How to Build Relationships through Communities

See video

Tips for both online and offline communities

Susan says…. I really like this post because Abby shares… To get the greatest benefit from both online and offline communities, businesses have to get involved. While it takes time and effort, this activity produces visibility. By initiating activities such as monthly tweetups, committees, and campaigns, businesses have the ability to begin relationships that could potentially lead to new audiences.

Unless you’re a really lucky person, you’ve probably come to the realization that relationships are vital to your business. Relationships are connections that can introduce you to new circles of connections and so on and so forth. This process, in many cases, allows for the opportunities that enable businesses to grow.

One great place for building relationships is in communities, as pointed out in the above video. Both online and offline communities are important in this because they each can introduce you to a different type of connection. Being involved in an online community allows businesses to connect with colleagues from all over the world and interact about their industries and other areas of similar interest.

Offline communities, on the other hand, do not, typically, contain contacts within the same industry. While it is beneficial if there are others within your industry, it’s not necessary. Offline communities consist of PTA boards, the Chambers of Commerce, political affiliations, churches, and more. These communities are more geared toward finding potential partners that can compliment your own business.

To get the greatest benefit from both online and offline communities, businesses have to get involved. While it takes time and effort, this activity produces visibility. By initiating activities such as monthly tweetups, committees, and campaigns, businesses have the ability to begin relationships that could potentially lead to new audiences.

Another factor that businesses need to possess in these communities is the desire to help people. So many people today think that they can take without giving anything in return. However, this way of thinking simply does not work when trying to build strong, lasting relationships. Now, you shouldn’t give so much that the aforementioned people take advantage of you, but you should expect to give a little.

Online, businesses can do this by offering tips or information. Offline, businesses can do this by volunteering their time and services at another business’s event. By offering this help, businesses start to gain trust for each other, which is the basis of a strong relationship.

A third element that a business needs to act on as it tries to build relationships is to keep a contact list up-to-date. Every couple of months, a business should send an email or make a phone call to find out if the contact information it has is still correct. A business cannot build relationships with people that have moved on to other ventures, or that are irrelevant.

Once the list is updated, a business should suggest going to lunch or dinner with the people that it would like to work with moving forward. These settings allow for more communication, which is also a vital aspect of a relationship.

By implementing these practices in offline and online communities, businesses should see strong relationships starting to shape. Just think, these relationships could be just the beginning of a great partnership, opportunity, and so much more.

About the Author:
Abby Johnson is a Video Reporter/Anchor for SmallBusinessNewz.

5 Ways to Use LinkedIn Groups to Build Influential Connections

By Stephanie Sammons via Social Media Examiner

If you want to build truly influential relationships online, you have to find places where you can consistently add value, spend quality time and have engaging conversations with members of your target demographic.

LinkedIn Groups offers one of the best ways to make the most of your social media engagement time, but you must adopt the right strategy to be successful. This article will show you how.

LinkedIn allows you to join up to 50 groups, but you can’t possibly be effective and spend enough time to make a difference in 50 groups.

What works best is to focus your time and effort on a deep and narrow approach in order to build influence within LinkedIn Groups, enhance your credibility and generate new connections.

Read more

Yesterday was a total nightmare with my e mail account.  Sincerest apologies if you received three e-mails from me.  It was only supposed to be one.  There were a few items I forgot to mention and I also want to give you a few speaking leads as a consultation.

Okay here we go…

Complimentary teleclass Monday, Oct 5, 4-5pm PST

Q & A Speakers’ Bootcamp

How many times has someone in your life said to you, “It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it”?  Most of us have heard that. We have all worked with very accomplished, well-educated people who are absolutely brilliant in their field, but when they spoke, they almost put us to sleep.

- How many of us have listened to an individual who was charismatic, compelling, and attractive and then when it was all done, you ask yourself, “What did they just say?” or you don’t remember a thing they said. It was all show with no substance. To get on the road to more effective speaking, you must master what you say AND how you say it.

Get your questions answered regarding the semi annual Speakers’ Bootcamp by master branding, media and presentation coach Jack Barnard and Marketing coach and owner of Speaker Services, Susan Levin.

Even if you can’t make the teleclass register as we will send you the mp3 following the teleclass for your review.  Register http://www.speakerservices.com/teleclasses/detail/152

The Bootcamp is November 11-15 in Los Angeles
See web page with more info http://tinyurl.com/49zc8z 

________

Los Angeles, Meet-Up Speak-Up Network Event
Host Speaker Services

Wednesday, 10/7, 4pm-7:30pm   $29  Must register by Monday, Oct 5

http://www.speakerservices.com/teleclasses/detail/148

Relax and enjoy tasty appetizers in a beautiful setting overlooking Marina Bay as you schmooze with potential clients and learn from the experts
________

In SpeakerNetNews a question was posed:

Business is down for many SNN readers. However, some are saying that this economic downturn has provided opportunities they might not have otherwise explored. Send us one or two of the *best* things you’ve gotten as a result of the recession.

If you would like to respond please send your brief, pithy responses to editor@ SpeakerNetNews.com. Please put “Topic of the Month” or “TOTM” in the subject line.

Here’s one of the responses:

Derrick Hayes

In the Fall of 2008 I felt the effects of the recession with lost speaking engagements. With no budget to hire a publicist to help market my services, I researched and found cost-effective ways to market my business. I signed up for PR services like HARO, Pitch Rate and Blogger Link Up and learned how to market myself to the media to get article placement, radio interviews, quoted for blogs, and promoted in gift bags. I have taken what I have learned in the last 12 months and turned it into a workshop on social media.

Note: On Nov 1 Speaker Services is offering a workshop in Costa Mesa so that you can learn how to- Connect with Reporters who want to Hear Your Message:  Tips for Pitch Letters  http://www.speakerservices.com/teleclasses and we also have a Media List & Pitch Letter/Press Release Service click here to learn more. 

