Become a Recognized Authority in Your Field - in 60 Days or
Less!
You don't have to be rock-star famous before you are recognized
as an authority in your field. You just have to begin to get the
word out. Your goal is to be the person that people think of
when your field is mentioned. At first, that may happen only
locally, but take heart. Start where you are, with what you
have, and you'll light a spark that could eventually become a
firestorm of publicity.
Maybe you offer a workshop at your office, church, or community
center. Get it in the community calendars, from newspapers to
cable television. Call up your local news stations, and offer
yourself as the subject of an interview. One listing or call at
a time, you'll begin to make a name for yourself.
When you have an event coming up, call your local news stations
and offer to interview on their early morning or noontime talk
shows. Prepare for your interview by identifying two or three
main points you want to make about your subject. Take a blank
videocassette to record the show. Then, you can send the
recording as an audition tape to a station with a wider
audience.
Contribute to public discussions. Write letters to the editors
of newspapers and magazines whenever they cover stories in your
field. You may offer an alternate viewpoint or simply compliment
them on a well-written article. The more people see your name in
connection with your subject, the more they'll recognize you as
an authority in your field.
You can take this strategy to the Web, too. Do you have a blog
that allows you to share your thoughts and expertise on a daily
basis? If not, that's one place to begin. It's quick, fun, and
makes you available on the Web. If you already have a Web page,
make it a habit to visit message boards in your field and post
your link, along with your opinions.
Begin today to put these strategies into practice, and before
the next 60 days are through, you'll have a steadily growing
number of people who recognize you as the authority in your
field.