR industry speak, this is called 'earned media'. Essentially, it refers to coverage received on independent third-party media outlets - it's not paid for, but it is earned.

A massive opportunity for thought leaders and expert influencers today is to pitch themselves as a potential interview subject to niche podcasts. It's far less intimidating that trying to get up an interview on a major talkback radio station, that's for sure!

Podcasts are part of the growing micro-media trend, that is, those niche online channels that are often run by passionate individuals and/or people running small businesses. We're talking here about YouTube shows, live-streams, blogs and email newsletters, as well as podcasts.

In this episode, content strategist Brendan Keogh and I pull out and discuss the key takeaways from my previous interview with Shelby, as well as riff more generally on the opportunity for personal brands to extend the reach of their voice by being on other people's podcasts.

Plenty of ideas and tips in this show folks!

If you're keen to grow your influence beyond your own personal network of friends and connections, then this episode will be of interest!

DID you know REPUTATION REVOLUTION is also a newsletter? I'd love it if you could check it out and/or subscribe if you get a moment!

How to leverage podcast guest appearances to build your professional personal brand 

In this week's show we zero in on earned media, with particular emphasis on podcasts, or more specifically, being a guest on other people's podcasts.

Earned media is a term often used by PR folks. In essence, it refers to coverage received on independent third-party media outlets - it's not paid for, but it is earned.

Whether you've built your personal brand so well that media outlets are coming to you, or you're putting in the time and effort to pitch your story to the media outlets: it's still earned. 

You've earned the right for that media channel to quote you, to cover your story, to publish an interview with you.

And by media, we're talking about the whole gamut here baby: at the top end, you're looking at Tier 1 media outlets such as national and metro newspapers and magazines, commercial radio and TV.

Then there are what you'd call Tier 2 media - vertical magazine titles, mainstream blogs, industry publications.

And we keep moving down the 'media ladder' until we get to micro-media, that is, those niche online channels that are often run by passionate individuals and/or people running small businesses. We're talking here about podcasts, YouTube shows, live-streams, blogs and email newsletters. 

It's this lower tier of niche media that we dig into in this episode, with a strong focus on podcasts.

We'll allude to the other types of channels, but podcasting is where it's at in this episode: how to extend your reach by becoming a guest on other people's podcasts. 

To help me unpack what it all means, and how you too can build your personal brand by appearing as a guest on other people's podcasts, I'm joined by SHELBY JANNER - Chief Publicity Director at Zilker Media.

Shelby is an expert in pitching podcasts, she has led Zilker Media’s PR team to reach 2.5 million listeners in the past 2 years alone, booking over 100 different podcasts for Zilker Media’s clients.

If you're keen to extend the reach of your voice and grow your influence beyond your own personal network of friends and connections, then this episode will be of interest!

The micro-media channels may be small, but they can be powerful - and there are no shortage of opportunities available for savvy experts and thought leaders!

Let's get into it!

P.S. Visit PodcastGuestInsider.com to get your first month of Zilker Media’s new podcast guesting service free. Podcast Guest Insider isn’t just another podcast database. As a subscriber, you’ll get everything you need to pitch yourself to the right podcasts, delivered straight to your inbox. In your first free month alone you’ll get information on 10 vetted podcasts with contact information for you to start pitching yourself to guest on podcasts immediately. 

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Reputation Revolution is brought to you by the **CREDIBLE AUTHORITY ACADEMY. If you like what we talk about here on the Reputation Revolution, you’ll no doubt be interested in what’s on offer at Credible Authority Academy > go to credible authority.com >

ALSO: did you know REPUTATION REVOLUTION is also a newsletter? I'd love it if you could check it out and/or subscribe at reputationrevolution.substack.com.

In the last episode (#240), TikTok enthusiast and business owner, BEN CUSACK, and I discussed the power of experimenting on social media, especially around short-form video.

The theme for that episode was around 'experimentation', and taking risks on social media.

By ‘taking risks’, we're not talking about doing anything stupid on the socials (we're all trying to build professional reputations after all) but really, just letting loose a bit:: Showing more of our authentic selves. Trying new platforms. Experimenting with new technologies. Developing new skills.

There are a lot of good things that come with that too: in the case of Ben Cusack, it was all about gaining confidence in front of the camera.

I call it adopting a digital media mindset, and it's important for anyone wanting to build a thought leader brand to embrace this philosophy.

In this episode, Brendan and I cut loose on all the key elements of my discussion with Ben, including:

• Tackling TikTok
• Experimenting with short-form video
• Moving to YouTube (and experimenting with 'Shorts')
• Ben's LinkedIn content curation strategy (and how he manages to be 'everywhere' on the platform while not spending much time on it
• Productivity and outsourcing

Ben is a 45-year old government grant specialist and business owner whose TikTok account has generated over 10.5 million ‘likes’, with an audience of over 190,000.

He must be doing something right!

Brendan and I unpack all in this episode, but if you're keen to hear straight from Ben, check out Episode #240 as well.

What does it take for a 45-year-old professional to build a following on TikTok of over 190,000, with 10M 'likes' of his videos? HINT: Letting go of perfection and adopting a 'digital media mindset'.

Let's face it, it takes time, effort and planning to build a professional personal brand that people know, trust and respect.

But sometimes, we over-think things. We get stuck inside our own heads when it comes to creating content and using social media to build our profile and our reputation.

If you’re a business owner or a professional expert with years in the trenches and runs on the board, there’s a good chance you might want to get things 100% perfect before publishing anything to social media.

It’s this pursuit of perfection: this over-thinking things around content creation, that might be holding you back and therefore, stunting your PR and personal branding efforts.

Today’s episode theme is around 'experimentation', and taking risks on social media. BEWARE: It's a wide-ranging conversation!

By ‘taking risks’, I’m not talking about doing anything silly.

Just letting loose a bit. Showing more of your authentic self. Trying new platforms. Experimenting with new technologies. Developing new skills.

There are a lot of good things that come with this: in the case of today’s guest, gaining confidence in front of the camera.

I call it adopting a digital media mindset.

Because, to be really successful with your content on social media, it’s as much about mindset as it is about the words you use.

In this episode, we hear from BEN CUSACK, a 45-year old government grant specialist and business owner whose TikTok account has generated over 10 million ‘likes’, with an audience of over 190,000.

In short, Ben takes chances on social media, and it's terrific to hear his story and how he's gained confidence in front of the (mobile phone) camera simply by doing, by putting himself out there and not taking things too seriously.

Ben and I cover TikTok, YouTube Shorts, turning blog posts into videos using AI, content curation on LinkedIn and increasing personal productivity through outsourcing.

If you tend to over-cook things on social media and have not yet broken out of the mindset that something needs to be perfect in order to be professional, then this episode is for you!

CONNECT WITH BEN:

• TikTok
• Website
• LinkedIn
• YouTube

#LearnByDoing #DigitalMediaMindset #ProgressNotPerfection

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Reputation Revolution is brought to you by the **CREDIBLE AUTHORITY ACADEMY: **GROW YOUR INFLUENCE, CREATE MORE IMPACT! LEARN HOW TO BECOME A CREDIBLE, INFLUENTIAL VOICE IN YOUR INDUSTRY > go to credible authority.com > if you like what we talk about here on the Reputation Revolution, you’ll no doubt be interested in what’s on offer at Credible Authority Academy.

In the last episode (#237), personal branding coach BEC SANDS and I explored the possibilities that come with being a thought leader, or recognised expert, in today's dynamic 'Reputation Economy'.

Of course, positioning oneself for personal branding success requires a bit of planning, including an initial focus on clarity and mindset - topics we discussed in that original interview.

In this episode, content strategist and podcast producer, Brendan Keogh, and I recap the Bec Sands interview, pulling out and discussing actionable insights that you can use!

Some of the topics covered include:

• getting out of your comfort zone
• dealing with limiting beliefs
• prioritising - and doing - the work required
• establishing a lifestyle business that enables people to work effectively from anywhere

We also recap Bec's story of how she live-streamed every week on Instagram in order to help her overcome her reticence about appearing on camera.

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Reputation Revolution is brought to you by the **CREDIBLE AUTHORITY ACADEMY: **GROW YOUR INFLUENCE, CREATE MORE IMPACT! LEARN HOW TO BECOME A CREDIBLE, INFLUENTIAL VOICE IN YOUR INDUSTRY > go to credible authority.com > if you like what we talk about here on the Reputation Revolution, you’ll no doubt be interested in what’s on offer at Credible Authority Academy.

According to the Macmillan dictionary, the Reputation Economy is one in which the reputation of an individual, product or business - as decided by the judgements of others - is their most important asset.

We’re all about the individual, here on the Reputation Revolution. We’re talking about the power of the personal brand, folks, and how it’s now the biggest asset we have.

The way I look at it: why wouldn’t you want to put your best foot forward? Why wouldn’t you want to influence the perceptions that people have of you? Not in a slimy and fake way, but with authenticity, by adding value and serving others.

The possibilities for those individuals who understand the power of reputation, and are able to grow their brand in a genuine way: they’re endless. 

But there are roadblocks many of us have. Some people have issues with clarity in how they want to show up in the world. Others have limiting beliefs that hold them back.

We can create a pathway for ourselves: we can take control of our professional lives, and influence in a positive and genuine way how people perceive us. That’s the theme for today’s episode.

My guest today is BEC SANDS, who helps exceptional people build personal brands and stand out as the go-to thought leaders in their fields of expertise.

Bec and I explore the possibilities that come with being a thought leader or recognised expert.

There are roughly two parts to our conversation:

(1) mindset and clarity, and

(2) the opportunities that come with being an active participant in today’s reputation economy.

In terms of mindset, we unpack the various roadblocks and how people can overcome them. These limiting beliefs include an unwillingness to change, imposter syndrome and the pursuit of perfectionism.

We also chat about making the jump from career to running a personal brand-based business with the ability to work from anywhere.

Along the way Bec shares her story how live-streaming every week on Instagram helped her overcome her reticence about appearing on camera.

If you're wanting to take your thought leadership journey more seriously, this episode is for you!

CONNECT WITH BEC:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Instagram

Reputation Revolution is brought to you by the **CREDIBLE AUTHORITY ACADEMY: **GROW YOUR INFLUENCE, CREATE MORE IMPACT! LEARN HOW TO BECOME A CREDIBLE, INFLUENTIAL VOICE IN YOUR INDUSTRY > go to credible authority.com > if you like what we talk about here on the Reputation Revolution, you’ll no doubt be interested in what’s on offer at Credible Authority Academy.

In the last episode (#236) I chatted with Joyce Ong, founder of Tax Nuggets Academy, about using transparency & fun to cut through the noise on social media.

That episode focused on Joyce's story who, from pretty much scratch, has gone from zero-to-hero in terms of her LinkedIn presence. It’s a great story, and she reveals how she went about it in the chat.

In this episode, content strategist and podcast producer, Brendan Keogh, and I recap the Joyce Ong interview, pulling out and discussing actionable insights that you can use!

Reputation Revolution is brought to you by the **CREDIBLE AUTHORITY ACADEMY: **GROW YOUR INFLUENCE, CREATE MORE IMPACT! LEARN HOW TO BECOME A CREDIBLE, INFLUENTIAL VOICE IN YOUR INDUSTRY > go to credible authority.com > if you like what we talk about here on the Reputation Revolution, you’ll no doubt be interested in what’s on offer at Credible Authority Academy.

We hear a lot today about building our personal brand on social media, about the need to be open and transparent online … not to mention that well-worn word — authentic! 

How do we stand out on social media - especially LinkedIn, which as we all know, is a ‘professional’ network, where showing up as your real self can be difficult for many people.

Yet, we also know that dropping the veneer, getting out amongst it, taking people behind the scenes of your business or professional life - showing your personality and bringing your whole self to LinkedIn especially: this can work wonders in terms of building a profile and getting people to take notice of who you are, what you do and what you stand for: all hallmarks of professional personal branding. 

In this episode, we hear from Joyce Ong who, from pretty much scratch, has gone from zero-to-hero in terms of her LinkedIn presence. It’s a great story!

Joyce is co-founder of TAX NUGGETS ACADEMY, which produces bite-sized training videos for SME accountants and tax advisors. She describes herself as an entrepreneur, content creator, disruptor, rebel against boring, and saviour from sucky training! 

In this fun and informative conversation, Joyce explains how she lets it all out on LinkedIn - detailing the ups and downs of life as a startup entrepreneur - and how adhering to her policy of radical transparency on the platform has helped her not only stand out from the pack, but also grow her nascent enterprise.

Joyce walks us through her story, from working as a consultant at the Australian Tax Office, to running her own training business.

Along the way, she prioritised showing up as herself on LinkedIn, a process she found liberating, and unpacks the thinking behind her efforts on the social platform.

During the course of the conversation, Joyce touches on:

• The importance of authenticity on LinkedIn, and why taking people behind the scenes of your professional life can really pay dividends in terms of attracting attention, building an audience and generating business
• The concept of radical transparency, and what it looks like in action
• How much time she spends creating content and responding to comments
• Dealing with negative comments on LinkedIn
• Earned media opportunities that come from having a growing profile
• How she juggles personal brand vs business brand 
• The success she’s having with her early efforts with LinkedIn paid ads

Joyce also squeezes in a shout-out for a role she’s got going at Tax Nuggets Academy (digital marketing manager), and asks - and gets - some in-the-moment advice around podcasting!

• Follow Joyce on LinkedIn
• Visit her website - Tax Nuggets Academy

Reputation Revolution is brought to you by the **CREDIBLE AUTHORITY ACADEMY: **GROW YOUR INFLUENCE, CREATE MORE IMPACT! LEARN HOW TO BECOME A CREDIBLE, INFLUENTIAL VOICE IN YOUR INDUSTRY > go to credible authority.com > if you like what we talk about here on the Reputation Revolution, you’ll no doubt be interested in what’s on offer at Credible Authority Academy.

In the last episode (#234) I chatted with Greg Burgoyne, founder of Course Creators Academy, about productising your knowledge and scaling your impact.

That episode - and this one too - is all about extracting the value from the profile and reputation you build, and is spot-on for knowledge entrepreneurs - speakers, coaches, mentors, teachers, consultants and advisors.

Even if you run a consulting firm or an agency, listen up folks :)

In this episode, content strategist and podcast producer, Brendan Keogh, and I recap the Greg Burgoyne interview, pulling out and discussing actionable insights that you can use!

Greg and I talked about:

* Cohort-based courses, and the stages involved in launching and delivering them

* Self-paced evergreen courses, with or without a community component, plus the hybrid variations (key message: there are lot of different ways to productise and sell your knowledge today!)

* Delivering online training into enterprise-level organisations

* The different types of delivery platforms e.g. Kajabi, Podia (all-in-one platforms) vs course hosting platforms such as Teachable, and Thinkific; marketplaces like Udemy (the “YouTube of paid courses”); WordPress plugin options, plus online community platforms such as Mighty Networks that house courses and training as well as community forums.

In turn, Brendan and I go deeper still, expanding on the points that Greg raised in the original interview.

Some key takeaways include:

• start small
• test and validate your idea
• get feedback and gain insights

... before committing to a the production of a full course.

ALSO: Suck up the marketing function. If you productise your knowledge, you need to also sell what you create!

Bottom line: The opportunities for expanding your knowledge business and scaling your impact are immense!

In this episode we focus on commercialising your personal brand, or what I like to say: extracting value from the profile and reputation you build in the marketplace.

I’m talking about course creation specifically - this will be of particular interest to listeners who are consultants, coaches, advisors - who currently trade time for money and are looking at ways to maximise their revenue without killing themselves in the process.

My guest today is GREG BURGOYNE from New Zealand.

Greg is the founder of the Course Creators Academy; he helps thought leaders and experts (coaches/consultants) unpack their valuable IP and create an offering in order to scale their impact.

In the conversation, we touch on a number of topics associated with the process of productising one's knowledge for commercial gain, including:

* Cohort-based courses, and the stages involved in launching and delivering them

* Self-paced evergreen courses, with or without a community component, plus the hybrid variations (key message: there are lot of different ways to productise and sell your knowledge today!)

* Delivering online training into enterprise-level organisations

* The different types of delivery platforms e.g. Kajabi, Podia (all-in-one platforms) vs course hosting platforms such as Teachable, and Thinkific; marketplaces like Udemy (the “YouTube of paid courses”); WordPress plugin options, plus online community platforms such as Mighty Networks that house courses and training as well as community forums

Greg says it's important when starting out to begin small, validate your idea, then do it live: "don’t necessarily productise it straight away".

We cover self-sabotage, and people's aversion to the marketing and sales function involved in building a business around course creation.

QUOTABLE QUOTE: “Who is going to thank you on the other side of stepping out of your comfort zone?”

Check out Greg's website, or connect with him on LinkedIn.

In the last episode (#232) I chatted with Michelle J. Raymond from Good Trading Co. about LinkedIn Company Pages, and whether they're effective for personal branding purposes.

In this episode, content strategist and podcast producer, Brendan Keogh, and I recap the Michelle interview, pulling out and discussing actionable insights that you can use!

So much gold coming from my chat with Michelle. Topics we covered in the conversation (and largely further discussed with Brendan):

👍 Why it’s worth looking at Company Pages with “a fresh set of eyes”

👍 Why you should think of your LinkedIn Company Page as a "greatest hits album"

👍 Tips to grow your LinkedIn Company Page

👍 Producing LinkedIn Lives: personal profile, or Company Page?

THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY CREDIBLE AUTHORITY ACADEMY: It's your turn to profit from your ideas, your wisdom, and your experience.

If you’re building a professional personal brand today, there’s probably a 95% chance you’re on LinkedIn.

You might not be as strategically active as you could be (that’s a story for another day!), but you at least have a personal profile and probably are publishing content on a regular/semi-regular basis.

If you’re running a business - even if you’re a solopreneur and the business is YOU! - LinkedIn becomes perhaps even more important, so you want to be able to get the most out of the platform.

If this sounds like you, keep reading (or just start listening to this episode!).

So, you have your personal profile buttoned down, but have you thought about setting up a LinkedIn COMPANY PAGE (aka LinkedIn Page, and LinkedIn Business Page)?

Wait … whaaat?

Like many of us, you’re no doubt busy enough without adding what is effectively another social channel!

Hear me out. It might sound counter-intuitive, creating a Company Page if you run a personal brand-based business. I mean, shouldn’t the personal profile be your focus?

Well, yes ... and, no.

My guest for this episode - Michelle J. Raymond - puts forth a solid case as to why having a LinkedIn Company Page, alongside your personal profile, is a savvy marketing move.

Michelle is a B2B social selling consultant and LinkedIn strategist and trainer. She is founder of Good Trading Company, co-author of the book “Business Gold: Build Awareness, Authority and Advantage with LinkedIn Company Pages." - and host of the GOOD FOR BUSINESS show.

Indeed, Michelle is such a huge advocate for LinkedIn Company Pages that she operates three of them, along with her personal profile!

Want to know how she makes them all worth together? Check out this episode!

Topics covered in this conversation:

• Why it’s worth looking at Company Pages with “a fresh set of eyes”
• Why you should think of your LinkedIn Company Page as a "greatest hits album"
• Tips to grow your LinkedIn Company Page
• Producing LinkedIn Lives: personal profile, or Company Page?
• Michelle’s approach to LinkedIn (generally) and how much time she spends on the platform

We also touch on LinkedIn audio events and LinkedIn newsletter functionality

[ QUOTABLE QUOTE ] “Stop collecting Page followers, it’s not inspiring to anybody … start building your B2B community, start being the go-to source for your industry.” - Michelle J. Raymond

Connect with Michelle on LinkedIn

Follow Good Trading Co on LinkedIn

THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY CREDIBLE AUTHORITY ACADEMY: It's your turn to profit from your ideas, your wisdom, and your experience.

In the last episode (#230) I chatted with Sonja Nisson, from the School of Valuable Content, about unlocking & shaping your ideas through "deep content".

In this episode, content strategist and podcast producer, Brendan Keogh, and I  recap the Sonja interview, to go, ahem, deeper into the concept of 'deep content'.

Bottom line: Ideas that matter. Caring about what you do: the content you publish, matters!

If you're an aspiring thought leader wanting to explore ideas in public and build reputation for your thinking, then you'll really get a lot out of this conversation, plus the previous episode, my interview with Sonja.

To build a credible thought leader brand, you need to be able to unlock, shape and communicate your ideas.

One way to do this is by producing 'deep content' that sparks conversation and attracts an audience.

Sonja Nisson is an independent brand strategist and content coach from Bristol in the UK.

In this episode, Sonja and I get philosophical about creating content that matters.

Sonja calls it 'deep content'.

Deep content positions you, unequivocally, as the expert in your field, she says.

• It shows your commitment to your specialist subject.
• Going above and beyond - not many people will do this, you have the edge.
• You learn so much by doing it.: your expertise deepens. 
• It leads to other things. Never underestimate the serendipity factor of releasing deep content into the world, Sonja says.

Sonja touches on the power of intimacy and vulnerability in your writing, and shares the concept behind producing 'stock and flow' content.

Sonja and I also discuss the different examples of deep content, and explain how it can come in many forms.

FURTHER READING: Beyond blogging: deep content to change your business and your life

CHECK OUT SONJA'S BUSINESS - School of Valuable Content

Follow Sonja on Twitter

In the last episode (#228) I chatted with Ashley Faus about the differences between subject matter experts and thought leaders, and why does it matter?

In this episode I sit down with content strategist and ghostwriter Brendan Keogh to recap the Ashley interview, to go deeper into the ‘expert vs thought leader’ debate, and pull out what we think are the important distinctions.

Here are some of the sub-topics we riff on:

• Why humility is a hallmark of a genuine thought leader (and what does this look like in action)
• Self-awareness: what kind of impact do you want to have in the world?
• Why it’s important to evolve as a professional (whether expert or thought leader)
• The commoditization of expertise, and why experts need to be strategic in how they differentiate themselves (because the ‘expert world’ is pretty crowded!) - from a personal branding perspective, this includes your personality, your values and principles, and your philosophy
• The merged expert/thought leader e.g. Joanna Penn aka ‘The Creative Penn’ (she's an authority on becoming an 'authorpreneur' and building a sustainable enterprise around your writing)
• Utility content (useful, helpful, how-to) vs leadership content (more visceral and thought provoking)
• Just because you publish a book doesn’t make you a thought leader: “there’s a higher bar than that,” says Brendan
• Do you have aspirations to become a thought leader: Are you prepared to put in the work to make that a reality? Are you prepared to publicly challenge the status quo, which is a hallmark of a thought leader?
• Why thought leaders need purpose and direction, but not necessarily be locked down to a narrow niche (“give yourself permission to grow and evolve”)

We also refer to Ashley’s riff on why experts shouldn’t attempt a TED Talk (and why thought leaders shouldn’t be in customer support!)

Ashley has developed a framework that she calls the Four Pillars of Thought Leadership - you can check it out here.

*** Reputation Revolution: Brought to you by the Credible Authority Academy ***

We recently covered on the podcast the vexed question: Personal brand versus business brand - which one should we focus on?

In this episode, we tackle an equally common question: What’s the difference between subject matter experts and thought leaders?

To help me dig deeper into this topic, I am joined by Director of Integrated Product Marketing at Atlassian, Ashley Faus.

This is a subject dear to Ashley’s heart, and she has some strong views on it!

Ashley has developed a framework that she calls the Four Pillars of Thought Leadership - you can check it out here.

She unpacks the framework and its four pillars:

1. Credibility
2. Profile
3. Prolific
4. Depth of Ideas

Semantics, or not?

While the whole ‘ expert vs thought leader’ debate might sound like semantics, both Ashley and I agree that understanding the key differences between the two really does matter.

Talking points include:

• Old school thought leader vs the ‘new’ thought leader
• How some businesses approach thought leadership (badly) - looking at you SaaS companies!
• Why experts shouldn’t attempt a TED Talk (and why thought leaders shouldn’t be in customer support!)
• What value do you provide to the audience? It matters! Why thought leaders and experts need to keep updating their knowledge.
• The concept of 'Expertville vs Visionary Town'

We also have a sidebar conversation about LinkedIn, and why it's important to be intentional with the content we post on the site, plus we wade into the ‘professional content’ vs 'personal content' debate!

Name-checked in this episode:

• Joanna Penn
• Andrew Davis
• Mark Schaefer
• David Meerman Scott
• Andy Crestodina

It's a fun and energetic discussion, I hope you enjoy it!

CONNECT WITH ASHLEY ON LINKEDIN

*** Reputation Revolution: Brought to you by the Credible Authority Academy ***

In the last episode, I chatted with Oscar Trimboli about his personal brand journey, and how he has built a sustainable international business off the back of his professional profile and reputation.

In this episode, I get together with content strategist Brendan Keogh to dissect that interview, and unpack various key aspects of what Oscar shared (and he shared a lot of gold!).

If you listened to Oscar's story and found what he had to say interesting, I think you'll find this particular episode informative as Brendan and I recount our top takeaways.

Oscar's story is a good one. If you're wanting to build a personal brand-based enterprise, episode #226 is required listening!

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DID YOU KNOW I PUBLISH AN EMAIL NEWSLETTER, ALSO CALLED REPUTATION REVOLUTION? You can check it out (and subscribe) here!

Wow, this is one heck of an episode!

If you listen to this podcast, even if it's only every now and then, I bet you're probably interested in how you can build your personal brand in a sustainable way so you can take advantage of the myriad opportunities that come with being an active participant in today's 'Reputation Economy'.

My guest today has done exactly this and is indeed an active participant in today's 'Reputation Economy'! He has, over time, built a global profile and reputation as one of the world's leading listening experts.

His name is Oscar Trimboli, he lives in Sydney, and this is his story.

Oscar helps leaders and professionals discover the hidden key to better communication. He is passionate about using the gift of listening to bring positive change in homes, workplaces and cultures around the world.

Of note, Oscar is an author, host of the Apple award-winning podcast Deep Listening, and a sought-after keynote speaker.

In this conversation, Oscar tells his personal brand story, including how he left the corporate world and later evolved into the global listening expert he is today.

He shares in detail his content strategy across owned, earned and social media channels.

Oscar touches on a range of topics. He explains:

• how he came to the realisation he was an expert at listening.
• how when he started, there was one clear expert in the space globally, and that he had to educate the market on the importance of listening.
• that the content he produced in the first two years was “absolute rubbish” - he has been focusing on the positive aspects of listening ("It wasn’t getting any traction because I wasn’t talking to their problem, I was talking to my hypothetical solution”
• how podcast guest interviews result in real business benefits

Oscar also unpacks how he generates his income.

