Issue #24: Leverage Daymond John’s Playbook to Build Your Brand and Revenue

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I was traveling to deliver a keynote this week so we’re going to keep this issue somewhat brief. Reason being, I haven’t seen my kids as much as usual so we’re going to spend this rainy afternoon building forts in their playroom.

As the father of four kids they can keep my hands full but they’re also hilarious. For example, my daughter has a loose tooth and spent five minutes expressing why she should get more money for molars than she does for her other teeth. “Molars are bigger, so they cost more.”

Oddly enough, the tooth fairy came up in conversation while I was speaking with Daymond John during this week’s episode of the Launch Your Business Podcast. His daughter was lobbying for a higher payout as well, she was also unsuccessful.

Being able to interview Daymond was a dream come true for me, and a chance to say thank you for the inspiration and guidance he’s provided. You can see me expressing my appreciation in this Instagram Reel and his response was heartwarming.

I hope you get a chance to watch the video but I’ll quickly summarize why this exchange with him was so meaningful.

For context, I heard Daymond speak at SXSW back in 2018. During his session a teacher from a school that supports Dyslexic children asked if he had any advice for the students.

Being Dyslexic himself, Daymond knew this was a chance to provide the same support he would have wanted as a child. So instead of just passing along a few words, he got off the stage, walked over to her and asked her to record him delivering an impromptu and extremely genuine message for her class.

Five years later I vividly remember this moment and share it whenever I get a chance.

What does this mean to you?

Well, I hope it inspires you to have the same impact on your community. And, it’s a great reminder that character branding is far more important than personal branding. I’ll explain the difference.

Personal branding is the projected image of an individual's personality, skills, experience, and behavior that defines their unique identity.

Your character is the sum of all the qualities that make you who you are: your values, your thoughts, your words, your actions. Therefore, character branding - and the associated perception people have of you - is the byproduct of consistently being true to who you are.

Personal brands can be quickly built and maintained by deliberate processes.

Character branding takes time and must be consistently reinforced during those impromptu moments between moments.

I’ll tell you another quick story about Daymond John.

Many of you may know he founded FUBU, a lifestyle clothing brand that launched in 1992. Some of us were first made aware of the brand when LL Cool J wore a FUBU hat in a GAP commercial.

As you can imagine, the stakeholders from GAP had no idea they were promoting another brand.

The story of how Daymond was able to get LL is even more amazing, and it’s a timeless lesson that any marketer can learn from.

When he first launched FUBU, he gave away clothing to bouncers at popular Hip Hop clubs in NYC. Why did he do this, and what was the impact?

He knew these bouncers had trouble finding fashionable clothes in their size. (He solved a problem)

Unlike other fashion forward people, they wouldn’t just wear it occasionally. It became a consistent part of their wardrobe (His product inspired loyalty)

Standing outside of these clubs, they were very visible to his target audience, people who liked Hip Hop. (He identified Micro Influencers)

This strategy helped him land LL Cool J as a celebrity influencer, which helped expose FUBU to an even bigger audience.

Fast forward 31 years and you still have the outline for a perfect marketing campaign.

So, how can you apply this to your business?

Solve a problem:

My guess is you’re already doing that. But if you need more help, I wrote a guide on how to create the perfect offer.

Inspire loyalty:

You can do this by creating multiple offers for your customers. Once they buy from you the first time, what else can you offer to help them continue making progress?

Identify micro influencers

No, I’m not asking you to launch an influencer campaign. Instead, encourage those you’ve already helped to spread the word about your business by way of testimonials and referrals. I shared how to do that - and get more LinkedIn recommendations - during a previous issue.

That's it for today.

I hope you found this valuable (please let me know) and if you did please consider sharing it with a friend. They can sign up here.

Time to go build some forts, have a great weekend!