Are you the best-kept-secret in your business? Do you know for sure, that you can help your target audience get amazing results and help take their health, relationships, or business to the next level?
Do you sometimes get jealous when you see others making a killing in their business when you know in your heart that you are as good as them if not more?
Let me tell you something .. it doesn’t matter how good you are at what you do. It doesn’t matter what kind of results you can help your clients get, it doesn’t even make an iota of a difference that you work harder than most coaches or consultants you do.
If they don’t know what you do, if they haven’t seen you hang out where they see some of your content, it is very hard for you to get their business. And if you can’t get their business, YOU don’t have a business.
This is precisely why in this post I am going to teach you how to get on the visibility train and how to make yourself stand out from the crowd. I’ll explain how you can position yourself as the true expert you are and fill your book with appointments.
Sound good? Let’s get right to it!
1. Have a website
You might be asking, that’s your tip? Hear me out.
Some people stay stuck forever because they think they can’t launch until they hire a designer, developer, copywriter, branding specialist and spend thousands of dollars to have a premium, custom website. That’s just rubbish talk.
Don’t stall because you can’t spend that kind of money. Nobody is asking you to. You just need a basic website where you introduce yourself to prospective clients on your about page, tell them ‘hire to book a free discovery call’ or ‘hire me’ on your services page and list your client testimonials to build credibility.
You also need your website to host your opt-in form. The form people use to subscribe to your email list. And, you need this website just so you can share the URL anytime somebody asks for more information.
2. Start a blog
Creating free content is the best and easiest way to show off your expertise and differentiate yourself from others.
Now, you don’t have to blog every single day. You don’t even have to blog every week if that’s too much for you. Publish a blog post every other week – that’s totally fine.
It also gives you a chance to email your new subscribers so you stay top of their mind. And it gives you a chance to share your blog post links on social media and in Facebook groups, and ask others to do the same.
I highly recommend that you put an opt-in form after each one of the blog posts you publish so when somebody finishes an article, they can sign up on the spot. More about that next.
3. Offer content upgrades
What’s a content grade? Have you ever read a blog post at the end of which they asked you if you like to grab a PDF related to the topic you just read about, a checklist or cheat sheet or something like that? Well, that’s a content upgrade.
It is extremely powerful when done right.
When you offer the main points in a concise checklist, it works great. When you offer something that would be irresistible to a person who just finished reading your post, it works like a charm.
Sure, they are a ton of work. And this is why I am NOT suggesting that you create a content upgrade for every piece of content you publish. For some blog posts, it is okay to offer just your regular opt-in and for some, where it makes sense to do so, upgrade.
Remember to always ask people to share your content and make it easy for them to that by installing social media buttons.
4. Guest blog
As times change, things evolve and some things become less effective.
A few years ago, when content hadn’t become a commodity and when people were still paying attention to almost every single blog they subscribed to, guest blogging was an amazing strategy to get in front of thousands of people who wouldn’t have heard about you otherwise.
And it was getting great for getting exposure and building your list. And it still can be but you have to be ultra strategic about it.
With social media overtaking every single aspect of our lives, our attention spans have dwindled but we still pay attention to things in major publications like the Huffington Post, Entrepreneur, Forbes or Lifehacker.
Get yourself on those sites. Invest in a PR coach or pitch blogs or stories yourself. Then flaunt your coverage by placing ‘as-seen-on logos’ on your website. You have earned it.
And there are hundreds of groups to choose from from parenting, to entrepreneurship, to alternative therapies to fitness – the options are endless.
Join a few Facebook groups where you target audience hangs out and listen to what they are talking about. Capture the exact language they use. Get familiar with the conversations that are happening and note the tone of the group.
Introduce yourself and help people out when it comes to your topic of expertise. Do this consistently and people will start to associate your name with your niche and start tagging you as the go-to expert in your field.