This is the most complete, up-to-date list of media in TV, Radio, Newspaper, Magazine and online media outlets. You get complete information, including name, email, phone, fax, street address, preferred contact method, website, circulation, topics covered and personal notes to help you target the media and built rapport to get results.
_________

Request for Stories for Empowerment Book for Teens
TEENS–we want to hear from you. Make a difference and submit your true experience/story or original poem for Lila Reyna’s upcoming Empowerment book at www.lilareyna.com. Examples of topics are cyber bullying, date rape, emotions, positive attitudes, and sexual assault. Your story can pass on prevention and may possess the power to heal another teen that has survived a trying time. Submissions are automatically entered in a $100 drawing. www.lilareyna.com

Lila is a Safety Awareness trainer teaches you to be your own bodyguard and increase external − and internal − awareness. She speaks about Body-Mind, Domestic Violence, Safety/Self-Protection, Self Empowerment

See her speaker listing http://www.speakerservices.com/speakers/detail/349
________

SPEAKING LEADS

ACRL/LLAMA Spring Virtual Institute
“Doing Well by Doing Good”:
Entrepreneurial Leadership for Librarians
April 21-22, 2010
http://www.ala.org/ala//mgrps/divs/acrl/events/ALA_print_layout_1_430652_430652.cfm

_____

National Speakers Assoc Convention, Orlando, Fl. 7/17/10

http://www.nsaspeaker.org/Home/ProposaltoPresent.aspx
________

Social Media Marketing: The New Frontier Workshop,
Susan Levin

Saturday, October 24, 1-5pm, Marina del Rey

Marketing on social networking sites like Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter can help increase the size of your email list and grow your business. The key to success is making sure that members of your target market are in your network.

- Build your business with social networking and increase your online visibility
- Develop a social media strategy presence across the key social media platforms
- Leverage and create content, connection, and community
- Explore why it’s never about the sale, it’s always about the relationship
- Produce and distribute content that can be shared and extends the voice of your brand, product and company
- Explore how articles writing, blogs, utube can create brand awareness and buzz

Learn more http://www.speakerservices.com/teleclasses/detail/151

Blog compilation posts on Social Networking/Marketing
http://tinyurl.com/ybxatfu

Social Networking is all the rage these days and there are new networks cropping up daily. It can be overwhelming.  There is a network for every industry as you will discover in the short list below.

On Feb 12 I will be interviewing Donna Gunter in a teleclass about how to Build Your Speaking Practice with Social Networking 30 Minutes a Day. Donna Gunter, author of Get More Clients Online:  How to Get 95% of Your Clients from Internet Marketing, is known as the Boomer Biz Queen™.  Join us http://www.speakerservices.com/teleclasses/detail/124 

Note:  Teleclasses are free for Speakers’ Community Members. Not a member?   Join now to access the calls with my special FREE 2- month Speakers’ Community trial.  (Past members can re-join at regular monthly rate).

Catch Nancy Marmolejo, PR, media, and social networking strategist who teaches entrepreneurs how to generate more money and attention by positioning themselves in the spotlight at the SpeakersSummit09 May 1-3 when she talks about How to Get FREE Publicity & Attract New Clients with the Power of Social Networking. .

This is a short list offered by John Kremer of www.bookmarket.com.  To view the entire the list  http://www.bookmarket.com/socialnetworks.htm

Bebo: http://www.bebo.com — Headquartered in San Francisco. 30 million users, primarily teens and young adults. The top social networking website in the U.K., Ireland, and New Zealand. Now owned by AOL. 22 million visitors in January 2008.

BlackPlanet: http://www.blackplanet.com — A social network of 16 million African Americans.

BlueString: http://www.bluestring.com — Upload and share photos, videos, and music from your PC. Just drag and drop to share. With StringIt, you can share your creative collections (for example, from a wedding or other event) and then invite family and friends to add their own photos, videos, or music to add to the story. A service of AOL.

Book Marketing Network: http://bookmarket.ning.com — The social network for book authors and publishers. A place to share tips, book trailers, questions and answers, photos, blogs, and more. Sponsored by John Kremer, author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books.

Classmates Online: http://www.classmates.com — A social network for connecting with old high school and college classmates. The third largest social networking site.

Cyworld: http://www.cyworld.com — Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. 24 million users. Big in South Korea.

Deviant Art: http://www.deviantart.com — A social networking and sales site for art, manga, and more. Motto: The largest art community in the world.

Doppelit Train: http://www.doppelit.com — The Entrepreneur Connection, this site brings you motivational newsletters and teleseminars, networking, and insight into the right way to do business. “When you register for Doppelit you put yourself in the top 10% of entrepreneurs worldwide, with a ticket on the Doppelit Train you join the top 3%.”

FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com — Headquartered in Palo Alto. The second most significant social networking site on the U.S. web, with a greater emphasis on college students (but half of the users are out of college). 70 million users as of April 2008. 47 million unique visitors in May 2007; 73.5 unique visitors in September 2007; 101 million unique visitors in January 2008 (Comscore); 123.9 million unique visitors in May 2008. 65 billion page views per month.

Fast Pitch! Networking: http://www.fastpitchnetworking.com — A fast-growing business social network on the web that also includes a free press release syndication service, blog syndication, and more.

JacketFlap: http://www.jacketflap.com — A comprehensive resource site for the children’s book industry, featuring thousands of published authors, illustrators, agents, librarians, teachers, editors, publicists, and publishers. Features a social network, blogs, a blog consolidator, and more. Also includes up-to-date information on children’s book publishers and hundreds of children’s book blogs. John Kremer’s profile there: http://www.jacketflap.com/JohnKremer.

LawLink: http://www.lawlink.com — Professional and social network for attorneys.

Library Thing: http://www.librarything.com — Users share the books and book lists they love. More users than Shelfari and more flexible (according to one user). Now offering galley copies to users who will write a review for the website. Their Library Thing Local lists bookstores, libraries, and book festivals including author appearances, events, and signings at these venues. Authors and publishers are invited to add event listings.

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By C.J. Hayden

” A weekday edition of The New York Times contains more information than the average person was likely to come across in a lifetime in 17th century England.”
– R.S. Wurman, “Information Anxiety”

How many times today has someone already tried to sell you something? The ads come in by email, snail mail, fax, radio, magazines, newspapers, TV, and your web browser; the salespeople write you, call you, and approach you in the store or showroom.

Are you even listening any more? How often do you actually buy something because someone you didn’t know tried to sell it to you?

Your clients are just like you. Not only are they fed up with the messages, but they also don’t even see them most of the time. Overwhelmed with communications, they tune out the vast majority of marketing messages in order to just get through their day.

As an example, one survey revealed that, after attending a race plastered with Coca-Cola logos, only a third of the attendees could remember what company was the sponsor.

Making information available to your clients is still important, so don’t throw out your brochures or take down your website. But with so many communications arriving all the time, your clients want control over how and when they receive your information.

“What consumers are primarily interested in today are not features, but relationships.”
– Harry Beckwith, “Selling the Invisible”

More than ever before, people want to do business with people they know, like, and trust.

With a service business, what you are really marketing is you, not your services, and your prospective clients need to know who you are. They want to feel a connection with you and know they can trust you, before they will consider doing business with you.

