C) Positioning channels: Where can you broadcast your brand? In which circles do you need to position yourself as an expert? I won’t expand on networking here, as the rest of the website is chock-full of networking tools. Here are a few other avenues:

-Writing: Believe it or not, writing (even for major papers) is not done for visibility. Few of your targets will happen to read your article by chance– and even if they do, they may not remember who the author was! I was once called by one of my top contacts, excitedly telling me about a great article she’d read somewhere and that I just had to take a look at… An article of which I, in fact, was the author. On the other hand, having your articles published in prestigious outlets can lend you great credibility when you send it to your top contacts. Better yet, you can use the article as an excuse to quote your current and aspriational top contacts:
- it gives you a very flattering reason to call people you’ve always wanted to know
- it’s a good way to keep in touch with your top contacts
- if they’re quoted, you can be sure they’ll pass it around to their contacts– more visibility for you
- it makes for a better article, with more real-life examples and alternative view points
- it means less work for you!

-Speaking can bring you both visibility and credibility. You can speak in a variety of venues, including service organizations and universities– just ask a student or a member to recommend you. Always coach people on how to recommend you–tell them what to say and who to say it to. Make it foolproof, make it easy, don’t make them work– you can even write the recommendation for them.The best book on the subject of speaking is Alan Weiss’ Money Talks.

-The media, of course, is the royal road to exposure. But you have to think from their perspective–imagine yourself leading a journalist’s life. They’re constantly under deadline to produce stories, constantly worried about inaccurate facts, constantly hounded by their editors (trust me. I used to write for Forbes..) So make it easy for them: give them the right angle (theirs– research their old articles and you’ll know which ones they favor), a big story (blood, tears, scandal or laughter), solid facts all bullet-pointed-out.

A) Where are you starting from? As we’ve seen, you have a brand already– you may just not be aware of it. What’s your current brand?

• Is it hurting you? If so, damage control should be your first priority.
• How far is your current brand from your ideal brand? That’ll give you an idea of how much work/effort/time it’ll take.
• What elements do you already have, which must you change, what do you need to acquire?

B) Master your universe: What do you need to know about your field?

• The media: journalists, shows, nls, radio, publications
• Organizations of all ilk: charities, associations, trade, clubs, civic…
• With people: leaders, followers, clients, vendors
• The geography: hubs, hot spots
• Education: workshops, training, seminars