QUOTABLE QUOTE: “Create content where they (the audience) are at, and break it down as simply as possible, and express that in multiple ways”

On the Reputation Revolution podcast, we cover the four core pillars of building a successful and respected professional personal brand:

1. ESTABLISH your voice
2. ENHANCE the credibility of that voice
3. EXTEND the reach of your voice
4. EXTRACT value from the profile and reputation you build in the marketplace

Oscar ticks all of these boxes!

His story is a good one. If you're wanting to build a personal brand-based enterprise, this episode is required listening!

CONNECT WITH OSCAR:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

(Details re Oscar's new book here)

If you want to 'crack' the media on a decent scale, you need leverage.

Generating editorial exposure in traditional media outlets such as newspapers, magazines, radio and television can do wonders for your personal profile and reputation.

But it can be a tough gig. It needs to be approached strategically, and requires a fair bit of unrelenting 'grunt' work.

As a general rule, for entrepreneurs, experts and thought leaders - the best way to go is pitching your story idea to a specific (and relevant) journalist, editor or broadcast producer. Pitch, by pitch ... by pitch. Quality over quantity.

Having a publicist or media relations representative doing it on your behalf can help, but it costs money to do it properly, given the amount of man-hours required to do the job properly.

But there is another method you can employ.

Press releases.

To be more specific: press release distribution at scale.

Now, coming from the PR world, the press release has its fair share of critics.

Indeed, some even claim that the press release is dead!

Personally, I have a love-hate relationship with it (to be fair, as a tool, the release is okay and serves a purpose, the issue is more around the mindless blasting of irrelevant unprofessional-looking press releases to hundreds of journalists in one hit - we call it 'spray and pray' in the industry).

Maybe we shouldn't be so hasty in writing off the humble press release. There appears to be life in the old dog yet!

Enter Mickie Kennedy ...

In this episode, Mickie explains how press releases distributed en masse via an email or wire service can turbo-charge your visibility and credibility (and generate real business revenue as well).

Mickie is an expert at helping small businesses, authors, and startups increase their visibility and credibility. He founded eReleases 22 years ago after realising small businesses needed a press release service they could afford.

Today, eReleases provides entrepreneurs and thought leaders with real-time access to the media and to a national newswire – all with a personal touch.

In this chat, Mickie and I cover a range of topics associated with press release writing and distribution, including:

• the distinction between wire services and email distribution
• what makes for an effective press release
• the importance of including a compelling quote/s in your press release
• creating headlines (and why you shouldn't get too cute when doing so)
• the strategic use of press releases: what that looks like, and what sort of results you can generate if you do it properly
• How one eReleases client generated 150 articles using press release wire distribution, resulting in $10M in business revenue
• Why the art of newsjacking is difficult to sustain (and if you go down this path, then having a contrarian view can help you cut through the noise)

Says Mickie: "A journalist is a gatekeeper and they are deciding what is really relevant and compelling they can share with their audience."

Get access to Mickie's free masterclass: How to build a PR campaign designed to get massive media coverage.

Jerry Seinfeld once quipped:

“According to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.”

We are always presenting ourselves, our story and our ideas, whether we’re speaking on-stage or at a meet-up, in boardroom meetings, in our video content, and podcast interviews.

But for many of us, it's not something we like doing, while others don't mind speaking in public, but they make a hash of it because they're not prepared, and they don't necessarily take their audience into consideration.

Let's cut to the chase: Building a thought leader brand often will require you to communicate your message from multiple platforms. Not only is it a powerful proposition, but it's also a privilege to be able to present to an audience, whether virtually, in-person on-stage, or via our content (webinars, videos, podcasts, etc).

This is the topic we chat about in this episode of the Reputation Revolution, and to help us do just that is JACKIE GODDARD, founder of Power to Speak.

Jackie is a creative producer, acting, voice and presentation coach who helps entrepreneurs, leaders and speakers get excited about sharing their business ideas!

In this episode, she shares how she works with her clients so they can step up and communicate confidently and powerfully on any platform.

Jackie explains the importance of knowing why you’re there (on the virtual or physical stage), and what the value is that you’re sharing.

Your story is your bedrock, she says, and you should be able to adapt it to different platforms.

Jackie discusses:

• The power of gaining insights on what people think about you ( she refers to the “criticism sandwich” - good point, bad point, good point)
• Why creating a bank of personal examples and stories can give you the communications edge ("start a story journal" and collect anecdotes and stories, Jackie recommends)
• The importance of having a solid understanding of your audience. "You want to inform, interest, entertain your audience": What stories can you tell that will benefit? What do you want your audience to feel? What do you want them to go away and do? What action do you want them to take?
• Imposter syndrome, and why many people - as per Jerry Seinfeld's quote - are averse to speaking in public. "We have more knowledge on our subject than we think!" Jackie says.

Whether you participate in podcasts, panels, meetups, boardroom presentations, workshops, Zoom presentations, or are asked to deliver keynote presentations, you'll find this chat with Jackie helpful and inspiring!

Massive episode this one folks! We have a panel of three experts discussing all things paid social media and digital ads!

When it comes to running a personal brand-based enterprise, organic content and social media efforts will build your marketing communications base and might be sufficient in generating leads and sales for your business ... or you might want to supercharge things through paid advertising.

Paid media takes many guises in the digital world.

To help us unpack what can be a somewhat complex area to many people, we've put together three experts in the virtual room to provide their take on what's happening currently in the world of digital marketing.

They are:

1. Melinda Samson, founder of Click-Winning Content
2. Kym Wallis, founder of the Higher Ranking digital agency
3. Myles Harris, independent Facebook ads and social media advertising specialist.

It's a full-throttle conversation, which takes in many aspects of the paid digital arena, including:

• Facebook/Instagram (Meta) advertising
• Google ads/paid search
• YouTube ads

We also cover SEO and LinkedIn lead generation, as well as last touch attribution and remarketing.

Phewww!

It's rare to get so much knowledge and in-the-trenches experience packed into the one episode!

An example of one terrific tip:

If you have one takeaway from this episode, it's this - never accept anything AI-generated from Google (and Facebook) that suggests you take a certain action with your advertising. It might be fine, but make sure you understand first what it means before committing.

#GOLD

Thanks for listening!

THIS SOLO EPISODE DIGS DEEPER INTO THE HOT TOPIC OF --

"Should you focus on building your personal brand, or business brand?"

It follows on from the previous episode (#221) in which brand strategist, Sam Osborn, content coach, Brendan Keogh, and I discussed this topic, albeit in quite broad terms.

However, I felt there was unfinished business.

I subsequently blogged about the topic and had conversations with people on LinkedIn and Twitter. I put my thinking cap on. I went for long walks to gain additional clarity around the subject.

Here I was: I'd been neck-deep in the PR and marketing arena for many years now; I'd advised countless individuals – entrepreneurs, professional experts and thought leaders – on both their personal and business brands,

But I felt I hadn't sufficiently come to any real concrete conclusions to this common issue.

It had always been, in my instance anyway, a case by case proposition, depending on who I was talking to at the time, and what their particular circumstances were.

Until now.

I decided the best way to help people better understand this branding conundrum and thus have greater clarity as to which strategy would work best for them - 'personal brand vs business brand' - was to provide real-life examples of people who had already gone a fair way down the path, and then unpack their respective situation.

Which is what I have done in this episode.

I hope you get value from it!

REPUTATION REVOLUTION is brought to you by Credible Authority Academy.

G'day folks, my name is Trevor, and welcome to Season 6 of the Reputation Revolution show.

In this episode we tackle the much-debated topic - Business brand vs personal brand: Which one should you focus on?

It's a question I get asked a lot, and one to which there is no definitive answer, as a number of variables will often come into play.

But ... it's definitely worth digging into if you're in business, because as we know: when it comes to all things PR, marketing and communications (including content and social media) - clarity is king!

To help me tackle the 'business brand vs personal brand' debate, I've co-opted two experienced pros to provide their ideas, insights and opinions on the topic.

They are:

1. SAM OSBORN - a leading brand strategist who helps businesses drive stronger revenue, branded communication and customer love
2. BRENDAN KEOGH - a marketer and coach who helps thought leaders clarify their message and create cut-through content that gets results

Sam, Brendan and I provide our respective takes on the 'business brand vs personal brand' theme.

Along the way, we also discuss:

• the concept of branding, and the critical role it plays
• the importance of values, personality and consistency in building trust
• examples of personal brands who have also built significantly-sized businesses
• The role reputation plays in personal branding
• Leaders of practice areas within a larger firm: how should they approach personal branding?
• Brand architecture, and when to build a 'house of brands'

If you're building a business enterprise around your personal brand but are wondering whether or not you need to put a bit of effort into marketing an associated business entity, then have a listen to this episode for further insights and ideas on the topic.

*** REPUTATION REVOLUTION: Brought to you by the Credible Authority Academy ***

Today's episode features a solo riff by show host, Trevor Young aka The PR Warrior.

Trevor outlines what he calls the Credible Authority Method, a professional personal branding framework he's been developing for some time now and something he expects will be the topic of his next book.

Trevor also chats about some forthcoming plans for the podcast, including a potential change in format, and he wants your feedback (you can email him at trevor.young@prwarrior.com).

All this and more!

FROM THE VAULT: Previously published as episode 177 - 'Creating authentic video content in professional services | CASE STUDY - Pat Mannix, Paris Financial'

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In this encore episode of the podcast, we chat with Pat Mannix, a partner in the Melbourne-based accounting firm, Paris Financial.

Pat is known as the Small Business Tax Champion.

He uses video to share ideas, insights and value with his target audience, the small business community.

Pat's videos demystify legislation, unpack complex issues around all things tax, and provide savvy business tips and advice. Plus he doesn't mind delivering the occasional rant against multinational companies that don't pay their fair share of tax!

But most importantly, Pat's content is the real deal.

Yes, it's valuable content for the intended audience - small business owners - but it's how he presents it that really resonates. With Pat, what you see is what you get - he's a funny guy, and his personality really shines through in his videos. This is very welcome, given a lot of the subject matter is on the dry side!

In this this interview, Pat breaks down how he produces his videos, including the production schedule he adheres to and the technology used. He explains the need to inject personality on-camera and why the key to content success is consistency.

Pat also discusses how creating content has given him (and his firm) visibility within small business circles, and how this has led to new business opportunities.

Pat has done some 150 videos now, so he's got it down to a fine art. But nothing would have happened had he not turned on the camera and had a go!

If you've been 'umming and aahing' as to whether you should be creating content but are starting to maybe over-think things to the point where nothing is getting done, you'll be inspired by this chat with Pat Mannix.

CONNECT WITH PAT:

• Paris Financial website
• YouTube channel
• LinkedIn profile

FROM THE VAULT: Previously published as episode 187 - 'The building blocks of thought leadership marketing with Andy Crestodina'

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In this encore episode of the podcast, we chat with Andy Crestodina, Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Orbit Media Studios and a world-renowned digital marketing guru.

Andy has been in the web design and interactive marketing space for 21 years. In that time, he’s helped thousands of people do a better job getting results online. He’s a true evangelist for content marketing and ethical digital marketing.

Andy and host Trevor Young discuss:

• The building blocks of thought leadership marketing
• The differences between a content marketer and a thought leader
• Blogging as a powerful thought leadership marketing tool in 2021
• Andy's suggestions on optimising SEO for personal branding, including how to outrank negative media
• PLUS ... Andy unpacks the state of blogging, and lets us in on some of the interesting findings of his 7th Annual Blogging Survey,

If you've ever thought about what thought leadership is, how to extend your personal brand reach as a thought leader, or whether you simply love following thought leaders and get value from their content, you'll find this conversation super interesting!

CONNECT WITH ANDY:

Website

Twitter

Instagram

LinkedIn

FROM THE VAULT: Previously published as episode 182 - 'From unknown B2B writer to high-profile LinkedIn expert: How John Espirian built a personal brand by being relentlessly helpful'

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In this encore episode of the podcast, author of Content DNA, John Espirian, unpacks his personal branding journey, explaining how he went from an unknown B2B technology writer to a high-profile LinkedIn expert who has successfully managed to differentiate himself from his competitors in the marketplace.

{N.B. After we listen to John's story, John and host Trevor Young shift gears and discuss LinkedIn tips and strategies}

John's the real deal. He's a genuine, humble guy. He's not flashy, but he's credible.

This makes him the antithesis of many of the self-proclaimed 'thought leaders' we see out there on the web who are good at scoring airtime, but scratch beneath the surface and there's not a lot there.

In this wide-ranging chat with Trevor Young, John discusses:

• why he chose to build his personal brand in the first place
• his book Content DNA, and why he wrote it
• the concept of creating personal brand building blocks, and how they helped him establish a unique tone of voice
• the importance of showing up and relentlessly delivering value time and time again
• making public promises and staying true to them
• the 90/10 rule - spending 90% of time on a primary social channel, and 10% on a second one.

John also covers blogging, writing styles, and building an email list.

In part 2 of the interview, John and Trevor take a deep dive into LinkedIn.

John touches on:

• LinkedIn's algorithm and the potential of organic visibility on the platform versus Facebook
• the type of content that performs best for John on LinkedIn
• tips for increasing views of your LinkedIn posts
• why LinkedIn values 'dwell time'

John Espirian quotes:

👉 "Your brand identity is like a hook of a great song: get it right and people will echo it back to you."

👉 "I've found that people who find me through LinkedIn are willing to pay up to 30 percent more than the people who find me through Google."

👉 "You've got to turn up, you've got to do the reps in the gym kind of thing. And eventually you will become known. But you've got to stick at it for long enough for it to happen." 

CONNECT WITH JOHN:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Website
• YouTube

In this special episode, Trevor Young dissects season 5 episode-by-episode.

Who were the expert guests featured, and what were the various topics and talking points discussed?

It's a great (quick) way to see what you missed (if you did indeed miss some shows), and a reminder of some of the great conversations we had on the podcast.

Keep an ear out for season 6, coming your way soon!

We talk often about content on this show. Indeed, in pretty much every episode, content is mentioned somewhere, and rightly so, because it's such a critical part of building a thought leader brand today.

And 'content repurposing' also often gets regularly mentioned in dispatches, because it too plays a key role in personal branding.

But we haven't dedicated an entire episode to content repurposing ... until now!

In this episode, Trevor Young and expert guest, Sally A. Curtis, go deep into all things content repurposing, covering:

• What it is
• Why it is so important
• How to do it strategically

But it's not just a theoretical session! Trevor and Sally provide heaps of practical examples of what content repurposing looks like, when done well.

Sally is a content repurposing specialist who works with speakers, authors, thought leaders, coaches, consultants and entrepreneurs.

She also hosts the Success Secrets Exposed podcast and video show

Sally talks about her content repurposing framework ("amplification, transformation, and productisation"), plus we hear about her method for dissecting her clients' content to identify nuggets of gold - inspiring quotes, bite-sized rants and teachable moments.

Visibility & revenue

Content repurposing can help entrepreneurs, professional experts and thought leaders to not only raise their visibility ("strategic omnipresence" as Trevor calls it), but also generate additional revenue.

Sally reveals how she and her clients are creating additional sales by turning their old content into training programs and information products.

QUOTABLE QUOTE: "Let's educate your audience. Let's inspire your audience. Let's inform the audience, let's help them make sense of their world," says Sally.

CONNECT WITH SALLY:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Twitter

In this week's episode of Reputation Revolution, we zero in on the 'mindset' part of personal branding.

The topic is a bit different from what we usually cover on the podcast, but it's critically important for entrepreneurs and thought leaders who are keen to fast-track their public profile and professional reputation.

If we can't get our mindset right and get on top of roadblocks and issues caused by self-sabotage - i.e. imposter syndrome etc - we can never effectively put ourselves out there online and build a personal brand that is truly representative of our professional selves.

How can we create powerful, thought-provoking content if we're constantly second-guessing ourselves?

How can we provide useful tips and ideas on social media if we don't deem ourselves worth enough to do so?

To unpack all of this is The Happiness Hunter, Fiona Redding, a mindset coach and motivational speaker who helps female founders upgrade their vision, mindset and wellbeing to create a purposeful, profitable life and business.

Specifically, Fiona outlines the five ways we self-sabotage, and explains how we can fix it.

(FURTHER READING: The five ways you self-sabotage (and how to fix it)

CONNECT WITH FIONA:

• The Happiness Hunter website
• LinkedIn
• Facebook

The past two episodes of the podcast have looked at earned media, with emphasis on generating editorial exposure in mainstream media and trade press.

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{ EP 211- How to build a national media profile as the go-to expert in your space: Case study with Jake Moore; EP 212 - How owned media can lead to editorial exposure > Content Marketing for PR audiobook chapter }

In this episode, we stay with the earned media theme, but go deeper into the process of how to deal with journalists and producers in order to generate editorial exposure for our brand. Of course, what we're wanting to achieve through the media is to increase our reach, grow our influence and continue to strengthen our professional bona fides.

Today's guest is Chenoa Parr, a seasoned PR and media relations specialist from Liverpool.

Chenoa and host Trevor Young (aka 'The PR Warrior') dissect what it takes to grow a media profile. They cover a variety of topics and key points, including:

• The importance of having your story and message clear in your mind before you start approaching the media
• Being able to articulate what it is you do and stand for (as well as what your key areas of expertise are) - do you have a particular philosophy or viewpoint around key trends/topics/issues in your industry?
• The power of strong story hooks and angles for the media - how to do this strategically, on an ongoing basis, in order to get maximum results for your efforts?
• What makes a good story hook? What are the types of stories that journalists and broadcast producers are looking for?
• Tier 1 media vs tier 2 media - plus the opportunities around guest blogging and guesting on other people's podcasts.
• Journalists are all over Twitter - if you’re serious about media relations, you need to be on the platform.
• How can you help journalists? Share their content on social media, build relationships with them before pitching your story idea.
• Opportunities in radio for leaders and experts with a good story to tell and expertise to share.
• The danger of being too focused on yourself, your business and products - look outwards: why it's important to develop a story hook or ange that connects with a wider topic, issue or trend.
• Become a student of the media - do your homework before pitching!

Several big lessons spring from this discussion: (a) while a PR professional can be a terrific asset in helping you build your media profile, you can still play the media game effectively without one, and (b) media exposure can do wonders for your profile - Chenoa tells the story of the UK yoga instructor whose Facebook Live videos caught the attention of BBC London, which then ran story on her; down the track, a celebrity found the instructor via the story on Google. Terrific yarn!

Chenoa also reiterates during the interview: It's important, when pitching the media, to know about wider societal and business trends and issues generally, as well as those pertaining to your industry - this is critical if you want to be topical with your pitches, she says.

CONNECT WITH CHENOA:

• Website
• Twitter
• LinkedIn

DID YOU KNOW THAT REPUTATION REVOLUTION IS ALSO A NEWSLETTER? SUBSCRIBE ON SUBSTACK.

This podcast episode is dedicated to a full chapter of Trevor Young's book - Content Marketing for PR: How to build brand visibility, influence and trust in today's social age

The chapter in question focuses on how owned media can lead to editorial exposure.

If you're wanting to leverage the media to build your profile and reputation, this episode will be of interest.

Want to get your own FREE audio version of the Content Marketing for PR book?

CLICK THIS LINK to gain immediate access to the full audiobook (all 29 chapters).

HERE IS THE BOOK BLURB:

Are you struggling to cut through the noise and convey your message to the marketplace?

Become your own media channel and tell your stories like a PR pro!

We live in a fast-paced, digital-first world cluttered with brands and individuals telling the world how great they are. It’s no wonder consumers are so cynical and distrustful.

They resent being interrupted with meaningless ads, pitches and promotional messages. They simply don’t care about you or your business—because you haven’t given them a reason to.

Meanwhile, marketers and PR pros are beginning to accept that many of the methods they’ve been using to reach potential customers and influencers simply don’t work anymore.

Bottom line: Standing out, getting noticed and resonating in the marketplace is a growing challenge for businesses and organisations, large and small. Trust and reputation have never been more important in business.

Learn how to harness the power of both public relations and content marketing to build recognition, influence and credibility for your business, organisation or personal brand.

In this book, veteran public relations practitioner and marketing speaker Trevor Young—aka “The PR Warrior”—shows you how to strategically use content marketing for PR to:

● Humanise your company or organisation

● Deepen the connection your brand has with consumers

● Grow your influence within the industry you operate 

● Build familiarity and trust in the marketplace

● Connect with the people who influence your clients and customers

● Increase new business leads and sales

● Reduce the customer’s buying cycle

● Make paid-for advertising work harder

Written for entrepreneurs, change agents, business leaders, marketers and PR practitioners, Content Marketing for PR is your essential guide to building a visible brand that’s recognised, respected and relevant in today’s noisy social world.

CLICK THIS LINK to gain immediate access to the full audio version of Content Marketing for PR.

What does it take to generate 400 items of media exposure in the space of two years?

Well, that’s what Jake Moore has been able to do across 2020 and 2021.

And not just any media coverage: we’re talking tier 1 editorial exposure.

That is, coverage in the top media outlets such as BBC Radio, ITV News, CNBC, Sky News, Forbes, The Times, The Daily Mail, The Independent, Wired, Forbes and Al Jazeera. And that’s just a small portion of what he’s been able to achieve!

Jake is a cybersecurity specialist with ESET, a global software company that provides security solutions to businesses and consumers in more than 200 countries and territories.

In the space of a few short years, he’s stamped himself as a genuine go-to resource for all things cyber-security in the UK.

While earned media takes in speaking gigs at conferences and guest blogging and people saying nice things about you on social media - the guts of earned media is about getting mentioned in mainstream and trade press, and broadcast media. This is what’s going to boost not only your reach of your personal (and business) brand, but also your credibility and perceived authority in the marketplace (there’s a reason why we see so many “As seen in …” media logos featured on the homepages of personal brand websites).

But what’s involved in actually doing this? What’s required of the expert to make this happen: not once or twice, but over and over again on a consistent basis?

In this episode, Jake walks us through his media journey, covering topics such as:

• The role relationships play when dealing with the media (hence, in the PR world this practice is called ‘media relations’)
• The role Twitter plays in real-time connection with journalists
• Jake’s daily practice of ensuring he’s prepared with story angles and ideas
• The importance of timeliness in responding to media calls
• Outbound pitching of story ideas versus managing inbound media requests
• How to prepare for a media interview, including on-air Zoom calls
• Balancing personal brand vs employer brand when talking with the media
• The role ESET UK’s PR agency plays in generating media coverage
• Blogging, and the power of creating headlines that hook readers (and the media)
• Do you need a personal brand website if you're working for a company?
• How YouTube helped prepare Jake for TV interviews with major media outlets

While ESET UK’s PR agency plays a crucial role in helping Jake generate exposure in the media, the key message here is preparation: doing what’s required to build relationships with journalists, editors and radio/TV producers.

Jake’s tips and lessons are relevant, even if you’re just starting out on your media relations journey, with no outside help.

If you're interested in extended your reach by leveraging third-party media, you won't want to miss this interview with Jake Moore!

CONNECT WITH JAKE:

• WEBSITE
• TWITTER
• LINKEDIN

Today's bumper episode unpacks what it takes for thought leaders to generate leads and sales from their owned media channel/s.

In other words, how can they monetise the content they create on their podcast, blog, online video show, or email newsletter.

Taking centre stage alongside host Trevor Young is YANN ILUNGA, a lead generation and podcasting consultant, international speaker, and podcaster (with over 400 episodes published).

Yann and Trevor cover a range of topics to do with content marketing, with emphasis on podcasting and online video.

Plus Yann breaks down the system he uses to help his clients engage and convert prospective customers through the use of content.

Other topics covered include:

• content repurposing and the importance of formatting for different channels
• the rise of the Creator Economy (and what thought leaders can learn from independent content creators)
• the different ways to productise your services in order to scale
• the danger of tunnel vision when it comes to client acquisition
• automation and the 'connective tissue' that is email marketing
• how to leverage podcast guest appearances to build your business

If you're building a strong professional brand and reputation and are wanting to take things up a notch and turbo-charge your business through content, then this is the episode for you!

About Yann

Yann lives in Finland and helps consultants and coaches create and leverage systems to generate a consistent stream of organic leads and appointments (without having to spend a single cent in paid ads).

Additionally, he is the founder of Podcast Success Summit – the world's largest virtual summit for podcasters – and host of the "360 Entrepreneur Podcast", a show that features inspiring conversations with top entrepreneurs, marketers and best–selling authors like Pat Flynn, Kim Garst, John Lee Dumas, Jay Baer and Natalie Sisson.

Dubbed "Unicorn-Level Digital Marketer" by Inc. and "Podcasting Advocate" by Forbes, Yann is a polyglot who speaks five languages.

Connect on LinkedIn

Follow on Twitter

Visit Yann's website (Content Profits page)

Belinda White is the founder of Fierce Girl Finance, a blog-based online platform that helps women take charge of their money.

Belinda describes Fierce Girl Finance as a passion project. She's been at it for five years, and her persistence has paid off as she is now regarded as a genuine expert in the (crowded) area of personal finance education.

Belinda unpacks all this in this chat with the PR Warrior, Trevor Young.

Specifically, she covers a range of topics including:

• Building a platform around your passion
• Finding your voice through blogging
• The importance of having a vision and mission from the outset
• Capitalising on media opportunities that come with having an increased profile in the marketplace
• Doing your homework before pitching a story idea to journalists
• Juggling blogging with a full-time gig

Belinda also discusses how not having a monetisation strategy frees her up to blog on topics she's interested in, versus having to satisfy advertisers and sponsors, as well as pandering to the Google machine!

This freedom, she says, brings her joy and helps sustain her interest in maintaining the Fierce Girl Finance blog.

>>> Check out Fierce Girl Finance here!

Pssst! Did you know that REPUTATION REVOLUTION is now also an email newsletter? If you like the podcast, you'll love the newsletter :) You can subscribe here if you're interested.

The Creator Economy is a big deal. It’s big – HUUUGE! – and it’s getting bigger.

What’s the relevance to thought leaders and professional experts?

Simple. It’s where all the content ‘heat’ is at the moment.

According to Mark Stenberg from Medialyte:

"The creator economy consists of individuals with unique skill sets using platforms to monetize their craft.”

Bona fide content creators (or ‘content entrepreneurs’, as Joe Pulizzi likes to call them) are busy building their media channel, growing an engaged audience (and considerable influence), and then creating products and services to serve that audience.

Many thought leaders and personal brand enterprises, however, tend to already have their business model in train. They are creating content and building an audience often as a way to attract people to their ideas and to build subject matter authority. The ultimate goal, of course, is to build profile and reputation that in turn helps generate more leads and sales for their business, or whatever 'commercial' outcome they seek.

In this solo episode, Trevor Young aka the PR Warrior, dissects the Creator Economy and explains why it's important for thought leaders to get a handle on where things are headed in this space.

