How does one go about becoming a brand? I think about this. Beyonce, J-LO, and anyone who gets a chance to capitalize on their 15 minutes of fame brands themselves. How many of us are working in industries that have no branding yet? There aren't really any brands for Midwifery. There are well-known individuals. A couple are in this course. So I have to ask, "why am I not able to buy Gloria Lemay brand birth bags?"
After creating an online presence do you try to profit from it? Much of that will depend on why you are there, but we all have to pay the bills. If there is a demand or a niche to be filled why not take the bull by the horn and go all the way.
I am sure there are classy ways of going about this. I certainly don't want midwives running around with Bettie Sheets brand shirts, perfume, toothpaste, etc... But, I am slightly interested in marketing products that might fill a true need AND have my products be known for quality because my online presence has developed the idea that I would only put my name on quality.
My inclination would be to think that in the world of midwifery branding has existed primarily in the written form, as well as in education. I would hope that the lack of branding is because of a sense of purity in the birth world, putting the woman before themselves. However, I wonder if is more a lack of capital. I am not sure if an investor would find developing a product line aimed toward midwives to be lucrative enough. Is is possible to be pure while branding yourself? Can you remain true to your convictions?
This is certainly rambling for the most part, but it is a conversation that I would like to have with myself and others in the years to come.
A Midwife with a passion for laughing and thinking...
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8 comments:
In terms of developing an online brand, there is heaps of advice and tips on the Internet including this blog post by Chris Brogan:
http://mashable.com/2008/07/18/building-your-online-brand/
I keep having the same kinds of struggles and questions? I wonder about my own "pure" motives. If my choices were different or broader what would I choose then?
But why do we have to have 'pure' motives as midwives? Why can't we have business motives or want to promote ourselves to make money or raise our profile? Everyone else is doing it...why can't midwives?
While you're thinking about such things, you might like to download and pass comment on the This Is Me 'book' for medical professionals... http://www.lulu.com/items/volume_67/8311000/8311878/1/print/8311878.pdf (it's free, and Creative Commons Share Alike so if you wanted to modify it, and redistribute for midwives, you are free to do so)
Fabulous resource. Thanks a lot P@
Sarah, we really don't have to be pure as midwives at all. We have the right to earn a living. Taking advantage of an opportunity to earn money does not have to lower the quality of what message you are sending regarding birth. I think it is probably easy to allow misplaced guilt to keep you from reaching your full earning potential.
Thanks for the link @P!
Such a good post, Bettie.
I am definitely an entrepreneur and I love the business "game" as much as I love the birth "game". For one thing, if we're all broke and looking sad, no one will want to get into this business so we have a duty to be prosperous so that we attract more people into the biz.
Gloria Lemay birth bags. . . hmmmmm, I can see it now. ha, ha.
One biz advantage that has come out of blogging is that, when I get new clients, they already know me really well from having spent a lot of time on my blog. The registered mws in my province do not blog at all. I fear that regulation has silenced them. My "outside the system" status gives me the freedom to express myself.
Glo
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