Market With Authority

A great resource for your seasonal-themed articles

2011-08-14T17:39:00.000-04:00

In a previous post I listed several reasons why writing articles can help you build your online presence and attract more clients.

Here's a great resource for getting statistics and other info to include in your articles: the U.S. Census Bureau’s “Facts for Features and Special Editions.”

There you’ll find statistics, demographics and economic information for various calendar events – Back to school, Labor Day, Halloween, Black History month, etc.

The “Back to School” section includes numbers of students of various ages, parental involvement in kids’ education, teacher salaries, and more.

How to use the info:

Including statistics where appropriate can help emphasize a point. For example, suppose you want to impress upon teens and their parents the importance of staying in school. Facts for Features lists comparative average earnings of college graduates vs high school dropouts.

Get ideas for taking a unique angle in your writing. While so many other mental health professionals are giving tips and advice about how teens can adjust to college life, you might write an article aimed at students over 35 years old, who comprise about 16% of enrollees. Since fewer professionals write directly to this demographic, your piece will have a greater chance of being noticed.

How your writing can attract more clients

2011-04-11T12:28:00.001-04:00

Writing articles and blogs posts are ideal for connecting with potential clients and referral sources. Here's why:

Your writing shows a sample of what you can do. People who read your articles are doing so because they are already interested in the topic. Thus, you're connecting with those who are most likely to contact you or recommend you to others.

Much better than a business card, your written piece gives people something useful. They can take your insights and and follow your tips - and notice immediate benefit.

Writing is a way to market without being pushy or “salesy.” And if you write about common problems that lots of people have, the impact can last for years. People's issues and challenges change over time. Those who need you today may not need you 5 years from now. But by then, there will be new people with similar problems who can benefit from your advice.

Your writing makes it easier for people to recommend you to others – Instead of saying “Call so-and-so – she’s a good therapist,” people can show their friends samples of what you know and how you can help.

Writing articles positions you as an expert. The more you write about a given topic, the more your name will be associated with the subject matter, and the higher your name will show up in Google search results.

Writing builds your online presence. You will become more ubiquitous online as you continue to publish articles and blog posts. If you do it right, your writing will end up on dozens or hundreds of websites, and others will quote you.

Simple tips for getting listed in Google search results

2011-03-20T10:16:00.000-04:00

Google's Matt Cutts explains, in plain English, the basics of how to get found on Google.

Free Content for Your Fact Sheets and Brochures

2011-03-06T11:15:00.008-05:00

Fact sheets and brochures branded with your name can enhance your image as an expert. If the information is helpful, people will keep these items and pass them on to others.

You don’t need to write all the content yourself. Save time by using material that’s already out there. You can use documents produced by U.S. government agencies – such as NIMH – without getting in trouble for plagiarizing. Why? Anything produced by the U.S. government is in the public domain. It is not copyrighted. That means:

You don’t need permission to use the content.  
You don’t need to pay royalties.
You are free to use the content in any way you like. You can modify it, adapt it, or use just parts of it.
You are not obligated to cite the source. In fact you can put your own name on it.

Here are a few examples of publications from NIMH:

Fact sheets on ADHD, PTSD, The teenage brain, Suicide warning signs 
Booklets (some have Spanish version) on Anxiety disorders, Autism spectrum disorder, Eating disorders, Men and depression 
Statistics on various mental conditions and disorders 
An image library with images (mostly of the brain) to enhance your brochures

All of the above publications from NIMH are in the public domain, absolutely free for your use. More resources on psychological topics are available at the websites of other government agencies. For example:

Post-stroke rehabilitation fact sheet, from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Anger Management booklet from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Homework tips for Parents, from the Department of Education

How to find public domain content in government websites:

USA.gov is the main portal. From there you can search within specific agencies (e.g., NIH, NIMH, Department of Justice, etc.) or type your keywords into the search box to get results from more than one government agency.

Alternatively, you can search Google, adding the following to your keywords: site:gov (no spaces between the characters.) This tells Google to search only within government websites.

NOTE: Although all documents and images produced by the federal government are in the public domain, you may find some material on government websites that was produced by an outside contractor. Such material may be protected by copyright.

Therefore, when searching for public domain content, add the phrase “public domain” (in quotes) to your search. A Google search for tips on anger management would look like this:
“anger management” tips “public domain” site:gov

With public domain content you can quickly churn out fact sheets and brochures on several topics. Just copy and paste. If you have more time, you can modify the content so that it better reflects you and your practice.

Where to Distribute Fact Sheets and Brochures:

Give them to clients when appropriate.
Drop them off (after getting permission) at the offices of other professionals (physicians, attorneys, etc.) as well as at hair salons, health clubs, schools and other places where your prospective clients hang out.  
Post them for download on your website. 
Hand them out at your presentations.

Be sure to include your full contact information on every product. This not only makes it convenient for people to get in touch with you; it also helps to brand you as an expert on the topic.

** Please join my free, monthly conference calls focused on marketing. Sign up online at bit.ly/monthlycalls
.

NAMS 5 Webinar Series, and more...

2011-01-29T13:06:00.003-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I was part of a week-long NAMS 5 webinar series - 26 hours of presentations on the latest tools and techniques in online marketing and productivity.

My presentation was titled: Beat Procrastination...For Real This Time. It generated a bit of Twitter buzz, since it's a problem we can all relate to.

By the end of the week I had tons of notes and links from the other expert presenters that I've already put to use.

After the webinar series was over, organizer David Perdew kept working. He gathered all the Powerpoint presentations and put them on a download site. Then he added:

PDFs and Audios of the presentations
Audio files from FOUR previous NAMS 3-day conferences (150 hours)
Software - Article Twister and Local Domain Hound

As if all that isn't enough, he's including the following, which are coming up:

18 hours of "deep dive" interviews over the next few months
A free ticket to the NAMS 6 live conference in August.

How much is he asking for everything (and more) mentioned above?

UNTIL FEB 4 at 5 pm Eastern, you can get it all for $397.

I've never seen so much quality, expert content offered for this fee. I strongly recommend that you take a look a this before the Feb 4 deadline.

Here's my affiliate link to learn more and sign up. I'll be at NAMS 6 in August. If you're there, I'll treat to dinner on Friday night.

pw

.

Outsource for $5?

2011-01-28T17:25:00.000-05:00

Outsourcing work can be kind of scary. You have to trust people you've never met, based on recommendations from other people you've never met.

What if you could outsource a small task - say, do a voiceover for your video...or send out press releases...or even build a Facebook fan page for you - any of these for 5 bucks?

Fiverr.com brings together people willing to give a small sample of their work for $5, and those who are looking for help with these tasks. It's a great way try outsourcing and see how it works for you.

There are some fun opportunities on Fiverr as well. Want an Elvis impersonator to croon "Happy Birthday" to your mom? Need a wallet made of duct tape (any color)? Interested in what happened on the day you were born? You can get all these for $5.

But there are some shady offers on Fiverr as well. Don't be tempted by those that promise you 500 incoming links to your website, or 25,000 views to your Youtube video. These links and hits are generated by software robots. Once Google catches on (and it eventually will) that they are not legitimate, you may suddenly find that yourself de-listed by Google.