Trevor's advice? Don’t follow your competitors (and end up looking like them).

Instead, check out - and seek inspiration from - the new wave of independent content creators who are making a big splash globally in their respective niches.

They’re at the cutting edge of what’s happening currently in the world of content marketing and social media, he says.

"Go to where the real action is and absorb ideas and insights, and start putting them to work in your business!"

QUICK PLUG: Did you know that Reputation Revolution is now a newsletter as well as a podcast?

Subscribe today for our free weekly newsletter jam-packed with stories, tips and ideas to help you become a credible, influential voice in your industry >>> here's the link.

Today's episode is all about video, and how non-digital natives can get the most out of the medium using nothing more than a smartphone.

Our expert guest Julian Mather has an incredibly varied background, having gone from being trained to shoot people with a rifle (army sniper) to shooting people with a camera.

Along the way, he became a Director of Photography at ABC-TV, as well as a professional magician, a period during which he established a successful Youtube channel generating 30 million video views and 140,000+ subscribers.

Today, Julian helps busy 40-60yr olds build trust and authority using smartphone video.

Julian's goal is to change how people think and feel about video, and he does it with unique content, storytelling, humour, practical tips ... and a bit of magic!

Julian encourages people to shrug off their insecurities when it comes to being in front of the camera.

He says:

"Anybody can learn this. So if you're out there listening to this and thinking, I just have so much trouble (doing video) ... I'm worried I'll forget what to say, I'm worried about what people will think of me. I've spent my whole career building a level of status, I don't want to be on video and make mistakes and have that go on the record and damage me: you're thinking in a 20th century mindset."

Julian and host Trevor Young discuss a range of video-related topics, including:

• The power of authenticity ("You can't be a little bit authentic," says Julian. "You're either authentic or you're not authentic.") 
• The smartphone advantage ("If you can make {a video} and get that to market faster than your competitors, you have a smartphone advantage.")
• The perfection myth ("We think if we get on {camera} and we mess something up ... we don't want to do it because we think, oh, we'll mess up and people will talk about us. And the honest truth is - and you have to accept this - if you think that, you're conceited. I was conceited for those early years because I stopped myself getting on {camera} and just being authentic and being willing to make mistakes, because I thought people were going to talk about me.")
• New rules, new tools ("... you need a new set of rules and you need a new set of tools, and within those new set of tools, I advocate using smartphones.") Julian also discusses cheap but effective ways to improve lighting and audio quality.

CONNECT WITH JULIAN

• Website
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• YouTube

This episode's guest is Ian Whitworth, a reformed branding and advertising creative director turned entrepreneur and co-founder of Scene Change, a national corporate AV company that once used a toothless gypsy lady to help set its strategy!

Ian studied as a vet, got expelled, and became a corporate AV technician. He claims he has been "exposed to radioactive megadoses of corporate motivator shtick", before realising they’re generally 99% showbiz and 1% business experience.

More importantly, for the purposes of today’s episode –

Ian is a blogger and published author, with a new book out now via Penguin Random House: UNDISRUPTABLE: Timeless Business Truths for Thriving in a World of Non-Stop Change.

(High profile Australian entrepreneur Zoë Foster Blake described UNDISRUPTABLE as "witty, clever and extremely relevant in these godforsaken Zoom times.")

In this wide-ranging chat with host Trevor Young, Ian touches on:

• How he snagged a book deal with a major publisher
• The importance of telling real-life stories
• The power of blogging (and the role it played in landing him a book deal)
• The use of humour in storytelling
• Finding and honing your public voice
• Writing is thinking - it's valuable to clarify what you stand for and what you do.

Ian also discusses developing a point of view and why it's sometimes good to have a "straw man enemy" to go up against. In Ian's case, he preaches doing the opposite to what an MBA-trained consultant would tell you to do (the original title of Ian's book was 'Kill All MBAs!').

Connect with Ian:

• Twitter
• Blog

In this first interview of Season 5 of the podcast, Mark Masters - the founder of You Are The Media (online learning community) and We Are The Media (marketing consultancy) - joins Trevor Young to discuss all things content, community and being in it for the long haul.

Mark is a repeat guest - this is his third appearance on the show - providing Trevor with the opportunity to walk Mark through the progress he's made (and the lessons he's learned) over eight years of You Are The Media (YATM).

YATM essentially kicked off when Mark started producing his weekly newsletter, which he continues to publish to this day.

The newsletter paved the way for a book called Content Revolution, which built Mark's credibility not only in his home town in Dorset on the southern coast of England, but also internationally (leading to speaking gigs in the US and South America).

In 2016, Mark started running events under the YATM banner, a practice that continues today with a suite of learning events, both online and offline, including conferences and workshops, interspersed with social gatherings and learning programs.

Mark added a podcast in 2017 and then later moved into video content.

You Are The Media stems from Mark's passion for helping fellow business owners become trusted voices in their industry.

At the heart of it all is a genuine sense of community, one that's fuelled by valuable content and an environment where everyone learns from one another.

Discussion points:

• Consistency of message and the power of showing up regularly and delivering value (without the expectation of getting anything in return)
• Master one owned media channel first before moving on to a new one
• Experiment with different mediums (Mark's latest event was a truly online/offline hybrid effort)
• Build an online 'space' (a channel and an audience) before you need it
• Creating a multi-channel newsletter experience
• Web 3.0: build a community where everyone can take something from it (i.e. learning, business opportunities etc) - it drives itself and people enjoy being a part of it
• 'Soft selling' your business services (vs incessant pitching)
• "Don't be the best - be the only" (Kevin Kelly) | "Don't be the best - be their favourite" (Jay Acunzo)
• Having a following on social media does not a community make.

It's all about connection folks ...

... creating content, building a sense of kinship, delivering value (ongoing) and playing the long game!

Connect with Mark:

• Twitter
• You Are The Media
• We Are The Media

Welcome to season 5 of the REPUTATION REVOLUTION podcast.

In this brief episode, Trevor Young aka The PR Warrior walks us through what to expect from forthcoming episodes of the podcast.

Welcome to part one of this special episode - the finale to season 4 of the Reputation Revolution podcast.

Host Trevor Young takes a look back at the first half of episodes from season 4, including interview snippets from the likes of:

• Author and LinkedIn expert, John Espirian
• Leadership communications coach, Sarah Makris
• Business book coach, Kath Walters
• B2B influencer expert and social media pioneer, Gavin Heaton
• Launch strategist and design expert, Jenna Soard
• Digital marketing guru, Andy Crestodina
• Author and video storytelling expert, Jonathan Creek
• Leading podcast strategist, Kellie Riordan
• FOMO marketing pioneer, May King Tsang
• Thought leadership content expert, Lacy Boggs

Keep an ear out for season 5!

The argument for entrepreneurs, leaders and senior executives to be active on social media is very, very solid.

Indeed, there is no shortage of research to back this up.

We've discussed the case for 'social leadership' a number of times on the podcast, most recently with Damian Corbet, author of the book, The Social CEO.

In this episode, host Trevor Young chats with Roger Christie, the founder and managing director of Propel Group, an award-winning Australian social media consultancy that specialises in helping leaders and organisations harness the potential of social media for the business.

More specifically, the pair unpack purposeful digital branding for leaders: what's involved, and what can leaders do to build the capability in this space.

According to Roger: "The reason I talk about digital brand ... because I think that's where the biggest gaps are. I think people understand the need for that physical (brand) or in a traditional reputation work. Perhaps what they haven't realized is just how important our digital brand is in influencing all that hard work you've done over the years, to feel that traditional reputation can be undone in seconds."

CONNECT WITH ROGER:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Cutting through the online noise and resonating with your story and your message is one of the biggest challenges facing purpose-driven entrepreneurs and thought leaders today.

Building and communicating with a growing audience often requires a strategic, multi-channel approach: one that's creative, authentic and consistent.

Today's guest is Jane Tabachnick, a content strategist, publicity mentor, publishing expert and Alexa flash briefing consultant.

Jane helps brands and experts magnify their message through various means, including digital content marketing, media publicity, book publishing, and via Alexa flash briefings.

All this sounds like an eclectic mix, but the reality is to be successful in your communications today, you've got to become good at channel planning and integration. 

In this episode, Jane and show host, Trevor Young, delve into the myriad communications options available to entrepreneurs and leaders wanting to build personal brand visibility and influence.

THINK: Owned media, social media, earned media (i.e. media and influencer relations), book publishing, and Alexa flash briefings.

It's a far-reaching discussion as Jane and Trevor 'join the dots' of personal brand communications.

If you're keen to magnify your message in the marketplace, this episode will definitely resonate!

CONNECT WITH JANE:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Twitter

🎉 Welcome to episode 200 of REPUTATION REVOLUTION, the podcast dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and leaders build genuine personal brand influence ... in a respectful way 🎉

The legendary actor Al Pacino once said: "You’re only as good as the chances you take."

It's a great quote, and one that characterises this week's guest - Steve Vallas, CEO of Blockchain Australia.

Steve originally came on the show back in October, 2018. That episode - titled 'Relentless slowburn: How Steve Vallas builds visibility, influence and trust one event at a time' - has been, by a fair stretch too, our most popular show in terms of download numbers.

To commemorate the 200th episode, we thought we'd get Steve back on to see how the investment in time and effort he made in building professional trust and reputation in the industry has paid off.

(SPOILER ALERT: It has paid off!)

Part one of this episode is a replay of that original interview with Steve. It runs for 29 minutes, and it's a ripper (see original show notes below).

This is followed by a newly recorded interview with Steve.

In this second interview (which kicks in at the 33-minute mark), Steve explains how the groundwork he put in building his bona fides in the Blockchain space has led to him to the position he holds today, helming Australia's peak Blockchain industry body.

Plus we hear how he is harnessing the power of connection and conversation to further the Blockchain cause in Australia.

It's a terrific yarn, incorporating heaps of great lessons and truth bombs, many of which are quite 'contrarian' in nature.

If you want to make a dent in your chosen industry and are willing to put in the hard yards required, you will definitely benefit from listening to Steve's professional journey.

SHOW NOTES: 128 Relentless slowburn: How Steve Vallas builds visibility, influence and trust one event at a time

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Steve Vallas is quietly but surely making his mark in the Blockchain technology space.

A qualified lawyer with a background in business strategy and digital marketing, Steve is fast developing a reputation as the Blockchain go-to guy in Australia.

He has done this through relentless self-education, as well as proactively building connections and facilitating conversations with like-minded people interested in the space.

In the wide-ranging interview, Steve discusses how he's gone from being unknown in the Blockchain sector in Australia, to someone with a growing profile and reputation.

Along the way, he has:

• staged Blockchain APAC 2018, the biggest event of its kind for enterprise in Australia (taking it from idea to fully-blown conference with 45 speakers, in just 10 weeks)
• been invited by Austrade to attend a major international Blockchain event in Shanghai
• appeared on Australia's new Your Money TV channel

One of the keys to Steve's ongoing success in this nascent sector is his willingness to attend Blockchain events, no matter how small they may be. From professionally run conferences and seminars right through to informal meetups, over the course of a year, Steve has attended well over 100 events, on average of 2-3 per week.

He says showing up to so many events and having genuine conversations with people builds familiarity and trust. 

Key takeaways:

• Take the slow but steady route - Steve eschewed 'making a splash', preferring to bide his time, build his knowledge and expertise over a one-and-a-half to two-year period.
• If the idea is a good one, back yourself in - organising a major conference from go-to-whoa in 10 weeks is a massive, if somewhat crazy, undertaking. But Steve could see the potential, and the risk paid off: running such an event has elevated Steve's standing within Blockchain circles.
• Build your community before you need it - Steve has been building his online/offline community for years, always adding value, helping people and rarely asking for much in return.

Connect with Steve on Twitter.

Building a high-profile reputation as a trusted expert and leader brings with it benefits such as commercial opportunities.

But how do you make the most of these opportunities? This is precisely what our guest today, Susanna Reay, helps business owners, leaders and entrepreneurs do.

Susanna is a UK-based online business strategist, introvert coach, colour expert and artist. She combines formal design and business qualifications with over 25 years of experience working with small startups and solo entrepreneurs to help multi-passionate introverts sell their group programs, extract value from their voice and build their credibility online.

This conversation will be of interest to anyone who knows their stuff but struggles with getting their message right and getting it out to those who could benefit from hearing it. Some of the topics host Trevor Young and Susanna cover are:

• The popular ways go-to experts and thought leaders are generating revenue and creating new income streams
• The importance of getting your message right, particularly in today's noisy world
• Dispelling some myths and getting clarity on what introversion is and isn't, and the ways in which these types can excel
• How introverts can extract the value from their voice
• The 'one thing' - clarifying exactly what you want to get known for
• Susanna's favourite ways to commercialise your expertise
• Making sure your message is crystal clear before, during and after the duration or lifecycle of an online course or product
• How and when a mastermind group can add value, if they are set up and nurtured well
• When to consider creating a community through membership programs.

CONNECT WITH SUSANNA:

• Website
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• You Tube

Generating media exposure is a powerful way to boost your professional profile as well as enhance your credibility and authority in your profession or industry.

But it ain't easy! Something this week's expert guest, Darren Slade knows only too well!

It takes a lot of work and smarts to generate positive editorial exposure - just banging out a written press release is not going to cut it anymore, despite what you might see in the movies!

Darren is the group business editor are the Bournemouth Echo, the Southern Daily Echo and the Dorset Echo. He focuses on stories about the business community and entrepreneurs in Dorset and Hampshire in the UK. He's been a journalist since 1990, so he knows a fair bit about this caper.

In this interview with host Trevor Young, Darren has plenty of gold to share from his wealth of experience, including:

• The best ways to get editorial exposure, including how, and when, to best reach journalists
• Getting your pitch right, up front
• When a formal press release will work - and how to get it noticed
• Being 'vivid' - why small businesses and entrepreneurs can sometimes have the edge over their more corporate counterparts
• Preparing for a media interview
• Why the best story is not always the most obvious one
• Where you need to show up to get the attention of the media.

Plus Darren shares his thoughts regarding the future of media.

If you want to learn how to get your story ideas accepted by a journalist or an editor, or just get a better handle on how to deal with media people, you'll find this episode immensely helpful.

CONNECT WITH DARREN:

LinkedIn

Twitter

If you've ever thought about, or been inspired by, the idea of building a movement to create change around a cause or issue you're passionate about, we have quite the story for you on this episode.

Today's guest Jane Evans has had a stunning career in advertising. She gave Cate Blanchett her first job, created Australia's first craft beer and ran her own multi-million dollar agency with clients like Revlon and Maserati. Today, Jane is the founder of Uninvisibility, a global media initiative dedicated to "unleashing the power of midlife women".

The Uninvisibility mantra?

"Midlife women still have half a life to live with zero f**ks left to give. We are no longer prepared to operate in a world where only female youth and beauty is celebrated.  We’re here to show you what we’re made of."

In this energetic and motivating conversation, Jane and host Trevor Young cover a lot of ground, including:

• Jane's personal story of discovering a need for a platform that helps midlife women step into the spotlight.
• The journey to a project launch that resulted in two million hashtag views in the first two weeks
•  How the movement provided the foundation for a new communications agency for female creators as well as a training course for midlife women in media and advertising
• How providing a solution can be far more powerful than engaging in 'cancel culture'
• Finding your early adopters and giving them a great story to tell
• A movement-building social media strategy
• The deep-diving and storytelling required to change the narrative about a cause or issue
• Jane's new book - Invisible to Invaluable: Unleashing the Power of Midlife Women

If there is an issue or cause you care about and you want to create a movement for change, this episode will inspire you into action!

CONNECT WITH JANE:

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

Sarah Mitchell is a copywriter, a content marketing strategist - and on a mission to make the world better for readers everywhere! So who better to talk about building your reputation and authority through writing content for an online audience.

Whether you are blogging on your own website or a platform such as Medium or LinkedIn, writing articles and opinion pieces for third-party news outlets., or writing ebooks, reports and whitepapers - these all fall under the category of “written content”.

As a founder at Typeset Content Sarah loves helping her clients convert their content initiatives into long-term business assets.

In this episode, she and host Trevor Young talk about:

• The true value of being able to get your point across concisely and with clarity
• Key findings from Typeset's recently-released State of Writing 2021 research report
• How individuals and businesses can get a better return on the investment that they're making in writing
• How to know when you need help clarifying your message, and how much time, energy and money that help will save you
• The most effective forms of written content to focus on right now
• Demonstrating your thought leadership through your written content, and how a great quality piece will keep paying for itself over time

This episode will remind you that despite the perceived 'sexiness' of live streaming, video and podcasting, there's still plenty of room for the written word!

Get the State of Writing 2021 report

CONNECT WITH SARAH:

Website

Twitter

LinkedIn

'Social savvy' leaders are still pretty rare. The ones who are doing social media are doing it well. If you want to join them, Damian Corbet can help!

Damian founded the The Social C-Suite, to help leaders use this essential leadership tool to adapt, thrive and build trust as a leader and in their organisation.

He is also the author of book The Social CEO, which includes contributions from more than 30 writers including industry-recognised experts in social business and practicing ‘social CEOs’.

Damian joins Trevor Young for this episode of Reputation Revolution to talk all about how leaders and senior executives can - and should - embrace the social age,

They discuss some great examples of social leadership from Damian's book.

Other key points covered include:

• What social leadership is and why it's important
• How Damian's social media journey started, as the in house social expert for a multinational organisation with 30,000 employees
• The differences between social media marketing and social leadership
• How a leader's social media presence can demonstrate to potential customers or talent what the organisation stands for
• How making just a little time in your schedule to become a social CEO pays for itself in highly impactful and valuable ways for your organisation.

Whether you're an aspiring social leader or an employee hoping to inspire leaders in your organisation to 'go social', this episode will deliver!

CONNECT WITH DAMIAN:

Website

Twitter

Facebook

LinkedIn

Stephen Waddington is a genuine thought leader in the PR and communications space.

A highly experienced business advisor and trouble-shooter, he is the founder and Managing Partner of Wadds Inc., a UK-based professional advisory firm, working with agencies and communication teams.

Stephen has authored, co-authored or edited several books, and he is a visiting professor of PR and communications at Newcastle University,

In this episode, Stephen and host Trevor Young unpack Stephen's personal branding journey and the many elements that have contributed to him becoming a thought leader in his space.

In this wide-ranging interview, Trevor and Stephen talk about:

• How being involved in professional industry organisations contributed to the growth of Stephen's personal brand and his professional network
• Building credibility by consistently showing up and adding value over time
• Stephen's Manifesto for Better Business
• Contributing to a body of work as an editor, co-author or curator
• The role social media has played in Stephen building a professional community
• Favourite platforms for curating, writing and sharing quality content.

... and more.

If you're at all interested how to build a reputable, sustainable and professional personal brand, this episode will really resonate!

CONNECT WITH STEPHEN:

Website

LinkedIn

Twitter

This episode is part two of an interview between Trevor Young and world-renowned blogger, best-selling author and keynote speaker Mark Schaefer.

In part one, Trevor and Mark talked all about Mark's new book, Cumulative Advantage, so you might want to check that one out as well as this one if you haven't already done so!

In part two, the conversation heads down the path of thought leadership, and how Mark has managed to continue to evolve as an author, a speaker, a blogger, and as as a personal brand.

This discussion will interest anyone keen to grow their professional personal brand and position themselves as a thought leader in their chosen field of endeavour. Enjoy!

Quotable Quote: 'It doesn't matter how hard you work and how well you execute, if the strategy is wrong in the first place.' 

CONNECT WITH MARK:

• Website
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• YouTube

At its essence, marketing today is about answering one question: “How can we be heard?”

Mark Schaefer, featured guest on this special episode of the Reputation Revolution podcast, poses the question: How can we rise above the din of infinite options to create sustainable meaning with an audience or group of customers?

He says following the old rules of digital engagement is not enough … not nearly enough. Even being “great” is insufficient in the face of overwhelming competition redefining the limits of excellence every day.

Mark is a world-renowned blogger, best-selling author and keynote speaker .

His long-running blog {grow} is regarded as one of the top marketing blogs in the world, plus he has written nine books, including his latest best-seller, Cumulative Advantage: How to Build Momentum for Your Ideas, Business and Life. 

In this conversation with host Trevor Young, Mark talks at length about the premise behind his new book and the journey that led him to write it.

He also unpacks how businesses and individuals can tap into the concepts behind Cumulative Advantage to build momentum for their own ideas.

Mark covers:

• The 5 steps of Cumulative Advantage
• Best practices to stay the course once momentum has begun to build
• The clarity Mark got for the next steps in his life and business after contracting COVID-19
• The ‘sonic boom’ concept and how to use it to leverage your idea.

... plus Tim Ferriss and Oprah get a decent look-in as well!

Mark's Quotable quote: “It’s not the idea that changes your life, it’s the curiosity to pursue it”.

NOTE: Stay tuned for the next episode - part two of this interview - in which Mark discusses how he has evolved his personal brand over the years, along with other marketing gold!

CONNECT WITH MARK:

• Website
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• You Tube

Lacy Boggs is the founder and director of The Content Direction Agency, which provides content marketing strategy and writing services for personality driven businesses and brands.

In this episode of Reputation Revolution, Lacy and host Trevor Young discuss the concept of thought leadership marketing, and why it's important for business leaders to make the time and space to do the deep work - to think things through - to actually tease out good ideas out and bring them to life in the real world.

In this conversation, Trevor and Lacy cover:

• the power of long-form content,
• how it can help business leaders become better known and more trusted in the marketplace
• how business leaders can use thought leadership marketing to influence the conversation within their industry
• Being strategic about what leaders can outsource vs the 'big ideas' that can only come through them if they want to be valued as a thought leader.

If you want to improve your leadership marketing and increase your value as a thought leader in your industry, start with making the time to listen to this conversation.

CONNECT WITH LACY:

Website

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

May King Tsang is the UK-based queen of FOMO marketing. She is a FOMO creator, a social media correspondent and a professional live tweeter.

May King's specialty is to bridge the gap between social media and PR by helping to sell out conferences, workshops, festivals, launches, speaking gigs and summits by creating excitement beyond the four walls.

She works for conference organisers, but also keynote speakers and thought leaders who need to generate extra buzz from their appearances.

In this interview with Trevor Young you will discover:

• What FOMO marketing is
• May King's personal branding journey - transitioning from tea influencer and a 'tea note speaker' to FOMO marketing expert
• All about converting 'lurkers' to 'buyers'
• How to create FOMO for your personal brand every time you the attend an event
• What you're creating every time you respond to a question or comment in the socials
• The value of having a social media correspondent on board for your next event.

This is a high-energy conversation between Trevor and May King - you really don't want to miss out on this one!

CONNECT WITH MAY KING:

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

Website

The last episode of Reputation Revolution was all about video - this week we're diving into everything audio with featured expert guest, Kellie Riordan, one of Australia's leading podcast strategists.

Kellie is the founding producer of Australia’s most downloaded podcast, Conversations; as the creative lead of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s podcast team, she oversaw the creation of more than 30 of the country’s best-known shows.

Today, Kellie is the founder of Deadset Studios, a consultancy specialising in audio strategy, podcast production, and branded storytelling.

Kelie joins Trevor Young for this conversation about podcasting strategy, and how great storytelling works in this intimate medium.

Some of the topics discussed include:

• Kellie's experiences in the early days of podcasting
• The steps for a solid foundation you should take before starting a podcast
• The different formats podcasters are using
• 'Podcasting 3.0' - innovations for creating and sharing audio content today
• Podcasting strategies for engaging listeners quickly and producing a great show
• Respecting your audience's time by creating something that's worth their time and full attention
• Other ways to leverage your audio content.

If you need help making a great podcast or devising an audio strategy, you'll get a lot of value from this episode!

CONNECT WITH KELLIE:

Website

Twitter

LinkedIn

Episode 188 of Reputation Revolution is all about video, video, video, with expert guest Jonathan Creek.

Jonathan is an award winning investigative journalist turned viral video expert, author of the recently released book Like, Comment, Share, Buy - The beginner's guide to marketing your business with video storytelling and founder of digital marketing agency Virable.

In this conversation, Jonathan and host Trevor Young explore:

• Which is better: long form or short form videos? (The answer might be different to what you think)
• The formula for creating shareable videos that people connect with
• The 'spread factor' - why videos go viral
• Jonathan's favourite storytelling framework
• Why corporate videos are boring (from someone who makes them!)
• Expert tips for creating video content that gets attention and creates connection.

This is a jam-packed conversation on how to use video more effectively to build your personal brand and develop a thought leadership position in the marketplace,

CONNECT WITH JONATHAN:

Website

Buy the Book

Facebook

Instagram

Andy Crestodina, Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Orbit Media Studios in Chicago, is a digital marketing guru.

Andy has been in the web design and interactive marketing space for 21 years. In that time, he’s helped thousands of people do a better job getting results online. He’s a true evangelist for content marketing and ethical digital marketing.

In this far-reaching conversation for Reputation Revolution, Andy chats with Trevor Young about:

• The building blocks of thought leadership marketing
• The differences between a content marketer and a thought leader
• Blogging as a powerful thought leadership marketing tool in 2021
• Andy's suggestions on optimising SEO for personal branding, including how to outrank negative media
• PLUS ... Andy unpacks the state of blogging, and lets us in on some of the interesting findings of his 7th Annual Blogging Survey,

If you've ever thought about what thought leadership is, how to extend your personal brand reach as a thought leader, or whether you simply love following thought leaders and get value from their content, you'll find this conversation super interesting!

CONNECT WITH ANDY:

Website

Twitter

Instagram

LinkedIn

Jenna Soard is a launch strategist, a brand and design expert ,and a course creation 'circus master'.

Jenna is the founder of You Can Launch, a five-part system that teaches creatives, consultants, coaches, and aspiring course creators how to launch their very first course, membership or group coaching program, and sell it with Facebook and Instagram Ads.

In this interview with Trevor Young for Reputation Revolution, Trevor and Jenna talk about:

• Jenna's journey from senior graphic designer at Nike to full-time course creation and branding expert
• The essential questions to ask when considering whether it's time to launch an online course
• How to create a win/win environment where your ideal client is telling you exactly what they need throughout the course creation process
• How to avoid course creation analysis paralysis
• Busting the myths that hold people back from creating an online course, program or membership

Quotable quote from Jenna: "... if somebody is not teaching in the field that you're trying to do, if somebody is not solving the problem that you're trying to solve, the problem isn't big enough".

CONNECT WITH JENNA:

Website

Instagram

Facebook

Gavin Heaton is an Australian digital pioneer who was making a splash on the global social media scene way back in 2007 as publisher of the ground-breaking collaborative marketing book - Age of Conversation.