“Beleaguered by e-mail spam and intrusive pop-up ads on the Internet, consumers are using the “delete” button with increasing frequency and losing confidence in other traditional forms of advertising as well…. Consumers rank word-of-mouth recommendations from others as the most trusted form of advertising.”
– PlanetFeedback.com

According to psychologists, a primary motivational factor for human behavior is affiliation, defined as “the desire to establish and maintain warm and friendly relations with others.”

We are naturally drawn toward experiences where affiliation is possible, and avoid situations where it is not. When we receive a recommendation from someone we are already affiliated with, we believe that following that recommendation will continue the positive experience.

If we think developing an affiliation is possible with someone new because they have approached us in a warm and friendly way, we are encouraged to establish a new relationship, whether it is personal or business.

“With the amount of information presented increasing, mass marketing campaigns become less effective… One-to-one marketing will not just be a possibility, it will be a necessity.”
– Easton Consultants, “Information Overload”

Establishing a one-to-one connection with your prospective clients can begin with projecting the warm and friendly image that encourages affiliation. Make yourself available for contact and conversation that won’t necessarily lead directly to a sale. Encourage word-of-mouth by developing and keeping in touch with a network of current and former clients, colleagues, competitors, referral partners, and influential people. Focus on providing information to clients in objective, rather than promotional ways.

A recent study found that a commercial website scored 27% higher in “usability” by visitors when written in an objective style (sharing information), instead of a promotional style (singing the company’s praises).

You can act on this principle off line by prioritizing writing helpful articles and giving talks over sending brochures and making cold calls. Participate in your client community as a peer by attending conferences, seminars, fund raisers, and other educational and social events.

On the web, frequent discussion lists, forums, and other online communities. When you read articles and posts, take a moment to post your comments to the author where other visitors can see them.

Prospective buyers name newsletters, blogs, and other forms of opt-in, reader-friendly communications as one of their most trusted sources of information about products and services. As well as publishing one yourself, it pays to be mentioned in someone else’s.

“Get to know the influentials . . . invite them in and engage them in a conversation…. Most are local community leaders, or have real involvement in their communities, and as such are the nodes of wide personal networks. They are the people . . . to whom others look for advice or counsel.”
– Edward Keller & Jonathan Berry, “The Influentials”

When you engage in a community, people begin to know you from the words of others instead of from your words alone. You can even create your own community by starting an affinity group or business network, launching a discussion list, hosting an online forum or live conference, adding commenting features to your web site, posting reader responses in your newsletter, and much more.

The real key is to begin connecting in person with the population you want to reach, instead of relying on promoting and selling to bring them to you and make them want to buy.

The Soul of Selling is Service by Chellie Campbell

Susan note:  Chellie is one of our speakers at www.speakerservices.com directory see her speaker listing and video demo as well as one of my long time networking colleagues. I have observed her grow her business over the past 16 years with great success. I wanted to pass along this article from her as she really has the right attitude re the soul of selling.

“Every time you make a sale, you can sleep well at night, knowing that you have helped another human being improve their life. If you can really improve your client’s life, and you don’t at least MAKE THE OFFER, you are performing a DISSERVICE to those people that you COULD help, but don’t.” –Joe Nicassio.

Have you ever been to a networking meeting and had a bunch of people call you afterwards to tell you all about themselves and their products in a very obvious “sales call”? Did you love it?

No. No one wants their day interrupted to be sold to. So don’t make sales calls. Make service calls. Call to be of service to the person you are calling. Call to give a helping hand, a referral, a networking opportunity, a free gift, a listening ear, a friendship. Get good at asking a lot of questions: Who are you? Where are you from? How did you find out about the (party, church, networking group, etc.) where we met? Tell me about your business, your life, your interests, your needs. What can I do to help you?

How can I be of service to you?

As I made these calls one afternoon sitting in shared office space, a mortgage broker who was making calls in a nearby office, poked his head in and said, “It sounds like all your calls are warm calls.”

I said, “Yes, they are.”

“How are you able to do that?” he asked.

“Well, I don’t like cold calling out of the blue, so I pay the price by spending time and money going to networking meetings. All the people who attend are looking to meet people and I want to be met, so it’s a good thing!” I answered.

“But,” he persisted, “You sound like you really care about these people that you’re calling!”

“Ah,” I answered, “There’s a trick to that.”

“I thought so!” he crowed. “What’s the trick?” he inquired eagerly.

“I really do care,” I answered softly.

The Secret and Soul of Selling is Service. When you call someone to help them and put their needs foremost in your mind, they will feel it. And you will be the person who cares about them – whether or not they need your product or service. This attitude puts you in a beneficent place, a place of giving rather than demanding to be given to. But if you call to “sell” someone your product or service, you are putting your needs above the needs of the other person. From that place, you won’t know if someone needs your product or service or not because you won’t be listening. And believe me, they can tell the difference.

You may desperately need to make a sale today, but it won’t come if you sound desperate. (Say your affirmations – not your desperations!) You have to put yourself aside, and look to serve the other person. Of course, if at some point they ask about you and your product or service—that is an invitation you can RSVP to! But now, rather than give a pitch, you have to ask more questions: What have they heard about it? How would they use it if they had it? What difference would it make in their lives? For my Financial Stress Reduction Workshops, I would always ask, “What would you change about money in your life?” From their responses to these questions, I could tell if my workshop would serve them to get them what they needed and wanted. And if it would truly help them, then and only then could I sell it to them.

Calling to help people is completely different from calling to sell people. People can tell the difference – and so can you.

For the complete “It’s Not Cold Calling – It’s Gold Calling” report, join the Dolphin Club today and get this and other reports and bonus gifts free with your membership at www.chellie.com.

Chellie Campbell is the creator of the popular Financial Stress Reduction® Workshops, and the author of The Wealthy Spirit and Zero to Zillionaire, both published by Sourcebooks, Inc. She is one of Marci Shimoff’s “Happy 100” and I of 18 who wrote a story for Marci’s current NYT bestseller Happy for No Reason. Chellie contributed stories to Jack Canfield’s recent books You’ve Got to Read This Book! and Life Lessons from Chicken Soup for the Soul , and is featured in How to Run Your Business Like a Girl by Elizabeth Cogswell Baskin and Money, A Memoir: Women, Emotions, and Cash by Liz Perle. She is prominently quoted as a financial expert in The Los Angeles Times, Pink, Good Housekeeping, Lifetime, Essence, Woman’s World and more than 35 popular books. For more information, visit her web site www.Chellie.com or email her at Chellie@Chellie.com.

