Rich Sage Brand Building - Sharing Wisdom…

Today ICANN will vote to add a few domain TLDs.  The “TLD” is the ending part of a domain name, such as .COM, .EDU and even .TV, just to name a few.  There are a few hundred such ‘endings’ when counting all the country TLDs.  I believe that list will only get longer and longer for two reasons.  The first being that IP6 is being implemented or already has.  This gives the possibility of everything from your home to handheld to refrigerator having an Internet Protocol (IP) address.  The other being greed.  When ICANN releases a TLD, there is a gold rush from trademark owners to speculators who jump into make money.

In my case, to protect my brand, I’ve made a good amount of registration efforts, but I’ve drawn the line about making dozens of registrations to protect one brand or trademark.  I think the best protection for a brand is to “exercise it” and do a good job of representing the brand.  That’s not easy for everyone, but I find it just a normal part of my work.

The KEY to SUCCESS is NOT the TLD, but the BRAND and SERVICES PROVIDED!

I think a lot of people rush to the newest and latest “gold rush” event, while they forget that the basis of a good online business  -or THE simple make money online secret -is to provide a valuable service at an affordable price.  Regardless of the “domain property” that you are running, your success comes down to something very simple  –ancient wisdom: Provide a value, quality and true benefits and people will come back over and over.

More thoughts about Brand Building…

Of course, generating such repeat traffic is far easier when you have a recognizable brand.  In my case, the “rich” can mean several things.  Just plain old wisdom or monetary riches  –either way, I have it covered.  The “sage” is my overall philosophy and it has served me very well for a long time, and I don’t see that changing.

But, I didn’t stop at just Rich Sage  — I want a bit beyond and made sure that even my philosophy was covered to a certain extent, as I am seeking a trademark for “Wealthy Sage” and even “Rich Messiah”!  Yes, I know that last one is bit of a stretch, but hey, why not?

I am often told that people find the “Sage” image funny.  For me that means, it’s recognizable.  That aspect shows very clearly in the traffic stats, where a lot of visitors simply type “www.richage.com” into the browser and end up at the site.

In you case, you should NOT worry about the TLD, especially in a bidding process. My suggestion is that you carefully work on a logo, image and then focus on the content.  Regardless of managing a site about making money online or dating or even just a forum, the recognizable brand that you build is the vital part to your success.  Do everything to build it.  Then do your best to provide “value” to your readers and subscribers and they will be with you for a long time!

What I am doing as the Rich Sage to Build My Brand

Over the course of the past six months, I’ve continuously upgraded the Rich Sage dot com effort -both in content, interactive areas of the site and even the site itself –I’ve had about 4 major upgrades.

Here are some of the Band Building Elements I’ve Focused on:

• Good Content
• Two Membership Areas –one free and anther paid.  I plan to add a few more membership areas –two for investments and another for small business.
• Building a Community –Just about all the areas that I have added recently are for the purpose of creating interactivity between readers and the “Rich Sage Community”. The more I can exchange ideas and help my readers, the more often they will return to the “Community” and interact with it.
• Being realistic and telling the truth –I often see online efforts where the blogger or “guru” is out to SELL EVERYTHING that they can.  No attention is paid to helping people –everything is done to get a sale.  I on the other hand, have spoken about online success in a realistic manner, with a more sustainable and long term message in mind.  For me this is ‘truth’ and philosophy that matters.  It’s true today and I know many years or even millennia to come!

I think all this results in a very powerful brand that supersedes just about any domain TLD.  Great content and the ‘truth’ I believe results in trust and that transcends many obstacles.  The result is exactly what I have witnessed –record traffic on a monthly basis and more and more Rich Sage community members from all over the world!

Over the month of June I’ve upgraded my hosting hardware, the Rich Sage dot Com theme and added various areas for interactivity.  All this results in readers who bookmark ‘the community’ and keep coming back.  I am very comfortable with my long term approach –well, that is the only way a Rich Sage does things!

Carpe Diem,
Rich Sage