Think big. Think media. Think YOU.
1. Make sure your picture and bio are readily available on your blog or your site as a high-res downloadable jpg.
2. Don’t ask anyone to register on your site anywhere just to get your bio or downloadable press kit. The easier access you give to reporters the more they like you!
3. If you have some really good short videos of yourself, make sure those are posted on your site and don’t forget to also post links to them in your LinkedIn profile.
4. Write your content on your blog and your website so that it’s actionable and engages story ideas and angles for reporters to pitch to their editors.
5. Make sure you have an easy way for reporters to directly contact you.
6. Understand that posts you make on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.com are considered free game by most journalists so post your very best ideas and thought leadership.
7. Read the JOURNALISTS you hope might cover you someday so you truly get a feel for what kind of stories they write and how they write them. Each journalist has a style and if you’ll be conscientious about reading them, you can learn a great deal about how they find experts and how you might position yourself as one.
8. Contribute bylined articles for free to leading online sites in your vertical. Don’t start at the bottom – aim for the top, so don’t just crank out articles that you’re going to place into the old article syndication sites, instead write articles and find 5 online publications to pitch them to. Think of sites like Raintoday.com or Boomercafe.com .
9. At least once every three months use an affordable news release service like PRWeb.com and submit an “article” in the form of a press release. “Ten Ways You can Think Strategically,” “Five Tips for Building Partnerships,” etc., “Five Tips to Empower Creative Writing.” – Make sure these “news releases” have real value, strong content and if you can put something topical to the news that is the best hook.
10. Don’t get discouraged. Pitch, pitch, pitch. Make sure you’re active on the social networking sites like Twitter and LinkedIn.com where reporters are sourcing their stories. Always respond graciously to any journalist query.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=9a99a264-dc7d-4131-889c-af90b146f513)
I realized today that I’ve hit my limit with fan pages, Facebook pages, Networked blogs, Six Degrees of Social Media Separation and/or Togetherness, over-embellished status updates and tweets about oatmeal.
It’s not that I don’t love, admire and stand in awe of all the folks who are able to micromanage all these updates, groups, 2.0 togetherness…it’s more that I need a break from it.
Oh, I’ll keep updating and you won’t see me gone from LinkedIn and my tweets will still keep their busy tweetyness, but I’m feeling a powerful urge to at least block all the group invitations and other social 2.0 shenanigans from my purview for awhile.
Here are the five things I will do today:
1. I’m turning off the computer and I’m going to see “Funny People,” a movie that I know will make me cry, just so I can feel real tears streaming down my face instead of searching the keyboard for how to make the perfect sad emoticon :>( .
2. I’m going to actually walk outside and take a deep breath of fresh air, instead of participating in a challenge on how long I can virtually hold my breath on YouTube.
3. I’m unjoining these groups, “Join Us to Feel as Though You Belong”, “Fans of Library Books and How they Smell”, “Moms Who Never Make Cookies from Scratch.”
4. I’m going to wash my face and put on some lipstick and change out of my Big Lebowski, “the Dude minds” shirt.
5. I’m going to stop tweeting whilst driving and start trying to write in longhand in more than 140 characters. Wait I have to buy pens first from the office store.
What are You going to DO?
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=774c3bf8-ae8d-458f-bbdd-c472aa58e7fe)
- Image via CrunchBase
LinkedIn.com is a very powerful way for you to reach out to peers, partners and potential buyers. I highly recommend that everyone in business has a substantial LinkedIn.com profile. I also recommend it for authors and speakers because oftentimes event managers will search LinkedIn to find the best folks for events.
Here are some tips for empowering your Linkedin Profile:
1. Make certain you join your college alumni groups
2. Join at least a couple of groups in your industry vertical
3. Ensure that your summary description on your profile features some keywords for your industry or practice and a very robust description of your role with your company.
4. Get your profile as complete as possible.
5. Use LinkedIn’s tool for inviting friends through your other email profiles.
6. Use the LinkedIn Answers and Questions section to raise your visibility as an expert in your arena. Don’t post questions that start out with, “What makes you hire someone who is in sales?” , espescially if you’re looking for a job in sales! Post questions that can build conversation and empower the LinkedIn community.
7. Answer questions that other folks in your network post.
8. Tie your WordPress updates to your LinkedIn profile by using the free widget available at LinkedIn.
9. Make sure you update your LinkedIn.com status at least once daily.
10. Use the search tool to find new people and make new connections.
11. Search your competitors and be aware of how they are using the tool as well.
12. Check out this post from LinkedIn.com on how to search out company profiles and how to use that information.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=e7d5ae68-1e92-4af3-ab75-64cb320e5cbd)
Long before you tap a digital strategist or a traditional PR person to help get the word out about your book, you need to be actively working toward your putting your own PR-face forward.
You can impact your own word of mouth power by using web 2.0 tools. Just pick a couple at the start, so you don’t feel overwhelmed and start using them way ahead of your book release.
I recommend Twitter.com, Facebook.com and LinkedIn.
LinkedIn.com is your corporate “boardroom”, Facebook is your playground and Twitter is your real time conduit for communicating your very best ideas.
And whatever you do, don’t constantly employ the “back to me” content! Always make your tweets, blog posts, e-newsletter focus around the readers, “back to you…my readers.” Don’t build your platform with your ego, build it with your heart and your mission to share your insight so everyone can benefit from it!
If you always put your heart and sharing your insight first, then your visibility will continue to rise because of it.
Good briefer on the latest changes Linkedin has brought to the Groups feature. Check it out and be mindful of how you can better engage with the groups you’re linked to.
Superb insight from Nielsen Media which details its new findings on social networking.
Nielsen’s study revealed a continued rise in Internet users participating on social networking sites, and a marked increase on the broadening demographic of participants.
Nielsen cites Facebook as adding almost twice as amny 50-60 year olds visitors from December 2007 to December 2008, than it has added under 18 year old visitors.
One of the key things still to remember in light of all this social activity is to keep in mind always that Linkedin.com is your “boardroom” and Facebook.com is your “playground.”
While there are some really great things happening on both platforms in terms of marketing, and connecting with people, I think that Linkedin.com is really key for peer, partner and potential opportunities specifically around growing your own personal branding and visibility.
See more on the difference between the two here.
Recent Comments