Great suggestions in todays post by C J Hayden.  Article writing is a terrific lead generator and can bring tons of folks to your website.  BTW: did you know that some of books have been created from blogging and have become best sellers?  Also, consider offering a series of articles as a PDF Special Report which you can sell as one of your information products.Writing articles as an expert in your professional specialty can help you become more credible, as well as more visible. A well-written article on a subject of interest to your target market will get clients’ attention, demonstrate your expertise, and increase your name recognition. But if you’ve never written for publication before, the process of getting published may seem intimidating. Here’s a step-by-step guide to writing and publishing articles that will attract clients.

1. Find the Right Publication Venues

Scott Ginsberg offers valuable tips on nonverbal communication. Try a few of his tips the next time you are networking and see if it makes a difference!

Your nonverbal communication talks before you do. According to most interpersonal communication textbooks, only seven percent of interpersonal communication is transmitted verbally—the remaining ninety-three percent speaks for itself.

And, because nonverbal communication is learned and practiced on an unconscious level, you won’t be aware that you silently scream, “Please don’t talk to me!”

When you enter a room full of associates, clients or friends, each of them intuitively asks one crucial question: are you approachable? If the answer is yes, the conversations in which you engage will be initiated with ease and comfort. You make new friends. You create new contacts. And you will not have to suffer through another meeting clamped to the snack table. However, if the answer is no, there won’t be any conversations! As a result, you miss opportunities to create connections and meet valuable people.

It is vital to understand some of the non-receptive behaviors that hinder your approachability. If you avoid the following six barriers to communication, you will become more accessible to the people around you. As a result, you will welcome better business and social opportunities to transform strangers into valuable connections.

Eye Avoidance

To start a conversation with a person whose eyes are fixated on the ground is about as easy as hurdling over that person! This is why numbered lights always reside at the highest part of the elevator door—so you don’t have to talk to the person next to you! You gaze at the beautiful yellow numbers ascending to the penthouse while your conversation plummets to the basement!

In his famous book The Presentation of Self In Everyday Life, Irving Goffman stated that eye contact is the single most effective indicator that conversation is desirable. When you avoid it, you will be perceived as anxious, uninterested and bored with the conversation and the company.

When your eyes are focused up, down, away, at your watch, at your notes or simply off into space, nobody is going to talk to you. It’s as simple as that. Remember, eyes always talk. And they always provide valuable cues for approachability.

Lack Of Smiling

If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Why isn’t anyone talking to me?” odds are it’s because you didn’t smile. Of the aforementioned ninety-three percent of communication that is expressed nonverbally, fifty-five percent is through your facial expressions.

When you don’t smile, you look unresponsive and unreceptive to the people around you. You look unfriendly. You look like you don’t want to be wherever you are!

Before you say hello, before you shake hands, and before you even decide to talk to someone, smile. Smile all the time. Smile until your face hurts! Then smile some more. Remember, a smile is your messenger of goodwill. A smile is your free invitation to anyone who wants to have a conversation with you. And a smile, above all, is the most contagious thing in the world. In fact, an article from CNN.com during 2004′s presidental election cited a survey of 1,500 people who voted that a smile was the #1 nonverbal indicator of approachability!

Hand And Arm Placement

As the old saying goes, “You cannot say nothing.” Nonverbal communication expresses emotion, conveys attitude and communicates your personal traits more than any language in the world! A common vehicle for this expression is through hand and arm placement.

Don’t place your hands over your face, mouth or anywhere close to your head. If you bite your nails, play with your hair or tap your fingers against your mouth, forget about it! People assume you’re engrossed in deep thought and unavailable for conversation.

Also beware of the most common, most physical nonverbal barrier: crossing your arms. Even if you’re cold, don’t do it. People won’t want to “bother” you. They will form the impression that you are defensive, nervous, judgmental, close minded or skeptical. Honestly, do you want to approach someone like that?

Posture

Body language is the oldest language. For example, have you ever tried to have a conversation with someone who sat down while you stood up? It’s not easy! If you close your shoulders, turn down your wrists and palms or lean away from someone, you position yourself in a “rejection pose.” This type of closed body language emits an aura of disinterest. If you are not physically open to the people around you, they will physically close the conversational door on your face!

Be certain to keep your posture commensurate with the people around you. This makes everyone feel equal. No one will be intimidated. And no one will be excluded–especially you!

Silence

Silence is a negative influence in the communication process. It creates tension and uneasiness. It makes you look shy, which isn’t necessarily true; but your silence will also be perceived by others as an indicator of disinterest or disagreement.

In regards to silence, one of the caveats to start conversations is something called diffusion of involvement. In other words, everybody thinks someone else will be the first to say hello, and then nobody says hello. And then, silence. Therefore, the longer you wait to interject, ask a question, say hello or break the ice, the more uncomfortable and unproductive the situation will become.

Involvement Shields

Why do people read the paper, listen to headphones or talk on their cell phones at work or in public? To catch up on the news, relax and stay in contact with each other is to be human. But these involvement shields significantly decrease your approachability and result in missed opportunities to create connections.

When you use something to protect yourself from involvement with people, knowingly or not, you put up a nonverbal barrier. These barriers tell others two things: 1) you’re busy, and 2) to start a conversation with you will be an exercise in futility.

Next time you attend a meeting or event, be careful not to spend your “socializing time” clamped to the snack table. Or the brochure table. Or the bar. These are safe havens for the reticent. And by “safe,” I mean silent.

The only thing that stands in your way of transforming people into mutually valuable connections is you. With proper hand, arm and body position, you appear open and ready to talk. With proper eye contact and a contagious smile, you come off as friendly and polite. And, with a continual desire to break the silence without shielding yourself from interaction, others will be happy to step onto your front porch!

Some people will enter into your life and change it forever. Your newest client, best friend, most valuable colleague or even the strangest of strangers awaits the opportunity to interact with, offer help to, or learn from you. Every meeting, event, room, restaurant or public place in which you socialize offers these people to you for the low price of one attribute: your approachability.

Scott Ginsberg is a professional speaker, “The World’s Foremost Expert on Nametags” and the author of HELLO my name is Scott and The Power of Approachability. He helps people MAXIMIZE their approachability and become UNFORGETTABLE communicators – one conversation at a time. For more information contact Front Porch Productions at www.hellomynameisscott.com

I have become a big fan of LinkedIn and FaceBook and have been enjoying the benefits of social networking. Look me up on FaceBook or ask me for an invite. I have created several joint ventures, made some great contacts as well as joining some groups on FaceBook. It really is the way to go and it does not cost a penny to join.