Known as 'Servant of Chaos', Gavin is the founder of the new B2B influencer marketplace, Influencer Active.

In this episode of Reputation Revolution, Gavin chats with Trevor Young about all things personal brand influence.

They discuss:

• What is means to be a genuine business-to-business (B2B) influencer
• How a small, engaged audience can be more influential than a large, unengaged one
• Determining how an influencer can best benefit your business, and what type of influencer
• Content: Curation or Creation?
• Playing to your strengths as a B2B influencer
• Actions you can take if you want to be a genuine B2B influencer

CONNECT WITH GAVIN:

Twitter

LinkedIn

Influencer Active

Kath Walters is one of Australia's most experienced business writers and journalists.

Having built a career writing for publications like Australia's pre-eminent and influential magazine Business Review Weekly, Kath left traditional media 8 years ago to head down the content marketing path.

She is now the author of two books, and is a 'book coach' - helping her thought leader clients write and release a book in 90 days.

In this episode, Kath and host Trevor Young explore the steps of this journey.

The topics Kath and Trevor touch on in this conversation include:

• Why writing a book is a powerful content marketing tool
• The 5 steps of Kath's brain to book process
• Getting started, and maintaining momentum
• Some great success stories about what clients have been able to achieve and attract as a result of getting their ideas on the page and out into the world.

Whether you've just started thinking about writing a book to support your brand or you've been thinking about it for a while, listening to this episode could be just what you need to get cracking!

CONNECT WITH KATH:

Website

LinkedIn

Facebook

Twitter

Sarah Makris is an Australian leadership communications coach.

Having built up an impressive track record in the corporate sector, Sarah now helps senior executives and entrepreneurs build their public profile, develop their online presence and fast-track their career and business.

In this episode, Sarah and host Trevor Young discuss the importance of having a professional personal brand today, and why it's important to know where do you want to go: What is your goal?

Then, the question is: Where are you today? Set a benchmark: How are you perceived in the marketplace?

Sarah and Trevor cover a range of topics during the course of the conversation, including:

• The two reasons why leaders and professionals don't create and publish original content
• Pointless posting ("pointless posting is just posting anything for the sake of it," says Sarah). 
• Adding value through content curation ... but have a point of view!
• Utility vs leadership content
• Finding your voice through writing, and why you shouldn't expect perfection straight away (Sarah once ran a fashion blog: "I remember reading the first post that I wrote ... (it) was just so bad," she says)
• The importance of voice coaching in building personal confidence ("the stage is everywhere," says Trevor)
• The power of 'behind-the-scenes' content', while at the same time being true to your brand
• Eliminating jargon and corporate speak when communications - "let's pretend that we are explaining this to your grandma and she has no idea," says Sarah.

QUOTABLE QUOTE: “Create your own personal brand. Don’t leave it to others to decide who you are” - Sarah Makris,

CONNECT WITH SARAH:

• website
• LinkedIn

In this week's episode, author of Content DNA, John Espirian, unpacks his personal branding journey, explaining how he went from an unknown B2B technology writer to a high-profile LinkedIn expert who has successfully managed to differentiate himself from his competitors in the marketplace.

{ N.B. After we listen to John's story, John and host Trevor Young shift gears and discuss LinkedIn tips and strategies }

John's the real deal. He's a genuine, humble guy. He's not flashy, but he's credible.

This makes him the antithesis of many of the self-proclaimed 'thought leaders' we see out there on the web who are good at scoring airtime, but scratch beneath the surface and there's not a lot there.

In this wide-ranging chat with Trevor Young, John discusses:

• why he chose to build his personal brand in the first place
• his book Content DNA, and why he wrote it
• the concept of creating personal brand building blocks, and how they helped him establish a unique tone of voice
• the importance of showing up and relentlessly delivering value time and time again
• making public promises and staying true to them
• the 90/10 rule - spending 90% of time on a primary social channel, and 10% on a second one.

John also covers blogging, writing styles, and building an email list.

In part 2 of the interview, John and Trevor take a deep dive into LinkedIn.

John touches on:

• LinkedIn's algorithm and the potential of organic visibility on the platform versus Facebook
• the type of content that performs best for John on LinkedIn
• tips for increasing views of your LinkedIn posts
• why LinkedIn values 'dwell time'

John Espirian quotes:

👉 "Your brand identity is like a hook of a great song: get it right and people will echo it back to you."

👉 "I've found that people who find me through LinkedIn are willing to pay up to 30 percent more than the people who find me through Google."

👉 "You've got to turn up, you've got to do the reps in the gym kind of thing. And eventually you will become known. But you've got to stick at it for long enough for it to happen." 

CONNECT WITH JOHN:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Website
• YouTube

Welcome to the podcast's season 4 opener in which the PR Warrior, Trevor Young, outlines the importance of clarity, content, consistency and community when building a credible thought leader brand.

This episode is designed to set the scene for the year ahead.

Trevor places emphasis on the power of consistency when it comes to building a strong professional personal brand: consistency of the message you convey, consistency of the quality of the content you produce, consistency in the way you show up, and consistency in your tone of voice.

Consistency builds trust, he says.

Trevor also stresses the importance of being professionally curious.

Look at other thought leaders - not just those in your particular professional domain either - and check them out in detail: follow them on LinkedIn or Twitter, check out their articles, subscribe to their newsletter, listen to their podcasts, watch their videos, buy their book if they have one.

Digest your findings: Does their story and message resonate with you, and why? What is it about them that appeals to you emotionally, or intellectually? Are they consistent in their approach, across multitude of channels?

Set a benchmark in your own mind what constitutes a credible thought leader, and then apply this rigour to your own situation.

Influence & IMPACT

Trevor also mentions Influence & IMPACT his fortnightly email letter full of useful tips, interesting stories, thought-provoking ideas and links to cool stuff, all related to building a visible and trusted personal brand in a way that’s respectful and sustainable.

Subscribe to Influence &IMPACT here.

FROM THE VAULT: Previously published as episode 137 - The curious world of Matt Desmier: assets, people and networks.

This is an expansive and informative chat between Trevor Young and marketing strategist (among other things!), Matt Desmier, founder of Wise Old Uncle Ltd.

If you're a multi-faceted professional who often grapples with personal brand direction and messaging, not to mention the myriad work opportunities that come your way (what to accept, and what to knock back) - you will get heaps of value and inspiration from this episode!

SHOW NOTES:

Matt Desmier describes himself as a "branding chap", "competent conference and event speaker", "connector of dots" and "consummate networker". 

Many moons ago Matt trained as a designer, spending five years at one of the world’s best specialist art schools where he learned how to be curious.

It was this curiosity that has informed every aspect of Matt's professional career ever since. He's been an innovation advisor, a design management consultant and a branding strategist. He's run incubation centres, European-funded programmes and workshops, led big teams, small teams and no teams; he's staged big events, small conferences and parties.

But at the heart of everything, Matt's a marketer who sees the world a little differently.

As founder of the Silicon Beach conference event in Bournemouth in the UK, Matt has had a big hand in establishing the seaside town's reputation as a buzzing hub for all things digital and creative. 

Silicon Beach is a two-day flagship conference featuring some of the world's most influential speakers contributing to a themeless event with no published agenda. It is this originality that has helped the event attract a global audience.

In today's noisy information-overloaded world, we're constantly told we need to stand for something, we need to hone our message and be focused in getting our story out in the world in a consistent way.

On the surface, that makes a whole lotta sense. But does it really?

Matt Desmier runs counter to that argument. You simply can't box him in to any one thing. This is both his strength and key differentiator in the marketplace.

So how then does he cut through with a cohesive message and maintain his personal brand? How does Matt build his business?

The answer is a multi-faceted one.

Matt explains that sometimes, it's what you don't do that is more important for your personal brand than what you do do.

Having principles are also critical. We've surpassed the need for having a purpose, and moved on to the importance of principles, he says.

But ultimately, it all comes down to assets, people and networks.

This is an enjoyable wide-ranging interview that will get you thinking about the way we approach our professional lives.

CONNECT WITH MATT:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattdesmier/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mattdesmier

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mdesmier

FROM THE VAULT: Previously published as episode 121 - The importance of having a strong voice with Anne Miles

Business coach and marketing consultant, Anne Miles, is a big believer in taking a stance on issues that affect the industry in which she operates.

Anne is the founder of International Creative Services (now Suits&Sneakers), a global collective of pre-approved marketing and advertising talent, based out of Australia.

Anne regularly publishes thought-provoking articles on a range of topics relevant to her industry, including ageism, gender equality, diversity and anonymous blogging, as well as issues associated with outdated business models used by ad agencies.

Anne is not being controversial for controversy's sake, but rather, she is guided by her personal philosophy and values.

"When I started to feel ... things weren't right, I put my hand up and said it." 

It's this a stance that has made the Australian marketing industry sit up and take notice of Anne.

LinkedIn articles

Anne has built a solid body of content, the bulk of which has been a series of articles on her LinkedIn page.

One such article, titled 'The Ad Agency Model Is Broken - Here's Why', sparked enormous interest within industry circles. For Anne, it was life changing, professionally. 

Within 24 hours of the post going up, she received 1000 LinkedIn requests to connect. Industry trade press jumped on it and wanted to share it too. In Australia, the industry trade journal AdNews republished the story in its entirety, re-igniting discussion around the issue.

Trade press

Anne's profile within marketing circles continues to rise.

Her articles regularly appear in the trade press, and she gets invitations to speak at industry events. New business continues to roll in thanks to her profile, and her business has been named a Westpac 2018 Businesses of Tomorrow winner.

Importantly, Anne continues to write articles for LinkedIn. 

While many business owners would be satisfied with hitting it big with one viral article, Anne understands it’s her overall body of work that underpins ongoing success in terms of industry awareness, influence and credibility. 

Connect with Anne

• LinkedIn
• Twitter

In this, the final episode for 2020, Trevor Young aka the PR Warrior explains how he works with clients to get the ideas and insights out of their heads and into the various content formats for their audience to consume.

Plus he explains the importance of creating a team to support your personal branding efforts, particularly around content and social media.

Leaders & social media

In part 2 of the episode, Trevor chats with Tino Ho, the chief commercial officer at thesocialrevolution.co, formerly known as Binary M, about the importance of entrepreneurs and business leaders being active on social media.

Trevor puts it to Tino: Why aren't there more CEOs on social media, and what are the reasons for this, does he think?

Tino and Trevor unpack the benefits of leaders participating on social channels, while Tino also shares some findings from research his firm has undertaken into the subject.

Big show folks, thanks for tuning in!

CONNECT WITH TINO:

• LinkedIn
• The Social Revolution website

This week's episode is a case study feature on Pat Mannix, a partner in the Melbourne-based accounting firm, Paris Financial.

Pat is the Small Business Tax Champion.

He uses video to share value with his target audience, the small business community.

Pat's videos demystify legislation, unpack complex issues around all things tax, and provide savvy business tips and advice. Plus he doesn't mind delivering the occasional rant against multinational companies that don't pay their fair share of tax!

But most importantly, Pat's content is the real deal.

Yes, it's valuable content for the intended audience - small business owners - but it's how he presents it that really resonates. With Pat, what you see is what you get - he's a funny guy, and his personality really shines through in his videos. This is very welcome, given a lot of the subject matter is on the dry side!

In this this interview, Pat breaks down how he produces his videos, including the production schedule he adheres to and the technology used. He explains the need to inject personality on-camera and why the key to content success is consistency.

Pat also discusses how creating content has given him (and his firm) visibility within small business circles, and how this has led to new business opportunities.

Pat has done some 150 videos now, so he's got it down to a fine art. But nothing would have happened had he not turned on the camera and had a go!

If you've been 'umming and aahing' as to whether you should be creating content but are starting to maybe over-think things to the point where nothing is getting done, you'll be inspired by this chat with Pat Mannix.

CONNECT WITH PAT:

• Paris Financial website
• YouTube channel
• LinkedIn profile

In this episode of the podcast, Trevor Young speaks with Jen Bishop, founder, publisher and owner of online publication, Interiors Addict. 

Jen left her career as a journalist and editor to work full-time on her blog. While she had no design qualifications, she was passionate about all things décor and homewares, plus an ability to write and bring other people’s stories to life.

Eight years later, Interiors Addict attracts 150,000 monthly readers, and Jen is a recognised influencer and brand ambassador.

Some of the key points you don’t want to miss from this episode:

• A very inspiring story of how a personal hobby blog grew into a successful brand and business
• Jen's advice on what she would do differently if she was starting a blog today
• How true influence is earned
• Building credibility and becoming a sought-after brand ambassador
• It's okay to be choosy about who you work with if it means protecting your brand and keeping it real for your audience
• Jen's Instagram strategy - you might find it surprising!

This episode is a case study of someone who left their job, followed their passion and has used content, social media and personal branding to carve out a very successful niche.

CONNECT WITH JEN:

Website

Facebook

Instagram

Pinterest

We kicked off season 3 of Reputation Revolution back in May with a look at the PERSONAL BRANDING UNIVERSE - a canvas on which I connect the various dots involved in building a credible and sustainable professional personal brand.

These dots, or elements, flow from what I refer to as the four pillars of personal branding for professional people. They are:

(1) ESTABLISH your voice

(2) ENHANCE the credibility of your voice

(3) EXTEND the reach of your voice

(4) EXTRACT value from your voice.

Here on the Reputation Revolution, each episode builds on at least one pillar.

For example, in episodes 150 and 174, I chat with Mark Masters and Eli Trier respectively about the power of building one's community of like-minded people.

Creating video content, including video live streaming, is all about enhancing the the credibility of your voice. In short, if you want to build a credible profile and trusted reputation in the marketplace, video should definitely be on your content creation radar.

We've had some terrific guests in season 3 sharing their ideas and expertise around all things video - Julian Mather, live streaming guru Ian Anderson Gray, and Tristan White, a successful entrepreneur who runs one of Australia’s largest physiotherapy practices.

We've also covered other elements of the Personal Branding Universe in season 3 - for example, writing a book to build profile and enhance your professional credibility.

Writing productivity geek Bec Evans told us in episode 158 that there are various internal and external roadblocks authors often encounter when writing their book.

Suzy Jacobs, founder of Activator Academy, took is through the importance of values in episode 155.

Most critical in personal branding is to stand for something. So says Steve Sammartino, a leading futurist, best-selling author, media commentator and keynote speaker.

In episode 166, Hillary Weiss introduced us to a concept she calls the ’statement piece’ brand - an antidote to the “sea of sameness on the internet”.

And what of social media? It's such a critical aspect of building a personal brand, particularly one underpinned by a credible thought leadership positioning in the marketplace.

Just ask California trial lawyer, Mitch Jackson, author of the book The Ultimate Guide to Social Media For Business Owners, Professionals and Entrepreneurs.

I've long referred to Twitter the 'influence channel', and that's how Dr Emma Beckett sees it too. A key outcome of Emma's social efforts, particularly on Twitter, is interest from mainstream media, resulting in editorial coverage, including interviews on radio and national television.

If you want to build a successful authentic personal brand, it's critical to show your human side - this is particularly the case for leaders, entrepreneurs and professional experts who are in the public eye and front people for a business, organisation or social enterprise.

Want to see what this looks like? Look no further than Alan and Emily Braithwaite, founders of several UK-based businesses, including online visibility agency Yellow Tuxedo.

If you want to feel inspired about the value of showing up consistently, get loads of ideas about how to maximise your SEO and repurpose your content, and learn how to wrap it all up in a very human way, you'll love listening to this one - episode 169 of the Reputation Revolution podcast.

In this episode, Trevor Young speaks with expert guest Eli Trier of Eli Trier Communities about how to build a sustainable business through community and connection.

Eli Trier is a quiet revolutionary and introvert who teaches other entrepreneurs how to use collaborative community to grow their businesses.

There are many powerful ideas you''ll take away from this thoughtful conversation, including:

• The importance of connection, community and personal touch in building a business
• Eli's concept of a 'Community Project Model' (and why it's the antithesis of many of today's online marketing tactics)
• Shining a light on members of your community (and letting them tell their story)
• How to use email marketing to kickstart conversations
• 'Rehumanising' business relationships and investing in transparency, kindness and connection
• How facilitating community projects can help you reach important business goals and build your audience.

If community and connection are important to you, you'll love this conversation with Eli.

CONNECT WITH ELI:

Website

Instagram

In this episode of Reputation Revolution, Trevor Young talks to live streaming guru Ian Anderson Gray, founder of the Confident Live Marketing Academy and host of the Confident Live Marketing podcast.

Ian helps entrepreneurs level up their impact, authority and profits by using live video confidently.

Some of the many need-to-knows covered in this lively conversation are: .

• Why thought leaders and entrepreneurs should get into live streaming
• Using live video to overcome the 'curse' of perfectionism
• How continuing to show up live and getting over his fear has changed Ian's life
• Some super simple tips to overcome barriers to getting started
• Ian's favourite 'multi-streaming' tools and microphones
• What to do before and after you go live, for optimal engagement

If you've been putting off using live video as part of your business and engagement strategy, this episode will definitely inspire and motivate you to get going!

CONNECT WITH IAN:

CONFIDENT LIVE MARKETING PODCAST

Website

Instagram

You Tube

Twitter

Facebook

LinkedIn

Pinterest

In this episode, Trevor Young digs deep with Julia May & Sarah Anderson from VISIBILITY CO.

Visibility Co helps businesses, individuals, entrepreneurs, executive teams, impact-focused organisations and movement makers combine self-aware and visionary leadership with authentic, strategic communications.

This conversation delves into the whole notion of personal brand visibility, but with a deeper philosophical skew.

Just some of what this episode covers:

• Visibility Co's three pillars of visibility
• Their formula for strategic influence
• How high value visibility is often not about being on the 'main stage' or having a high profile in all the usual places
• Choosing your own authentic pathway.

CONNECT WITH JULIA OR SARAH:

Website

Julia May LinkedIn

Sarah Anderson LinkedIn

On this episode of REPUTATION REVOLUTION, Trevor Young talks to digital marketing trainer and business coach, Brook McCarthy.

Brook and Trevor dive into a range of topics, including how she generates business, why a blog is important, word-of-mouth and relationships, being brave, and focusing on a niche.

If you're a thought leader who wants to build a business around your personal brand, you'll get a lot from this episode!

Just some of the highlights:

• Brook’s take on how businesses grow at the speed of relationships
• The power of Google for generating business
• Making boldness your business strategy
• Having a niche - with flexibility

CONNECT WITH BROOK:

Website

Facebook

Mitch Jackson is a California trial lawyer - aka The Streaming lawyer - who puts the social into social media.

He's on a multitude of channels, including TikTok; 'in-the-moment' live-streaming is his jam!

The bits not to be missed in this episode:

• The importance of personal relationships in building a presence on social media
• Creative and efficient ways to create content that resonates when you're a busy professional
• How a sixty-three year old lawyer uses TikTok, and what's involved in doing the 'digital dance'
• Putting customer/client needs first
• Walking the line between being social while remaining professional
• Understanding that what you're doing on social is just the beginning

"Digital platforms will come and go, but good relationships will last forever," says Mitch.

If you're a business professional who is keen to embrace social media but haven't as yet committed fully to the digital world, you'll get a lot out of this interview!

GET MITCH'S BOOK

CONNECT WITH MITCH

Website

LinkedIn

Facebook

TikTok

You Tube

In this episode of Reputation Revolution, Trevor Young talks to Alan and Emily Braithwaite, founders of several UK-based businesses, including online visibility agency Yellow Tuxedo,

Alan and Emily help individuals and businesses stand out from the crowd, but they do it in a way that's genuine and human, ... and it works.

This conversation covers a broad range of topics including:

• The five principles Yellow Tuxedo works with to help their clients stand out
• What being professional means in 2020, and how it has changed
• The importance of businesses building a PR legacy that lasts
• The story of why everything Yellow Tuxedo is, well, yellow
• Why Alan and Emily believe macro content is king
• How their '100 days straight' vlog was born out of the need for structure during lockdown
• The podcast that was named in a top ten list of podcasts to listen to in its niche

If you want to feel inspired about the value of showing up consistently, get loads of ideas about how to maximise your SEO and repurpose your content, and learn how to wrap it all up in a very human way, you'll love listening to this one.

CONNECT WITH ALAN AND EMILY:

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• You Tube

Join the Digital Circus HERE

This week's guest is AMBER HURDLE - marketing speaker and author of the book The Bombshell Business Woman.

Amber is the CEO of Amber Hurdle Consulting, a multi-award- winning talent optimization firm that pioneers using both science and marketing principles to strengthen customers’ brands from the inside out.

She sharpens personal brands using her ‘velvet machete’ strategy - cutting to the chase and wrapping their marketing message in a way that feels good to the intended audience.

This chat with Trevor Young will walk you through:

• Amber's Velvet Machete brand strategy
• The importance of tailoring your message for each audience you're talking to
• Amber's journey from creating her 'Bombshell Business Bootcamp' to becoming a podcaster and author
• Adapting your business, messaging and content when the landscape changes unexpectedly

If you want to know a bit more about you, you can complete Amber's free Predictive Index assessment HERE

CONNECT WITH AMBER:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Facebook

In this episode of Reputation Revolution, Trevor Young talks to Yishan Chan, an emerging leader in the world of finance, about personal branding within a corporate environment.

Yishan currently works in Change and Communications for one of the big 4 banks in Australia, and was recently named a finalist in the Rising Star category of the Women in Banking and Finance Awards 2020.

She also hosts a podcast called Build Your Talent Stack, where she shares stories about creative ways to learn, network and own your career.

Yishan and Trevor cover a range of topics, including:

• Yishan's brand beginnings as an early influencer
• How she balances her internet presence to align her personal brand with her corporate career
• Standing out for what you stand for, not for the last thing you did
• How she collaborates with her organisation when creating content

If you operate within the four walls of a corporation but are still interested in personal branding, you will find this episode motivating and inspiring on many levels.

CONNECT WITH YISHAN:

• LinkedIn
• Podcast
• Twitter

Hillary Weiss is a New York-based creative director & messaging strategist who helps her clients develop big ideas that stomp off the screen. 

In this high-energy chat with Trevor Young, Hillary introduces a concept she calls the ’statement piece’ brand - an antidote to the “sea of sameness on the internet”.

Hillary works with business leaders and creative entrepreneurs to develop their unique statement piece - "that idea, that concept, that point of view that makes leaders and experts radically different to their perfect people and does the talking for them”.

In this interview, Hillary:

• stresses the importance of having a clear message and a point of view
• explains that good branding is getting you in front of those people who need your message and are going to resonate with it
• unpacks her brand and how she has managed to come up with an idea that she can share verbally, visually and viscerally

Fonts, colours, conversations and experiences all crack a mention!

If you’re ready to 'crush the copycat culture’ on the internet, you’ll find this episode fascinating!

Check out Hillary’s website (and while you’re there, grab your FREE Statement Piece Framework).

Connect with Hillary on social media:

• Instagram
• Twitter
• Facebook
• LinkedIn

In this episode of REPUTATION REVOLUTION, we hear from book coach and editor, Kelly Irving, who helps business experts and thought leaders write and publish books.

Kelly has a very pragmatic view when it comes to experts writing books.

In this chat with host Trevor Young, she unpacks the REAL reasons why an expert (entrepreneur/thought leader) should write a book, and outlines a realistic path towards preparing for your book should you decide to write one.

Kelly explains the 4 types of writers:

1. The deep thinker
2. The storyteller
3. The entrepreneur
4. The mastermind

(Which one are you?)

Kelly also touches on:

• how to know when you're ready to write a book
• writing a book is a thinking process: it's about learning to communicate who you are and what you do
• how are you going to use the book in your business?
• building a body of work that becomes a book
• writing a book starts with blogging, publishing articles, sharing content ... working up to whitepapers
• tension points in the writing process
• grappling with the 'curse of knowledge'
• the importance of "critical, valid, honest feedback" during the writing process
• a book is a product of your business, it's more than a calling card with "thud value"
• book length and the simplification of ideas

Lots of gold here from Kelly. If you've been considering writing a book but still have questions around the process and whether it's something you should be doing, you will definitely find this episode enlightening.

CONNECT WITH KELLY:

• Website
• Instagram
• Facebook
• LinkedIn

This episode of Reputation Revolution focuses on podcasting, and features a discussion on THE STATE OF PODCAST INTERVIEWS 2020 research report that was presented at the recent Podfest Global Summit.

Special guest is Tom Schwab, founder of pioneering podcast interview marketing agency, Interview Valet, that conducted the research.

Tom and host Trevor Young dissect the research, highlighting what the findings mean for individuals wanting to secure podcast interviews as part of their personal brand marketing activity.

The discussion covers a range of ideas, insights and topics, including:

• the most common platforms to conduct podcast interviews - which ones are most popular, and what are the trends?
• the most common days for podcast interviews, and the time it takes from invitation to recording to publishing of the interview
• how podcasters prefer to record their interviews, and how flexible are they when it comes to fitting in with guests' schedules
• what percentage of interviews include video, and how popular live-streaming is becoming

Exposure brings opportunity

Tom explains why podcast interviews are an effective way to build your brand and generate leads for your business.

Plus he shares his tips as to what it takes to become a compelling podcast interview guest.

Whether you’re a podcaster or someone keen to be interviewed on podcasts, there is lots of gold in this interview.

Connect with Tom:

• Website
• Twitter
• LinkedIn

DOWNLOAD THE INTERVIEW VALET RESEARCH REPORT

A week ago, Dr Jen Frahm, a Melbourne-based global expert in change and organisational transformation, posted the following tweet:

@jenfrahm - Twitterz - thoughts on who has done a good job of being associated w multiple brands? eg portfolio of biz? I have Dr Jen Frahm, Agile Change Leadership Institute, Busting Silos & about to add another - curious who manages the brand side well? Does visual coherence matter?

Jen's tweet resonated with Trevor Young, the host and publisher of Reputation Revolution.

As someone who writes about, and works closely with, professionals who have built businesses off the back of their personal brand, Trevor has seen first-hand the dilemmas that come with commercialising one's reputation, for example:

• Personal brand vs business brand - which should receive more priority?
• Should I be developing a series of products as sub-brands, or not?
• And what about building bona fide sideline businesses instead of products - will this detract from my personal brand?

So many questions, and no right or wrong answer, of course. A lot depends on your personal circumstances and your goals.

So Trevor thought it would be a good idea to get Jen on the podcast - along with her friend and colleague, branding specialist, Kate Ware, from BuzzPop Brands.

The idea was: "Let's just have a chat about this and share our thoughts and ideas on the podcast."

