Why is it that trashy mags and Red Top newspapers in the UK follow the lives of ‘celebrities’ whilst some people with genuine talent struggle to get noticed. The skill of self-promotion and personality can go a hell of a way whether we ethically like it or not.

If you can then back it up with some genuine talent, then you have something special.

The normal route in society is to chase the bucks as quickly as possible and make serious money. Others choose a different route and arguably manage the ultimate goal of credibility and marketability - enabling sustainable avenues of revenue rather than a crash and burn approach.

Take Google. They spent a good few years delivering search free, concentrating on making the product better and better, while relying on word-of-mouth. They had marketability and credibility before they even began to make money.

Without the luxury of VC funding, small businesses are under pressure to deliver revenue pretty much straight away. If you have a great product though, it’s just a case of adding a bit of personality to your offering and doing a bit of self-promotion.

Twenty years ago you couldn’t imagine a company with a name like Google, Yahoo or Squidoo but now they are common. They ooze personality.

I often talk about the need for great content. I don’t often talk about the other side of that - how you write it.

A little personality goes a long way.