Today I am including tips on how to publize using social networks by Fern Reiss, CEO PublishingGame.com/Expertizing.com

Social networking has become the latest buzz phrase – but what is social networking exactly, and why would you want to get involved in it? The answer is that social networks—Facebook, LinkedIn, Ryze, Bebo, MySpace, etc—are fast becoming a phenomenon worth paying attention to, and are potentially poised to usurp many of the publicity and advertising dollars formerly vested in the more traditional media. In today’s world, you become known by the talks you give and the articles you write. In tomorrow’s world, you’ll be known by your online profile. If you’re an author, independent publisher, or small business owner, the earlier you jump in and get involved, the more connected you’ll be five years from now—and the better your business will be doing.

Here’s how to get started:

Decide which social network works for you
Ideally, every small business owner should be working all the social networks, but of course, most people barely have enough time for even one. So pick the social network that makes the most sense for you and your business. LinkedIn is currently the most ‘professional’ network, garnering the business of most of the Fortune 500 company executives. If these people are your audience, that’s where you should be. Ryze, while still professional, is a bit more ‘chatty’ than LinkedIn; it’s somewhat easier to make new friends and acquaintances on Ryze, whereas on LinkedIn, you’re really cultivating the offline connections you’ve already made. MySpace is preferable if your market is teens. Bebo is the social network of choice if you’re European. And Facebook, which started as a site for college students, is rapidly becoming a world favorite, because it’s the most user-friendly and the most ‘sticky’ to use. (I’m most active on both Facebook and LinkedIn, but I have profiles set up on most of the social networks.)

Create a profile
Many people are using social network sites just to stay in touch with their friends and relatives and have some fun. But if your ultimate purpose is business, then keep that in mind when you create your profile. Include only information that you would want clients, vendors, business partners, and potential clients to discover. Don’t share details that are too personal or too revealing (and similarly, on the networks that let others post about you—such as Facebook—don’t let friends post photos, videos, or other details about you that you wouldn’t want made public.) It might be acceptable when college students on the networks tell each other about their latest hangover or sexual exploit; your clients aren’t likely to find it as amusing. On some of the networks, such as Facebook, there’s a way to distinguish between true friends (who can see all of your details) and acquaintances (who can see just your business profile), but don’t take any chances: Don’t post anything you don’t want the world to view.

Start “making friends”
The more friends you have on the social networks, the more you can do. So start finding your friends. Most of the sites have functionality that searches your online address book to see which of your friends are on the network, which is by far the easiest way to get started. Once you’ve found a few friends and colleagues, look through their friends and acquaintances, to find more familiar names and faces. If you’re diligent about checking back to see whom your friends have befriended, you can accumulate dozens of friends each day. (Feel free to start off by befriending me on Facebook. If you’re not already listed, you’ll have to register first.)

Get involved
Once you’ve made a handful of friends, start getting involved. Each of the networks has ‘groups’ that you can join to connect with people of similar interests. Dip into a few different groups and see what they’re talking about. When you join a conversation, always include your contact details (both on the social network and off-line) so that potential clients and customers can find you if they’d like more information. Try several different groups to see what’s out there. Then, when you’ve checked around, settle on two or three that seem to best match up with your business interests and become ‘regulars’ on those groups: Participate in conversations, provide information, make helpful comments. On some of the networks, such as LinkedIn, you can also position yourself as an expert by answering questions in your area of expertise, which is definitely worth doing if you have enough time to do it consistently to build up a reputation.

Start your own group
Once you’ve got the hang of how groups work, start one of your own. Put up the reason for the group and a few posts before you invite anyone to join. Then invite all your friends. Remember when you create the group to set the group profile to open/global so that other people can join. You can also send a message to everyone in the group at once asking them all to invite friends and colleagues. Once you have a critical mass of people on the group, start mentioning the group in other places: In posts to listserves, in your email signature, on your website, etc.

There are a myriad of other creative things you can do on social networks too, but these tips are a great way to get started. Happy networking!

Fern Reiss is CEO of PublishingGame.com (www.PublishingGame.com) and Expertizing.com (www.Expertizing.com) and the author of the books, The Publishing Game: Find an Agent in 30 Days, The Publishing Game: Bestseller in 30 Days, and The Publishing Game: Publish a Book in 30 Days as well as several other award-winning books.

Join Fern’s Facebook Writing and Publishing group

Joan Stewart, the Publicity Hound wrote this post in her blog and there is a ton of information here not to be missed.

Don’t miss this critical step when creating your publicity plan.

Start adding bloggers and editors of electronic newsletters (ezines) to the list of people who you will contact if you want publicity.

If you’re a publicist, and your PR client is adamant about getting coverage in top-tier media like USA Today, The New York Times, O magazine and on big shows like “Today” and “Fox & Friends,” take the time to explain that your client must also get in front of the thousands of people who don’t read those newspapers or watch those shows and prefer, instead, to receive their information online.

One of the big advantages of pitching bloggers and ezine editors is that unlike traditional media, the information you provide has a way of spreading online rather quickly. If it shows up in an ezine, and that ezine is archived, people will be able to find it months and even years later.

—Most bloggers and ezine editors write about specific topics. A stay-at-home mom who has her own home-based business, for instance, can offer information to bloggers and ezine publishers who write about stay-at-home moms or home-based businesses, or both.

—The best bloggers blog several times a week. Because they present a constant stream of new information, the search engines give good ranking to blog posts. That means that when somebody searches Google for “dog obedience tips,” the list that Google returns on the left side of the screen will include blog posts, not just websites.

—When journalists are doing research for their articles, most of them use a search engine to find background, commentary, statistics, experts and other sources. If they end up at your blog, at a blog where you are mentioned, or at an ezine archives where there’s an article about you, they might call you for their story. Many journalists also subscribe to electronic newsletters devoted to the topics on their beats.

—Bloggers love to link to each other’s posts. If an influential blogger mentions you, or your product or service, other bloggers who link to that post may help you get in front of an entirely different audience. The publicity builds and builds, like a snowball rolling downhill.

—I publish an ezine on publicity. Another ezine publisher who writes about publicity might ask if she can use one of my articles in her ezine in exchange for me using one of her articles in my publication. Some of the people on her ezine list, who want information about publicity, might not know about me. When they read about me, they might visit my website, sign up for my ezine and perhaps even buy my products. It’s a win-win.

How to research blogs

I’ll bet many of you already know about bloggers you’d love to target.

