In Inequality with the Publisher/Author relationship, I said the two primary services internet publishers provide to authors are distribution and brand. I discussed the distribution issue in access to eyeballs which also highlights recent articles on the same topic. Now, Tim O’Reilly looks deeper into his 1995 essay to discuss the importance of brands. If establishing distribution is providing access to eyeballs, establishing a brand is providing access to mindshare.

While getting access to eyeballs is a challenge, there are methods you can use to work on it and if everything falls into place you can generate a lot of traffic in a short amount of time. Establishing a brand is different. A brand isn’t something you can create in weeks or even months. Developing a solid brand takes years of consistent work where you deliver a product or service that customers rely on. While there are some sites on the net that seem to spring up overnight (e.g., Digg and YouTube) and even invade our lexicon (e.g., Digg it), I wouldn’t say they’ve established a brand (yet). They lack longevity. On the other hand, Slashdot is a solid brand because it has stood the test of time.

Creating a brand has to be a priority for internet publishers. When a new blog is added to Weblogs Inc., it automatically gets a ton of traffic because it is associated with a known brand. As I role out a new content website, I have no momentum because I do not have a brand to ride on top of yet. A couple of early successes that help establish a brand could breed future success.