So that's what this episode is about: an informal 'roundtable conversation' between Trev, Jen and Kate, in which they dissect the pros and cons of collaborative sideline businesses, sub-branded ventures and product ecosystems, and what's the most effective way to build out the business behind one's personal brand.

CONNECT WITH JEN:

• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Website

CONNECT WITH KATE:

• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Website

This week's episode focuses on the story of 'cyber cop', Susan McLean.

Susan is a world-recognised leader in the area of cybersafety and young people.

She was the first Victoria Police Officer appointed to a position involving cyber safety; she has dozens of certifications, and has spoken at over 1,000 schools all around Australia.

Thought leader journey

In this wide-ranging podcast chat with Trevor Young, Susan discusses her journey from police officer to thought leader, touching on a range of topics including:

• the importance of standing your ground on issues you believe in
• building a profile through the media
• working with journalists and producers
• how to use Twitter to expand one's influence
• the differences between Twitter and Facebook
• working with partners to reach a broader audience.

Susan also unpacks the commercial side of her personal brand, explaining the various strands, or arms, of her business.

Plus she tells the story of being caught up in the Barcelona terrorist attack several years back, and how using Twitter on that day resulted in her participating in over 87 interviews with media outlets from around the world.

If you want to better understand what's required to build your professional profile and grow a business around your personal brand, you'll love this real-life example of Susan McLean!

CONNECT WITH SUSAN:

• Website
• Twitter
• Facebook
• LinkedIn

Subscribe to Trevor's Influence &IMPACT email letter full of useful tips, interesting stories, thought-provoking ideas and links to cool stuff.

This week's episode of Reputation Revolution takes a deep dive into LinkedIn and how thought leaders and professional experts can leverage the platform to build their profile and generate more leads for their business.

Our featured expert guest is author, social media speaker and LinkedIn marketing coach, Adam Franklin.

Adam, who's CEO of Bluewire Media, helps consultants win new clients and grow their pipeline on LinkedIn.

In his discussion with show host Trevor Young , Adam walks us through the same process he takes his clients through in order to generate meaningful business leads using the social media platform in just 20 minutes a day.

Adam and Trevor cover the following topics:

• General update on LinkedIn: what's working today on the platform (and what's not) - social interaction, organic reach, video views, new features such as documents and live-streaming
• Why Adam has decided to double-down on LinkedIn
• How to identify people to connect with using the platform
• The nurturing process of taking people from "stranger" to "high-value client" using LinkedIn
• Why automating invitations to connect is a big no-no
• Posting schedule, and the life of content on LinkedIn
• The importance of interacting with others on the platform

Adam also provides his view on LinkedIn 'lurkers', and the important role they play:

"The fact is that because there's a lot of lurkers, it's not like they're not paying attention, they are paying attention. And it's amazing how often my clients and I experience somebody who they've never heard from, never met, never had any engagement with, who will actually then pick up the phone or call them or send them a direct message and saying, I need to work with you.

"And it's like, well, who are you? They have actually been paying attention for months or years and you just never realize it."

Content, community, conversation and conversion using LinkedIn - we cover the lot on Reputation Revolution.

We hope you enjoy the show, and don't forget to subscribe via your podcast app of choice and never miss an episode!

CONNECT WITH ADAM:

• Website
• Free marketing templates
• LinkedIn
• Twitter

"And now with social media being so huge, you've got to show up authentically. You've got to know who you are and just be real with people. And it doesn't matter if you're a college student, if you're a millennial who's hitting the workforce. If you are a CEO, your personal brand, you have the power and the control of how people are going to digest you, how they're going to take you in. You have that power." - Jonathan George.

As CEO of JG Entertainment, Jonathan George has spent the past 20 years creating rockstar brands for celebrities, entrepreneurs, and influencers with over 150 million online followers.

Known as “The Human Hitmaker”, Jonathan's strength is to identify and extract people’s greatest untapped assets and brand it into rockstar status for their highest potential of authority, impact, and success.

In this conversation with Trevor Young, Jonathan touches on a range of topics and ideas, including:

• his origin story, going from the depths of "I'm not good enough" to becoming "The Human Hitmaker" and helping to create rockstar personal brands with over 150 million online followers
• identifying your character strengths
• exposing (and embracing) your flaws
• his personal branding framework - headspace (the who, how and the what), the heart (your why), the body (the content you put out) and foot (the action, the marketing, the push)
• Success is 20% talent. The other 80% is how you brand that talent to shine.

Plus Jonathan gives examples of some of his clients and how he worked with them to develop their 'rockstar' personal brand.

If you want to learn how to overcome average with personal branding, you'll love this interview with Jonathan George.

• Website
• Instagram
• Facebook
• YouTube

Lauren Kress aka 'The Business Scientist', joins the PR Warrior Trevor Young to discuss what it takes to build a memorable market-leading personal brand in the B2B space.

This is a broad-ranging conversation that touches on topics such as:

• self-confidence and the various roadblocks involved in putting oneself "out there"
• understanding what you want to be known for
• the importance of publishing original content that does justice to your personal brand
• why LinkedIn is a critical platform for aspiring B2B leaders (and let's not forget the role that Twitter can play also)
• leaving the employ of a well-known brand (but continuing to make that business part of your personal brand identity)
• batch-production of content: getting knowledge and expertise out of your head to share with the marketplace
• utility content vs leadership content
• which media formats should you concentrate on?
• getting some early wins on the marketing board and building from there

Lots of bases covered folks!

If you operate in the business-to-business space (or even if you're don't) - and you're keen to build a market-leading personal brand, then you won't want to miss this episode.

CONNECT WITH LAUREN:

• Website
• Twitter
• LinkedIn

Bec Evans is a self-confessed writing productivity geek.

As a co-founder of Prolifiko, Bec and her husband Chris help writers become more productive so they can focus on finishing the book they've started.

Prolifiko provides 1-on-1 productivity coaching for writers as well as online coaching courses and plans for groups and individuals.

Now, we know that writing a book can do wonders for leaders, academics and professional experts in terms of boosting their authority in the marketplace. And with all the various self-publishing tools, services and online marketplaces available to authors, there has never been a better time to publish a book.

But getting one written and 'out the door' can still be challenging, especially for busy professionals. Sometimes, the biggest enemy facing the author is the author themself!

In this chat with Trevor Young, Bec covers the various internal and external roadblocks authors often encounter when writing their book.

These can include:

• procrastination
• imposter syndrome
• lack of confidence/anxiety/self-sabotage
• dealing with distractions ... and
• simply getting stuck with the writing process itself.

Bec says you can start analysing these roadblocks from the same place, especially the internal ones.

Other topics covered:

• the importance of integrating the marketing of your book while you're still writing it
• the role blogging plays in the book writing process
• book length and the right format for your book
• prototyping your book
• the power of deadlines and the role of writing buddies
• types of writers: are you a planner or a pantser?

It's an expansive conversation on how aspiring authors should approach the book writing process, and definitely a must-listen episode if you've got a book inside of you that you want to get out into the world!

CONNECT WITH BEC:

• Personal website
• Prolifiko website
• Twitter
• Instagram
• 'How to Have a Happy Hustle' book

You're on a mission – to do things differently, to make an impact, to reach further and be brilliant in the process. You're determined, there are few who can keep up with you as you make leaps and bounds.

Welcome to world of Leanne Woff, founder of Audacious Empires, a company that provides "badass business management for empire builders".

In this broad-ranging conversation, Leanne and host Trevor Young dig into multiple topics associated with building a personal brand-based business, including:

• engaging with people on social media
• repurposing content for maximum results
• extracting the value from your public voice - managing and marketing your speaker brand; online courses and coaching programs; mastermind groups and paid membership communities.

CONNECT WITH LEANNE:

• Website
• Instagram
• Facebook

On this week's episode of the Reputation Revolution podcast, host Trevor Young chats with Dr Emma Beckett, a food and nutrition scientist with the University of Newcastle, who uses social media effectively to generate interest in, and discussion around, all things nutrition.

Emma's mission is to empower people to make their own decisions around food and nutrition, whether those be healthier decisions or happier decisions.

Interestingly, a key outcome of her social efforts, particularly on Twitter, is interest from mainstream media, resulting in editorial coverage, including interviews on radio and national television.

Emma says: "... sometimes it comes from ... I do a little rant on Twitter and a producer will send me a message saying instead of a Twitter rant, that could be a nice little piece on my show."

We discuss how Emma injects her personality into her micro-content, blending nutrition tips with food-inspired dresses and earrings to reinforce her message. 

Emma's catch-cry? "Come for the fashion, stay for the science!"

In this wide-ranging chat, Trevor and Emma touch on:

• the importance of being human on social media
• how having a unique twist in your content can be a great way to cut through the clutter and get noticed
• how Twitter can be an effective way to connect with journalists, editors and broadcast producers
• why having the same social media 'handle' across different channels can help build a consistent brand presence

If you're interested in using social media to convey a message and grow your sphere of influence, this is one episode you won't want to miss!

CONNECT WITH EMMA:

• Twitter
• Instagram
• Facebook

This week's guest on REPUTATION REVOLUTION is Suzy Jacobs, founder of Activator Academy is an online learning hub for entrepreneurs and leaders who need to cut through the chaos and make BOLD decisions with clarity and confidence.

When you begin your personal brand journey, it’s important to get the foundations right. Your values form a core part of those foundations.

Suzy’s message is an important one, let’s hear it now.

CONNECT WITH SUZY:

• Website
• Activator Academy
• Twitter
• LinkedIn

Welcome to Reputation Revolution.

This is the podcast where we help individuals like you to establish your voice in the marketplace, enhance the credibility of that voice, extend the reach of your story and your message and, finally, extract value from your efforts in building a meaningful personal brand that's both recognised and respected. Now, on with the show.

Thank you for joining us here on Reputation Revolution, the podcast that’s all about growing your sphere of influence and creating more IMPACT by building a credible personal brand that’s recognised and respected for all the right reasons.

During the course of the last two episodes, we looked at the need for emerging thought leaders to put themselves out there - to stand up, have an opinion, establish our voice - and the need to create content to reinforce and amplify that voice.

We looked at live streaming and public speaking; in this episode, we focus on producing video using the smartphone.

Video is a powerful tool in enhancing the credibility of your voice and extending the reach of your story and your message.

In short, if you want to build a credible profile and trusted reputation in the marketplace, video should definitely be on your content creation radar.

Host Trevor Young, aka 'The PR Warrior',  walks us through the types of videos that can help build thought leadership for one's personal brand.

Then it's over to this week's expert guest - smartphone video evangelist, Julian Mather.

Julian says the world is "hungry for truth" and explains how "authentic, agile and inexpensive videos" can be used to spark conversation and build trust with viewers.

The problem is, Julian says, "we've all got this aversion to being on camera".

The interview includes references to:

*** one of the best introductory bios you'll ever hear!

*** how Julian is inciting a business video rebellion

*** why your smartphone is like an "anti-invisibility machine for your business"

*** how to overcome fear of being on-camera by using Julian's "head, heart and hands" approach to video-making

*** get someone to critique your videos, but not anyone from your family! "Your family are your worst critics," says Julian.

*** "Fail quickly, fail quietly ... rinse and repeat, and just keep trying."

You can't win this new game if you're playing by the old rules, says Julian.

Connect with Julian:

• WEBSITE
• FACEBOOK
• TWITTER

In the previous episode of REPUTATION REVOLUTION, we focused on the importance of content and the role it played in building a personal brand of substance and meaning.

In this episode, we extend that theme, with emphasis on public speaking.

According to Psychology Today - our fear of standing up in front of a group and talking is so great that we fear it more than death, at least according to some surveys.

Yowzer!

But public speaking also provides professional experts and aspiring thought leaders with a tremendous opportunity to build personal brand visibility, influence and trust.

Indeed, if you're any good at it, speaking can become a solid source of revenue.

In short, public speaking is an important cog in a business leader's reputation marketing arsenal. Many of us might not like getting up on stage to present to an audience, but there is no doubt it's a powerful medium to grow your influence and create more impact for your personal brand.

In this episode, host Trevor Young, aka 'The PR Warrior', unpacks his journey from "I hate public speaking" to professional keynote speaker with national and international speaking gigs under his belt.

Today, Trevor enjoys speaking from the stage, but that was not always the case!

Then leading Australian speaker YVONNE ADELE pops into the Reputation Revolution house to share valuable tips and advice as to how aspiring thought leaders can overcome their speaking nerves and take to the stage with confidence.

Yvonne says of speakers: "You are the vehicle for the message".

She also shares her thoughts on whether or not you should seek the services of a speaker's agent, and gives her tips for better on-stage performance.

Connect with Yvonne:

WEBSITE - https://www.yvonneadele.com/

TWITTER - https://twitter.com/yvonne_adele

INSTAGRAM - https://www.instagram.com/yvonneadele/

Welcome to Reputation Revolution, a podcast that’s all about growing your sphere of influence & creating more IMPACT by building a credible personal brand that’s recognised and respected for all the right reasons.

In this episode, host Trevor Young - AKA 'The PR Warrior' - focuses on the importance of content and the role it plays in building a personal brand of substance and meaning.

Specifically, if you want to build a personal brand that’s known, liked and trusted - that’s front of mind with your target audience and talked about in a positive way in the marketplace or community in which you operate - if you want more recognition, influence and impact in your professional life - you need to try new things, as well as put yourself out there by publishing original content.

In the live-streaming trenches with Tristan White

After setting the scene, Trevor is joined by TRISTAN WHITE, a successful entrepreneur who runs one of Australia’s largest physiotherapy practices, The Physio Co, which has been listed as one Australia’s 50 Best Places to Work for 11 consecutive years from 2009-2019.

Tristan is the author of the book CULTURE IS EVERYTHING, and is currently writing his second book.

His podcast is called THINK BIG ACT SMALL, where he chats to successful entrepreneurs and business leaders about all things workplace culture and personal leadership.

Tristan is neck-deep into live-streaming at the moment, and discusses the ups and downs of using such a format to engage with his audience.

Check out Tristan's live-streams here.

Building something of substance off the back of your personal brand – a body of work, a flourishing business, or kickstarting a movement of sorts – takes serious effort.

Yes, creating original content and publishing it on the web is crucial.

Yes, being on social networks and connecting with like-minded people from your city, your country, and around the world – that’s important too.

But most of all – the most critical thing – is to stand for something.

What do you stand for?

*** PLUS ***

Steve Sammartino is in the Reputation Revolution house.

Steve is a leading futurist, best-selling author, media commentator and keynote speaker, having presented to over 200,000 people around the globe.

His background is very eclectic. Some of his projects have earned over 20 million video plays on YouTube. He has sent a Lego space shuttle into the stratosphere and helped create a Lego car that runs on air. As you do!

In this chat with host Trevor Young, Steve explains the importance of listening to your audience.

"They know more about you than you know about yourself," he says.

Other Sammartino gems dropped in this episode include:

• “Have an opinion. Something for everyone is something for no one."
• "Know what you believe in and put your beliefs out there.”
• “You've got to think live. You've got to think out on the web."
• “Publish as much as you can, put your thoughts out there.”
• "the fringe-dwellers are the people who invent tomorrow's front line and … get on the fringe!"

LINKS:

• WEBSITE
• TWITTER
• LINKEDIN

Mark Masters runs You Are The Media (YATM), a thriving marketing and media training and learning community based on the south coast of England.

YATM started as a weekly newsletter in 2013 and has developed significantly since, growing to include a monthly lunch club event, a blog and podcast combo, an active Facebook Group, plus an annual conference and associated workshops.

A constant theme of YATM has been a philosophy Mark has developed around what he calls an 'owned media mindset'.

According to Mark, everything he stands for is to help businesses take ownership of the spaces that are theirs. Once a business has complete control, they can build an audience and then monetise, he says.

In this episode, Mark and host Trevor Young explore the theme of community, and what it takes to build one over time.

Mark walks us through the YATM story, breaking down lessons learned along the way, finishing up with a few tips on how people can build a community around their personal brand.

Links:

• FOLLOW MARK ON TWITTER
• VISIT YOU ARE THE MEDIA WEBSITE

We're back from a hiatus!

Seasoned PR and communications practitioner - author, speaker and social broadcaster - Trevor Young aka 'The PR Warrior' - walks us through his Personal Branding Universe.

These are the elements that flow from the four pillars of personal branding for professional people:

(1) ESTABLISH your voice

(2) ENHANCE the credibility of your voice

(3) EXTEND the reach of your voice

(4) EXTRACT value from your voice.

Connecting the many dots of building a sustainable personal brand - welcome, to the Reputation Revolution - 2020 style!

If you want to grow your INFLUENCE and create more IMPACT in the marketplace, this is the podcast for you!

Bumper episode time folks!

As we draw closer to the 150th episode of the Reputation Revolution podcast, we thought we'd take this opportunity to dig into the vaults and bring to you some fantastic guests from our first one hundred shows.

This episode comes in three parts:

PART 1 - Unleashing the power of purpose

PART 2 - Capitalising on the myriad opportunities to build and connect with an audience

PART 3 - Hand-picked tips from global experts

I told you, bumper, right?

So we've dusted off some professional experts and thought leaders just for you, including:

• Richard Sauerman
• Lucy Whittington
• Karen Gunton
• Lisa Petrilli
• Darren Rowse
• Donna Papacosta
• David M. Hobson
• Simon Mossman
• Loren Bartley
• Joe Pulizzi
• Ann Handley
• Joanna Penn

Richard, Lucy, Karen and Lisa share their thoughts, ideas and stories around authenticity in personal branding and the importance of thought leaders being aligned to their purpose.

Darren, Donna, David, Simon and Loren cover blogging, podcasting, LinkedIn, media relations and Facebook.

And in the run home, Joe talks about the importance of focus, consistency and the power of "going all in"; Ann discusses the benefits of giving away your knowledge, and the importance of video in your content creation efforts; and Joanna chats about finding your voice, leaving digital breadcrumbs online, and the importance of having a book if you're a public speaker. 

Monster episode with lots of gold! Hope you enjoy it!

We are in the most dramatic human transformation the world has ever seen.

We are currently transitioning from the industrial age to the social age, where technology is getting more advanced by the day, both augmenting and, in some cases, replacing humans.

According to global credibility expert MITCHELL LEVY, this shift can either boost you and your business or cause you to disappear.

What will it take for you to succeed?

What can you do to be seen and be heard?

Being recognized as an expert or a thought leader is a key factor for success, Mitchell says.

The Internet has given everyone a microphone, and there's a lot of noise out there. With so many choices, you need to be recognised as someone who can help others with their pain points.

Mitchell says you do this through thought leadership.

Thought leaders are recognised experts in their field. No matter which industry you’re in, if you’re a thought leader, others will look to you to solve their problem, he says.

In this episode of REPUTATION REVOLUTION, Mitchell and Trevor riff on the topic of thought leadership and why it's important today to be recognised for your knowledge, skills, experience and expertise.

They discuss how thought leaders can build visibility by repurposing their content across multiple channels.

Mitchell also chats about how he packages what he calls THiNKaha books, slim and handy publications that contain 140 well-thought-out "aha" messages.

According to Mitchell, THiNKaha makes it easy to create compelling content that helps turn corporate experts into recognized thought leaders.

About Mitchell Levy

Mitchell Levy aka The AHA Guy is a TEDx speaker, podcaster (host of Thought Leader Life) and international bestselling author of over 60 books.

As The AHA Guy at AHAthat, Mitchell helps to extract the genius from people's heads in a two-three hour interview so that his team can ghostwrite your book, publish it, distribute it, and make you an Amazon bestselling author in four months or less.

Mitchell is an experienced entrepreneur who has created 20 businesses in Silicon Valley including four publishing companies that have published over 800 books.

He has provided strategic consulting to over one hundred companies, and has been chairman of the board of a NASDAQ-listed company. .

Connect with Mitchell:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitchelllevy
• Twitter: @HappyAbout

Share your knowledge, increase your impact and influence by writing and publishing your own business book!

Writing and publishing a book is a goal for many aspiring thought leaders, but it requires plenty of planning to ensure you get the most value from your efforts.

In this 'from the vault' episode, Trevor Young chats with Jaqui Lane, who is a corporate storyteller, business historian, biographer and experienced book coach.

Jaqui runs the Book Adviser, an 8-step, 12 month program for planning, writing, publishing and selling your business book for non-executive directors, business owners and consultants.

Asking questions

Writing a business book involves a lot of research, interviewing and exploring, reading, taking notes, listening and asking questions.

Quite frankly, Jaqui says, there’s not a lot of writing that goes on in the initial stage of writing a business book. In particular, there are some key questions you need to ask before you start putting words on paper.

Trevor and Jaqui also spend a bit of time discussing about the importance of marketing your book, before and after it's released.

Connect with Jaqui:

• Website
• Twitter
• LinkedIn

Tristan White’s story started like many others.

He had a dream to work in a job that inspired him. He didn’t find that job, so he created it. In 2004, The Physio Co (TPC) was born with one team member: Tristan White.

In the thirteen years since, TPC has become a remarkable healthcare success story based upon fast growth and a thriving, systemized company culture.

Tristan’s obsession with creating an inspiring place to work for himself and others has resulted in more than a decade of learning, testing and refining. 

Engaged community

Today, as well as helming the 150-employee The Physio Co business, Tristan is a speaker and an author who is steadily building an engaged community via his blog, podcast, weekly newsletter and social media.

In this interview with Trevor Young, Tristan discusses how has evolved his story and message since publishing a book two years ago, and how surveying his audience uncovered some interesting insights that have changed the way he thinks about content creation and distribution.

Connect with Tristan:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Podcast
• Subscribe to Tristan's newsletter

Jeremy Krause drops into the Reputation Revolution virtual studio from Visual Domain, one of Australia's fastest-growing video production companies, to chat all things video marketing.

With video expected to form 98 per cent of all global internet traffic by 2020 - and Facebook predicting that 96 per cent of its feed will be video by the same year - the message is clear: neglect video at your peril.

In this episode, Jeremy discusses how professional experts and thought leaders can leverage the power of video to build recognition and authority for their personal brand.

Jeremy's chat with host Trevor Young covers such things as: 

• why video needs to entertain, educate and engage
• when do you need a 'signature' video for your personal brand
• cutting through with video that's raw and authentic
• using video to build a personal brand story
• leveraging the power of video for social media
• save time and money by producing short videos in batches
• tips for better on-camera performance
• topic and format ideas for thought leaders using video

If you don't throw it up there, you don't know what you're going to get back, says Jeremy.

"Feedback's always good," he says.

The key message: Get out there and give it a go! Not all video needs to be highly polished to be effective: the goal is to experiment with different formats, take note of feedback, and continue to evolve.

CONNECT WITH JEREMY:

• LinkedIn
• Visual Domain website

When she's not searching for the latest pop-up restaurant or drinking coffee at her favourite Melbourne haunt, Kate Ware helps business owners create digital marketing strategies that sell their products and services and boosts their reputation online.

In this wide-ranging chat on all things social media, Kate and host Trevor Young cover such points as:

• The best social channels for thought leaders
• Why Twitter is complementary to LinkedIn
• The rise of private online communities
• Robust discussions a sign you're on the right social media path
• How Twitter has cleaned up its act & is now more user-friendly
• How to effectively use Twitter lists
• Why LinkedIn is the most exciting platform for thought leaders
• Maximising LinkedIn for all of its features
• Why direct messaging is the most powerful function of LinkedIn
• The power of micro-stories & raw 'in the now' video on LinkedIn
• The opportunity that comes with responding to comments on social media
• Don't be afraid to have a point of view, especially around topical issues relevant to your business
• How batch production of micro-content allows thought leaders to build their narrative efficiently on social channels
• Should you be on Instagram?

If you want to raise your profile but are a bit confused when it comes to the current state of social media, this episode is worth a listen!

CONNECT WITH KATE:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Twitter

As a communication coach, Trisha Lewis helps her clients remove barriers to success and unleash their full potential.

Part of her role is to help people manage their 'inner critic' and overcome what's known as 'Impostor Syndrome'

Trisha describes Impostor syndrome as an irrational and pervasive feeling of self-doubt. A sense that you are getting away with it - you are a fraud and you will be found out soon! Putting success down to luck rather than your skills. Comparing yourself to others and having a sense that everyone else has got it together - and they will realise that you haven't.

Imposter Syndrome is very common amongst professional experts, emerging thought leaders, speakers, authors and entrepreneurs.

Indeed, it's a major barrier that often stops smart and passionate people from publishing their own content, sharing their stories and ideas in public, getting up on stage and speaking, and positioning themselves as a go-to informational resource on a particular topic.

As Trisha says: Don’t spend too long inside the cage of Impostor Syndrome - unleash your potential!

CONNECT WITH TRISHA:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Twitter

Check out Trisha's Imposter Syndrome video playlist on YouTube

Subscribe to Trisha's YouTube channel.

Ronan Leonard works with professional experts and thought leaders to get the most out of their ideas and intellectual property.

More specifically, through his business Eccountability, he helps people create global online virtual mastermind groups.

Part of Ronan's process is to people how to find their niche 'white space', drawing out and amplifying their hidden genius, and then packaging it up so they can automate the process and achieve a predictable income.

In this chat with Trevor Young, Ronan provides his definition of a thought leader.

"It's not enough to be a subject matter expert," he says.

Ronan also unpacks masterminds, a concept that has its genesis in Napoleon Hill's 1937 classic book, Think and Grow Rich.

A mastermind group is designed to help people overcome challenges with help from the collective expertise and skill-sets of others. A group might meet monthly, weekly, or even daily to receive support, provide advice, share resources, and tackle problems together.

According to Ronan, successful mastermind meetings always have some sort of an agenda and someone in moderator role, ensuring conversations stay on track.

Other points of discussion include:

• the optimum number of participants for a successful mastermind
• how long masterminds should run for
• how much successful mastermind facilitators are charging
• the difference between group coaching and mastermind groups

A key takeaway from Ronan is that subject matter experts should teach to the problem: "You want to teach what people want to learn, not what you want to teach," he says.

CONNECT WITH RONAN:

• Website - Eccountability.io
• Twitter - https://twitter.com/Eccountability
• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronan-leonard/

‘Thought leadership’ can be quite a nebulous concept, says Trevor Young aka The PR Warrior: consultant, author, speaker and host of REPUTATION REVOLUTION.

In this solo riff, Trevor says simply telling people you’re a thought leader doesn’t necessarily make you one. That said, there’s certainly nothing wrong with aspiring to become a thought leader in your industry, profession, discipline or community.

Trevor says that to become a thought leader today, you don’t need to rely on the gatekeepers e.g. the media, or book publishers:

"You can become your own media channel, and you can publish your own books and distribute them globally," he says

Mary Henderson is a personal branding specialist based in Melbourne, Australia.