5 Ways to be found in Google search results

2011-01-22T16:13:00.001-05:00

Do you want to be more visible in Google search results? Here are 5 simple tips:

Get a free listing on Google Maps, When people search for a local product or service, a map of their geographic region is displayed ABOVE all the other search results. Even if you don't have a website, your business can appear on this map.
Post quality content on your website or blog, and post it often. Google ranks websites by the amount of content on a website as well the richness of content and how often it's updated. Great content is the best Google bait!
Try to match your keywords and key phrases with what your audience is probably typing into search engines. Use these keywords in the title and description metatags of your website or blog, and in the content you post on your website. Use the Google Keyword Tool for suggestions.
Post comments on other blogs and news sites. Arrange with colleagues to do a guest blog post on their sites, and invite them to do the same.
Get incoming links pointing to your site. Link from your Facebook and Twitter accounts. Ask noncompeting colleagues to link to you. Use contextual links that contain keywords such as marketing for professionals, rather than simply "click here." Contextual links that relate to what your website is about, are considered more relevant by search engines. If you have a lot of similar contextual links pointing to your site, you will likely get a higher ranking in search results when people search on those keywords.

Beyond bookmarks...

2010-12-21T15:17:00.000-05:00

How do you save web pages and other online information? Still using the Bookmarks or Favorites feature of your browser? That saves the link, but only on the computer you’re using at the time. You won’t have access to your browser-based bookmarks from other computers or from your smartphone.

Moreover, with the limited sorting and categorizing capabilities of browser-based bookmarks, you might have trouble finding them later on your computer.

Nowadays it’s easy to store bookmarks and web pages “in the cloud” so that you can access them from any device connected to the Internet. You have hundreds of options. Here are a few, based on how you might use your bookmarks:

If you just want quick access to your favorite websites and links…

A simple online bookmarking service is all you need. Organize your links by categories, and/or label them with “tags” (keywords or key phrases) that will help you find them later. For example, suppose you have a collection of links to your favorite shopping sites, under the category Shopping. Each link saved under Shopping can be tagged with one or more keywords such as books, pet supplies, cameras, etc.

Later, when you search for the tag, camera, you’ll pull up all the links you tagged with that word – not just from the Shopping category, but across all categories. Thus, if you also had a Photography category of links, some of which were tagged with camera, these would also show up.

Simple online bookmark managers include: Google bookmarks, Yahoo bookmarks, Delicious.com (no categories, tags only.)

If you want to collect content for reviewing later on…

Use bookmarking services with extra features such as highlighting and annotating. You can highlight parts of web pages, and they will still be highlighted when you return to the page (assuming that you are logged into the bookmarking site.) You can also attach virtual sticky notes with comments.

Other features include saving snippets or snapshots of web pages, so that you can view them in your collection even if the original sources are taken off line.

My favorite bookmarking site is diigo.com. They have a free and premium version. In addition to the above features, the premium version ($40/year) gives you the option of saving only the text of your bookmarked pages (without clutter or ads) and full-text search of your bookmarked pages.

If you want to work with your collected content…

When doing research for a writing project, you need more than simply access to content. You also need to organize the content, extract what you need for your article or book, and make your own notes and annotations along the way. Here are two online tools:

Webnotes.net allows you to highlight text on web pages, annotate, and search for text within your annotations. In your Webnotes account you can set up folders for each writing project, keeping all related content together. One very useful feature is the ability to display text you’ve highlighted from different web pages (i.e., only the content that’s important to you) all in one interface. The “Pro” version of Webnotes ($35/year) adds features such as saving and annotating PDF pages, generating reports and automatically saving permanent copies of web pages.

Zotero.org is less intuitive to use than Webnotes, but allows you to upload files from your computer into your online account. It also includes a powerful citation manager. With a click of your mouse you can capture the bibliographic information for any web page or document, using any of several citation styles, including APA.

All the tools listed above are free, except where noted. No need to stick to just one – try a few and see which work best for you.

Build Incoming Links to Your Website

2010-07-21T08:38:00.002-04:00

Would you like your website or blog to appear higher in the search results of Google and other search engines? One way is to have lots of incoming links from other sources.

The more places on the Web that point to your site, the more “popular” you are considered by search engines, and the higher you will be listed in search results.

Here are 7 ways to build incoming links:

Post comments on other people’s blogs. In your post, include a link back to your own blog or website. 15 comments = 15 more links pointing to you.
Post comments on news sites, and include a link to your site. BONUS: The journalists who write news stories read every comment. If they like yours, they may contact you for input on a future news story.
Write articles and submit them to article banks such as EzineArticles.com or GoArticles.com. You’ll be asked for several keywords or key phrases that describe the content of your article – e.g., shyness, overcome shyness, conversation starter, social confidence. When someone types any of those keywords into Google, your article will come up in the search results.
When you post relevant content on social networking sites (Facebook, Linkedin, etc.) add a link back to your website.
Ask colleagues in non-competing fields to exchange links. On your website you place a link to theirs, and vice versa.
Make a Youtube video (2 minutes or less) on a topic of interest. It need not be you talking into the camera; it can be a slideshow with background music. On the first and last slides have a link to your website.
Get listed in therapist directories such as PsychologyToday.com or GoodTherapy.org. These directories will submit your name, location and other keywords to the search engines.

Tips for creating links:

Give some thought to which page on your site that you want people to go. It won’t always be your main URL e.g., mywebsite.com. If your goal is to send people to an internal page, such as the “about me” page, make it easy for them. Have your link point to that exact page, e.g., mywebsite.com/aboutme.

Use contextual links. These are actual words and phrases that link to a specific webpage. The most common phrase is click here, but there are much better ones. For example, let’s say you wrote an article on stress management. At the end of your article you might say, “See my website for more tips on how to manage stress.” Your link is not “my website;” it’s “how to manage stress.”

This will help Google and other search engines recognize that “how to manage stress” is an important key phrase in your website. Later, when other people search the web for “how to manage stress” your site will already be identified as very relevant to that phrase, and will rank higher in the search results.

Get more mileage from your community presentations

2010-03-21T13:05:00.001-04:00

One of the best ways to market your practice is to give presentations to local community groups. But for all the work you put into the preparation, wouldn’t it be nice to reach more than a few dozen people?

You can, if you take the content of your workshop and “repurpose” it into different formats for different audiences.

Let’s say you gave a presentation to a group of parents about communicating with their teens, and that you distributed a handout. You can repurpose the content of both your presentation and your handout:

Take your handout and create a tips sheet for your clients. You may have to condense your ideas so that they fit on one page. If you have too much content for one page, create several tips sheets, each covering one sub-topic.

From the notes from your presentation, write an article – or a series of articles, depending on how much you covered in the presentation. Your articles should be no longer than 500 words. Post them online at your website or blog, or distribute them via email. You can also post them on article banks such as ezinearticles.com, where others can use your article in their own newsletters or blogs (with full credit to you.)

Make video recordings of segments of your presentation and post them on youtube. They should be no longer than 3-5 minutes each. If you covered 7 points in your presentation, make 7 individual videos.

