Trust and reputation

A collection of 34 posts

Authority brand

Why personal branding has a reputation problem

Why is it that some people manage to build large online followings but can't sustain the hype and buzz over time? It’s because they got things arse-about: They invested heavily in their personal brand before building the reputation to support it, and eventually, the gap between the

Authority brand

The Friday Night Lights guide to building a presence the market can't deny

“Clear Eyes. Full Hearts. Can’t Lose.” These six words play an integral role before games played by the Dillon Panthers in Friday Night Lights, the television series set in a small Texas town where high school football isn’t a pastime, it’s everything. Every Friday night, the entire

LinkedIn

The PR tactic hiding in plain sight that most people dismiss as frivolous

In a previous article I unpacked a concept I call Micro-Acts of PR, or MAPRs, explaining how small moves can build big reputations over time. In this issue, I want to show what that looks like in action and in doing so, reinforce a tactic we all know about but

Public relations

Micro-Acts of PR: Small moves that build big reputations

“The podcast appearance this month might lead to your dream client… next year.” I love that line from Ellen Donnelly, publisher of The Ask newsletter - it’s bang on! Why? Because it perfectly sums up how visibility, trust, and reputation actually work today. To be fair, it’s the

Thought leadership

Unpacking ARC - the professional transformation that moves leaders and experts from the margins into the frame

You have the expertise. The track record. The ideas that capture people’s attention. The insights that could shift conversations and open doors. But none of it matters if you’re standing in the margins, hidden largely from public view. You’re a credible professional, a solo practice owner or

Thought leadership

You're more visible than ever. So why aren't there more opportunities coming your way?

You’ve been putting in the work - showing up consistently, posting regularly, sharing insights - in an attempt to raise your professional profile and build your presence online. But the opportunities you expected - the inbound inquiries, the quality clients, the meaningful partnerships, the podcast interviews - aren’t

Authority brand

The content curator's path to building an authority brand

When it comes to building personal brand authority, it’s common to assume you need to always be publishing original ideas - crafting bold opinions, staking contrarian positions, and ‘owning’ a distinctive point of view in the marketplace. And it’s a fair assumption. That pathway works. But it’s

Thought leadership

Two timely reminders and a thought provocation

Here are a couple of timely reminders regarding how we communicate our business and personal brand, plus a shift in vibe for LinkedIn: Can we fall back in love with the platform? And for added spice, are we seeing a shakeout of email newsletters? Let’s get into it! 1.

Thought leadership

Taking your personal brand Off Broadway: The 'hidden stages' where authority is built and reputations are made

Philip Seymour Hoffman never abandoned the small stage. Even after winning an Academy Award and becoming one of the most respected actors of his generation, he kept showing up in Off Broadway and even Off, Off Broadway productions. He became a key member and director at the LAByrinth Theater Company,

Thought leadership

Crossing the ‘perception bridge’ from expert to authority

You can be brilliant at what you do and still remain invisible. Every industry has its unsung heroes - the battle-hardened consultants who quietly deliver exceptional results, the entrepreneurs whose ideas and insights have the potential to reshape an entire sector, the advisors whose depth of knowledge runs circles around

Thought leadership

The 3 dimensions of consistency every expert or thought leader needs to master

Everyone talks about consistency when building a professional presence. "Post regularly," they say. "Stick to a schedule." "Show up every day." But here's the problem: most people think consistency means publishing frequency. They're measuring the wrong thing. Publishing regularly does

Thought leadership

MICRO-CASE STUDY: Real-time example of the earned media 'ripple effect' in action

I recently published an article unpacking earned media, explaining why isn’t just PR buzz anymore, and how it has become one of the most powerful trust signals you can have. But what does earned media look like in action? Glad you asked :) Something happened to me this week that

Thought leadership

The algorithmic erosion of identity

When your communication strategy becomes "whatever generates engagement," several things begin to deteriorate: ➡️ Consistency of values > You start bending your message to fit trending topics, even when they contradict your actual beliefs or experience. ➡️ Clarity of voice > Your writing becomes optimised for algorithmic amplification rather than