If you’re looking for others, go to Technorati.com. Type in a topic such as “engineering” and you’ll get a list of either engineering blogs, or blogs that mention the word engineering. From there, you can research each blog and see if it’s likely to reach your target audience.

Once you’ve found a blog that’s a good candidate for your pitch, spend some time reading it so you’re familiar with what the blogger writes about.

One of the very best ways to get a blogger’s attention before you pitch is to post a comment about a topic they discuss at their blog. I’ll sometimes post two or three comments within a week or two at a particular blog before pitching that blogger with my idea.

Why? Because I want the blogger to recognize me when I pitch. It shows I’m willing to become involved in the conversation, not just contact them when they want something.

It’s best not to be too promotional within your comment. Instead, add to the conversation, then email the blogger privately to let them know about other information you have about your product, service, cause or issue.

How to find ezines

I like to use New-List.com where about 9,000 ezines are listed. You can also do a Google search for “health care ezines” or “construction ezines” or whatever the topic happens to be.

EzineSearch.com lists more than 10,000 ezines, with thorough instructions on how to search for what you need.

BestEzines.com includes includes information on more than 2,200 ezines representing more than 15 million permission-based email members.

NetTop20.com website includes the top 20 ezine directories.e most popular and highest-rating ezine directories on the Net today.

What ezine editors want

Ezine editors want content-rich material for their publications. So don’t be shy about pitching them. This is the type of content they love:

Free advice
Press releases about news their readers want
Links to short videos that are entertaining or instructional
Top 10 lists
Commentary on controversial topics
Other resources their readers will find helpful
Success stories
How to” information
Frequently asked questions and answers on a particular topic
Jokes and quotes (I include a dog joke in each issue of my ezine and readers love them!)
Polls and surveys
Quizzes and other briefs (See “Briefs, Fillers & Quizzes)

Another way to research is to ask the kinds of people you’re trying to get in front of which ezines they read. Ezine editors just like me are always looking for content like success stories, comments on controversial topics, innovative business practices, anything that will save people time and money, the rising stars in a particular industry, and the story and personalities behind a particular award a company has received. Email the editor and offer your information.

Now, you’re ready to start contacting bloggers and ezine editors. If you’re successful, email me and tell me all about it. I might write about you in my own ezine or this blog.

To learn more about the Publicity Hounds website and offering click here.

By Jill Konrath, Contributing Editor for Rain Today

I chose this post today because Social Networking Sites are very popular and Jill Konrath sheds light on how we can tap into the 17 million professionals in LinkedIn.

This is Part II of “LinkedIn 101″ provides a number of true stories for how professionals used LinkedIn to accomplish different goals. Members can read the first part of this series on RainToday.com.

LinkedIn, the online business networking site, connects over 17 million experienced professionals from over 150 countries. Yikes! That’s so many that it makes my head spin. I’d love to fantasize that a few of these people would stumble onto my profile, be suitably impressed and initiate contact. But so far, it hasn’t turned out that way.

Yet many sellers have learned how to leverage LinkedIn to drive more sales. They’re not sitting around waiting for their phone to ring. Instead, they’re using it as an additional resource that supports their prospecting efforts.

Here’s how your peers are using LinkedIn to grow their business. True stories. Real results.

Launching Account Entry Campaigns

Kent Speakman of Suitcase Interactive says: We’re very deliberate in pursuing certain targeted accounts. LinkedIn is a tool that allows our business development department to look for connections or contacts within their network they already know.

For example, when creating an account entry campaign for larger organizations, my team generates a list of people within the organization to be contacted to discuss our value proposition. By spending a short time span looking at the contacts they have, and who their contacts know, we can then ask for introductions to people at the target account. We usually have a much warmer response if we do it this way.

Connecting With CxOs

Stu Garrow, Managing Director of Software Traction Pty, Ltd. adds: I’ve used Linked-In a few times to discover that the CxO who I was trying to meet with was a contact of one of my direct contacts. It certainly opened some doors when I needed it, but it isn’t a replacement for proper research. Accessing second level contacts works, but 3rd, 4th and 5th level contacts would be a very long shot at success.

Inside Information

From the director of new business development at a marketing firm: I always look everyone up. You can glean all sorts of info this way. You can learn where someone has worked, where they went to school, hobbies and more. You can also find out who they’re linked to. Knowing “who knows who” is powerful. Plus, the idea is to become a subject matter expert, right? Well, LinkedIn is a cool tool to help that along.

Replacing Cold Calling

John-Erich Mantius, Director of Business Development at Arvato Digital Services, offers this advice: While not everyone you’d like to know is in LinkedIn, and the database is only as reliable as those users who keep their profiles updated, I find that it’s an indispensable part of my sales tool kit.

I’m pretty methodical about using it regularly to determine if anyone in my network “knows somebody who knows somebody.” I’d prefer not to cold call. Even if my network comes up empty, I’m sure to find someone at the company I was going to cold call who can help me navigate into an organization.

An example: At a conference last month, I was looking for the head of supply chain at one of the leading headset manufacturers in the US. I got the name, but the person was not sure of the spelling. Back in the office, I tried a few different ways of spelling his name on LinkedIn and voila … confirmed I had the right person. Alas, his profile was out of date. A quick Google search eliminated any doubt who I needed to call as a press release confirmed he’d left and where he was working now.

Sure, a Google search could have eliminated LinkedIn altogether, but what it could not do is tell me who within my network could connect me to my targeted contact. Continuing my search within LinkedIn, I found additional relevant contacts at this manufacturer. Once I had the e-mail protocol, I could add their names to my contact manager and begin strategizing my sales approach.

Read the rest of the article

Today’s post comes from Larry Chase’s Web Digest for Marketers
http://www.wdfm.com

1. Focus on Delivering More and More Value:

In this day of email deluge, you can not do the “same ol’ same ol’” and expect to improve or even maintain your results. Customers and potential customers are going through a revolution of rising expectations. They demand extreme value from email communications, so add more value to yours with new ideas. First of all, follow your competition and make sure you are delivering more value than they do.

One tactic this editor uses is “just in time” education, whereby instead of just saying “buy this”, I give detailed background about the item and why it is an absolute essential. I suggest other items that work with it, even if those items are not for sale on our site. This creates more of a content context for our subscribers and adds great value, which means they are more likely to open our emails and shop.

PS — Statistics say that people can only handle about 15 email “relationships” (meaning emails that they pay attention to regularly) before they hit email overload. This includes emails regarding credit card statements, bank statements, their kids’ school updates and so on.

