I had the opportunity to address 55 women business owners and a few men at yesterday’s Women in Business Forum at Meydenbauer Center on the topic of how to become an expert in your field through the power of free publicity. If you weren’t able to attend, here are the 15 ways for you to consider:
1. First and foremost, do great work for your clients so they are happy to go to the mountaintops with their bugles to sing your praises. If you are truly doing a great job for your clients, you have earned the right to ask for testimonials and use them to celebrate your expertise.
2. Be clear about your commitment to serve others first so your own success can grow. When you share general tips and information that ease aches and pains others are experiencing in their businesses, you will invite others to engage you for a fee for the specifics to solve those problems.
3. Craft a fabulous bio that proves and declares your expertise in a winning, memorable way. Leave the blah, blah, blah boring bio behind and lead with a story that is memorable, likable, and worthy of respect. You and your expertise will be well served.
4. Write regularly for the local, trade, or national business media.
5. Use those articles to ask for and earn an ongoing column in a local business journal.
6. Contribute commentary, tips, and resources to social networks, online forums, blogs, radio shows, and other media.
7. Speak at professional events and serve on panels through which your expertise can add value.
8. Launch and sustain a useful electronic newsletter, and invite new subscribers to benefit from what you offer by offering valuable resources, special reports, and other tools to support their success.
9. Launch and maintain a useful blog.
10. Maintain a quality website that celebrates your expertise.
11. Host teleseminars, webinars, and workshops to share your expertise with others and expand your sphere of influence. Tell. Don’t sell.
12. Merchandise your contributions and perspectives to the media via your online pressroom to make it easy for editors and writers to connect with you 24/7.
13. Write special reports, e-books, or other tools to support others’ success through the power of your expertise.
14. Win awards that celebrate your winning ways and reflect favorably upon your reputation.
15. Explore video as an avenue to share your expertise with the world. Now that YouTube is such a powerful force, along with dozens of other online video sites, the opportunities to share your expertise and message in a way that will engage others are limitless.
I don’t just offer this advice. I apply each and every tip to support my own reputation as an expert, and it really does work. I even have my own Nancy Juetten channel on YouTube.com. Check it out!
By the way, I got most of the presentation on my digital recorder, and I’ll be offering the audio file to Authentic Visibility ezine subscribers in the next issue. If you are not yet a subscriber, please opt-in. In return, you’ll receive 12 sassy newspaper columns to empower your DIY publicity success. Best of all, you’ll never miss out on fun, high value offers I extend from time to time to support your success.
Nancy, these are great tips. Blogging is the one that has brought the most to my business and to me personally. By starting conversations out in cyberspace I’ve been fortunate to develop some great clients and friends that I would not have made otherwise. They learned to trust my expertise before our first “live” conversation!
I can’t recommend it enough and am looking forward to trying some of your more advanced tips above, like video.
Thanks for the great post!
Hi Betsy,
So glad you liked this post. I love the free bonus report you offer to get folks familiar with blogging. I invite you to offer five of the most powerful tips you have to share about blogging here at the Main Street Media Savvy blog so my readers can benefit and also be compelled to visit your site to avail themselves to your fabulous report. Are you game? Can’t wait to hear!
Hi, Nancy!
GREAT TIPS!
Thanks for all you do to help entrepreneurs become better business people. I admire what you do and value your advice.
Wishing you all the best… and more!
Heidi Richards Mooney – Founder – Women’s eCommerce Association.
Nancy,
Great post. I have printed it out and will use it as a “to do list” for earning a reputation as an expert in my field (Professional Organizing and Productivity Consulting). I’ll look forward to checking them off one by one and can’t wait to share my success with you.
Thank you for your continued generosity with your information and your expertise. I’ve mentioned before, but it bears repeating … it makes me (and others, I’m sure) inspired to do business with you.
Thanks Heidi and Debbie,
I am so rewarded by your comments. And I can’t wait to learn about your success and celebrate it in detail at this blog so others can be inspired by your winning example.
And, you may be happy to learn that I am posting the audio file and transcript of this presentation to my DIY Publicity Store in just a few days for just $7.
I am still celebrating the 7th anniversary of my business and have decided to keep this special price valid indefinitely. There is something about hearing the information as opposed to just reading it that really brings it alive.
I hope you will check it out in just a few days.
Have a great weekend.
Hi Nancy!
As always, you are right on target and a tremendous inspiration!
THANK YOU so much!
Gayle
I think the information is great. Do you offer personal coaching or consultation along these lines?
I operate a niche type business and would like to see more clearly how this could be applied to what I do.
Hi Donna,
So glad you see value in this information. I have followed every tip, and I can tell you from personal experience, they work! People rent my PR brain by the hour to get coaching along these lines. You can visit this link to learn more and book your appointment:
/rent-a-brain
Keep visiting the blog for more useful information to build your profile in the local media …and beyond!
Nancy, you are right on target with your advice and I intend to follow it very carefully!