She helps coaches, consultants, business owners and corporate executives define their personal brand and convert their expertise into a business solution that solves a complex problem.

In this wide-ranging chat with Trevor Young, Mary 

• Building a personal brand that can be commercialised
• Content is not IP; it needs to be turned into a methodology
• The importance of mastering one craft to position ourselves as an authority in that particular space
• Why you need to understand your 'end-goal'
• Having an agile mindset is "absolutely critical"
• Content is king, "but volume content is a whole new level"

Mary's LinkedIn video strategy

Mary also unpacks her LinkedIn content strategy, which is really starting to pay dividends for her profile and her business.

Video is her go-to media format, and she breaks them down into themed series

She started with daily videos: "The engagement has been fantastic ... some posts reach 5000 views, ten, twenty, forty, even 50,000". 

Mary is now experimenting with posting on LinkedIn three times a day, two of which are videos.

Most of Mary's videos are pretty "raw", although if she's targeting them at the C-suite, she will record them in in her home studio.

And here's the kicker: Mary reveals that it took at least six months of producing content daily on LinkedIn to effectively position herself as an authority in the personal branding space. By month nine, now the leads are starting to flow in from all over the world.

But wait, there's more! Perceived credibility brings business benefits.

Mary says the third part to all of this is once you establish your 'go-to' status, people start perceiving you to be the top of your field and understand you're not going to be "the $299 (per hour) coach".

"They already know that," she says.

So in essence, according to Mary, the "six-to-nine month mark is where it's the game-changer".

But, she reiterates, content is fundamental.

Connect with Mary 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/6figureexpert/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/6figureexpert 
• Website: http://www.maryhendersoncoaching.com/

Technology is enabling more and more thought leaders to turn their knowledge, expertise, ideas and insights into bona fide businesses. 

Often times they're making the jump from the corporate cubicle into full-blown entrepreneurship. And it can be scary!

In this episode, Trevor Young chats with Steve Glaveski who is the author of the newly-released book, Employee to Entrepreneur, and host of the long-running podcast, Future Squared.

In this wide-ranging chat, Steve chats about:

• the importance of playing 'offence'
• avoid 'analysis paralysis' by experimenting quickly
• persistence and patience will trump everything: not taking 'no' for an answer
• the importance of getting 1% better every day
• productivity, and why we're 5 times more effective when we're 'in flow' (optimal state aka 'deep work')
• the process of writing his new book Employee to Entrepreneur (50,000 words in 10 days!)
• what it takes to get an article published in Harvard Business Review (after 18 months of trying!)
• how to use content to differentiate yourself from the also-rans
• leveraging partners' connections with journalists to get into the media
• luck plays a role in entrepreneurial success, but you still need to do the work!

Discover more about Steve: https://www.steveglaveski.com/

Matt Desmier describes himself as a "branding chap", "competent conference and event speaker", "connector of dots" and "consummate networker". 

Many moons ago Matt trained as a designer, spending five years at one of the world’s best specialist art schools where he learned how to be curious.

It was this curiosity that has informed every aspect of Matt's professional career ever since. He's been an innovation advisor, a design management consultant and a branding strategist. He's run incubation centres, European-funded programmes and workshops, led big teams, small teams and no teams; he's staged big events, small conferences and parties.

But at the heart of everything, Matt's a marketer who sees the world a little differently.

He and his team have worked with a range of impressive organisations, including the UK’s largest crowdfunding platform, the UK’s most respected insurance company and a global leader in mapping technology, helping them discover their voice, grow their audience and develop products and services fit for the 21st century.

As founder of the Silicon Beach conference event in Bournemouth in the UK, Matt has had a big hand in establishing the seaside town's reputation as a buzzing hub for all things digital and creative. 

Silicon Beach is a two-day flagship conference featuring some of the world's most influential speakers contributing to a themeless event with no published agenda. It is this originality that has helped the event attract a global audience.

In today's noisy information-overloaded world, we're constantly told we need to stand for something, we need to hone our message and be focused in getting our story out in the world in a consistent way.

On the surface, that makes a whole lotta sense. But does it really?

Matt Desmier runs counter to that argument. You simply can't box him in to any one thing. This is both his strength and key differentiator in the marketplace.

So how then does he cut through with a cohesive message and maintain his personal brand? How does Matt build his business?

The answer is a multi-faceted one.

Matt explains that sometimes, it's what you don't do that is more important for your personal brand than what you do do.

Having principles are also critical. We've surpassed the need for having a purpose, and moved on to the importance of principles, he says.

But ultimately, it all comes down to assets, people and networks.

This is an enjoyable wide-ranging interview that will get you thinking about the way we approach our professional lives.

CONNECT WITH MATT:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattdesmier/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mattdesmier

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mdesmier

Heath Evans is Marketing and Communications Manager at the Melbourne Accelerator Program (MAP) at University of Melbourne.

He's also a coach at Seth Godin's altMBA, and co-founder of one of Australia's leading providers of personalised sports trading cards, Future Talent.

With a background in PR, marketing and entrepreneurship across sectors such as nonprofit and elite sport, Heath has built up a truckload of experience for someone who is still young and in the early stages of their professional life. 

Seth Godin's altMBA

In this episode, Heath tells how he was selected as one of 100 people worldwide to participate in the 13th in-take of altMBA (altmba.com), a 4-week online workshop designed by Seth Godin for managers, leaders and high-performing individuals who want to level up, lead, and become effective agents of change. 

At the completion of the course, Heath was awarded the Abernathy Award for his cohort.

The altMBA awards are given to one student in each cohort, someone that their fellow cohort peers nominated based on the individual’s generosity in helping others.

Heath is now an altMBA coach, recently flying to New York from hometown Melbourne to attend an altMBA Coaches Summit ‪where he was, in his words, "surrounded by some of the most inspiring people I’ve ever met".‬

In this, the second last episode for the year, host of the Reputation Revolution podcast, Trevor Young, sweeps across the key social media channels - Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin etc - plus looks at the state of blogging, online video and podcasting.

If you're a professional expert or leader looking to gain an edge in the reputation-building stakes in 2019, this episode is for you!

Helen Blunden is a modern learning practitioner with over 24 years experience in the corporate world.

She helps professionals build their digital skills, capabilities and networks so they stay up to date in their field, industry or profession especially when the world and our workplaces are changing around us.

Helen says her "unique super power" is that she practises what she preaches when it comes to social media for networked learning.

A self-confessed introvert, Helen explains how she experiments with social media and digital tools as a way of staying professionally relevant, even though putting herself out there on the web gives her the "heeby jeebies".

In this conversation with Trevor Young, Helen touches on a variety of topics, including:

• the early days of blogging and Twitter
• Snapchat, vlogging and learning through experimentation
• showing and sharing the process of your work, and the opportunities that come from that, including exposure to new thinking and connections made with like-minded people around the world
• documenting your professional journey: "the purpose will come out somehow"
• meta-learning: "learning how to learn"
• capturing a body of work: how Helen archives her daily Snapchat videos so she can "understand what I'm doing"
• sideline projects: balancing the personal and the professional

Helen also takes us behind-the-scenes of her social media alter-ego, Shazza Breaknews, Foreign Correspondent for fake news channel, CNT News. 

CONNECT WITH HELEN:

• Website
• Twitter
• YouTube
• CNT News Channel

Nic Hayes runs Media Stable, a company that connects thought leaders with traditional media outlets wanting experts to comment on topical issues.

Given his company represents 450 professional experts, Nic is well placed to see both sides of the media exposure coin: (a) what does the media want in an expert commentator, and (b) what can experts do to make themselves a more appealing interview subject for journalists and broadcast media hosts.

Add value

In this wide-ranging chat with Trevor Young, Nic explains how journalists, editors and producers are constantly on the lookout for expert talent, thought leaders who can add value to the stories they're pulling together for their audience.

He says understanding the media outlet you're pitching too is crucial, so too is having a strong news hook that will grab the journalist or producer straight away.

Other tips from Nic:

• Make yourself available! Professional experts are very busy people but they still make the effort to take the media's calls at a moment's notice. Journalists are often on a tight deadline: if you can help them with their story in a timely fashion, that gets noticed!
• Deliver the best possible interview that you can - "that will get you asked back", says Nic.
• Provide great quotes and soundbites that will help bring the media's stories come to life.

Importantly, there are opportunities at the lower end of the media scale that over time can help professional experts gain experience and confidence so when a more prestigious media outlet comes calling, the expert is ready to deliver a high standard of commentary.  

Nic also provides examples of some of Media Stable experts who are generating valuable editorial exposure by providing the media exactly what they're after.

Kim Skubris has been a broadcast news journalist, mostly with the Seven Network in Australia, for 25 years.

During that time, she has reported on some of the country’s biggest stories, including Schapelle Corby and Daniel Morcombe, and covered numerous natural disasters locally and internationally.

Today, in addition to being a journalist, Kim is a speaker, MC, media and keynote trainer who helps business executives and thought leaders master their message and build connection with their audience.

Kim believes everyone has a story to tell, but too many people are silenced by self-doubt and naysayers.

"My mission is to lead with the heart in everything I do and bring value to the person, group, organisation or audience I am lucky enough to work with," she says.

In this interview with Trevor Young, Kim discusses:

• the importance of simplifying your story without distorting the facts
• why mastering your message is about getting to the heart of what drives you - it's not just an elevator pitch
• the power of passion: "If you can't show and share passion with your storytelling and your presenting, then you're going to be dead in the water with your audience" 
• the need to understand your target audience: who am I trying to reach with this particular story?
• why the story you tell should illustrate the key points you want your audience to take away with them
• how a powerful message not only cuts through with an audience, but is later repeated by people
• the mistake many presenters make: they waffle too much, often feeling they need to tell everyone everything they know about a subject matter, or something close to their heart
• the importance of getting off to a good start: you only have 10 seconds to grab the attention of an audience - make it count! Start with a question, a powerful fact, or an anecdote that's short and sharp and to the point
• why speaking with authenticity is refreshing, and how showing an element of vulnerability where appropriate will help you reach your audience

Connect with Kim:

• LinkedIn
• Website
• Instagram

This week on Reputation Revolution we dig into the vault to bring you an information-packed compilation of previous guests addressing topics such as blogging, podcasting, Facebook, LinkedIn and media relations.

Today, we have numerous communication channels at our disposal. Which ones should we be using, and why? 

Darren Rowse, Donna Papacosta, David M. Hobson, Simon Mossman and Loren Bartley provide their expert advice for aspiring thought leaders.

If you'd like to check out these expert guests further, here are the links to the full episodes:

062 Kickstarting your blog with Problogger Darren Rowse

078 Podcasting for thought leadership with Donna Papacosta

090 The media comes calling ... now what? Interview with Simon Mossman

055 Growing your professional influence using LinkedIn with David M. Hobson

043 Using Facebook to build your personal brand with Loren Bartley

Your brand is your strength, says Sydney-based 'Human Brand Futurist’, Scarlett Vespa.

Scarlett, or 'Mrs V' as she's known, is a speaker and presenter who helps executives, leaders and entrepreneurs build the best version of themselves.

Scarlett believes our own humanity is the key to a successful tomorrow and sustainable future.

Finding your brand is finding the essence of who you are that gives you your strength and protection, she says.

In this wide-ranging chat with Trevor Young, Scarlett discusses:

• The importance of laying the foundations of your personal brand: you can't step forward until you have clarity around the essence of who you are and what you stand for.
• How the obstacles that hold us back can in fact be a "cherished gift, in fact it's something where our gold is most of the time laid".
• Trust and values is all the currency that there is in the future.
• How AI and automation will replace many jobs in the future.
• Future-proofing your career by unlocking the value you bring to the table: what is your unique skill-set?
• The importance of employees being able to showcase innovation, creativity, management - "anything on that side of the equation".
• For entrepreneurs building their personal brand, focus on showcasing how you're trustworthy, that you understand what's going on in this new world ... that you're adaptable.

"We're going to have to find security in a different way and I believe it is really again about trust, it's about trusting that you will be okay ... that you believe in yourself," says Scarlett.

CONNECT WITH SCARLETT:

• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Website

Reputation Revolution host Trevor Young swaps seats with Brendan Keogh to chat all things content marketing from a PR perspective.

Professional experts have everything they need today to become their own media channel and build and communicate directly with an audience of fans and supporters of their work.

Trevor talks about the importance of building out the VITAL pillars of your brand.

VITAL stands for:

VISIBILITY - raising awareness of your brand, cause or issue by establishing and maintaining an active, respectful and visible presence in the marketplace or community in which you operate

INFLUENCE - creating behavioural change by motivating people to take a specific course of action, individually or en masse

TRUST - building reputation by growing the bonds of trust between your entity and its ‘publics’ (the people who matter most to the success of your business, cause or issue)

ADVOCACY - growing and nurturing a solid base of champions, enthusiasts and allies of your brand, people who will talk positively about your organisation, share your content and defend you if and when necessary

LEADERSHIP - establishing and reinforcing a knowledge, thought, community or industry leadership positioning in the marketplace.

Trevor explains why shortcuts don't work in today's cynical and distrusting world, and how thought leaders should instead focus their efforts on building out a solid body of content that will work for their personal brand over the journey.

Follow Trevor on Twitter - @trevoryoung

Check out his PR Warrior blog.

Steve Vallas, the founder of Honey Digital, is quietly but surely making his mark in the Blockchain technology space.

A qualified lawyer with a background in business strategy and digital marketing, Steve is developing a reputation as the Blockchain go-to guy in Australia.

He has done this through relentless self-education, as well as proactively building connections and facilitating conversations with like-minded people interested in the space.

In the wide-ranging chat with Trevor Young, Steve discusses how he's gone from being unknown in the Blockchain sector in Australia, to someone with a growing profile and reputation.

Along the way, he has:

• staged Blockchain APAC 2018, the biggest event of its kind for enterprise in Australia (taking it from idea to fully-blown conference with 45 speakers, in just 10 weeks)
• been invited by Austrade to attend a major international Blockchain event in Shanghai
• appeared on Australia's new Your Money TV channel

We talk a lot on Reputation Revolution about the power of owned, earned and social media. In Steve's case, you can add another one - IRL (In Real Life) media. 

One of the keys to Steve's ongoing success in this nascent sector is his willingness to attend Blockchain events, no matter how small and grassroots they may be. From professionally run conferences and seminars right through to informal meetups, over the course of a year, Steve has attended well over 100 events, on average of 2-3 per week.

He says showing up to so many events and having genuine conversations with people builds familiarity and trust. 

Key takeaways:

• Take the slow but steady route - Steve eschewed 'making a splash', preferring to bide his time, build his knowledge and expertise over a one-and-a-half to two-year period.
• Show up and be present - while people are out having a good time on a Friday night, Steve is attending another Blockchain event, potentially his third for the week. 
• If the idea is a good one, back yourself in - organising a major conference from go-to-whoa in 10 weeks is a massive, if somewhat crazy, undertaking. But Steve could see the potential, and the risk paid off: running such an event has elevated Steve's standing within Blockchain circles.
• Build your community before you need it - Steve has been building his online/offline community for years, always adding value, helping people and rarely asking for much in return. When he wanted to generate some heat around Blockchain APAC 2018, he asked his community to help him spread the word on social media. The response was overwhelming, and a critical factor in the overall success of the event.

Connect with Steve on Twitter.

Myles Harris is my go-to-guy for everything Facebook advertising.

He's a data geek who loves nothing more than digging into the back-end of Facebook's advertising platform to uncover what's working and what's not with his clients' ads, and then optimising to get a desired result.

In this episode, Myles and I dig in deep on Facebook, a bit around organic content, but mainly we focus on the paid side of the medium.

And let's face it, if you're running a business, there's a good chance at some stage you'll need to use Facebook to amplify your content and/or promote a particular call to action to a hyper-targeted audience, whether that's to buy your book or training program (or any other product you sell), engage your professional services, register for your webinar or event, or subscribe to your podcast, blog or video series.

Facebook is a bit of a beast at the best of times, but hopefully after listening to Myles, you'll get excited at the incredible opportunities provided by Facebook's advertising platform. 

Connect with Myles:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Website

Tom Schwab is the author of the book Podcast Guest Profits: Grow Your Business with a Targeted Interview Strategy. He is also the founder and CEO of Interview Valet, a pioneer of what Tom calls 'podcast interview marketing'.

In this noisy digital world, you can’t break through the noise, you just add to it. Instead, you need to get in on the conversation where your ideal customers are already listening.

Tom has a refreshingly unique approach.

He focuses on time-proven strategy, then supercharges it with today’s technology and podcast interview marketing. 

Tom says: "Marketing at its core is starting a conversation with someone who could be an ideal customer. Today there is no better way to do this than on podcasts. The easiest way is being a guest."

Tom helps thought leaders, coaches, authors, speakers, consultants and emerging personal brands get featured on leading podcasts their ideal prospects are already listening to.

His 'Interview Valet' system then helps them to turn listeners into customers.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION & RESOURCES: 

https://interviewvalet.com/reputation/

Tarran Deane is National President of Professional Speakers Australia. She is a Ducati-riding speaker, trainer, executive coach and consultant who helps leaders to lead more effectively.

Once she left the corporate world, Tarran's goal was simply to become a speaker, but she soon morphed into an "entrepreneur with a message".

"I knew I had to build my business first to release me to then go out and be the face of the business." 

Tarran recommends staying open to opportunities - your market and industry will tell you what they need: "then it's up to us to test and measure".

She says speaking is delivering the what and the why, and the longer-form work - your intellectual property at a deeper level, for example consulting or coaching, is delivering the how and the when.

Tarran and Reputation Revolution host, Trevor Young, chat about how thought leaders are now their own media company, and why it's important to stay current, to let go of things in order to to be ready for what's coming up.

Says Tarran: "Every piece of content that we deliver needs to earn the right to stay in our repertoire on an annual basis, otherwise are we outdated, are we remaining relevant ... are we anchored to something because it's a bit of a crutch?"

Trevor and Tarran also cover:

• Writing a book - "A book is highly aspirational, highly beneficial."
• Discovering your personal voice
• Creating video content, including the power of behind-the-scenes video, and why keeping it genuine and real is attractive for viewers

RELEVANT LINKS:

• Tarran's authority website
• Tarran's parent company (Corporate Cinderella)
• Tarran's LinkedIn account

Building one's visibility and influence in today's reputation economy takes time and effort.

As if we're not busy enough with day-to-day demands of our job, we need to factor in creating content, interacting with people on social media, preparing for and delivering speeches et al.

In short, the demands on our time have never been higher!

In this episode, productivity and time management expert, Les Watson, from Get More Time, discusses ways in which overloaded business professionals and thought leaders can get more done in their day.

As Les says: "An hour every day might not sound like much, but if you add it up, that’s seven hours a week. That’s an extra 365 hours up your sleeve every year. Imagine what you could do with that!"

Les has written a new book called Get Back An Hour In Every Day. It's published in an A to Z format and can be used as a quick resource when faced with a specific time–related problem.

LINKS:

• More about the book
• Les on LinkedIn

Lucy Bingle has 20 years marketing experience and is a LinkedIn marketing Expert.

She is passionate about helping companies succeed in amplifying their brand, reaching their target audience and growing their business.

In this interview with Trevor Young, Lucy walks us through what's required to succeed in using LinkedIn to market your brand and your business.

First up, it's important to position yourself correctly - make sure your LinkedIn profile is best-in-class, Lucy says.

Secondly, start strategically building out your network: Connect with people you know - your colleagues and other people you work with - and move out from there to include peers, alumni etc .

Professionals often neglect to connect with their clients, Lucy says. This is a lost opportunity: Make sure you're connected to those people.

Then ask yourself: Who do you want to influence and communicate with? Use LinkedIn's robust search tool to identify these people, and then invite them to connect.

Lucy advises being authentic and upfront when inviting people to connect with you.

If you're interesting, insightful and have something valuable to say, the right people will want to hear from you, Lucy says. The key is to think strategically and be very focused, don't take the scattergun approach in order to build your numbers quickly. 

With your profile sorted, and your network growing, it's time to start focusing on posting quality content that is meaningful to your audience.

Lucy says keep your content professional, insightful and interesting and if you do, engagement should then fall out of that.

Trevor and Lucy also discuss the power of posting native video to LinkedIn, and why it's important to show up consistently on the platform, at least three times per week.

CONNECT WITH LUCY:

• Website - https://www.lucybingle.com
• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucybingle

Vanessa Wiltshire is the founder and Director of Spark Rural, a regional communications and community engagement agency that services government and business.

In 2016, Vanessa walked away from corporate life in the city and moved to Heathcote in country Victoria. The following year, after witnessing a rural road fatality, she started to think more about life and her place in the world.

Treechange advocate

Today, Vanessa is a passionate treechange advocate. She writes, speaks, consults and facilitates workshops, all with a focus on using storytelling to help strengthen businesses and communities in regional and rural areas of Victoria, Australia. 

Meanwhile, Vanessa continues to build her micro-media platform.

At the heart of this is an email newsletter dispatched weekly to a growing audience hungry for information about business and lifestyle opportunities in the country.

Tree Changer Magazine

She is also writing a book, and is preparing to publish Tree Changer Magazine: "a fresh and revealing read about the increasing number of Australians who are departing life in Sydney and Melbourne, for what is colloquially known as a 'Tree' or 'Sea' Change. 

Sign up for Vanessa's newsletter at Spark Rural - https://www.sparkrural.com.au/

Business coach and marketing consultant, Anne Miles, is a big believer in taking a stance on issues that affect the industry in which she operates.

Anne is the founder of International Creative Services, an Australian production house for marketing and advertising.

She regularly publishes thought-provoking articles on a range of topics relevant to her industry, including ageism, gender equality, diversity and anonymous blogging, as well as issues associated with outdated business models used by ad agencies.

Anne is not being controversial for controversy's sake, but rather, she is guided by her personal philosophy and values.

"When I started to feel ... things weren't right, I put my hand up and said it." 

It's this a stance that has made the Australian marketing industry sit up and take notice of Anne.

LinkedIn articles

Anne has built a solid body of content, the bulk of which has been a series of articles on her LinkedIn page.

One such article, titled 'The Ad Agency Model Is Broken - Here's Why', sparked enormous interest within industry circles. For Anne, it was life changing, professionally. 

Within 24 hours of the post going up, she received 1000 LinkedIn requests to connect. Industry trade press jumped on it and wanted to share it too. In Australia, the industry trade journal AdNews republished the story in its entirety, re-igniting discussion around the issue.

Trade press

Anne's profile within marketing circles continues to rise.

Her articles regularly appear in the trade press, and she gets invitations to speak at industry events. New business continues to roll in thanks to her profile, and her business has just been named a Westpac 2018 Businesses of Tomorrow winner.

Importantly, Anne continues to write articles for LinkedIn. 

While many business owners would be satisfied with hitting it big with one viral article, Anne understands it’s her overall body of work that underpins ongoing success in terms of industry awareness, influence and credibility. 

Connect with Anne on Twitter - https://twitter.com/CREATIVEBUYER

Mark Masters owns a UK-based content marketing agency, has published a book, produces a podcast, delivers a popular weekly e-newsletter, speaks at major industry conferences, runs regular networking and educational events, and now has a solid conference to his name featuring key players from the global content marketing scene.

How has he done this?

By laying a solid foundation from which he has built genuine influence and loyalty. 

Mark is big on ownership, trust and community. He helps people take ownership of media spaces to grow their audience.

When you have one word you stand for, he says, it becomes easier for others to associate with you.

Several years back Adam Jacoby called upon his considerable experience as a seasoned entrepreneur to kick-start the democratic movement that is MiVote.

As founder and chief steward of MiVote, Adam is responsible for spearheading positive word-of-mouth for the movement and articulating the concept via social media, traditional media and the stage.

In this open and frank interview with Trevor Young, Adam explains how MiVote uses online and offline communications tactics to build visibility and influence across the globe, and how he manages his personal brand on social media versus the brand that is MiVote.

While Adam has spoken at Davos and met with heads of state, it wasn't all that long ago that MiVote kicked off publicly in humble surroundings - a coffee morning event at a well-known South Melbourne cafe that attracted just five people.

Tune in to find out how Adam and the team have managed to come so far in such a short space of time?

Check out MiVote here - http://mivote.org.au/

'The PR Warrior' Trevor Young is back with the first new episode in * cough, cough * two years! 

In this brief episode, Trevor explains why he took a 'gap year' from the podcast, and updates us on what to expect in coming episodes, including details of the guests appearing on the next three shows.

New intro, new podcast cover - same ol' Trevor! It's as if he never went away :)

Lots of great guest interviews coming up - stay tuned!

PUBLISHED BY DIGITAL CITIZEN.

Natasa Denman is known as the 'Ultimate 48-Hour Author'.

After publishing her fifth book early in 2015, she now mentors entrepreneurs, business owners and professional experts to become published authors and authorities in their field of endeavour.

Natasa, who studied psychology before moving into the optical industry, has developed the 'Ultimate 48 Hour Author Blueprint', which helps busy professionals to get their book completed within just 48 hours; her program is popular with aspiring thought leaders who are looking to influence their market and explode their credibility and public standing.

In this episode of Reputation Revolution, Natasa discusses why it's important for aspiring thought leaders to have a book under their belt; why book writing is not about perfection but progress, and why she gets her students to sell their book before 'putting pen to paper'.

She also provides examples of professional experts-turned-authors she has helped through her '48-Hour' program.

A book is a licence for confidence, Natasa says.

Download for free Natasa's Ultimate 48-Hour Author ebook.

CONNECT WITH NATASA:

• Ultimate 48-Hour Author website
• Natasa's professional website
• Natasa's LinkedIn Page

As a qualified professional in education and curriculum design, Sarah Cordiner's passion is helping individuals and businesses to create their own engaging, transformational and profitable training courses.

Sarah is a best-selling author, qualified trainer, professional speaker and respected consultant in ‘edupreneurship’, workforce development, curriculum development, instructional design, education and training, online learning and virtual reality education.

In this episode of Reputation Revolution, Sarah discusses how the online education revolution that is upon us provides massive opportunities for professional experts and aspiring thought leaders, 

Sarah explains how she built her personal brand through public speaking, and how 'Brand Sarah' now operates alongside her four-year-old education services business, Main Training.

Sarah shares how her business came crashing down several years back when the Australian Government unexpectedly pulled funding from vocational training; this became the catalyst for Sarah and her team to focus on online training for the international market. Today, some 5000 students from 121 countries are currently going through her online training courses.

Suzanne Nguyen - aka 'String Story' - is a curious geek of the future. Her schtick is 'connecting dots'; she's a digital storyteller, interactive broadcaster, technology educator and emerging thought leader around video-live streaming and Snapchat in particular. 

