This article series was partly inspired by Martha Tucker's Urban Gems online event, where I was her speaker presenting several steps that will lead to a successful business.
I am going to give you some homework assignments - several tasks that will broaden how you view yourself, your partners and suppliers and also your staff. After completing these tasks you'll have enough information providing numerous, interesting angles that will get you the media coverage, build networking circles and attain the market authority and brand recognition that you desire.
You see, we want to change the standard mindset that is too often employed: "I'm an author/entrepreneur. I want you to buy my book/product or help me sell books/services. What will you do for me? What can I get out of you?"
When we use this approach the recipient has this reaction: "I feel like you are wasting my time, that you want to sell me something, and what is so special about you that would interest me and my audience? And why would I want to help you? How does this benefit me?"
Instead we come from the perspective of: "I really want to support you and network in a mutually beneficial way. I am coming to you fully prepared with these specific things to offer today, and a list of ideas we could consider as time moves forward. I've considered how I might be able to help you. I have some great information, resources and stories to share that your audience/clients would love, I have all of the information readily available including bio, potential talking points and links".
Let's look at the breakdown of homework assignments that will be shared with you in this 4-part article series.
2 - Keyword phrases about your products/services/career
3 - Develop a contact list
4 - Writing to each contact
5 - Creating talking points
You'll notice the first 3 steps involve creating lists, which can seem redundant and daunting - but I promise you will be glad you took the time to gather all that incredibly valuable data. Use a spreadsheet program like Excel for managing lists like these, because it is easy to sort alphabetically and manage the data.
Step 1 Ok so here we go with the first assignment, which is to find interesting, unique keyword phrases about you. These will likely include adjectives, nouns and simple phrases that describe you on a personal and professional level.
This might include:
• Father
• Grandfather
• Son
• Writer
• Poet
• Hair Dresser
• Uncle
• Volunteer
• Gardener
• Quilter
• Fisherman
• Accountant
You'll also look at groups of words (keyword phrases) that describe your lifestyle.
These might include:
• Passionate about the environment
• Cares about nutrition
• Likes experimenting with herbs
• Enjoys wood carving
• Works with animals
• Sports enthusiast
• Spoken Word Artist
Now it is time to look at alternative aspects about your life experiences such as childhood, upbringing, cultural background, advocacy and volunteer work, and any travelling you have done.
At this point you might be getting brain-fog. This is a really good time to take a break, perhaps a whole day, and come back to this data gathering stage with a fresh mindset.
Once you have done several brainstorming sessions and have developed your list the best that you can it is time to reach out to a few trusted people around you who know you in different settings.
This may include:
Your spouse
Someone who knows you professionally
A fellow member of an organization you are involved in
Your sister
A neighbor
Ask these trusted individuals to take the time to list adjectives and phrases that they feel describes you. Show them a sample what you have done so that they have an idea as to what you are looking for. Maybe they noticed something about you that you dismissed, or didn't think of.
I'm going to stop here because this is a lot of homework for you to complete. Be sure to comeback to the Brummet's Conscious Blog on Sept 17 (2023) for the next installment, which will cover the next 2 steps:
2 - Keyword phrases about your book(s)/writing career
3 - Develop a contact list
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