Neil Patel has helped develop online strategies for companies like AOL, General Motors, Hewlett-Packard and Viacom. When he came to a Mixergy event, I asked him for tips on creating an online personal brand. Here’s what he said:

Know how to blog – Don’t blog about yourself or your life experiences. Give informational resources, tips and how-tos. Use your blog to teach what you know.

Join the conversation – Instead of seeing them as competitors, build relationships with others who are blogging about your subject. Comment on their blogs and give valuable feedback.

Complete your profiles – Creating accounts on all the social networks (LinkedIn, Facebook, etc) is just a start. It’s not enough. Make sure your profile is complete by telling people about your interests, work, etc. Then add friends–as many as you can. Use the friend feature as a way of MEETING new people, not just connecting with people you already know.

Meet in person – Build on your online work, but meeting people face to face. Go to industry events. (You know Mixergy has a robust event calendar, right?) But also go to non-work meetups. Even the PTA is a good source of new contacts.

See Neil Patel on his personal blog, QuickSprout.com or on two of the companies he co-founded, KISSmetrics and Crazy Egg.