It’s a zero sum game. If you want to get on that list of 15, you’ve got to deliver more value than someone else who is already on that list and replace them to make room for you.

2. Engage Your New Subscribers Right Away:

Direct marketers know that the most active subscribers on a list are typically the ones that have subscribed within the last 30-60 days. DMers call these motivated newbies “hotliners”.

Thank your new subscribers right away for subscribing. This is step one in building your relationships with them.

Reinforce what they can expect from you in terms of email communications. This will help subscribers look forward to and identify your email when it arrives, as opposed to lumping it with the deluge of email they receive every day.

Also consider sending a special offer with your thank you email. This editor sends an email with the subject line “Thank You and a Special Gift For You” to new subscribers. It offers a 10% discount on first purchase. That email regularly has an open rate of 60% or more and a healthy redemption rate.

3. Know Who Your Subscribers Are:

This editor reviews every single new subscriber’s email address before uploading new names to a master list. Yes, that means going through hundreds of lines on a spreadsheet every week. Trust me, you get very good at skimming!

The benefits of this attention to detail are four-fold:

I know exactly which email service providers my subscribers are receiving their emails at and thus how my emails will appear to them;
If someone does use a business domain, I know exactly who they are and what company they work for;
I can correct any obvious errors in domain name spelling or format; and
I always take all of my competitors off of my list.

4. Optimize To Your Most Prevalent Email Provider:

Where are the majority of your subscribers receiving your email? It is to gmail.com, or yahoo.com or to businesses addresses? Knowing where they’re getting your communications allows you to focus on prioritizing optimization for those particular domains.

If it’s gmail.com, then you should not only seed your list with multiple addresses at gmail.com, but you should get to know everything about gmail.com that you can. If the majority of your subscribers are receiving your emails at their business addresses, that’s valuable information as well, as it will inform the design and even the tone of your email, whether you are B2B or B2C.

5. Pay Attention to Bouncebacks:
You are required by law to have a special email address where you receive all bouncebacks from your email communications. It needs to be looked at by a human, because if an unsubscribe request is sent to that address, you have a specific number of days to comply with that request.

However, thar’s gold in them thar hills. Every week this editor receives queries about products or press opportunities where the subscriber has simply hit “reply” to that email address and sent his or her message.

As a matter of fact, you may find that these people are some of your most valuable contacts, as they care enough to reply right away to your email with a question or a request.

6. The Future Is In Segmentation:

Savvy emailers are already practicing sophisticating segmentation techniques.
The “one size fits all” philosophy is so 2003. But how can you segment if it’s just little old you sitting at your desk with too much to do already? Get creative.

You can easily track people who have opened your email vs. those who have not. You can track people who have purchased vs. those who have not. Therefore you can track people who have opened your email but have not purchased. That’s a good group to focus on.

You can also track people who have purchased high-ticket items, or who have purchased the featured item as well as other items. All of this, of course, requires analytic tools.

Another way to segment is to do so on the “front end”, meaning that you ask a few pertinent questions when people sign up for your email. This editor has found that if questions require just a check of a box (as opposed to more laborious ways to select an answer, such as drop down menus), people will answer at least four elective questions, including sharing cell phone numbers and carriers.

Then you can segement by “intent” (why the person wants your email newsletter or what he or she intends to do with your info) or by special interests, or you can even delve into mobile marketing/text messaging.

PS — Many email service providers allow you to integrate with Google Analytics with the addition of a few lines of code. Look into that.

7. Romance Your Big Spenders:

Your big spenders are your most valuable subscribers. This editor has offered her big spenders major incentives such as 20% off their next purchase or $100 toward their next purchase. In our fasion retail line of business that’s almost giving away the bank, as our average order size is $350.

Sure, one or two of your customers will purchase $101 of merchandise, but we have found that most big-spending customers don’t abuse the offer. The average order for a big spender with a incentive is $1000. They walk away happy, and you walk away happy.

8. Figure Out How Much Revenue Each Email Should Generate:

Once you know the revenue each email transmission should generate, you can then judge the success of each email going forward. After all, revenue is what you are after. This editor knows that she should generate $1 per subscriber for every email sent. If I generate fewer sales dollars, I need to figure out what I did wrong, and vice versa.

This figure will also help you determine out if your list is diluted with too many “non-engaged” subscribers, which you can then weed out to get back to your revenue expectations.

9. Analyze Response To Offering One Item vs. Many Items:

This editor has found that although presenting one item for sale gives lots of room to romance the sale, the downside is that either the subscriber likes the item or she doesn’t. That’s a big risk to take. My more effective option is to present a number of items that either represent the newest things we have to offer, to feature complementary items in the form of interesting content, such as a top ten list of what to wear to the beach or what have you.

Of course, you will try both options to see for yourself what works best. One other thing to remember is to have plenty of upsells and crosssells on the landing page where your subscriber will end up if he is interested in what you have to offer.

10. Get Simple:

If you have not yet optimized your emails for BlackBerries or other mobile devices, now would be a good time to do so. The challenge in condensing your message to communicate via a mobile device is that you need to be very clear and concise about what you want to say. You most likely will have to rethink part or all of your email strategy.

But if don’t tailor your messages to the needs of your subscribers, you are obviously missing sales opportunities.

PS — You can check out how many people on your list are receiving emails on their BlackBerry by searching your records for email addresses ending with @blackberry.net.

11. Focus On Finding New Targeted Subscribers:

The more interested subscribers you have, the more sales you will have. Seems obvious, no? However, you may not realize that you don’t have to spend mega bucks to find new subscribers.

Develop relationships with the bloggers in your industry. Offer to sponsor some type of special activity, such as a contest or a giveaway of a complimentary account (if you are a service provider) or merchandise. Even other people’s merchandise will do, such as an Internet marketing library with books you’ve selected by a number of authors.

Networking is by far one of the most effective ways that I have garnered business. It’s great to get yourself out there. I would say that 50% of my business comes from my relentless networking. Afterall marketing your business is about realtionship marketing. People like to do business with people they know and feel comfortable with. When I saw the following post 50 Networking Thoughts Everyone Should Read by Scott Ginsberg in Rain Today I was moved to share it with you today.

One of the challenges in networking is being able to say what you do in 30 seconds or less. It might be called your round robin or your elevator speech. BTW: it is not about shoving your business card in someones hand and thinking they are going to call you.

In the Speakers’ Community Membership site that I run I am offering a teleclass on 2/26 with guest expert and author Lorraine Howell on how to give your elevator speech a lift. You can join the call or listen to the replay by joining the Speakers’ Community and it is 30 days complimentary.