Make an audio recording of your presentation, using an inexpensive microphone connected to your computer. Using the free software, audacity, you can record, edit, and even add music to your recording. Post the mp3 file as a download on your website. Or put it on CD. For just $1 apiece at kunaki.com, you can create professional-looking CDs and jewel cases.

These are just a few ways to get more mileage from your presentations. Please share how you have repurposed (or intend to repurpose) your content. Post your comment below.

2009-10-02T20:13:00.004-04:00

SEO - Boost your search engine rankings

2009-07-08T21:15:00.014-04:00

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is about how to get your website noticed by search engines - So that when people search the Web, your site has a better chance of appearing near the top.

The principle is simple. Most search engines pay attention to fresh content that doesn't look like spam.

They do this via a series of complex algorithms that rank websites on different dimensions. But each search engine does it differently. That's why, if you run the same search on Google and Yahoo, you won't get exactly the same results.

However, all search engines look for these factors:

Content - Original content that is not repetitive. Google and other search engines don't rank spelling and grammar, but they do tend to dismiss websites that have very little content, or that have the same words repeated over and over throughout the website.
Relevance: Think about keywords that people might search on in order to find your website. Use these keywords in the title and the body of your website, but don't over-use them - otherwise the search engine may assume that you are "stuffing" keywords just to artificially boost your ranking.
Outgoing Links - Links should be related to the content. If they're not, the search engines will consider them random and spammy.
Incoming Links - If a lot sites link to yours, search engines view your website as "popular" and give you higher ranking.
Metatags - These are the words that define the title of your website and describe what your content is about. Metatags are like keywords, and should match the keywords that your potential audience would probably type into the search engine.

For example, if your website is about overcoming shyness, your metatags might be: overcoming shyness, getting over shyness, social confidence, .... etc.

You access your metatags on the actual files that are stored on your website's host. If you have a blog you can access the metatags from your blog's control panel or dashboard.

Each search engine gives different ranking to the above factors. Also, their algorithms change frequently. Thus, what was #1, 2 and 3 yesterday could be different today or tomorrow.

For more specifics on how to optimize your site for search engines, see their individual guidelines:
Google
Yahoo
Ask
Bing

More info is at SEOMoz.org.
.
.

Interpret and comment on news reports

2009-03-29T21:59:00.010-04:00

Get ideas for your articles and presentations from news reports. Build your credibility by commenting on them and providing your own expert interpretations.

Since these topics are already being reported in the media, you have a good chance of reaching potential audiences who are tuned in.

How to keep abreast of news in your area of expertise:

Set up email alerts. Both Google and Yahoo will send you headlines of news stories that contain your designated keywords.
Subscribe to feeds of major news outlets such as New York Times, CNN, FoxNews, etc. Look for the little RSS symbol: You'll need an RSS reader - Google Reader will work just fine.
Search Google News and Yahoo News. Also search Topix, which aggregates news stories from 50,000 sources.
Browse scientific news sites, press releases and blogs. Some of these include SciSeek, SciCentral, Newswise, Technorati and PRWeb.

-- Pauline

p.s. Join my monthly Q&A calls, where I will answer your questions about marketing. Get more info here.

Tools to test your articles' readability level

2009-01-29T19:43:00.002-05:00

How user-friendly is your writing? If you are writing for the public, you know that it's wise to avoid using professional jargon.

Other factors are also important, especially when writing online:

Make your paragraphs short - they are easier to read when they don't exceed 5 lines.
Use headings, sub-headings and bullets - makes your content jump out at the reader
Keep sentences brief, but vary the length and structure, so that your article doesn't read like a grade-school primer.
Write in a conversational tone - speak to your reader.
Write at a level that is easy for most people to understand - from 12-year-olds to your grandmother.

You can test the readability level of your articles. Microsoft Word has this built in.

There are also online tools, available here. Simply copy your text, paste it into the box, and you'll get instant feedback on several readability dimensions.

Pauline

p.s. Join my monthly Q&A calls, where I will answer your questions about marketing. Get more info here.

.

5 ways to position yourself as an expert

2009-01-11T12:37:00.011-05:00

If you have specialized knowledge and experience to help others, then you are an expert.

HERE ARE 5 WAYS TO PROMOTE YOUR EXPERTISE:

Give talks and lectures in your community. Even if you don't get paid, you are building your reputation as an expert - which can generate business for you in the future.

When you give a presentation, pass around a sign-up sheet for people to write in their names and email addresses. Then follow up by sending them your e-newsletter, tips or other helpful information.

Get someone to interview you, asking you questions about your area of expertise, and record the interview. All the better if the other person has some name recognition in your field or in your community. Place the recording on your website.

Write articles. Here's a link to several of my blog posts on tips for writing articles.

Under your signature add one or two tag lines - not only showing your professional designation, but also promoting your expertise. Thus, your signature on emails and letters might look something like this:

John Doe, Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist
...Helping couples fall in love again

Jane Smith, CPA
Public Accountant
Family business expert

Why position yourself as an expert? These days, with fewer consumer dollars to go around, more people will turn to experts, in order to get the most value for their investment.

Get more visible online, so that people can find YOU and learn more about how you can help them.

I've removed the guesswork for you, in my step-by-step home-study course, Market With Authority: Build Credibility and Professional Name Recognition on the Web.

-- Pauline

Holiday-themed articles: Re-use them every year

2008-12-12T22:35:00.012-05:00

Every professional should have a file of holiday-themed articles. Whatever your field, write about something related to the Christmas season, New Year's, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, etc.

Once you write a holiday-themed article, you can use it every year, with minimal tweaking.

It's OK if you publish it over and over - because someone reading it this year might not have noticed it last year.

People pay attention to what pertains to their own lives at any given moment. Thus, your Valentine's Day themed article on how to stay emotionally connected when your spouse is overseas, will be noticed by women whose husbands are in Iraq. But it probably won't be of much interest next year when their husbands are back home.

OK, now that you have a set of articles, what can you do with them?

Rotate them on your website or in your newsletter
Submit them to article banks such as ezinearticles.com, so that others can find and publish your content in their own newsletters or websites.
Upload them to social media sites such as scribd.com
Post them on your social networking page, such as Facebook.com
Create press releases out of them and send them to off-line media - newspapers, TV, radio. See my blog post on press releases.

Always be thinking a couple of holidays ahead, and plan your strategy on how to distribute your articles.

It's also OK to repurpose them in different formats. See my slideshow on 7 Ways to Repurpose Your Content - and let me know what you think by leaving a comment.

And be sure to include in every article that you write:

Your full contact information - name, phone number, email
A link to your website
A specific offer or directive - e.g., Start building your expert status online today, with my step-by-step audio-narrated course, Market With Authority: Build Credibility and Name Recognition on the Web. ;-)

--Pauline

p.s. My friend Mark Hendricks is still going gangbusters with his 12-Days-of-Christmas Giveaway. Get dozens of marketing tools for free! See my last blog post below.

Special marketing tools giveawy

2008-12-02T21:32:00.006-05:00

I don't usually promote specific marketing programs, but here's one you must not miss: Mark Hendricks's "12 Days of Christmas" program.

