Online Business Models and Building a Personal Brand Cindy Royal, Ph.D Assistant Professor Texas State University School of Journalism and Mass Communication tech.cindyroyal.net twitter.com/cindyroyal facebook.com/cindyroyal

The Long Tail Chris Anderson, editor of Wired Written first as an article , started a blog, then a book Online recommendations and delivery can facilitate a market of niches The market of “misses” can add up to more than the market for “hits” Depends on how efficiently you can reach those niche markets 80/20 Rule – Pareto Principle No longer driven by economics of scarcity “the cultural benefit of all of this is much more diversity, reversing the blanding effects of a century of distribution scarcity and ending the tyranny of the hit.”

The Long Tail

The Long Tail Rules Make everything available Cut the price Help me find it

Free Also by Chris Anderson, 2008 Used same method, article, blog, then book Idea that you can make money by giving away something Gillette – disposable blades; give away razors, sell blades. Marginal cost of digital approaches $0. Also based on the economics of abundance, not scarcity Reputation economy and attention economy Free shifts solely from $$$ to other types of value

Free Freemium – basic services are free; premium is paid. Can survive with a small % of premium subscribers (1%) ex. Flickr Cross-subsidies – pay for one thing, get another for free; give away music, people will come to shows Zero marginal cost – anything that is given away, without expectation of return; give away music as a form of creative expression Labor exchange – do something in return for something else; barter; ex. Facebook – everyone's contributions create value Gift economy – altruism; ex. Wikipedia

Crush It! Gary Vaynerchuk, 2009 Family wine business; started WineLibraryTV Video blog – wine for the common man Became expert on personal branding

Crush It! Personal brand – authentic you, thing that differentiates you from everyone else Convey your passion You and your brand are one and the same; everyone has one – depends on how you communicate it Social media gives everyone a shot at extending their brand “Embrace your DNA, be yourself, put out awesome content.” Word of mouth on steroids Living and breathing your resume every second; Twitter and Facebook – that's your resume Hiring decisions made by personal connections Buy a piece of real estate on someone's brain )not Crush It, but it still relates)

Ways to “monetize” Advertising Speaking engagements Affiliate programs Retail Articles Seminars/teaching Books and TV Consulting Requires authenticity, hustle, patience

Crush It! Blog – communicates essence of brand; integrate with website as digital hub Utilize sharing mechanisms Facebook page that supports blog Twitter - “perhaps the most powerful brand-building tool in your toolbox” Retweets are endorsements Press release opportunity; close relationship with customers Research tool; crowdsource questions, ideas Questions are opportunities for conversations Vehicle for spreading commercial intentions Use to lure people to your blog Flickr or other photo sharing site YouTube and video streaming Use Analytics