Many groups allow self-promotions. Use those threads but don’t look like a spammer. Interact with people, develop relationships, be of service, have fun and do this 70-80% of the time and only promote for the rest. However, don’t be shy about putting your hand up if somebody specifically asks for help.
You can also start your own Facebook group if you are interested in building a community and you have the type to be a leader and an active participant encouraging others.
I’ll be writing a blog post on this topic so keep an eye out for that.
6. Hop on Periscope or Facebook Live or Blab
Have you tried live streaming? It is so hot right now.
Try Periscope. It is an app you can download on your smart phone and it will let you broadcast a video of yourself. You can simply make a ‘talking head’ video and speak directly into the camera or you can show people around.
When you broadcast live, it gives you a chance to share your ‘real’ self with your followers. Not only do you get to flaunt your expertise, you show your personality and attract new fans. People can see your passion about what you do and your desire to help them and will become even more loyal.
Facebook live is another option that is taking social media by storm. You can live stream on your personal profile, on your page and even in your group. I would highly recommend that you check these options out.
Blab works really well if you want to have a group session. You can have people appear as guests on the panel and have live 3-way (or 4) conversations. You can invite a follower to jump on the hot seat and interview them or answer their questions.
7. Pick a social media platform to dominate
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google Plus. Snapchat.
These are only some of the giants operating in social media.
Everybody is on Facebook so you can’t go wrong starting there (it’s my personal favourite). Create your page and start building an audience there. Join Facebook groups, create your own group and stream live. For some people, Facebook is all you need to build a thriving business.
For businesses who are more visual in nature such as home décor, food, fashion, look at platforms like Instagram or Pinterest. You can really shine there.
For businesses targeting corporates or who are in B2B, you must be on LinkedIn. This is a serious network for professionals and you’ll find the right people to connect with easily.
8. Host a webinar
Webinars are excellent for building brand awareness, credibility and your list.
You can fill your webinars by promoting it on social media and your Facebook page or you can drive traffic to it using Facebook ads.
You can also co-host a webinar where you ask somebody else to appear as a guest and both of you invite people to sign up for this webinar, or you can do the same thing for another person. At the end of the day, everybody benefits by this collaboration.
You can also be a guest on somebody else’s virtual summit and reap benefits of collaborating with other influencers and thought leaders.
9. Reach out to podcasters
Start by reaching out to friends and people in your network. Secure some interviews just so you can practise getting on a call with someone. Make sure to practise your message and have link to share so new people can follow you.
Start telling people that you are looking for interview opportunities so they can refer you or know that next time they need someone – you would be interested.
Finally, go into iTunes and start making a list of podcasts that serve your ideal target market. Reach out to these people with a message on how you serve audiences. Do this consistently and pretty much you’ll have more podcast interview requests than you can handle.
10. Invest in Facebook ads
Facebook ads can be the quickest way to get directly in front of the people you serve and get clients but it can also help you grow your audience and become more visible.
Anytime you run ads, some of the people are bound to like your page so that is one benefit you get as a result. Secondly, with ads, you obviously reach thousands of people that won’t see your posts organically.
You can use ads to run challenges or run traffic to an epic blog post. You can retarget people who visited your website and reach them again. All of this helps to build brand awareness and depending on your budget and how many ads you run, people will start to associate your face with your topic.
You don’t need thousands of dollars to start running ads. You can spend as little as $5-$10 a day to get them going and spend more when you have worked out your funnel and know exactly how much ROI you’ll be getting.
11. Go local
Don’t forget local conferences, event or meet-ups to gain traction. Remember, these people hang out online also. They can help generate word of mouth marketing for your business.
Do live speaking engagements if that’s your strength. Connect with the people offline and then be sure to connect with then online also.
Your turn
So there you have it. I just gave you my top methods to get in front of people and build visibility. You know you can help people. You are doing them a disservice by not letting them know how. Which of the above resonates with you the most? Let us know in the comments.
