Alright, now that all the Black-Cyber-Whatzit-Day stuff is out of the way, it's time for a new email series.

So, I've decided to spend the next week or two writing to you about brand and image, and how that relates to marketing your dojo.

As I mentioned in a recent email, brand is a concept that trips up many a martial art school owner. The confusion mostly stems from the difference between what we learn about building a brand in B school and from popular media, and how you actually build a small local brand in real life.

I can tell you, the reality is many degrees removed from what I was taught in school. My marketing prof had worked for some big names, and she taught that to build a brand you work on a logo and slogan, and then you throw money at TV and radio until they become a household name.

Pretty much the standard corporate marketing department, Madison Avenue, Mad Men stuff. Meh.

As I've pointed out many times, you don't have the luxury of being able to spend millions on TV and radio ads. Besides, those channels only work if you have the cash to make them work. So, we must rely on other methods.

I'm going to detail what those methods are and how to build your brand over the next several emails. And, I'll get into the finer points of building a brand on a shoestring budget.

So stay tuned, because this series is going to reveal how to stand out among your competition... instead of getting lost in a sea of "me too" marketing.