The number one reason I wanted to write a book on women and branding–The Female Brand–was for the most fundamental and obvious reason. We’re not as good at personal branding as men are.
Not that we can’t be.
We can.
We have everything it takes and then some. In the book, I introduce the Top Five Female Aptitudes for Branding (and Business Success).
And it’s important because self branding can give you more control over how you are perceived professionally and that will give you more options and bring more success, both personally and to your company.
Self branding for career success is something that men have been good at. They’ve got the good old boys network. And they are good at talking up their accomplishments–even exaggerating. One male social scientist labeled it the Male Hubris Effect.
Women on the other hand tend to downplay their accomplishments. Don’t downplay your achievements. People will believe you!
In The Female Brand, you’ll learn how to maximize your best asset–You–by branding yourself for success using all your strengths and aptitudes. You’ll learn how it can be different for women in the workplace and how to promote yourself in a way that’s authentic and effective.
After all, men don’t leave their strengths and aptitudes at the door when they go to work. Neither should women.
Order The Female Brand on Amazon
Book Reviews
Publishers Weekly
The Female Brand: Using the Female Mindset to Succeed in Business
Catherine Kaputa. Davies-Black (NBN, dist.), $24.95 (200p) ISBN 9780891062844
Kaputa, a marketing and branding whiz, mines anecdotes from successful women and her own personal experience to sell readers on themselves—rather than trying to be “one of the boys,” Kaputa insists, women will get further in the workplace by using the strengths unique to them.
Stuffed with self-evaluation materials, direct advice and “brainstormer” exercises, Kaputa’s work is a useful, well-organized primer on a familiar argument. While some of the generalizations are a bit heavy-handed—women have stronger verbal skills than men, women derive less satisfaction from high-level “workaholic” positions—Kaputa breaks down the idea of personal branding into manageable concepts: specialization, presentation and effective networking. In uncertain economic times, this text should prove useful for job seekers, the underemployed and those striving for advancement. (June 2009)
Biz Books 08/09/09)
By Jim Pawlak
“The Female Brand – Using the Female Mindset to Succeed in Business” by Catherine Kaputa, Davies-Black, $24.95. Success isn’t about working hard and getting the job done – most of your coworkers work hard and get their jobs done, too. “Soft power”, Kaputa’s name for branding power, separates those who climb the ladder from those who just do their work and wait to be rewarded.
Think of yourself as a product. The Self-Branding Test (page 29) gives you an idea of where your brand stands on your product life cycle curve (i.e. introduction, growth, maturity, decline). Then define your target markets with branding in mind. Your primary target market includes your boss and decision makers. Colleagues, clients, your staff and network are secondary targets. Think outside in: What others need from you, rather than what you need from others. Becoming the solution to their problems builds your brand.
You also have to decide who isn’t a target. Example: The hip guy in the Mac commercials is 180 degrees from his nerdy PC counterpart. He’s not trying to convince the PC nerds to buy Mac; he’s appealing to those who don’t think of themselves as nerds. When self-branding, you have to agree to disagree with some people.
Here are a few of Kaputa’s self-branding techniques: Reach out – Ask for help, advice feedback and input. Just don’t ask from I-don’t-know weakness; that’s a brand killer. Approach from a you-want-to-learn standpoint with an icebreaker like: “I’m interested in learning more about… You’ve been there and done that. Can I pick your brain?”
Tell stories. Why? People remember stories better than they remember cold, hard facts. As long as they’re not peppered with I-I-I, stories provide the opportunity to tell someone about you without sounding like you’re bragging. And they must have a takeaway – and the moral of the story is…
While Kaputa targets women, her advice is gender neutral.
TV Interviews
ABC interview of Catherine on “French Women’s Business Tips,” May 6,2009 (7:00)
http://www.gettingyourmoneysworthnyc.com/GYMW/GYMW-059b.wmv
