by Alvin Ramirez June 16, 2015
Last week’s Book Journeys episode featured author Danielle M. Miller who talked about her book Smartypants Branding: The Ultimate Guide for Women Entrepreneurs to Getting Recognized, Being Remembered, and Making More Money in Business. As a personal brand strategist, Danielle guides readers through the steps of creating their own authentic brand and helping them to figure out that blend between a personal brand and a business brand so that they can come out with their own signature blend. She doesn’t suggest though, that one should create a persona or be something they’re not, just to fulfill somebody’s else’s expectations about how they want their business to represent them. Rather, she wants to drive home the point that it’s totally okay to be who you are and people see the real you behind the brand and the business.
Danielle was motivated to write the book because she wanted more visibility and embrace the idea of being a recognized expert in the field. She at first had difficulty writing because there was still an element of her hiding and listening to her inner critic that she was not good enough or didn’t have enough expertise. She said she didn’t want to be seen because of the accountability and responsibility that came with it. But now with a book to her name, Danielle has found that confidence in letting her voice be heard and having her particular message resonate with the people she wants it to resonate with. She is now more confident in having that ownership around her message and platform, and positioning herself as a leader around personal branding for entrepreneurs.
Danielle admitted that she encountered writer’s block as she struggled with how to articulate what she wanted to say in a way that made sense. She had a real resistance against words like blueprint, formula, and system and so she was looking for ways to write so that it didn’t feel this way but instead, bring out a framework that one could come into at any point in their process and have the information work for them. What she found invaluable was having the support of people who believed in what she had to say and had the confidence that she could move past the blocks.
Danielle’s advice for people who are struggling to get their book done is to figure out where the resistance is coming from. As she says it, “Start digging down deep into those things and figuring out what is going to help you remove those obstacles and blocks.” For her, it’s knowing what’s getting in the way and committing yourself to removing those things that will help your book get written.
Listen to the Danielle M. Miller interview on BlogTalkRadio
DOWNLOAD Book-Journeys-Author-Interview-Danielle-M-Miller-June-11-2015
Watch out for Angela’s interview with another exciting author.