Every December since 2003, this Internet entrepreneur known for his integrity as well as his expertise, has coordinated a giant giveaway program, with Internet marketing products donated by dozens of the best marketers online. (I'm honored to have my product included.)

These products will be released a few at a time, every 2 days in December - which means you'll have access to dozens of high-quality products over the 12 release dates.

Here's how the program works:

1. Sign up here

2. That will put you on the list to get emailed notices when new products are posted.

3. Click the links in the emails to browse and to download whatever you want - all FREE!

What's the catch?

The donors are providing their products at no charge, in order to introduce themselves to you and to showcase what they can offer you.

For most of the products you will be asked for your name and email address, which will subscribe you to their individual mailing lists.

There is no obligation, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

If you are new to marketing online, this is a great way to explore the possibilities.

Pauline

Get media attention with a press release

2008-11-20T15:02:00.012-05:00

You don't have to be a corporation or a publicist to write a press release. Anyone can write one.

The main purpose of a press release is to make a newsworthy announcement about your business. Journalists are always looking for story ideas - and your press release may prompt them to contact you.

In order to get the attention of the media, your press release must answer the question: "Why should anyone care about this?"

Write a press release to announce things such as:

Your new book

An event that you're planning or sponsoring

A new service that you're offering

Expert training that you have completed

Write in an engaging manner, as if you were talking to a friend. The press release should fit on one page, and should have attention-grabbing headline.

In my Market With Authority Home Study Course, you'll hear a Chicago Publicist reveal how she worded a headline that generated calls from major media with minutes of posting a press release online.

Press releases follow a certain format. For guidelines and tips try one of these websites:
eHow: How to write a proper press release
wikiHow: How to write a press release
PRWeb: Press release tips and guidelines
Pressbox: Writing press releases for online use

Submit your press releases online. Here's a list of sources.

Scribd - the 'youtube' of article publishing

2008-11-16T21:50:00.011-05:00

In my last blog post I described how to get more mileage out of your articles by submitting them to article banks.

Here's another idea: upload them to Scribd.com, which combines article hosting with social media.

That means people can comment on your articles and/or easily share them with others - thus the potential for your articles becoming viral.

Scribd uses technology called iPaper, which converts documents to Flash format. (Scroll down to see an example.) Flash is built into all Internet browsers. If you can view youtube videos, you will be able to read iPaper documents. iPaper uses less memory than Adobe Acrobat, and loads faster.

To use Scribd, sign up for a free account. Upload your article in .doc, .pdf or other supported file types. All formatting and images will be retained as you originally set them.

Next, choose a topic category for your article, and type in keywords that tell the search engines what your article is about.

You can decide whether to make your article public or private.

You can also decide whether to allow the article to be downloaded, and in what format (plain text, Word doc, pdf.) If you want your article to be read only online, and not downloaded, uncheck all the download options.

Assuming you make your article public, website owners can add it to their site by simply copying and pasting the 'embed' code - similar to how youtube videos are streamed through individual websites. Your article appears in its entirety, in its original format. You can use the embed code to show your articles at your own website, blog or Facebook page.

Here's an example of one of my articles that I uploaded to scribd.com. To enlarge the font, click the little down arrow to reveal a drop-down menu. Or to view in full-screen mode, click the icon at the top right corner of the document window.

Breaking Up is Hard To Do - Especially for Men

Get your own at Scribd or explore others: Health divorce breakup

Get more mileage out of your articles

2008-11-06T09:18:00.004-05:00

One of the best ways to establish yourself as an expert online is to write articles.

You can post them on your website, of course. But to get greater distribution, you should submit them to article banks, such as ezinearticles.com, goarticles.com and others. Just search for "article bank" at your favorite search engine for thousands of other article banks.

Article banks are websites dedicated to collection and dissemination of articles written by experts who offer their work for free.

When you submit your articles to article banks, they may get picked up by publishers who are looking for fresh content for their ezines, newsletters and websites. Thus you have the potential of reaching audiences that you would otherwise not have access to.

Boost your chances of getting your article picked up by publishers:

Publishers generally look for brief articles that offer tips, advice or insight - emphasis is on BRIEF. Keep your articles to 500-700 words.

Keep your focus very narrow. Better to cover one or two points well than to try to pack in tons of information.

Write on topics that appeal to large groups of people. But don't be so general that your article is watered down.

Include links back to your website.

In the body of your article, or at the end, be sure to include a link back to your website or blog. 2 reasons for this:

It will encourage readers of other people's ezines, newsletters and websites to visit your website. Those who click on your link are obviously curious about you or what you have to offer. Once they get to your website, they'll learn more about how you can help them.
It will boost your ranking in the search engines. When people click over to your website from somewhere else on the internet, that tells Google and other search engines that these other websites are "recommending" you - which raises your popularity value in search results.

Click to learn more about marketing yourself online to build a strong expert presence in this tough economy.

-- Pauline

Build a mailing list

2008-10-20T08:00:00.014-04:00

If someone visits your website or blog, that shows they're curious about what you have to offer. If they like what they see they might want to return. But with so much distraction on the internet, they may never get back.

Wouldn't you want to keep in touch with these visitors - perhaps send them a newsletter or occasional tips?

Staying in touch keeps your name and your expertise in front of people who are interested in your services or products. In order to do so you'll need their email addresses.

There are a few ways to get people's email addresses:

1. Post your email address and ask them to contact you.

For example: If you'd like to be on my mailing list to receive tips every week, please send me an email: [your email address]

This method is OK, but it has some drawbacks:

It requires that people copy and paste your email address, go to their email programs and compose a message. With this extra work involved, a lot of semi-interested people will not bother.
When you post your email address on a web page, spammers can use robots to capture the address and send you junk mail. To avoid this, replace the @ in your email address with the word AT.

For example: john AT trainyourhamster.com

This will not be a link, but most people will know what it means, and know that they should use the @ instead of AT

2. Use a web form on your website. You can create a simple input form that does not even show your email address. Web visitors can simply enter their name and email address into the form, and the information will be forwarded to your email box.

If you don't know anything about html (and don't care to learn) ask your web designer to add a form.

If you'd like to create one yourself, there are many free "form wizards" and tutorials. Here are a few links to give you an idea of what's available:

You can also use Dreamweaver and other web design tools.

3. What do you do with the list of email addresses? In order to keep in touch with the people who submit their email addresses to you, you'll need to use some form of bulk mailing. After all, you don't want to be composing 30 or 300 separate email messages!

If you don't have many names on your email list, you can use your regular email program. Simply create a group within that program, and send a single message to that list.

Be sure to check with your ISP about limits on the number of emails you send at once. My ISP limits it to 10. You can send up to 100 messages per day via gmail (and can make them look as if they came from one of your other email accounts) but if you exceed the limit, Google may freeze your account, because they don't want people complaining about spam.

Another option is to use a web-based mailing list program. I use aweber. It allows me to have unlimited email lists. I can send personalized emails, so that Mary will get a message starting with"Hi Mary" and Bill will get the same message, but starting with "Hi Bill."

