Get Slightly Famous

Get Slightly Famous Online Thought Leadership featured in Investor's Business Daily

I was recently quoted in an article by Investor's Business Daily (along with networking guru Ivan Misner). I commented about strategies for online visibility, particularly the strategies I've long advocated about online thought leadership -- a short excerpt from the article follows:

Networking Will Go Where No One's Business Card's Ever Gone Before BY MOREY STETTNER 12/29/2006

One time-honored business practice that will really morph in 2007 is networking....

"Another tactic to bolster connections is through reverse networking. Instead of contacting others to pitch yourself, let them come to you and judge for themselves whether they want to contact you.

An emerging strategy to bring others to you involves "demonstrating your credibility and expertise online," said Steven Van Yoder, author of "Get Slightly Famous."

He foresees more networkers employing this three-step process in the years ahead:

• Identify Web sites that serve your target audience. If you want to network with insurance brokers, for example, get familiar with Web sites for agents' professional associations and trade groups.

• Write informative articles and get them posted on those Web sites. Your articles, which should be no longer than 750 words, must provide valuable content. Avoid a promotional tone. You don't want those articles to "read like advertisements," Van Yoder said.

• Dangle an incentive for readers to contact you. In your bio at the end of the article, offer something of value that people can receive free if they get in touch with you. For instance, provide a link to your Web site so that readers can download a free booklet or resource guide.

"Entice people to drop into your world where you offer them a solution," said Van Yoder, owner of Get the Word Out Communications, an online marketing firm in San Francisco."

Real World Success Story

Spencer, Fane, Britt & Browne, a Kansas City law firm, works with professional building contractors. In 2005, they committed to positioning their firm as thought leaders to Midwest construction industries. The result was Midwest Construction Law, a comprehensive online resource that targets regional construction companies.

Midwest Construction Law has positioned Spencer, Fane, Britt & Browne as a thought leader and resource to Midewest construction firms. The web site provides a one-stop shop for information relevant to contractors, including articles, educational teleseminars, a blog, and a free e-booklet called How to Use Your Law Firm to Get The Most from Your Construction Business.

“Our thought leadership efforts have given us credibility and notoriety in our target market,” David Seitter, an attorney and construction expert with Spencer Fane Britt & Browne in Kansas City, MO. “When I hand my card to a prospect with the tagline, ‘If you want more information about the construction industry, visit www.midwestconstructionlaw.com,’ it really piques their interest because they see that we are committed to the construction industry.”

Midwest Construction Law begins a conversation with prospects considering a legal firm. But instead of functioning like a typical law firm web site that focuses on selling the firm, Midwest Construction Law attracts prospects by providing useful information, and by providing value and instead of merely asking for business.

“More people are researching business issues online,” says Seitter. “They don’t want to be sold, but welcome online resources that help them make informed decisions. Our site has generated three great speaking engagements at construction conferences, and up to eighty participants regularly take part in our teleseminars.”

Spencer, Fane, Britt & Browne’s commitment to educate construction firms not only generates goodwill, it turns prospects into clients. “Because we provide so much useful information, prospects spend time on our site educating themselves. It’s only natural that some companies contact us and say, ‘I see you do succession planning. Can I talk to you about it?”