Okay Scott here’s Scott…

The Federal Bureau of Labor published a study a few years back that showed 70% of all new business comes from some form of networking. What other motivation do you need to start?

Below are fifty thoughts to help you on your way. Before you read on, remember: if you think you’re poor at networking, don’t worry, you’re not alone. It’s not a skill we are born with but one we have to learn.

1. Come to every networking event with three great questions ready to go. Be sure they begin with, “What’s the one thing?” “What’s your favorite?” and “What was the best part about?”

2. No matter where you go – the mall, church, out to dinner, the gym – have at least five business cards with you.

3. Be able to give an unforgettable personal introduction in 10 seconds, 30 seconds and 60 seconds.

4. When someone on the phone says, “May I ask who’s calling?” get excited. Say something unique that makes that person say, “Um, okay…please hold.” Be unexpected. Be cool. Be memorable.

5. Get Google alerts on yourself, your company, your area of expertise and your competition. If you don’t know what a Google alert is, just Google it.

6. Networking isn’t selling, marketing or cold calling. It’s the development and maintenance of mutually valuable relationships. Don’t mix these things up.

7. The most important four letters in the word “networking” are w-o-r-k, because that’s exactly what it takes.

8. If you give your business card to somebody and they don’t reply, “Hey, cool card!” get a new card.

9. When attending networking events, come early. Check out the nametags. See if you know anybody, or find people you’d like to meet.

10. Sit in the back so you can scan the room for specific people you’d like to connect with.

11. Email articles of interest, links or other cool stuff of value, (not spam), to people you’ve met.

12. Publish a newsletter or ezine. Interview people from your network and feature them as experts. They will take ownership of their inclusion and spread that publication to everyone they know.

13. Spend one hour a week reading and commenting on other people’s blogs. If you don’t know what a blog is, you’re in trouble.

14. When you read an article you like, email the author. Tell him what you liked about it and introduce yourself. He’ll usually write back.

15. Have an awesome email signature that gives people a reason to click over to your website. Just be careful not to have too much information included.

16. Get involved with social networking sites like LinkdIn, MySpace and Squidoo.

17. Remember that networking doesn’t have to be in person. The Internet is a great place to connect with people just like you! It’s called Internetworking. (Yep, I made that word up.)

18. Make your own words up. It’s really fun.

19. Have business lunches at least once a week.

20. Attend local events once a month.

21. Figure out where your target market hangs out (online and offline). Then hang out there.

22. Create your own regular “business hangout,” like a copy or coffee shop where you can regularly be found working, networking, reading or connecting with other professionals.

23. Talk to everybody. Don’t sell them; don’t probe them, just make friends. Make friends with everybody. Because people buy people first.

24. Take volunteer positions with organizations that are relevant to your industry. Be a visible leader to whom others can come to for help.

25. Every time you meet someone, write the letters H-I-C-H on their business card: how I can help. Then think of five ways to do so.

26. Go to Borders and spend one day a month reading books on networking, interpersonal communication and marketing. I highly recommend The Power of Approachability and How to be That Guy. (I hear the author is super cool.)

27. Publish articles or a blog or both based around your expertise. Use titles such as “Top Ten Ways,” “Essential Elements” and “Success Secrets,” that grab the reader’s attention. Publish them onwww.blogger.com and www.ezinearticles.com.

28. Be funny, but don’t tell jokes.

29. Discover the CPI (Common Point of Interest) with everyone you meet.

30. Carry blank business cards with you in case someone forgot theirs. They’ll thank you.

31. Never leave the house without a pen and paper. Sounds dumb, right? It isn’t. It’s genius. Nobody keeps napkins with scribblings on them.

32. Every week, introduce two people you know who need to know each other.

33. Wear your nametag above your breastbone and make sure it’s visible from 10 feet away. Nobody cares what side of your chest it’s on. Just make it big. And if you don’t like wearing nametags, then you probably don’t like people knowing who you are, either.

34. It’s not who you know – it’s who knows you.

35. People will like you the minute they figure out how they are like you.

36. Fear not to entertain strangers for by so doing some may have entertained angels unaware. (Hebrews, 13:2)

37. If you don’t have www.yourname.com, get it. It’s ten bucks.

38. Find local professionals with whom you share common interests, customers, ideas and products. Introduce yourself to them, get together, share ideas and find ways to help each other.

39. Form a mastermind group. No more than four people. Meet regularly to set goals, keep each other accountable and brainstorm.

40. Also, set your own networking goals each month for:

• Events to attend
• People to meet
• Emails to write
• Calls to make
• Articles/physical mail to send

41. Go onto Google and type in “articles on networking.” Read on!

42. Speaking of Google, Google yourself regularly. Find out what people are saying about you. If you don’t show up, you’re in trouble.

43. If you think you don’t need to network, you are right. You don’t need to network: you must network!

44. Stop calling it networking. Ignore the title of this article. Networking – as a word – is tired and old and cliché and it makes people think you’re throwing around a bunch of cards trying to sell, sell, sell. No. All you’re doing is making friends. Not schmoozing, mingling or any of those stupid catch phrases. You’re making friends. That’s it. Friends. Make them every day.

45. If you think you are poor at networking, don’t worry. You’re not alone. But also remember that anyone can develop their networking skills. That’s right, skills. Because it’s not something you’re born with or just plain “good at.” Anyone can do it effectively. You simply need:

• To develop the attitude of approachability
• To read books on the subject
• To practice

46. When strangers ask, “How are you?” don’t say fine. You’re not fine. Nobody’s fine. Give a real answer that’s memorable and magnetic. I suggest, “Business is kicking ass!” or “Everything is beautiful!”

47. When someone asks where you’re from, don’t just say “Austin.” Use the H.O.T technique: “Oh, I’m from Austin, home of the best college football team in the country.” Get creative. Get unique. Watch what happens.

48. Put your person before your profession. Your personality before your position. Your individual before your industry.

49. Don’t be different – be unique. Don’t be friendly – be approachable. And don’t be memorable – be unforgettable.

50. Think about the last five “luckiest” business contacts you encountered. Figure out what you did right, realize that there is no such thing as luck, then repeat as often as possible.

Scott Ginsberg, aka “The Nametag Guy,” is the author of seven books and writes the #39th most popular marketing blog in the world. He is the creator of NametagTV, an Online Training Network that teaches businesspeople about approachability. For more info about books, speeches, customized online training programs or to Rent Scott’s Brain, call 314/256-1800 or email scott@hellomynameisscott.com.