I can also automate thank-you and follow-up messages, so that if someone signs up for my mailing list, they'll immediately get an acknowledgment by email. And aweber also provides a form wizard to create and customize the form to place on my website, where visitors will input their information, and be automatically added to my aweber mailing list.

--Pauline

Better than advertising? And free!

2008-10-16T11:46:00.005-04:00

Advertising can be very expensive. And in some cases it may not be as effective as other means of promotion.

When you advertise your own services and products, YOU are talking about YOU. Wouldn't the message carry more weight if SOMEONE ELSE talked about you?

Think about the last time you were looking to buy something that you didn't know much about - say a digital camera. All the ads for cameras claimed to be the best in some way. So how did you decide? You asked a knowledgeable friend, or read an expert's review.

In other words, what someone else said about the camera was more credible than what the manufacturer said.

So how do you get other people to talk about you?

Ask colleagues in non-competitive businesses to link to your website. If they add a sentence or two about you in the link, that's even better.
ASK for referrals. Don't be shy. Next time you chat with someone about what you do, state that you're accepting referrals.
Organizations are always looking for good speakers. Offer to speak at community events, at service club meetings, and at professional conferences. When these organizations promote their events, they will talk you up, because they want their members to attend.
If you have something noteworthy to say about current events or items in the news, call your local newspaper, or your local TV or radio news producer. If they decide to quote you or interview you, they will refer to you (and thus endorse you) as an expert.
If you have published a book or a paper, ask colleagues to write a review.
While certain professional ethical codes prohibit the use of client testimonials, there are circumstances in which testimonials are OK - for example, for your books or other products.

I have received many positive testimonials from professionals who took my course, "Market With Authority: Build Credibility and Professional Name Recognition on the Web." Here's one of them:
"Anyone who owns a business or who is interested in establishing themselves as an expert in their field needs the information in this course.
Folks like me, who lack confidence in their technology skills, can really benefit from the careful way you teach with examples, tips and resources. "
– Stephanie Pratola, Ph.D.,P.C.
Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Learn more about the Home Study version of the course here. To get the DELUXE version of the course for half-price ($199) order from THIS PAGE ONLY.

Pauline

Picking a domain name? What to consider

2008-09-22T14:26:00.005-04:00

Whether or not you already have a website, you should always buy a domain name that contains your own name. And you should get both .com and .net suffixes - e.g. FirstnameLastname.com, FirstnameLastname.net, FirstnameMiddle-initialLastname.com, etc.

That way no one else will be able to use it. You don't have to set up a website with your name in it, just own the domain names.

If you don't own those domains, other people could buy them. For example if there is someone else with your same first-and-last-name combination, they could grab the domain name and set up a porn site. Or, if you have enemies, they might buy your name as a domain and put up a parody site.

A popular source to check on domain name availability is godaddy.com.

What if your name is already taken? If your first and last name are common, e.g., John Johnson, you might find that someone else has grabbed the domain name. You can find out who owns the domain and offer to buy it from the person.

Or, use a variant:

Try putting hyphens between your first and last name

If you have a professional title like dr or doctor, or Ph.D., or MSW, or CPA, you can append those to the name and see if it's available that way.
Or just add the word "the" to your name - e.g., thejanedoe.com

Other considerations when choosing a domain name:

1. Branding yourself: Have your name, company or specialty in your domain name. Your website is thus descriptive of who you are or what you do. If you wrote a book, it's a good idea to have a domain name containing part or all of the title.

2. Search-friendly: If you want your website to be easily found by search engines, use keywords in your domain name.

This is primarily for people who don't search for you by name, but who enter keywords for a specific service into search boxes.

For example, if you are a therapist in Detroit who works with families, you could get the domain: detroitfamilytherapist.com (which is still available as of this writing.)

Then, when someone searches for: family therapist detroit, your website will end up near the top of the search results.

To hyphenate? or not?

Some experts say that search engines can more easily "read" individual words in a string when they are separated by hyphens, so you might want to do this - e.g., detroit-family-therapist.com - especially if you have three or more words running together.

But then again, hyphens are often omitted by searchers.

In any case, it's a good idea to buy both the hyphenated and unhyphenated versions of your domain name. You can set the non-hyphenated name to be automatically redirected to the hyphenated version, which is your actual website. Thus, whether people type in detroitfamilytherapist.com or detroit-family-therapist.com, they'll end up at the same place, and you'll be more visible to the search engines.

When setting up a domain name containing keywords, consider what your intended audience might be searching for. There are synonyms and alternate forms for most keywords - so with a little creativity you'll probably find something that fits.

3. Easy: Your domain name should be easy to say, easy to spell, and easy to remember. And make sure that you don't inadvertently put together a combination of words that could be interpreted in more than one way- a popular example is therapist.com.

Keep in mind: Even though your domain name is important, it's not as critical as the CONTENT of your website. If you're using your website to market your practice, make sure you emphasize benefits for your audience. See my earlier blog post on this topic.

-- Pauline

Competition is GOOD for business!

2008-09-18T07:27:00.010-04:00

Are you afraid of competition? Don’t be.

Competition is actually good for your business. When several people offer the same types of services, it implies that these services are popular and in demand.

People flock to what’s popular, because popularity is an endorsement – The herd mentality is: If others are using a service, it must be worthwhile.

It’s actually much harder to sell services that no one else is – especially if you’re in the mental health field, which still has some stigma in many communities.

No matter how much you say you can help people, they might be skeptical. After all, in most businesses, if there is something worth paying for, a lot of people would probably want it – and there would be enough demand for similar businesses to sprout up.

Therefore, instead of fearing competition, embrace it. Here are some tips:

Promote what’s different about you. Figure out at least one way that you’re different from your competitors, and emphasize that in your marketing. But the difference must be of benefit to your audience. If you are fluent in Swahili, and no one in your community speaks Swahili, that’s not much of an edge over your competition. However, if you offer evening hours, or babysitting, or if you are a specialist in a sub-niche of your field, people will be drawn to you.

Support your competition in a way that does not undermine your business: Refer people to your competition whom you would not work well with. If you come across an article that might be helpful to your competition, send it to them. When they have the opportunity to refer to you in the future, they will be more likely to do so.

Network with your competition. Give them a chance to get to know you, like you and trust you. They may end up referring some of their family or close friends to you, which would be the ultimate endorsement of their respect for you.

Build Your Online Presence - Slideshow

2008-09-07T15:32:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago I gave a talk at the American Psychological Association Convention, on ways to build your online presence.

I condensed the content into an 8-minute slideshow with audio narration. Click the player button below to start.

If you'd like to learn step-by-step how to build your online presence, take a look at my Home Study Course.

Readers of this blog can get the Deluxe version for half price. I'm running an unadvertised special. Email me for details: drwallin@drwallin.com

Pack Your Articles with Statistics

2008-08-25T08:28:00.002-04:00

When writing articles for the public, you can boost your authoritative credibility by citing statistics related to your topic.

A good place to start is LibrarySpot.com, which has links to statistics on dozens of sources, listed by government agency and by topic.