Suzanne first made a name for herself using the video live-streaming app Meerkat, where she built a following of 40,000; Meerkat has since ditched the live-streaming model, but Suzanne was quick to realise the potential of Snapchat and has since grown her presence considerably on that platform.

Suzanne describes Snapchat as "an interactive TV in your pocket".

In this episode of Reputation Revolution, Suzanne explains how Snapchat works and why it's such a powerful medium for professional experts; she also provides tips and tactics on how to more effectively build your personal presence on the platform. 

However, while Snapchat dominates the conversation, Suzanne - who consults to brands and runs workshops - also discusses the importance of being flexible in a personal branding sense - particularly in the technology arena which shifts rapidly - and explains why teaching others is a powerful way to master a subject matter.

She says "...by being a curious geek means I'm not stuck in one thing per se".

Suzanne rounds out the conversation by discussing how she uses social channels other than Snapchat to build her brand and grow familiarity with an audience, including Twitter, Medium and Facebook.

Follow Suzanne on Twitter - @StringStory

Add Suzanne on Snapchat

Check out Suzanne's website - www.stringstory.co

Tim Hughes is a recognised global pioneer and innovator in the social selling space; he is a speaker, blogger, and author of the book 'Social Selling: Techniques to Influence Buyers and Changemakers'.

Tim is also a perfect example of how a professional expert should use Twitter to build connections, relationships, marketplace visibility and influence. With a following of 154,000 on Twitter and close to 7000 on LinkedIn, he is a huge advocate for the power of social media to build personal brand awareness and reputation.

Tim has been listed in the top 50 UK marketing and advertising Klout influencers on social media, ranked first on Onalytca's Social Selling Top 100 Influencers and Brands 2016 list, and is one of the Forbes Top 100 Social Sellers.

In this episode, Tim discusses how to use social media to build one's profile and professional reputation. He chats about the importance of generating social proof for your personal brand, being known for one thing, and why authors need to build a platform before their book is released. 

Andrew O'Brien is a sought-after speaker, author, facilitator, executive adviser and consultant.

In 2008, Andrew and his wife Sue became known as the “Couple on the Run” when, side by side, they ran eight marathons in eight countries in eight weeks together. They live by the philosophy that by harnessing the principles of exercising with a partner and applying this to other areas of our everyday lives, we can achieve more.

Andrew and Sue's IP is a canny mix of health and fitness, together with teamwork and organisational leadership; this has allowed them to stand out on a world stage and build a movement of like-minded people who are advocates of their philosophy and way they go about things.

Through 'Partnerunning', Andrew and Sue are committed to helping people build "great relationships for success in the long run"; they do this through writing (they have one book out and other on the way), a podcast that at its peak attracted some 35,000 downloads a month globally, media interviews and live appearances, and a solid presence on social media.

In this chat with Trevor Young, Andrew takes us behind-the-scenes of Partnerunning, including a global virtual book event to launch their Couple On The Run book, and how they balance their exposure both online and offline.

Andrew discusses the power of Twitter in generating media opportunities for the pair, how their Partnerunning online radio show (podcast) helped grow their audience on a global scale (and the opportunities that have come from that), and the importance of repurposing content to maximise brand exposure and engagement.

Ben Motteram aka the 'CXpert' has over 20 years' experience focussing on the acquisition and retention of customers in highly competitive industries; he helps businesses consistently deliver a level of service that surpasses expectations.

In this chat with Trevor Young, Ben explains how he has spent the past couple of years building a strategic professional platform that in turn has led to industry recognition and business opportunities.

Ben discusses how he named his business based on the availability of a Twitter handle (@CXpert) and how his blog has become a shopfront for his consulting business. He also discusses why Twitter and LinkedIn are important avenues for business development.

Later in the interview Ben reveals his involvement with a prominent Australian rules fantasy football website that attracts between 3000 and 4000 hits per day!

How do you go about building your personal brand influence in one of the toughest markets (LA) of one of the toughest professional industries (real estate) going? 

How do you break through, get noticed and, importantly, how can you elevate yourself to the position of influencer in an industry that has a more than its fair share of experts (real or self-proclaimed).

The answer is social media.

Wes Pinkston is an entrepreneur focusing on building and executing digital strategies. Most recently he was the co-creator of “The Broke Agent" blog which quickly became one of the top websites in the industry with over 100,000 unique visitors per month.

Wes is a leading social media and digital marketing consultant for real estate agents and brokers. He was recently named a Swanepoel Top 20 Social Media Influencer in Real Estate and is an Inman News Contributor and Ambassador.

In this chat with the PR Warrior Trevor Young, Wes explains how he uses social media to build influence in LA real estate circles.

They discuss the full social media gamut, from Twitter and Facebook through to LinkedIn and blogging, including the importance of making every tweet count, the power of human connection when it comes to social networking, and why having a compelling purpose is critical in business today.

Over the past ten years, Beth Powell has become the go-to person for clear explanations about how to use digital marketing to grow businesses.

Beth started out with an online business 16 years ago and through trial and error learnt how to market that business online. It's still going strong. She regularly travels around the country speaking to large groups and running workshops about digital marketing. Beth has helped thousands of business owners and marketers to take charge of their online marketing challenges.

In this episode of Reputation Revolution, Beth walks us through her R.A.C.E. digital marketing formula: Reach > Act > Convert > Engage - and touches on a range of topics including SEO, landing pages, content and Facebook advertising.

Michelle Falzon is the founder of We Are Content, a specialty content marketing consultancy that delivers strategic, content-centric digital conversion funnels for thought leaders such as speakers, authors, consultants and coaches as well as for business owners looking to position themselves as experts in their industries.

Michelle’s marketing campaigns and strategies have involved the sending of well in excess of 100 million emails and the production of more than 100 digital marketing funnels, attracting more than 50,000 people to live events and tens of thousands more into webinars, ebook signups and online courses, generating more than $40 million in revenue, for a variety of industries from IT, finance and property through to personal development, management consulting, hospitality and more.

In this episode of Reputation Revolution, Michelle debunks the myth that email is passé; indeed, she provides a compelling argument why email should form the centrepiece of a thought leader's business marketing efforts:

Email is "the ace in the hole", she says.

Michelle outlines her 'marketing mountain' framework, discusses why your email subscriber list is a digital marketing asset that needs to be respected, and explains the reasoning behind her 'no content without conversion' mantra.

Connect with Michelle via her website (http://wearecontent.com.au/) or on Twitter - https://twitter.com/michelle_falzon - or Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/yeswearecontent. 

Nicole Holland is the founder of the Business Building Rockstar Summit, which introduces service-based entrepreneurs to powerful marketing strategies and actionable steps that can help them get their message out in a BIG way.

Nicole, who is also a podcaster, introduces the concept of the virtual summit and explains her philosophy of providing value and developing relationships when organising one, and why it is important to have a long-term plan if you're going to go down this path.

Make your summit about the audience, Nicole says.

Trevor Young aka The PR Warrior discusses the 'propulsion' phase of how professional experts and aspiring thought leaders can fast-track their presence in the marketplace.

Following on from last week's program execution session (episode 106) and the planning episode before it (105), Trevor walks us through a number of activities that can be undertaken to put a rocket under your personal brand, including paid media, book publishing and public speaking.

As well he iterates the importance of tracking the progress of your marketing efforts to see what's working and what's not, so you can fine-tune things as you go.

Trevor Young aka The PR Warrior discusses the program execution aspect of how professional experts and aspiring thought leaders can build omnipresence for their personal brand in the marketplace using a combination of owned, earned and social media.

Following on from last week's planning session (episode 105), Trevor walks us through the importance of developing a pipeline of content, using a quarterly editorial calendar as a guide.

He talks about building a presence on social media through active personal participation; the focus on building relationships with key journalists and bloggers; the need to plug into our 'clusters of influence'; and the importance of always having a finger on the pulse of your thought leadership marketing activities, and why monitoring, reviewing and evaluating progress is critical for the long-term improvement and success of your Omnipresence program.

Trevor Young aka The PR Warrior discusses the planning aspect for how professional experts and aspiring thought leaders can build omnipresence in the marketplace.

In this intensive session, Trevor outlines the core planning elements, including understanding your purpose; the need to probe for deeper insights; positioning your personal brand and what that entails; who are the people you're trying to reach and communicate with; the package of content that will set you on your way; what your communications platform will look like; the process to make things happen, including the tools and resources required; and finally, what performance measures are you going to put in to place to evaluate your progress over the journey.

Jordana Borensztajn is a keynote speaker, social media trainer, creative content consultant, humourist and author of the new book, Capture My Attention: How to Stand Out Online with Creative Content.

In this episode, Jordana chats about the importance of using creativity to differentiate your personal brand in the marketplace, and why taking a creative risk is critical if you want to cut through the noise and capture people's attention with your story and your message.

Jordana outlines her cornerstones of creativity - imagination, passion, persistence and courage - and provides a number of examples of top creative thought leaders who are thinking and doing things differently, and resonating with an audience as a result.

Connect with Jordana on Twitter @JordanaOz, or visit her website www.jordanab.com.au.

Jordana's book 'Capture My Attention' is your complete guide to creating online content that will attract attention and make you stand out from your competitors. You can find details on where to buy it here.

Author and blogger Kerri Sackville has built a loyal and engaged following on social media, particularly Facebook.

While many individuals ('personal brands') despair over the ever-diminishing organic reach of their Facebook Brand Pages, Kerri's Facebook updates consistently generate considerable engagement (likes, comments, shares etc), while her quirky short videos attract up to 5000 views (not bad considering her Facebook page has under 5000 'likes').

In this chat with Trevor Young, Kerri discusses the importance of genuinely loving your audience, having a strong opinion, showing your personality on social media, and why being true to yourself when it comes to creating content is critical in building a loyal audience.

Stanley Johnson is a well-respected advertising creative director who blogs and tweets under the handle 'BrandDNA'.

A former weights and measures inspector who derives inspiration from pop culture and music in particular, Stanley manages to keep himself relevant in an ever-evolving industry through blogging and social media.

In this wide-ranging chat with Trevor Young, Stanley discusses curiosity, creativity and ideas, the importance of having (and wielding) an opinion, and why adding something uniquely yours to the content you share online will help differentiate your personal brand in the marketplace.

Jaqui Lane aka 'The Book Adviser' is a corporate storyteller, business historian, biographer and book coach who helps businesses and individual consultants capture, publish and sell their stories or IP as a printed book or across digital and social platforms.

Writing a business book involves a lot of research, interviewing and exploring, reading, taking notes, listening and asking questions.

Quite frankly, Jaqui says, there’s not a lot of writing that goes on in the initial stage of writing a business book. In particular, there are some key questions you need to ask before you start putting words on paper.

In this final part of our 100th episode, we hear from Content Marketing Institute's Joe Pulizzi, Ann Handley from Marketing Profs, and The Creative Penn's Joanna Penn.

Joe talks about the importance of focus, consistency and the power of "going all in".

Ann discusses the benefits of giving away your knowledge, and the importance of video in your content creation efforts.

Joanna chats about finding your voice, leaving digital breadcrumbs online, and the importance of having a book if you're a public speaker. 

Don't forget to check out the other parts to this episode:

PART 1 - The authentic thought leader: Unleashing the power of purpose

PART 2 - The authentic thought leader: Capitalising on the myriad opportunities to build and connect with an audience

We're still celebrating the 100th episode of Reputation Revolution.

In this 'sub-episode' (part B), we delve into our podcasting vault to unearth experts across blogging, podcasting, Facebook, LinkedIn and media relations.

We now have numerous communication channels at our disposal. Darren Rowse, Donna Papacosta, David M. Hobson, Simon Mossman and Loren Bartley provide their expert advice for aspiring thought leaders.

In part one of Reputation Revolution's 100th episode, host Trevor Young delves into the vaults to bring us four previous guests who inspired us with their thoughts, ideas and stories around authenticity in personal branding and the importance of thought leaders being aligned to their purpose.

This episode features comments from past guests Richard Sauerman, Karen Gunton, Lucy Whittington and Lisa Petrilli.

One social media trend that emerged last year and continues to gain traction in 2016 is video live-streaming via mobile app.

In this Thought Leader Thursday riff, Trevor Young explains the lay of the land when it comes to video live-streaming via mobile device and the opportunities it provides from a personal branding perspective.

Trevor discusses the various apps currently available, including Periscope, MeVee, Blab and Facebook Live, as well as a new social audio platform called Anchor, which is starting to generate some buzz in digital circles.

Shawn Callahan is one of the world’s leading business storytelling consultants and the founder of the consultancy, Anecdote. He works around the globe helping leaders find and tell stories so their message is clear and memorable. Shawn is also the author of the new book, Putting Stories to Work.

In this chat with Trevor Young, Shawn explains how stories are seven times more memorable than facts alone, and provides tips as to how aspiring thought leaders can use storytelling to influence, engage and inspire their audience. 

Shawn also discusses how blogging has been a key driver in building his professional profile (and business), and how he undertook the challenge of writing and publishing his own book.

It's Thought Leader Thursday, and host of Reputation Revolution Trevor Young is helping listeners to determine their content themes - what are your 'spheres of conversation'? What conversations do you want to be part of? What do you want to be known for? Lots of Venn diagrams (okay, you have to use your imagination!), lots of food for thought ... plenty to get you thinking about!

Organisational change management consultant and coach, Dr Jen Frahm, has been steadily building her profile in what is a crowded professional arena.

In this chat with Trevor Young, Dr Jen explains the important role purpose, flow and energy play in her professional life, and shares how she uses blogging to validate her ideas publicly, and LinkedIn Groups to connect with prospective clients and like-minded change management practitioners from around the world.

It's Thought Leader Thursday - in this episode, the PR Warrior Trevor Young explains the importance of blogging for professional subject matter experts wanting to raise their profile and grow their influence and reputation in the marketplace.

There are a number of advantages blogging provides, he says, including one side benefit in particular that gets scant attention (and it's pretty important!).

Andrew Griffiths is one of Australia's leading business book authors and speakers and has been at the top of his game for many years. Yet for a lot of that time he felt like an imposter. Even though he was nailing it in print and on-stage, his personal demons were never far away.

In this enlightening episode of Reputation Revolution, Trevor Young chats to Andrew about an article on 'imposter syndrome' he wrote for Inc.com (here's the link  - http://bit.ly/AGimposter); Andrew tells his 'imposter' story and outlines some of the strategies he used to overcome it.

You'll benefit from this chat if you're an aspiring thought leader - a business professional with a growing profile who's out and about speaking, writing, doing media, running workshops etc - but you're still carrying the burden of nagging doubt, a persistent fear that one day you might be exposed as a 'fraud' (even though the reality is far from that scenario!).

As Andrew writes in his Inc.com article: "We bluff our way through life in our business, wearing our public mask, undervaluing what we do, the skills we have and the difference we make."

Life becomes so much better once you overcome imposter syndrome, he says.

It's Thought Leader Thursday at Reputation Revolution! The PR Warrior Trevor Young riffs on five ways in which aspiring thought leaders can put a rocket under their personal brand, including blogging, Twitter, LinkedIn and public speaking.

Darrel Griffin is a business social media mentor who creates customer-focused LinkedIn training that helps companies and solopreneurs win more business.

Darrel discusses with Trevor Young a manifesto he has written specifically for his use of LinkedIn in 2016.

The interview takes a philosophical turn when Trevor and Darrel dive into the broader topic of how best to do business in today's digital age, with Darrel articulating a strong argument for providing value and building productive relationships.

He says most people come to him with the question: "How do I create leads with LinkedIn?". He counters with idea people should instead be asking themselves: "How do I provide value to my connections?"

It's Thought Leader Thursday! Reputation Revolution host Trevor Young - aka The PR Warrior - bristles at some of the criticism 'thought leadership' attracts in the marketplace.

While he understands why many people don't like the term thought leader, equally he wants us to embrace the concept of thought leadership and all it stands for, saying the world needs more bona fide thought leaders to stand up, stand out and share their ideas with the broader populace.

Simon Mossman is a business growth adviser with specialist skills in corporate communications, media and public relations. Following a long and varied career as a journalist, videographer, photographer, today Simon - through his business Mossman Media - advises and trains business owners, senior executives and solo professionals on how to deal effectively with the 'gatekeepers' of traditional media.

In this wide-ranging conversation with Trevor Young, Simon provides nonstop advice on how aspiring thought leaders can leverage traditional media to increase the reach for their message, story and ideas.

If you're becoming recognised as an expert in your field and the media come calling, what do you do then?

If you're at the beginning of your journey with minimal public profile but are thinking about pitching the media directly with an idea for a news story, what is the best way to go about doing that?

These are just some of the questions and issues Simon addresses in this episode.

After a brief hiatus over the Christmas break to recharge the podcasting batteries, Trevor Young is back in the host's chair, ready for another big year of Reputation Revolution.

In this episode, Trevor kicks off with the basics: What does your thought leader journey look like? What are you trying to achieve? What impact do you want to make on the world? 

He also discusses what 2016 looks like in terms of the topics and issues that will be covered on Reputation Revolution in the coming year.

Karen Gunton is an 'unstucktor' - she helps people get unstuck, to find the magic in their work, to help them both uncover their soul purpose and fulfil that purpose via their business.

In this episode of Reputation Revolution, Karen chats to Trevor Young about how she uses the 'lighthouse' as a metaphor for her philosophy and principles, and how she manages to weave it throughout her narrative.

Don't just build a business, build a lighthouse, she says; be you, stand tall, shine bright.

Karen talks about rediscovering your purpose, about getting 'unstuck' when hit with underlying fear and doubt, and about honouring who you are.

"Let yourself be weird," Karen says. "If you're not polarising, then you're probably being quite boring and bland and then the right people won't connect (with you) at all."

In this Thought Leader Thursday mini-episode of REPUTATION REVOLUTION, host Trevor Young discusses discusses why it's important to stick to your principles when it comes to promotional tactics such as email marketing.

Trevor provides the example of one recent email campaign that left him cold; rather than build a relationship or take him that extra step down the sales funnel, the email marketer lost Trevor's respect and his business.

Clarissa Rayward is 'The Happy Family Lawyer', a blogger, educator, speaker, author and director of the Brisbane Family Law Centre. She is passionate about relationships, people and family and uses her industry knowledge and skill to change the way Australian families experience divorce and separation.

In this episode of REPUTATION REVOLUTION, Clarissa discusses her journey from running a performance arts centre in Ireland to becoming a high-profile specialist family lawyer.

She covers how blogging and social connection has not only helped attract the right kinds of clients to her law practice but also made her a happier person - "the soft stuff that just makes business easier".

Clarissa explains how she took on one social platform at a time, starting with Facebook before moving on to Twitter and Instagram; how she finds Twitter useful for professional connections; why authenticity is critical in personal branding ("I prefer to share who I am as a person."); and how traditional media is starting to come to her because of the profile she's built in the marketplace.

Listen out for the changes Clarissa made to her blog content that resulted in her audience growing quite quickly (not to mention more interesting conversations on social media).

In this Thought Leader Thursday mini-episode of Reputation Revolution, Trevor Young discusses why aspiring thought leaders need to devote time and head space to building out their 'clusters on influence' - those groups of people who are influential in their own right, who are connected, who might be media channels in their own right, who drive the conversation around issues and topics near and dear to your professional heart.

Get to know who these people are, and set about connecting with them - over time, build a rapport with them; but, the key is to be genuine about it. This is not 'what's in it for you' territory, this is about becoming a valuable part of other people's networks and eco-systems.

Jocelyn Hunter is managing director  of Melbourne-based Bench PR; has over 16 years' PR experience spanning big brands to small start-ups in the UK and Australia. In 2012 she was listed as one of the the top ten female technology entrepreneurs in Australia and is a mentor for the Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA).

In this episode of Reputation Revolution, Jocelyn chats with Trevor Young about what's required to cut through and get noticed by the media, print journalists in particular.

She says aspiring thought leaders need to be informed if they're going to talk to the press and highlights the importance of having a strong opinion about the topic or issue you wish to be known for.

LinkedIn is a critical social platform for aspiring thought leaders.

Does your LinkedIn profile do the 'professional you' justice? Does your activity on the platform accurately tell your story and build your personal brand? 

In this Thought leader Thursday episode of Reputation Revolution, Trevor Young discusses the importance of getting your LinkedIn house in order; why it's important to be active on the platform on a day-to-day basis, and why publishing articles on LinkedIn Pulse can build recognition for your personal brand.

Mark Masters is the owner of UK content marketing agency, The ID Group; he's an avid blogger and podcaster, and more recently, author of the book 'The Content Revolution'.

In this episode, Mark chats to Trevor Young about how creating content for his business led to his book publishing deal; he discusses the power of leaving 'digital breadcrumbs', and how interviewing high profile experts in the global content marketing space raised not only his profile but also influence in the industry.

In this short Thought Leader Thursday episode, Trevor Young discusses whether aspiring thought leaders need their own personal website (with a domain containing their name) or can they get by using their existing business website.

‘Thought leadership’ can be quite a nebulous concept, says Trevor Young, author, speaker and host of REPUTATION REVOLUTION.

In this solo riff, Trevor says simply telling people you’re a thought leader doesn’t necessarily make you one. That said, there’s certainly nothing wrong with aspiring to become a thought leader in your industry, profession, discipline or community.

Trevor says that to become a thought leader today, you don’t need to rely on the gatekeepers e.g. the media, or book publishers: "You can become your own media channel, and you can publish your own books and distribute them globally," he says.

Adam Franklin is co-author of the book Web Marketing That Works; he's a podcaster, blogger and public speaker, and runs a digital marketing agency called Bluewire Media.

In this chat with Trevor Young, Adam provides an insight into how he goes about building relationships with key influencers in the digital marketing space, and discusses the power of sharing your knowledge through premium content giveaways. 

Donna Papacosta is a writer, speaker, podcaster and consultant; she runs the Toronto-based social media and content agency, Trafalgar Communications.

Donna is also co-author of the book The Business of Podcasting: How to Take Your Podcasting Passion from the Personal to the Professional, along with Steve "@PodcastSteve" Lubetkin. 

In this episode of Reputation Revolution, Donna chats about her new book and the role podcasting plays in the content marketing mix; she also discusses how subject matter experts can use audio to build their visibility and thought leadership in the marketplace. 

Ronsley Vaz's podcast, Bond Appetit, has generated 1.2 million downloads in 15 months. He built momentum quickly for the podcast, publishing three episodes a week for the first 12 months.

The podcast is still going strong today, having helped position Ronsley and his personal chef services business of the same name. But there is a side project taking up a bit of Ronsley's time currently - it's called 'We Are Podcast', and it's Australia's first podcasting summit, to be held on the Gold Coast on November 7-8, 2015.

Ronsley's vision is to unite people over food and ideas. He's big on the power of human connection to create movements around an idea, and sees podcasting as a fantastic way to build your personal platform and influence.

In this wide-ranging chat with Trevor Young, Ronsley discusses how he continues to move sideways, not upwards; how reputation precedes the conversation you have with people, the importance of the leaving a meaningful digital imprint on the plant, and the many different ways you can repurpose audio content.

Jo Saunders runs Wildfire Social Marketing in Perth, Western Australia.

She has just embarked on a new podcast with friend Ming Johanson called Social Truth, where they share the truth about social media and digital marketing tools and strategy for small business.

In this episode, Jo discusses how the idea to create Social Truth came about, and takes us through what was involved in getting it up and running. If you're interested in starting your own podcast, this episode will be of interest to you!

Jon Manning is one of Australia's leading pricing experts - he is the founder of Pricing Prophets, a web-based service where you can find an expert with experience in your industry to talk to about your toughest pricing challenges.

In this episode of Reputation Revolution, Jon discusses the key role LinkedIn has played in raising his profile, and how the increased visibility of his personal brand has helped him expand his workshop and speaking activities into China and Southeast Asia.

Ryan Rhoten is a personal brand reputation management coach, speaker and coach who helps people leverage their personal brands by understanding the importance of online reputation management. He is the host of The Brand New You Podcast which provides listeners with actionable tips and tactics to help them align who they are, with what they do.

In this episode of Reputation Revolution, Ryan discusses the five steps involved in becoming the Google of your niche, including owning your own domain name, starting a blog, creating and curating content, and engaging with your online community.

Former journalist turned digital branding strategist, Christoph Trappe, runs The Authentic Storytelling Project which encourages truth and realism in content marketing and communications.

Christoph has spoken at conferences around the globe, is a member of the Internet Marketing Association's International Executive Council and has been a nonprofit executive and career storyteller. He's a Top 100 content marketing influencer and top healthcare social media influencer.

In this chat with Trevor Young, Christoph explains what authentic storytelling means and why it's so powerful to have a unique viewpoint and be able to tell meaningful stories. The discussion takes in blogging, Twitter, Periscope and Blab, public speaking and Content Marketing World.

Dionne Lew is the first return guest on the Reputation Revolution! Dionne is an author, speaker and high-level consultant specialising in social media strategy for the C Suite.

In this episode Dionne discusses how she uses social media to grow her professional network on a global scale. She shares how long she spends researching and writing articles for her blog, the amount of time she invests participating in social media, and why she chooses to guest post on other people's blogs.

Participation on social media channels is important if you're wanting to grow your professional profile and reputation. But is can be daunting sometimes, especially from a time perspective.

Trevor Young has been active on social channels since 2007 and today advises business professionals on how to strategically build their personal brand using social media and online publishing platforms. In this episode of Reputation Revolution, Trevor discusses the importance of making social media a habit, part of your day-to-day activities, and how to use tools to leverage your time more effectively.

Will Blunt is a blogger, researcher and entrepreneur. He is the founder of Blogger Sidekick, which helps marketers, virtual entrepreneurs and small businesses get more traffic, leads and revenue by taking the stress and guesswork out of blogging.

In this conversation with Trevor Young, Will discusses the power of publishing 'epic' evergreen blog content that gets noticed, shared and drives traffic back to your website. 

He explains why it's important to create unique images for blog posts, plus reveals his three-step process for promoting and amplifying epic blog articles.

David J.P. Fisher helps professionals and business owners communicate and network like rockstars! He is the author of several books, including 'Networking in the 21st Century: Why Your Network Sucks and What to Do About It"'.

In this interview with Trevor Young, David discusses the importance of understanding the basics of professional networking: How do you want to be perceived, who are the people you need to reach out to (and how do you go about doing it), and how are you going to deliver value.

David chats about the power of light touches' in the relationship-building process, and why being consistent across everything you do is critical if you want to build trust with your network.

In the previous episode of Reputation Revolution (ep 67) our interview guest, global thought leader Darren Woolley, was effusive in his praise for Mike Morgan, a founder and director of New Zealand based SEO consultancy, High Profile Enterprises.