Thought leadership

Why I’m returning to Substack (and what it says about the future of authority building)

After a year and a half of publishingmy newsletter Reputation OnRamp on the Beehiiv platform, I’ve made the decision to return to Substack - and rebrand the newsletter as Earn the Right. This isn’t just a platform switch. It’s a strategic recalibration. Over the past six months,

AI

Earned media has got its sexy back (and it’s time to get on board)

Once upon a time, earned media meant one thing: getting a story in the newspaper or being interviewed on the nightly news. That was the goalpost for visibility and credibility. And it still matters. But here’s the kicker: Earned media today is so much more, and it's

Authority brand

The Zone of Influence: Where modern authority brands are built and leveraged

In a recent article, I explored the increasing crossover between the Creator Economy and the Reputation Economy - two powerful forces reshaping how we show up, share what we know, and build credibility, trust and influence in a digital-first world. If you missed it, here’s the quick version: ✅ The

Creator Economy

Bridging the gap between the Reputation Economy and the Creator Economy (and why it matters)

As the Creator Economy continues to heat up (Goldman Sachs predicts it could reach $480 billion by 2027), those who operate in the ‘Reputation Economy’ are probably wondering what all the fuss is about. Why should I, as a busy solopreneur or founder of a growing expertise-based business, get too

Personal brand sovereignty

Personal Brand Sovereignty: Own your reputation, shape your narrative, and secure your digital independence

How can we gain cut-through as a credible, independent voice in a world that wants to own and shape us? This is a question that gnawed at me. No doubt, similar sorts of questions continue to run through the minds of entrepreneurs, professional experts and solo practice owners the world

Thought leadership

Credible voices are being drowned out - is there a smarter path for real experts and leaders?

Today's online world is a battlefield. Loud, chaotic, unrelenting … polluted by: * Hucksters and braggarts flooding our feeds with empty promises and recycled blueprints. * Attention-hogging pretenders masquerading as thought leaders. * Flashy bro’ marketers peddling fake success stories to sell yet another “secret formula.” It’s ALL TOO MUCH. More

Credible Authority Method

How to build an authority brand that steers prospective clients away from the fakes and the hucksters

As owners of expertise-based businesses, we operate daily in a noisy, digital-first world in which every second man, woman and their dog is staking their virtual claim online. Not only are we competing for people’s attention against a frenzied backdrop of content overload and never-ending social media feeds, we

Thought leadership

Evolving your philosophy and viewpoint over time (includes two real-life examples)

Today, I Googled a phrase I use often and up popped an interview I recorded for the Bluewire Media podcast back in 2014. I checked out the show notes from the interview and was interested to see that while some of the ideas I talked about had come and gone

Public relations

Take Dick Dastardly's advice: “Don’t just stand there, do something!”

As that once-in-a-generation philosopher and entrepreneur Dick Dastardly once said: “Don’t just stand there, do something!” When it comes to raising one's profile and reputation in a way that’s purposeful and sustainable, I'm all for doing your homework and sketching out a strategic plan

Personal Brand Strategy

Should you focus on building your personal brand, or business brand? Here are 4 examples to get you thinking!

Should you focus your efforts on building your personal brand, or your business brand? It's a hot topic for people running their own business, especially when they are the business and everything revolves around their professional profile and reputation. While there's no cut-and-dried answer, it'

Thought leadership

Leadership content: rocket fuel for your brand reputation

In a previous post, I outlined my ‘Content Groups’ model (above) and explained how it has assisted me in helping marketers, PR people and business owners to clarify their thinking around the content they (want to) produce. {READ THE ARTICLE: Use this ‘Content Groups’ model to help clarify your thinking

Trust and reputation

Trust takes a hammering in a turbulent year, but rebounds strongly in Australia

Global PR firm Edelman has released its new Edelman Trust Barometer research report, which measures the levels of trust people have in the institutions of business, government, NGOs and the media. As you'd expect, after the year in which countries around the world were ravaged by COVID-19, trust