Speaking of government agencies, the U.S. Census Bureau has a great resource for journalists and other writers - Facts for Features and Special Editions. These are collections of statistics around specific topics. For example, the "Back to School" statistics list statistics on student enrollments, how much money is spent on back-to-school shopping, government spending, the earning power of eduction, and more.

Another source for statistics is the University of Michigan Library's Statistical Resources on the Web. There you'll find links to data on business, health, demographics, economics and more. If you don't find what you're looking for, you can request assistance from the librarian. (Priority is given to University of Michigan students, staff, faculty and alumni.)

A little rusty on how to interpret averages, sample size and margin of error? Here's a link to an article, Statistics Every Writer Should Know.

7 Ways to Repurpose Your Content

2008-07-07T13:16:00.004-04:00

Have you noticed how the "big names" keep presenting the same message over and over again? You can pretty much predict what they're going to say. The content varies slightly, but the theme remains the same.

They are "repurposing" their content - sometimes you'll see it in print; sometimes you'll hear it in an interview; or you may get it online via the web or newsletter.

There are dozens of ways to repurpose content. Here's a slide show I recently posted online, which reviews 7 of them.

The more ways you can get your message out there, the more quickly you will be branded as an expert in your field.

| View

Do-it-yourself: Website or blog?

2008-06-28T17:50:00.008-04:00

One of the most frequent questions I get is, "What's the quickest and least expensive way to set up my website?"

If you're going to do it yourself, the quickest way to get a web presence is to set up a blog at blogger.com. This blog that you're reading is hosted on blogger.com. It's free. You don't need any programming or web-designing skills. And you can update it very easily.

Blogger blogs are limited - you can't have different sections and pages,as you'd find on a traditional website.

Convenience of a blog, look and feel of a website

If you want the convenience of a blog (easy updating, interactivity, plug-in widgets, etc.) with the look and feel of a website, your solution is to use the free Wordpress blog software.

To do this you need a domain name and web host. If you don't have a domain name (e.g., yourwebsite.com) you can get one at Godaddy. Each name costs about $10/year.

Next, you need a place to host your website. There are hundreds of web hosts. You can use Godaddy for hosting, but I've heard great things about Hostgator. Fees start at $4.95/month.

Whatever hosting service you use, make sure they offer free installation of the Wordpress software. Wordpress will be a built-in option that you click to install from your website's control panel. Learn more at wordpress.org

Once you get your Wordpress blog installed, simply choose a template and start typing to add content. You can add extra functions and widgets as you go along.

Want to stick with a traditional website?

If you won't be doing much updating, or if your website is mainly a brochure for your business, then a traditional html-based website may be all you need.

Many web hosts have simple "site builders" (templates) to get you started. You can also use wysiwyg (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) html editors such as nvu or amaya. With these editors you don't need to use html - simply type in your content and the html code is automatically created.

However, it does help to know a little about html, in case your final result has weird lines or spaces. Here's a link to info and tutorials on html.

Whether you decide on a blog or a website, if you don't have any web presence, get started today. Don't wait till you have everything ready to load onto it. Just get started. Tweaking will be easier when you have it partially completed.

LEARN MORE

Learn more about the difference between a blog and a website, and how they are related to your marketing, in the 9-minute slideshow below. It's a sneak preview of my new home-study course. If you are ready to take a serious step toward marketing your practice or business, visit MarketWithAuthority .com for details.

The power of your voice

2008-06-07T07:29:00.003-04:00

If you're a a therapist, coach or consultant, you probably communicate mainly through your voice. Your voice reveals so much about who you are. Recently I interviewed two broadcast specialists from Australia, who gave us lots of tips on how to make the most of our voice to connect with clients, and also to market ourselves.

The blogtalkradio recording is below. It's 60 minutes, but you can download it to your computer and either listen online or transfer it to your portable music player. To download the audio, click here and look for the blue Download tab just above the "Market with Authority" image.

Get the study guide here.

Use hot topics to frame your marketing message

2008-04-26T06:35:00.011-04:00

The best marketing message is that which addresses people's concerns.

What are people talking about? What are they searching for online?

You can get answers to these questions from statistics provided by search engines, blogs and social bookmarking sites.

If there are a lot of searches or a lot of blogging on a given topic, that means it's hot. And if you're an expert on this topic (or something related to it) it's an ideal time to write about it or comment about it. This will help build your status as an authority.

HERE ARE SOME TOOLS:

Google Trends - See at a glance what the popular searches have been for the past 24 hours. Or search on a specific topic for trends in recent weeks, months or years. You can even compare search terms and get a breakdown of searches by country and region.

This graph shows the results of searches for 3 popular psychiatric diagnoses: ADHD, Autism, and Bipolar, for the last 12 months.

Overall, Autism (red line) has been the most popular search. However, if you look at the countries below the graph, you'll notice that this is the case mainly for English-speaking countries. in northern Europe the most popular search has been ADHD (blue line.)

Thus, depending on which population you're targeting, you'll frame your message accordingly.

Yahoo Buzz - Learn what's hot right now. A "Buzz score" is based on search term popularity, how many times a news story or other item is emailed from Yahoo Buzz, and the number of votes from Buzz visitors. You can search for buzz within a particular topic, and within a specific time frame, up to the past year. Here's a screenshot from what's hot in health news from the past 30 days:

Blogs and social bookmarking - People are not only searching online; they are also talking about what they've found. They're blogging, commenting, and sharing their bookmarks. You can see what's hot by visiting:
Technorati
BlogPulse
Del.icio.us
Furl

"Expensive" implies quality

2008-03-08T17:15:00.015-05:00

Last week in the news there was an interesting study confirming what we already suspect: Expensive medicine is perceived as more effective.

People who were told that a pill cost $2.50 got more pain relief from a shock to their wrist, than did those who were told that the pill cost only 10 cents. In reality, both groups of subjects received the same pill, which contained no pain medicine at all. The pill was just a placebo (sugar pill.)

A few months ago another study showed that people sipping wine which they thought cost $45, reported that it tasted better than wine that they were told cost $5.

Moreover, brain imaging reflected more activity in the pleasure centers when the people drank the "expensive" wine - even though both products were identical!

These research results are not surprising. From haircuts, to cosmetics, to watches, to cars - in the mind of the consumer, higher price is associated with better quality. And expectation of quality affects one's experience of satisfaction.

What this means for your professional business:

Even in these tough economic times, if you are a professional, think twice before slashing your fees.

There is still a need for your services and products. And when money is tight, your potential clients and customers don't want to waste it. More important than ever is their confidence that what they are paying for is indeed going to help them.

Instead of lowering your prices, increase your perceived value. Here are some tips:

Be extra responsive - e.g., return phone calls and emails within an hour.

Offer extra convenience - e.g., toll-free phone number, baby-sitting services for your in-person clients, evening office hours, stamped self-adressed envelopes for return mail.

Give something free, which is related to your paid service or product - e.g., book (yours or someone else's), CD, DVD, pedometer (eg., for clients you are coaching to improve their life style.) These items cost a few bucks, but can greatly enhance your perceived value.

What eye-tracking studies imply for your website

2008-02-01T17:02:00.000-05:00

Where should you place your most important text on your web page? According to eye tracking studies by Jakob Neilsen, people's eyes scan web pages in an F-shaped pattern, as in the image below. The red areas indicate the longest gaze, blue the shortest, and grey no focus at all.

