Better Than A Business Card™

Be known as the expert in your field

You might be wondering why I haven't posted in the past week. The excuse: I've been busy. Real busy! All of you have, I realize that, but I tell you this because I want to share the reason for the busyness. It's because of a service I was recently told about at a marketing and PR workshop for women entrepreneurs and, regardless of your gender, this service can help you become known as an expert, which is precisely what Better Than a Business Card™ is about!

The service is called Help a Reporter Out™ (HARO). Go to their site to sign up as a 'source' (no cost) and you'll receive two or three digest emails per day with queries from a variety of journalists who are looking for information to help them flesh out an article for a magazine or newspaper, or maybe even for a guest to appear on a radio or television show.

When you see a query related to your area of expertise, jump on it immediately. Write to the journalist to offer your advice, experiences, or whatever they're looking for—be certain to follow their request to the 'T' in order to make the best impression. And be sure to check the deadline—sometimes it's the same day or the next, so time is of the essence.

I just signed up for this service and every single day several queries come through that are right up my alley, so I drop everything, do a little research, and respond immediately. I've made some very interesting contacts this way, exposed my website and expertise to people I never would have met otherwise, and may be credited in any number of magazine articles, blog posts, and books as a result.

So, stop reading this and go right now to Help a Reporter Out™ so you can start receiving these queries just hours from now and begin boosting your professional credibility and exposure!

For you ladies: get yourself Launched!

Sorry, guys. This one is for ladies only--ladies who want to get launched! Whether you're already in business as speaker, author, coach, consultant, inventor, retailer (and the list goes on) or have an idea or project that you're working on, Ladies Who Launch is for you!

I haven't even explored everything this terrific group of women entrepreneurs has to offer, but I know there's something here to inspire you and give you the boost you need to get launched from scratch or propel your business to the next level. Here are just a few of the benefits this growing national organization offers:

• an online networking community of women at all stages of business plus many who are launching personal projects rather than professional endeavors;

• LIVE events in major cities: a full day of inspiration, networking, learning, sharing, and shopping among members;

• local 'incubator' events which are one evening or morning per week for four weeks. From their website: "It’s equal parts focus group, resource-sharing space, and supportive community, and then another intangible part that you can’t really imagine until you experience it. The group consists of 10 or so other resourceful, inspiring women who each help one another take their projects, businesses, or ideas to a new place."

• online articles, blogs, and groups, plus daily What's for Launch tips by email to keep you inspired, encouraged, and moving forward with whatever it is you're launching.

I first learned of this group a little over a year ago and have been impressed with their events, their resources, and most of all their ladies...a very impressive bunch, to say the least. If you get involved with LWL, you'll be in excellent company!

Are you ready to go 'on the air' as a radio show guest?

Being introduced as an Expert Guest on a radio or podcast show holds tremendous potential for boosting your professional credibility and visibility to a large audience. Done properly, you can propel yourself to Super-Expert status, drive traffic to your website or to bookstores to buy your books, and position yourself to be interviewed on more shows. It can have a valuable 'snowball' effect on your business.

As an extension of my company's new book series, The Smartest Thing I Ever Did...®, and QwikSmarts® qwik-tips books & booklets, I am in the process of lining up guests to be interviewed on a series of podcast shows by these same names. I'm searching for knowledgeable guests to talk about topics such as small (and home) business management, personal finances, career development, health, parenting, marriage, and more.

If you're considering applying to be a guest with me on one of these shows, you'll want to maximize your time on the air. Here are just a few tips to help you prepare for your time in the spotlight plus a highly-valuable training series that I recommend for anyone who wants to shine as a radio guest (with me or on any other radio show):

• Warm up your voice before the show, especially if it's being recorded or aired in the morning and your voice isn't quite 'awake' yet. Read some of your notes aloud, with a smile, to loosen things up.
  
• Put your notes in plastic sheet protectors so you can have them in front of you during the show, but not make those revealing crinkly noises as you refer to them.
  
• Keep the audience in mind. A radio show is not a feature-length commercial. Provide the listeners with some real 'meat' that they can take away and use, and which will provide incentive for them to visit your site or read your book to get more of the same.

Before you do that phone interview or turn on that mic, I highly recommend participating in a valuable teleseminar training series being hosted by PowerFull Living called Insider Tips to Shine as a Radio Guest.

They'll be hosting a free training call on Monday, September 29, 2008 from 7 to 8 pm Eastern. Register to receive all the details for the FREEteleseminar as well as the whole series (which begins on Wednesday, October 22nd). Learn more about this exciting new training and its special guests. I think you'll be very glad you did!

Even if you can't be on the call, you can listen to the recording, but you must be registered to receive it!

Get paid what you're really worth!

Are you a consultant or coach? Do you constantly have friends, neighbors, and professional acquaintences asking for your advice on a topic you should be charging for? Do you feel like you're charging what you're really worth, or are you keeping your fees low in the hopes of increasing your number of clients? It's one of the most frustrating aspects of working for yourself as a consultant or coach: getting paid and getting paid what you're really worth.

Stop wasting your time with clients who don't want to pay you what you're worth. Here are some resources I've found to get you on the track toward raising your fees...and getting them!

First, I suggest you sign up right away for what promises to be another terrific teleseminar by Kendall Summer Hawk, the 'Horse Whisperer' for your business. It's coming up next week on September 23rd, so register for it now (it's free!). Kendall is a very knowledgable marketer and truly shares her valuable tips and strategies on her calls, which work for any service business. You won't want to miss this one! And while you're on her site, take a look at her entire course on Charging What You're Worth and Getting It—it may be just what you need to boost your income to the next level...starting right now!

Here's an article from 2005 that still has relevant points for today—from the Guerilla Marketing folks. If you want the whole book, it's available on Amazon (though it doesn't show up even if you search on the exact title):

"Parallel Careers"--are you cut out for it?

Have you been laid off or downsized, or do you know someone who has? Of course! Everybody has these days--probably more than we care to admit. If you're gainfully employed right now (by yourself or someone else's company), do you know what you would do if that job went away tomorrow? No matter how secure you feel about your business or your job, it's always prudent to have a Plan B in place.

Plan B's tend to work best when they overlap Plan A. For those of you who are traditionally-employed, you may have heard the term 'parallel career.' Having a parallel career doesn't mean holding down a second, traditional job, though I guess it could be. Some examples of parallel careers could be teaching night classes as a professor or instructor at a local college or university, consulting in your area of expertise, writing and publishing books in your area of expertise, or speaking professionally. Some people manage to do all of these things while still working a traditional office job.

If your 'day job' were to evaporate, any of these other activities would ensure continued income. Then, after stepping up your marketing efforts in those areas, any of them could turn into your new full-time job. But not everyone is 'cut out' to jam-pack their weeks with all these professional activities.

It's your call on how much you can, and want, to add to your plate, but I suggest that you at least consider one or more of these options. Unlike a full-time job, you can give writing or speaking a test-run, and if it doesn't fit your lifestyle or personality well, you can drop it without any impact to your family's bottom line.

The point here is to not put all your knowledge 'eggs' into one basket. Don't focus all your wisdom and energies on that 'day job', but find other outlets for your expertise that you enjoy and that provide a stream of income for you.