So we decided to get Mike on the show to explain the role he has played in not just building Darren's professional personal brand on a global basis, but how it led to a doubling of revenue for Darren's consulting business, TrinityP3.

In this episode Mike discusses why search engine optimisation, social media and content marketing are important for personal brand-based businesses, and why giving away your knowledge - your 'secret sauce' - is such an effective strategy.

Mike explains why it's important to create content for humans first, (search engine) robots second, the role Google+ plays in the SEO process, and why long-form blog articles tend to be shared with more frequency than their short, pithy counterparts.

Darren Woolley is the founder of global consulting practice TrinityP3. He has also stamped his authority in the arena of marketing management, an industry niche he helped develop over the past decade.

Darren does everything right when it comes to personal branding. He blogs, tweets, publishes books, speaks, builds relationships with journalists and influencers AND he has a point of view (and isn't afraid to express it).

If you want to know what it takes to become a genuine thought leader in your industry, you won't want to miss this interview with Darren Woolley! He lays out his blueprint, and throws in some tasty stories and insightful advice as well. 

Caroline Childerley describes herself as "three parts woman, one part gin". It's an apt description - she's following her passion and turning her love of all things gin into a personal brand-based media property called The Gin Queen.

In this interview with Trevor Young, Caroline discusses how she is going about building her reputation as a go-to informational resource for all things gin. She chats about the importance of taking online relationships offline, the role content and social media play in building credibility in a niche, the importance of listening to your audience and creating content around their needs, and why it's critical to shine the spotlight on other people's stories.

We live in an on-demand ‘opt-in’ world. People are increasingly shunning the hype and instead choosing to opt in to those brands and individuals that are relevant to our lives in some way, that deliver value over and above their products and services, that tap into our core beliefs and interests and thus resonate more deeply on an emotional level. 

The savvy personal brand-based businesses that ‘get’ this shift in consumer behaviour – that not only understand the mood of the marketplace but can keep up with it from an executional perspective – are the ones that increasingly will win hearts and minds of the people.

In this episode of REPUTATION REVOLUTION, the PR Warrior Trevor Young riffs on the concept of owned and earned media and how it can be leveraged to build your 'professional' personal brand.

Michelle Gallaher is the Creative Director of The Social Science, a social media advisory firm that specialises in the highly-regulated field of biotechnology and medical science.

In this episode of The Reputation Revolution, Michelle chats to Trevor Young about how she made the switch from life sciences to social media (ultimately building a business that sits at the intersection of both); she discusses the importance of the elements of niche, language and network, and lets us in on how she approaches the content curation process.

Michelle McQuaid is a best-selling author, workplace wellbeing teacher and playful change activator.

In this chat with Trevor Young, Michelle discusses her journey from a senior corporate marketing role to what she's doing now - helping people discover their strengths, move beyond their fears, and finally discover what it truly takes to flourish with confidence.

Michelle discusses the importance of elevating your personal brand credentials, and why she decided to grow her business more slowly and deliberately because it was more authentic (and true to herself) to do so.

Other topics include tapping into the power of earned media (the story behind how Michelle got to become a contributor to Huffington Post is a ripper!), rapid prototyping, and the importance of creating pieces of IP and then 'sweating that asset'.

Darren Rowse has been blogging for over 10 years; his two blogs - Digital Photography School and Problogger - collectively attract some five million unique readers a month, so you could say Darren knows a thing or two about this blogging caper. Oh, and he also publishes books, produces a podcast, runs conferences and events and is a speaker and author. 

In this chat with Trevor Young, Darren discusses the power of blogging with heart and purpose, and how to use a blog effectively to tell the story of your business and get more people to know, like and trust you as an individual and a brand.

Mark Schaefer is a globally-recognised author, speaker, educator, podcaster and business consultant who blogs at {grow} – one of the top marketing blogs of the world. He is also the author of five best-selling books, including Social Media Explained, The Tao of Twitter and Return on Influence. 

Mark's clients include Dell, Adidas, and the US Air Force. He has been a keynote speaker at prestigious events all over the world including SXSW, Marketing Summit Tokyo, and the Institute for International and European Affairs.

In a world where people are quick to label themselves experts and gurus, Mark is a bona fide thought leader, always willing to provide well-considered perspectives as well as lead debate on trends and issues associated with social media and marketing in today's ever-evolving digital world.

In this chat with Trevor Young, Mark details his own personal brand journey from classically-trainered B2B marketer to one of the world's most respected voices on social media; he also discusses the importance of building 'shareability' into your online content, the subject of his latest book The Content Code.

The PR Warrior Trevor Young kicks off episode 60 by recapping the lessons learned from the first six months of the Reputation Revolution podcast.

That out of the way, Trevor then riffs on what he calls the social media 'triple threat' - the three online platforms aspiring thought leaders should focus on to build their professional personal brand.

Lucy Whittington is a UK-based author and 'Manager of Business Celebrities'; she helps people 'find their thing' and get famous for it.

In this interview with Trevor Young, Lucy skewers the personal branding concepts of 'unique selling propositions' and 'finding your niche', preferring that people instead focus on finding their 'thing' - what they're brilliant at - that innate talent that sets them apart from everyone else. And for many people, this is not as easy as it sounds!

Lucy also walks us through her five-stage process of becoming a business celebrity: Find your thing, have a 'fame name', interesting stories sell, nothing is impossible and get in your spotlight.

Lisa Petrilli is passionate about visionary leadership and true empowerment; she is an experienced corporate executive having run a $750 million business within a Fortune 1000 company, and named a Top 20 CMO by Forbes for social influence.

In this interview with Trevor Young, Lisa discusses how she weaves several themes into her personal branding narrative - visionary leadership, self-empowerment and introvertism - and how doing that differentiates her from other experts and thought leaders operating in a similar professional space.

Lisa also chats about the power of using Twitter strategically (and authentically); the professional benefits associated with of hosting a regular hashtagged Twitter chat (Lisa was a co-founder of the original #LeadershipChat on Twitter); and the intellectual clarity that comes with regular blogging.

Business ghostwriter Derek Lewis has worked with thought leaders from five continents, spanning leadership, technology, and economics. His clients work with the International Monetary Fund, SAP, DaimlerChrysler, Walmart, Microsoft, Disney, and the Red Cross.

Derek is also the author of 'The Business Book Bible', the authoritative source on how to write business books.

In this interview with Trevor Young, Derek explains how he helps turn business experts into authors, and outlines his 5-step process for effectively producing a successful business thought leadership book.

"It's a wonderful time to be an author," Derek says.

Kate McCombs is a sex and relationships educator, blogger, speaker and workshop facilitator whose mission is to help people lead happier, sexier and more connected lives.

Kate is the founder of Sex Geekdom, a community for folks like her who delight in having meaningful conversations about sexuality. There are Sex Geekdom hubs hosting meet ups in cities all over the world.

In this interview with Trevor Young, Kate discusses the personal branding side-benefits that come with building a grassroots community, and the role blogging and social media play in growing profile, influence and authority.

David M. Hobson is a trainer and speaker on how to use LinkedIn for business development, joint ventures and building trust in your personal brand.

In this rapid-fire interview with Trevor Young, David says a big mistake many professionals make is that they undervalue the power of the LinkedIn platform; discusses the need to grow your network in order to maximise the 'amplkification effect', and shares active, passive ands automated strategies for getting the most out of LinkedIn.

Other topics covered include tactics for increasing engagement on LinkedIn, and whether or not you should pay money to become a premium member of the network.

Trevor Young goes solo in this episode of REPUTATION REVOLUTION, riffing on a topic dear to his heart, and that is the importance of generosity in building one's personal brand.

Trevor believes building one's professional authority in a particular industry or niche area requires a generous heart - give freely your knowledge and expertise through blogging, podcasting, social media and public speaking; share your ideas and stories with the broader world; shine the spotlight on others in your industry, including competitors - all without the expectation of getting anything in return.

Victoria Rose is a leadership speaker and trainer who specialises in self-empowerment and resilience.

Seven years ago at the age of 58, Victoria started her own business and today she continues to build her personal brand through blogging, social media, speaking and book publishing.

In this interview with Trevor Young, Victoria discusses the power of legacy, on moving from 'now to wow' (there are five steps), staking out your niche, creating content from one's experiences, and the importance of being clear on what you value in life.

Two years ago Kath Walters was neck-deep in her career as a highly-regarded business journalist; today, she has taken her journalistic skills and transitioned into a new venture focusing on content marketing strategy and training.

In this interview with Trevor Young, Kath chats about how she made the leap from journalism to content marketing, the importance of undertaking pratical training and the power of capturing your own IP. 

Kath also provides tips on how to create what she calls 'sticky content', and how to create impactful and relevant headlines that are "simple, direct and urgent". 

Bec Derrington is the founder of SourceBottle.com, a free and easy-to-use platforms that connects bloggers and journalists with knowledgeable sources - specialists, subject matter experts and thought leaders.

Given she has literally helped thousands of storytellers (from the media) connect with informational experts, the people who tell the stories, Bec is well placed to see what works and what doesn't when it comes to matching journalists and broadcast producers with informational experts.

In this interview with Trevor Young, Bec discusses the power of earning third-party endorsement from the media, the advantage of building a digital footprint and why it's important for subject matter experts to have an opinion which they stick by.

What does it take to become known as the thought leader in a particular niche or business category, globally, and do it in under eight years?

How can you build a global platform for your personal brand and leverage that into a flourishing business that employs 28 staff and continues to grow year-on-year?

Well, Joe Pulizzi has done just that. Joe is the perfect modern-day example of how to build a trusted personal brand on a global basis. As the founder of Content Marketing Institute, he has probably done more than anyone else on the planet to educate the marketplace on the fast-growing discipline known as 'content marketing'.

In this candid interview with Trevor Young, Joe explains how he got going in content marketing, the importance of going 'all in' on a content niche (including on social channels such as Twitter) and why the three keys to building a personal brand are having a blog, a book and speaking in public.

Twelve months ago, Mandy Johnson - aka 'The Accidental HR Revolutionary' - was a self-confessed "social media dinosaur". Today, however, Mandy's a convert to social media and is active on both Twitter and LinkedIn; indeed, her presence on both platforms is having a positive impact on her personal brand-based business.

In this discussion with the PR Warrior Trevor Young, Mandy outlines her approach to Twitter, including how she participates in hashtag conversations and the importance of using the medium to build relationships on a global scale. Mandy talks about the power of blogging and why expressing ideas that you're passionate about is a surefire way to attract an audience on social channels.

Gavin Heaton aka blogger 'Servant of Chaos' is a thought leader in the area of digital marketing and business innovation; he's a speaker, strategist, startup advisor and pioneer of Australia's blogging and social media scene.

In this interview with Trevor Young, Gavin explains his approach to blogging, and how he uses Twitter and LinkedIn to build his profile and influence; he also discusses how he crowdsourced content for his popular three-book series called 'The Age of Conversation'.

Leading vintage lifestyle blogger and self-confessed "multidisciplinary artist and entrepreneur", Candice DeVille, has consistently maintained an authentic personal brand over many years and across online media platforms (not to mention offline as well).

In this interview with Trevor Young, Candice discusses the importance of projecting a consistent image across multiple channels if you're going to be publishing content and using social media to build your brand and your business.

She also explains the power of personally being authentic and true to yourself, and chats about the various social mediums she uses to build and maintain her community of fans, followers and supporters of her brand.

Oscar Trimboli is a Sydney-based leadership coach, mentor and speaker; over the past seven years he has coached, mentored and advised people in a wide range of roles from founders, CEO, CFO, COO, CMO, CTO and a variety of other leadership roles in financial services, technology, professional services, education and not-for-profits.

In this chat with Trevor Young, Oscar discusses the power of 'pause', of creating space for yourself; he talks of personal mission statements, and explains the importance of examining your purpose not just with a 'microscope' (details) but a telescope (broader horizons).

Podcasting has been getting a bit of positive press of late as the public catches on to the advantages of listening to audio-on-demand.

Entrepreneur Suzi Dafnis has been podcasting since 2010 and regularly produces two shows - herBusiness and Social Media for Small Business - under the banner of her business, the Australian Businesswomen's Network.

In this chat with Trevor Young, Suzi discusses why podcasting is a powerful way to get your message across and demonstrate your knowledge and expertise. She also provides tips and strategies for those thinking of starting a podcast as part of their content marketing program.

Twitter continues to play a key role in building the reputations of many thought leaders and high profile subject matter experts.

Trevor Young aka 'The PR Warrior' explains why Twitter works best when it's part of a daily habit and why it's important to show up and interact with people in real-time. He discusses ideas for sharing content on Twitter and how best to utilise scheduling tools such as Buffer.

Facebook has undergone a lot of changes in recent times, but is it still a useful channel for business professionals wanting to grow and communicate with their audience?

In this episode Impactiv8's Loren Bartley discusses not just the changes to Facebook but looks at the ways in which aspiring thought leaders and subject matter experts can leverage the platform to build their personal brand and their business.

Creating and publishing original content is critical if you're a business professional looking to build your personal profile, influence and authority.

The PR Warrior Trevor Young discusses his PR-influenced philosophy when it comes to content marketing, and outlines the stepping stones required in becoming your own 'media channel'.

Charles Badenach is an award-winning financial adviser with a passion for helping people, a trait that has helped him build his profile through content marketing and the judicious use of social media.

Post-GFC Charles was determined to make himself recession-proof and subsequently set about building a personal brand with a view it would serve him for the rest of his career.

In this interview with Trevor Young, Charles discusses his approach to content marketing, especially the use of video, and how he uses LinkedIn to grow his business.

Ed Charles from Tomato Media has carved out a reputation as an authority on the ins-and-outs of Melbourne's 'foodie' scene.

In this interview with Trevor Young, Ed explains how he uses blogging, Twitter, Facebook plus a strategic approach to content curation to grow his profile and circle of influence within the hospitality industry.

In this final episode for 2014, host of Reputation Revolution, Trevor Young, chats briefly about the podcast episodes published this year - perhaps there were some interviews you missed and that sound interesting? 

Rather than always be pushing his promotional message on to people, author and blogger Mark Masters prefers to explore topics and issues by creating content, telling stories and participating on social channels.

"Let's talk about it", he says, a nod to his innate curiosity and desire to learn through conversation.

It must be working because Mark is quickly making a name for himself in international content marketing circles!

Mark runs UK-based design and content marketing agency, The ID Group; his new book - THE CONTENT REVOLUTION: Telling a Better Story to Differentiate From the Competition - will be released in the early part of 2015.

Content marketing expert and blogger at Global Copywriting, Sarah Mitchell, believes the thought leaders and thought leadership have reached their sell-by date. 

Sarah blogged recently: "If you’re selling yourself as a thought leader, you’re already losing audience because we’re all worn out by the phrase. We don’t believe you. So if thought leaders are dead (or should be) what does that leave?"

In this episode Sarah chats with Trevor Young about why she wants to kill off the phrase thought leadership; the words 'influencers' and 'innovators' also come under Sarah's spotlight.

Megan Iemma from Tech Coach HQ helps businesses and individuals boost their productivity through the smart use of digital apps, tools and platforms. She's also an Evernote specialist trainer.

In this episode of Reputation Revolution, Megan discusses her favourite tools, apps and services suitable for aspiring thought leaders who want to get the most from their digital devices, including Evernote, Source Bottle, Google Alerts, Skitch and Canva. 

Richard Sauerman aka 'The Brand Guy' uses brand to help companies and individuals create the world they want to succeed in. His mantra: Life begins at the end of your comfort zone! He's the author of the book and blog 'Wake Up Tiger'.

In this interview with Trevor Young, Richard expounds the power of 'putting yourself out there' - he challenges professionals and thought leaders to get out of their comfort zone and become more unreasonable.

Jeff Bullas is a blogger, author, strategist and speaker who helps companies and executives optimize their online presence with digital and social media marketing.

Jeff's blog - JeffBullas.com - clocks up over four million page views a year; his Twitter following numbers over 276,000 and Forbes has listed him as a .Top 50 Social Media Power Influencer'.

However, it wasn't always that way; Jeff's beginnings were very humble indeed - a former bedding retailer, he was broke and unemployed when he started his blogging journey five and a half years ago.

But passion and persistence, coupled with a desire to learn and iterate along the way, has seen Jeff build an impressive global online platform that continues to provide him with unexpected opportunities on a regular basis. 

Ann Handley is the Chief Content Officer of Marketing Profs and author of the new book 'Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content'.

Ann is all about empowering people to become better writers in a marketing context. In this interview she discusses the power of telling stories from the perspective of your customers, and why it's important for thought leaders to write with an "undiluted voice".

Ted Coiné and Mark Babbitt are authors of the new book - 'A World Gone Social: How Companies Must Adapt to Survive' - plus they run a multi-author leadership blog called SwitchandShift.com, which attracts close to a million readers a year.

In this episode of Reputation Revolution, Ted and Mark riff on the importance of being human in business today; why 'displaying your character' is a key to success in social media; and how they've grown their respective followings on Twitter (Mark has 33,000 followers; Ted has 400,000). And finally, we discuss the question posed by Ted and Mark in their book: "Are experts obselete"?

Valerie Khoo is an author, speaker and multi-passionate entrepreneur with several growing businesses under her belt; she is a prolific content creator who has steadily built her public profile over a period of years by personally engaging with her online community not to mention adding value in the form of words (blog posts), audio (podcasting) and video (e.g. the 30-day video challenge, Vidtember).

In this chat with the PR Warrior Trevor Young, Valerie chats about her use of social media and content marketing; the power of podcasting; managing one's professional versus private self on social media and and how she manages to fit in all her social media and content creation commitments. Cats, dogs and Bon Jovi also get mentioned!

Sean Callanan has gone from being a humble IT developer in suburban Melbourne to interviewing Mark Cuban, the billionaire owner of NBA team, Dallas Mavericks, for his popular podcast.

Sean has built a growing business around his two passions, sport and technology; he's also a professional speaker as well as producer and host of two high profile podcasts - 'Sports Geek' and 'Beers Blokes & Business'. He's asked regularly by the media to comment on issues associated with sport and technology, and lists some of Australia's biggest sporting names as clients.

Creating and publishing online content and developing connections via social media have been instrumental in Sean's growing international reputation, but perhaps his most successful marketing strategy has been to jump on a plane and visit industry contacts in the US and UK. It's these relationships, reinforced face to face, that have had potentially the biggest impact on his career to date.

Suzanne Kiraly is the founder of AussieWriters.com.au; she's a speaker, book coach and digital consultant who helps writers market their books effectively and to negotiate the complex digital world of publishing.

In this episode, Suzanne discusses what's involved in publishing and marketing your own book; we cover a range of topics, from developing the writing habit through to print-on-demand platforms, pricing strategies and marketing your book via Amazon.

The PR Warrior Trevor Young recently spent a day (along with 150 other people!) with best-selling business author and marketing provocateur, Seth Godin.

In this episode, Trevor sifts through his notes and passes on the 'nuggets of gold' he gleaned from the day-long session with Seth, and then tries to put Seth's wisdom, stories and advice into perspective for the REPUTATION REVOLUTION audience: What does it all this mean for aspiring thought leaders, subject matter experts, change agents and entrepreneurs who want to increase their influence, grow their audience and build their brand and their business?

Joanne Jacobs is a former academic turned company director and digital strategist. She's also a blogger, a trainer, a public speaker, a change manager, an operations and project manager; she does business development, and on occasion can even do a bit of programming and fix technology software and hardware. She is currently involved in four businesses and is on the board of another two. She writes for a range of sources and is still exploring other business investment and strategic opportunities. Phewww!

With so much going on, how does Joanne position herself in the marketplace?

Jason Berek-Lewis is an evangelist for digital innovation in healthcare; he is a prominent blogger at HealthStartups.com and an emerging digital influencer and thought leader in the social healthcare arena.

In this interview with the PR Warrior Trevor Young, Jason outlines his strategy to grow his visibility and influence within digital healthcare circles and explains his thought leadership journey so far including the important role blogging has played to date. 

In marking the 25th episode of The Reputation Revolution podcast, the PR Warrior Trevor Young highlights 10 thought leaders from Australia, England and the US - and discusses what are some of the lessons we can take away from each one.

Steve Sammartino's 'Startup Blog' attracts a monthly audience of over 30,000; he uses it to share his thoughts and ideas around topics including business and technology, entrepreneurship, marketing and digital culture. 

In this interview with Trevor Young, Steve discusses how his blog forms a key part of his platform, how it has helped not only his speaking and consulting career but also was instrumental in him getting a book deal. Steve's new book - 'The Great Fragmentation: and why the future of business is small' - is out now through Wiley Publishing.

Thanks to breakthroughs in technology, it's never been easier to publish your own book and have it available for purchase anywhere in the world. 

Joanna Penn is an author, speaker podcaster and micro-publishing entrepreneur; in this interview with Trevor Young, Joanna chats about living a creative life, and the opportunities that come with publishing your own book/s.

For the aspiring thought leader, publishing a book is not only a professional milestone, it can also serve as a foundational element of their positioning in the marketplace.

In this special ‘PR Warrior Unplugged’ episode of Reputation Revolution, Trevor Young riffs on the concept of self-publishing versus going through a traditional publishing house.

To become an effective thought leader, you must put yourself and your thoughts and ideas out into the public arena.

This maybe through public speaking, blogging or podcasting, writing articles for the media or being interviewed by bloggers, podcasters or journalists, not to mention having an active and personal presence on social networks such as Twitter.

But any of these activities can also be a huge challenge or a roadblock for many people. How best can we deal with putting ourselves in the glare of the public spotlight?

If you’re a business professional, change agent, coach, consultant or author – raising your profile and establishing your bona fides is all part of doing business today.

Catriona Pollard is the founder of Sydney PR and social media agency, CP Communications. In this episode she chats with Trevor Young about the core themes of her new book, From Unknown to Expert.

Tristan White is well known in physiotherapy circles as an entrepreneur who has cornered a growing niche. His business - The Physio Co. - specialises in working with the elderly in aged care facilities.

However, Tristan has a growing sideline business as a result of a thought leadership positioning he's built over recent years: Workplace culture.

In this interview with Trevor Young, Tristan discusses the importance of authenticity, blogging and social media (in particular LinkedIn) in building one's reputation as a thought leader.

Danielle Storey is the Million Dollar Relationships with Customers specialist. She’s a professional speaker and mentor, a member of the Expert Panel for Business Victoria and former president of National Speakers Association Australia (Victoria).

She discusses the power of finding your 'why', and the importance of systemizing your relationship-building efforts.

Nicole Matejic (aka the #SocialFirefighter) trained as a photojournalist, became a private investigator, worked for Australia's Customs and Border Protection Service as well as in strategic communications for the Federal Government's Defence Department.

Over the past four years she's been making a name for herself in the emerging area of social media in law enforcement and the military.

In this interview with Trevor Young, Nicole discusses how she uses Twitter to develop business relationships on s global basis, generates leads using LinkedIn, and why her blog is her most important personal branding tool and was the catalyst for the professional path she currently finds herself on.

Cat Matson is known as a CATalyst for sparking ideas and connecting resources, people and practical strategies; she's a keynote speaker and social media specialist, and co-host of the podcast 'Social Media for Small Business'.

In this interview with the PR Warrior Trevor Young, Cat chats all things social media and explains how she has built her professional profile within the business community. 

The PR Warrior Trevor Young discusses the power of being "authentically you" when it comes to strategically building your professional 'personal' brand.

What is authenticity anyway, and how can we use it to add to our narrative, grow our influence and make us stand out from others in our space?

Jim Stewart is a legend in Aussie SEO circles. In this interview with Trevor Young, Jim chats all things keywords and search engine optimisation – in a language we can all understand! 

Greg Savage is a 56-year-old former recruitment company CEO who over a period of five years has built a Twitter following of 30,000+. 

In this frank interview with Trevor Young, Greg provides proven practical advice for aspiring thought leaders when it comes to making the combination of Twitter and blogging work for their personal brand. 

Greg also covers social media ROI and a Huffington Post article he wrote that went viral and sparked US media interest.

The PR Warrior Trevor Young discusses four different types of content thought leaders need to be aware of ---> utility-based content, thought leadership content, human content and promotional content.

Yvonne Adele is a seasoned speaker, MC and professional speaking coach. She provides tips and advice for thought leaders wanting to focus on speaking as a way to build their profile and credibility as well as generate income, whether directly via fees or indirectly via product sales and/or consulting gigs.

Topics covered include how to beat public speaking nerves, the power of testimonials, developing a speaker's kit, the different types of speaking gigs available, charging fees and working with speakers' bureaus.

Media Stable's Nic Hayes provides tips and advice as to how expert commentators and thought leaders can best deal with the media and generate editorial exposure for their ideas, opinions and personal brand.

Trevor Young outlines the basic steps that aspiring thought leaders need to take in order to effectively pitch their story to the media, and why thinking laterally, aiming small and building credibility in media circles is the best strategy for aspiring thought leaders.

Des Walsh is a Queensland-based social media author, speaker, business coach and LinkedIn expert.

In this interview with Trevor Young, Des provides tips and advice as to how aspiring thought leaders can use LinkedIn more effectively to build their visibility and influence. Topics include optimising your profile page, inviting others to join your network, running a LinkedIn Group, and the importance of developing the habit of checking in with LinkedIn on a regular basis. 

Building your thought leadership brand involves defining your story and developing your key messages and evidence-based ‘proof-points’, as well as selecting and activating your communication channels.

Craig Badings is a corporate communications specialist who believes strongly in the strategic competitive advantage that comes with being a thought leader.

In this interview with the PR Warrior, Trevor Young, Craig chats about how business professionals can build their reputation by thinking and more importantly, acting, like a thought leader.

The PR Warrior Trevor Young discusses the importance of establishing a vibrant blog - an online 'home base' for your personal brand.

Topics covered include which blogging platform to use, how many times you should blog, and the types of content you should consider publishing.

Ross Clennett is an Australian-based speaker, trainer, writer and coach known as the ‘Recruiter’s Recruitment Expert’. 

In this interview with Trevor Young, Ross chats about how he runs his niche business training and advising recruitment companies, and the emphasis he places on blogging, Twitter and LinkedIn to increase his reach and influence.

Trevor Young discusses why it's important for aspiring thought leaders to strategically plan and develop a communications platform for their story, their message and their ideas.

Blogger, author, speaker and consultant Dionne Kasian-Lew advises CEOs, boards and the 'C Suite' on the risks and opportunities associated with social media.

In this interview with Trevor Young, she chats about how she handled the transition from a senior role in a major corporate to running her own small business.

In this inaugural episode of 'Reputation Revolution', the PR Warrior gives his take on thought leadership and personal branding in today's crowded, hyper-networked world.