What does this mean for your website? If you look at the diagram, you can see that the top third of the page, with emphasis on the left side is the most looked at. That's where your most important information should go.

Further down the page use more headings. Since readers spend less time focusing as they scan down a web page, headlines will catch their attention and get them to stop momentarily.

Nielsen also recommends AGAINST using a lot of bright graphics and fancy formatting. He found in his research that anything resembling a banner ad tends to get ignored.

Research for writing articles

2008-01-14T07:10:00.000-05:00

Do you write articles for the public? Where do you research your topic?

Journal articles may not your best source. They are geared toward professional audiences, who have different questions from the general public.

Here are some alternative sources:

Findarticles.com is a good blend of popular and academic articles. Most of them have passed through professional editors and fact-checkers. Many articles are free, but there are also some available for a fee.
MagPortal is another source, not quite as comprehensive, but all articles are free.
Search recent news at Google News or Yahoo News. Many news stories quote authorities on the topic. If you want to know more, you can usually find the quoted sources or people via a simple Google search.

Pauline
p.s. Still time to sign up for my distance-learning course

.

Geeks and Freelancers for Hire

2007-12-29T17:16:00.000-05:00

If you're like most professionals, you don't have a staff of technicians on call. But here's the next best thing: Outsourcing.

Freelance programmers, writers, web designers and other technical professionals are all a few clicks away. Find them at online freelancing hubs such as elance, rentacoder or guru .com

Here's how it works: Register at the site. Select the category of work you want done and write a detailed description. You can specify price range, country (e.g., one of my friends has had good results with programmers from Romania), time frame and feedback rating.

Hiring someone unknown can be scary. That's why these freelance hubs have rating systems, with comments by people who have used the services. You can browse the categories to find the top producers.

Finally you click to put your job up for bids. Within a few hours you'll start getting offers from all over the world. (Bidders don't have your email address. They respond to your job description on the website, and their bids are forwarded to you.)

You'll probably notice that bids from America and western Europe are higher than those from other parts of the globe. That reflects the cost of living more than the quality of the work. Respond to the bidders that you want to follow up on. You will probably want to see some of their previous work and check references.

When you are ready to hire one of the bidders, you go to the website and click to accept the bid. Your bidding is then closed.

To think about when hiring an overseas project worker

If you choose to hire someone whose first language is different from your own, then you need to be especially articulate in stating exactly what you want done. With a language barrier, the problem is not usually the technical jargon, but rather the everyday idioms and slang that could be misinterpreted if translated literally. Be as concrete as possible in your communication.
Another potential problem with hiring someone overseas is the time difference. It's pretty cool to think that they're working while you sleep, but when you need to talk to them, or when you need a quick email reply, it can be complicated. I recently had to online-chat with someone in China, which meant some very late nights for me.

Rentacoder is geared mainly for programming and other technical work. Elance and guru offer a variety of services, including technical, legal, marketing book-keeping, ghostwriting, translating and administrative support.

Check them out. If you have any of the above skills (or know someone who does) you can sign up to be a service provider and bid on work yourself.

3 quick tips to boost your online presence

2007-12-08T07:53:00.000-05:00

Got an email address? Got a website? Great. But that’s just the beginning.

If you want to get more visibility online, you need to do a little more to build your Web presence. Here are some tips that will help sprinkle your name all over the Internet – and they won’t cost you a dime.

Start a blog – even if you have a website. Why? Because search engines love blogs. Each time you add an entry to your blog, Google and other search engines view this as new content, and they notice it. Thus, 5 little blog entries get the same attention from Google as 5 new web pages! – which translates into higher ranking for you on Google’s search results page.

You can set up a blog in a few minutes (OK, maybe an hour if you’re really fussy about how it looks) at blogger.com or wordpress.com.
Leave comments on other blogs and on news sites. Blogs and news sites invite readers to comment, usually at the bottom of each item. If you find an article stimulating, or if you have something substantive to add, type in your comment. At the end, add your full name and a link to your website or blog. If you have written a book, include the title.

You can start right now, by posting a comment to this blog entry.

When other readers see your comments, they may respond and/or click on the link to your website. You may also get the attention of journalists who wrote news stories to which you commented. If they like what you said, they may want to interview you for a future news story.

Here's a comment that I recently posted to the New York Times.
Write brief articles and submit them to article directories such as ezinearticles.com, selfgrowth.com and goarticles.com. Be sure to include your name, website and link at the end of the article. Your article is added to their database. Website owners, ezine and newsletter publishers search these databases for interesting items to post in their own publications.

If your article is picked up, you don’t get paid, but you do get in front of audiences that you would not otherwise have access to. You never know where it’s going to turn up. My articles have appeared on gardening websites, celebrity blogs, and other unlikely places.

Want to learn more? I'll help you connect the dots in getting better name recognition online. My 5-week distance-learning course starts Jan 14. Click here to get your 25% discount for early registration.

Writing articles? Leave 'breathing room'

2007-12-02T07:47:00.000-05:00

One of the best ways to show people that you're an expert is to write articles and post them online.

If you want to make them easy to read (besides using good grammar and conversational language) make sure that you don't post a block of dense text. That's very hard on the eyes, and most people won't make the effort to read it.

Give your text 'breathing room' by breaking it up into short paragraphs.

Here's an excerpt from Alice in Wonderland, presented as a solid block of text:

The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping herself before she found herself falling down what seemed to be a very deep well. Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly, for she had plenty of time as she went down to look about her, and to wonder what was going to happen next. First, she tried to look down and make out what she was coming to, but it was too dark to see anything: then she looked at the sides of the well, and noticed that they were filled with cupboards and book-shelves: here and there she saw maps and pictures hung upon pegs. She took down a jar from one of the shelves as she passed: it was labeled “ORANGE MARMALADE,” but to her great disappointment it was empty: she did not like to drop the jar, for fear of killing somebody underneath, so managed to put it into one of the cupboards as she fell past it.

Here's the same excerpt, but broken up into paragraphs. Notice how much easier it is to read:

The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping herself before she found herself falling down what seemed to be a very deep well.

Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly, for she had plenty of time as she went down to look about her, and to wonder what was going to happen next.

First, she tried to look down and make out what she was coming to, but it was too dark to see anything: then she looked at the sides of the well, and noticed that they were filled with cupboards and book-shelves: here and there she saw maps and pictures hung upon pegs.

She took down a jar from one of the shelves as she passed: it was labeled “ORANGE MARMALADE,” but to her great disappointment it was empty: she did not like to drop the jar, for fear of killing somebody underneath, so managed to put it into one of the cupboards as she fell past it.

Eye-tracking studies show that short paragraphs are more likely to be read than long paragraphs.

And what about text size? Surprisingly, if your text font is very large, people will tend to scan rather than read.

Pauline

Are you promoting features or benefits?

2007-11-27T06:39:00.000-05:00

One of the biggest marketing mistakes that professionals make, is that they emphasize their training and background, their unique experiences, their publications, their philosophies.

