If you'd like to explode the power and reach of every single marketing piece you send out -- whether it's on TV, on the radio, in a print ad, in an email, on a website or even on a lowly postcard -- then this article will show you how.

But first, please take a moment to study the following list of names: Jesus Christ -- Oprah Winfrey -- Fidel Castro -- Dr. Atkins -- Donald Trump -- Walt Disney -- Karl Marx -- Rush Limbaugh -- Ronald Reagan -- Bill Clinton -- Ronald McDonald -- Adolf Hitler.

Believe it or not, as diverse and opposite to each other as some of these people are, they all have something very important in common. A thing so powerful it can immediately boost your profits to obscene heights and blast through any financial ceilings you bang your head on.

What is this special thing these people have in common? The answer is simple: They have tremendously powerful personal brands.

I'm not talking about image brands -- or branding in the corporate "Good Year Blimp" sense of the word. What I'm talking about, and what the list of people above are (or were) masters at, is personal branding. And make no mistake, the difference between image branding and personal branding is like night and day.

You see, unlike the "image" branding we're all exposed to every single day -- which is almost always built around a logo, blimp, slogan or song -- personal branding is built around a specific person and/or personality.

Take, for example, the list of people above. Whether you like them or not, these people -- good, bad or ugly -- are not unknowns. They each trigger instant name recognition and, in many cases, strong emotions.

Think about it: Rush Limbaugh, Karl Marx, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton -- Jesus Christ Himself -- are all loved and/or hated with unbridled passion around the world. And cash is attracted to them or their causes like flies to honey. When you have the personal brand of any of the people listed above, all someone has to do is mention your name and people will know exactly what you do and what you stand for.

Now, this begs the question: How exactly do you build an explosive personal brand? One that attracts people and cash to you -- and keeps your business red-hot and your direct response advertising even hotter?

Fortunately, it's not rocket science. And although there are dozens and dozens of ways of doing this (way more than we can possibly discuss in an article like this) you can get started on building your own personal brand simply by making sure your personality is attached to every point of contact you make with your customers and prospects -- especially your marketing.

For example, if you send out a sales letter, instead of using cold, stilted "cough medicine label" words, use words you would use in a real conversation -- figures of speech and all. Or, if you send out a weekly newsletter, don't be shy about telling people some real life incident that happened to you and how you reacted and felt about it.

As you can see, there's nothing complicated about this. Start putting your personality into your business and I think you'll be amazed by what happens.