Ten 10-minute self promotion activities

Reader Lisa Neal sent me a post she wrote, based on a post she saw at CIO, which gave me the idea (not so original, actually) to initiate a similar post here.

The idea is 10 Things You Can Do In Ten Minutes to Promote Yourself.

Here's the first:

Check out one blog and post a comment that links back to your blog or web site. (A little self-serving, I know, but humor me.)

What else?

Comments

[Kathryn]

Leave a stack of biz cards at a local business you frequent often - with permission, of course!

[Chris]

Actually join that online networking group a colleague sent you months ago, but you wrote off as a waste of time.

[telarsen]

Answer questions on Yahoo answers and put your link back to your website in there.

[Jasmine Holmes]

Send a "How are you doing" email or call to a client that you haven't spoken to in a while.

[Janice]

Join the trade association of your specialty and participate in the forums and blogs.

[lidia varesco design]

Update the Portfolio page on your website with a new work sample (or two). And while you're at it, remove a few older samples.

[Lisa Neal]

I'm happy I inspired you, Ilise!

Here's one: talk to someone you know in a non-professional context about what you do professionally. It has 2 benefits: that it is great practice describing what you do succinctly and you may make a new professional contact.

I did this recently in my exercise class with great results!

[MrPositioning.com (Stanley Bronstein)]

Help somebody else in business get what they want.

For example, as an attorney, I will often give 5 or 10 minute free consultations on a variety of matters. Many of those people never call me again, but many of them call me back with real, live paying clients in the future.

As Brian Tracy says, if you help enough people get what they want, you'll get what you want.

The biggest help I've found in mastering my to-do list is proper prioritizing.

We MUST learn how to prevent the minor things in our lives from taking over the major things in our lives. In other words, that which is truly important should never be at the mercy of that which is truly not so important.

That's not an easy thing to do.

When I recently toured the country and interviewed over 80 successful people for my soon to be released third book, one common trait I found was that almost all of them were able to properly prioritize matters in there lives. Somewhere along the way, they had learned how to make sure the truly important things were not at the mercy of the unimportant things.

That's not an easy thing to do, but being aware of its necessity is the first step toward getting it done. Now that you're aware, get it done ...

Take care.

[Rock]

My best quick and easy promo is bookmarks. I carry them at all times, leave them with people I talk to throughout the day, and pass them out at meetings and presentations. I leave them with my tips at restaurants. They get stashed in library books I return. (My local librarian likes them, so she leaves them in the books!)

I'm on my fourth design, including a bilingual one done to pass out at our area Hispanic Chamber banquet. Unlike business cards, people like and keep bookmarks. They're useful, and very reasonable to produce. I have recycled some designs for use as web banner ads, which makes both very cost-effective.

My portfolio has some example of bookmarks I've done for clients. Let me know if you want to explore this self-promo for your business.

Rock

[Andrew Hume]

Start your work day by scanning current events and news on the web. When you read an article that relates to a current, previous or potential new client, send them a link with a "Thought you would be interested in this" note. It lets them know you are thinking about their interests and shows them you are a continuous learner and knowledge broker.

Andrew

[Angie Pedersen]

Similar to telarsen's comment - answer questions in your niche posted on LinkedIn's Answers. I've answered only three questions, but two of my answers were selected as "Best Answers", which shows up on my profile. Nice visibility, and increases exposure for my expertise.

[Tim Bradley]

This was great. Here are a couple for you. The Jerry Seinfeld item has helped me immeasurably…and measurably!

Tim Bradley, Copywriter
tbradley502@earthlink.net
Altadena, Calif.

http://www.43folders.com/2004/09/08/getting-started-with-getting-things-done

http://lifehacker.com/software/motivation/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-secret-281626.php

[Analyzed Marketing Solutions - Mark Garland]

My suggestion is actually relatively simple but can be very effective. It is if you are wanting to promote yourself through your website or blog online.

You know of online bookmarking sites right? Well all you have to do is head over to such sites and bookmark your site for others to see. Believe it or not, doing this correctly can generate massive amounts of traffic to your site, especially if it is interesting and other people bookmark it too!