Visit the websites of various psychologists, coaches and consultants. Near the top of their home pages you'll see lots of phrases similar to these:

"I work with couples and families."
"I use a cognitive-behavioral perspective."
"My training has prepared me to work with a wide variety of people."
"The difference between a therapist and a coach is..."

All of the above are important. It's just that it's not the most effective way to get people interested in you. In the marketing world, these are called features. Talk about them later, not first.

Instead, lead with benefits. Address typical issues that your potential clients have. Communicate to them that you care about them and how you will help them.

My listing in the therapist section of the Psychology Today website has more than paid for itself in referrals. Maybe it's because of my cute picture ;-) But I like to think that it's due to the way it's written. It starts by addressing the readers' problems, not my style or my qualifications.

The kind of work we do seems mysterious to some. The general public does not know the difference between, say, psychologists, coaches, counselors, therapists, consultants, Ph.D, PsyD, MD, MSW, etc. But do they care?

Probably not. More likely, they want to know: Can you help me with my problem?

For a better understanding of the difference between features and products, consider how you buy some electronic product, like a computer. Most of the ads list features: 2 GB DDR RAM. Intel Core 2 Duo. Do you really know what that means? Do you know why you need it?

The more effective computer ads tell you that you can have 6 different programs running without your computer slowing down; or that this type of processor will keep your laptop cool while it's sitting on your lap.

See what I mean?

All your promotional materials, speeches and other marketing communications should answer this question (from the point of view of your potential clients and customers): "Why should I care? What's in it for me?"

Want to learn more ways to show people that you can help them with their problems? Registration is now open for my distance-learning course. Click here to take advantage of the early registration discount and lifetime access to future presentations of this course.

2 types of articles that show your expertise

2007-11-25T08:04:00.000-05:00

One way to communicate that you are an expert is to write articles. There are 2 basic kinds of articles that you should be writing:

1. Evergreen - Articles on general topics that can be used over and over. For example, my holiday-themed article, "For a joyful family gathering, leave your inner brat behind" has been around for several years, and is reprinted all over the Internet. Similarly my articles on New Year's resolutions and Valentine's Day are used over and over by website owners, ezine and newsletter publishers.

Evergreen articles need not be seasonal. They can also have a general theme, such as anger management, weight loss or other issues that people are concerned about year round. My article, "Are you always late?" is one of the most-read pieces that I've written.

2. Timely - Articles or press releases that address current events. Example: In the aftermath of multiple news reports of athletes behaving badly, I wrote an article, "Are sports heroes more trouble prone?" This got the interest of news media, as well as web publishers.

Timely articles are great at positioning you as an expert. People are already interested in the news event, and when they read your expert commentary - especially if it helps explain or debunk what's been reported - they will see the value of your knowledge and experience.

You can also write your article as a press release and submit it to PRWeb or other online press release publisher.

Pauline

p.s. Check out my upcoming distance-learning course, on more ways to promote yourself as an expert.

Where to find your target audience online

2007-11-22T07:29:00.000-05:00

Have your online marketing efforts have produced disappointing results? Maybe it's because you're not reaching the specific groups of people who are most interested in your services and products.

One strategy is to hang out where they do. For example, if you want to connect with baby boomers with aging parents, look for online groups and forums that cater to these people.

Another way is to write articles and post them where your target audience will find them. Article banks such as ezinearticles.com are convenient and provide exposure to thousands and thousands of people.

For several years I've been teaching skills on how to find what you need on the Internet. My new distance-learning course addresses how to get people to find YOU.

I'll take you by the hand, step by step, to help you:

Get in front of the very audiences who are interested in what you have to offer
Show them that you are the go-to professional when they need help

The slide show below gives you an idea of what the course is about. I'm so convinced that you'll find it valuable, I'm offering a money-back guarantee just for trying the first class. Here's a link to a free preview teleseminar on Nov 29

What does your email address say about you?

2007-11-19T13:38:00.000-05:00

As a professional, don't underestimate the importance of a professional email address. Think about it from your clients' and prospects' point of view. If you were looking for a someone to help you get you unstuck in your life or business, which of the following would you contact first:

1. 2cute4U@hotmail.com

2. Kendra456@aol.com

3. KendraThompson@reachyourgoals.com

Your email address is part of your professional identity. Make sure it reflects the image you want to project.

AOL, Hotmail, Yahoo mail, and gmail are not professional email addresses. They announce to the world that you don't take your business very seriously.

Instead, get set up with an email address associated with your website or domain name. It will cost you less than $10/year to register your own unique domain name, e.g. nameofyourbusiness.com.

Even if you don't have a website, you can still use the email address associated with your domain name - e.g., John@nameofyourbusiness.com. If you register your domain name at GoDaddy, they offer live phone support in case you need help setting up your email.

Once you have your email address set up, you can have it forwarded, if you wish, to your AOL or other email account. You can also set up your Outlook Express or other desktop mail program to send messages from your professional account.

Thus, while still using your familiar email interface, you can send and receive messages using your professional email address. Your recipients see only your professional email address.

Bonus hint: Make the most of the "From" line in the messages you send out. Check out the "From" field in your inbox. In the list of messages you'll see mainly people's names - sometimes first name only, sometimes first and last name. Do you see how they all kind of blend in with one another?

Here's a tip to make your messages stand out in other people's inboxes:

Go into the account setup of your email program. Find where you list your name in the From field. Insert a space, hyphen and space just before your name. Save the change. Next time you send a message to someone, your name in the From field will be indented and will stand out from the rest.

Here's how mine looks:
- Dr. Pauline Wallin

Also, see below, in an earlier post, more tips on making the most of your emails.

Find new audiences

2007-09-29T17:38:00.001-04:00

Here's a summary of a presentation that I gave at the American Psychological Association convention last month. If you'd like to get more in-depth knowledge and skills on how to reach new audiences, click here to sign up for a preview of my distance learning class.

SlideShare Link

4 ways to get people to open your emails

2007-07-08T10:08:00.001-04:00

When emailing someone you don't know, it's quite likely that your message will end up being deleted without being read.

Here are 4 tips to increase the chances that your recipients will open your emails:

Use plain text, rather than HTML. Many email programs are set to assume that HTML messages from unknown sources are spam, and send them directly to the trash folder, so that your message doesn't even make it into the recipeient's inbox.
Make your subject line short, but intriguing. For example, which of the following would you open first:

News article

News about beating procrastination
Use your recipient's name in the subject line. When people see their own names, they pay attention. In either of the above examples, if you simply add the recipient's name, they will at least stop and notice. And if the subject line is interesting, they'll feel compelled to open the message.
Make the most of the "From" field in your message. Open the setup screen of your email account, where it asks you to type your name as you want it to appear in the "From" field of your recipients' inbox. Instead of just your name, try changing it (temporarily or permanently) to something like: Joe Blow, ADHD Expert. This gives your message an added layer of authority.

Welcome to my blog!

2007-07-08T10:05:00.001-04:00

Welcome to my Marketing blog, where you'll find tips and strategies for positioning yourself as an expert.

I want to share with you my 30 years of experience in marketing psychology and in working with the media.