William Bernbach said, “An idea can turn to dust or magic depending on the talent that rubs against it.”

Here are 6 ways to give your inner being a makeover and increase your visibility and credibility:

1.)  Become an expert at “stating” your expertise – Step up and Claim it!

What problems do you solve?  Who do you help?  What real world training or life experience do you have?  What awards have you won or books have you written?  Have a sense of self-worth. Experts with sizzle share information “memorably”.  Draw upon your creativity, sense of humor, and energy.

2.)  Understand where your target market gets information

Start a “wish list”.  Identify three venues where you want to be known.  Become the Go-To person.  Don’t be ORDINARY.  Set yourself apart from others in your field.  Personally brand YOU.  Your personality and unique FLAIR are as special as your fingerprints.

3.)  Create an ROI (Return On Investment) Plan

Figure out what you want in return.  More web traffic?  Increased opt-in rate?  Increased credibility?  Publicity?  Fame leads to fortune.

4.)  Be a trend watcher

Open yourself to new venues, formats, and opportunities.  Follow the top ten bloggers in your niche.  What are they talking about?  Subscribe to a weekly ezine that will keep you updated on the latest trends in your industry. Utilize social media to stay informed – what are the  latest hop topics of discussion on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.?  Awareness is powerful.

5.)  Toot your own horn

Create some Buzz!  Create some Fans!  Exude confidence.  Find your passion and work with your strengths.  Share your accomplishments.  Get powerful testimonials to serve as social proof and increase your perceived value.  Accept invitations to do presentations, teleclasses, or seminars. Become a sought after, recognized expert.

6.)  Publish or Perish

Get seen by more people.  Publish articles in online article directories.  Blog, blog, and blog some more.  Take a look at the VALUE of the information you supply.  Through writing, you can bottle and sell your expertise.  Imagine your ideal visibility level and focus on CREDIBILITY- the quality of being believable, trustworthy, transparent, and authentic.

Travel Off the Beaten Path, Stand Out and Sizzle!

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digg_title = ‘6 Ways to Boost Your Visibility and Credibility’;
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William Bernbach said, “An idea can turn to dust or magic depending on the talent that rubs against it.”
Here are 6 ways to give your inner being a makeover and increase your visibility and credibility:
1.)  Become an expert at “stating” your expertise [...]

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Growing really tired of attending rubber chicken luncheons, paying for ineffective classified ads, mailing out postcards that bring no results, and spending countless hours doing cold calling? Then you’ll want to learn about the important benefits of marketing your business online.

The internet provides you with a slam dunk opportunity for massive visibility. Handing someone a business card is fine, but creating your big “electronic” business card through online marketing will get you and your services in front of hundreds of thousands of eyes.  I’d say that beats the heck out of walking around parking lots putting flyers on windshields, wouldn’t you?

As a service professional, marketing your business online will allow you to:

1) Showcase Your Expertise – Put yourself in the spotlight and toot your own horn. Authentically tell your story and reassure your prospects that you work with people just like them.  People don’t want processes, they want solutions. Add results-oriented testimonials to your marketing strategy and allow your current clients to sell for you.

2) Stand Out From The Crowd – As strange as it sounds, you really have no competition when you promote yourself and your business online.  After all, there is only one YOU in this world. Take this prime time opportunity to demonstrate your unique juicy benefits and what differentiates you from everyone else.  Each of us has our very own special character, style, and persona. Let it shine! Be yourself, be creative, and have fun.

3) Save Lots Of Money – There are so many different internet marketing platforms to choose from and the majority of them are FREE. You can build your business online very cost-effectively through blogging, video, podcasting, article marketing, social media, teleseminars, and webinars. You can even host your own internet radio show or T.V. show.  Cost?  Zero dollars.

Give potential clients the chance to know, like, and trust you. Whether you are most comfortable using your voice, writing, or being in front of a camera, marketing your business online will help you build visibility and credibility and establish you as the go-to expert in your field.

Do you Tweet? I’d like to invite you to Follow me on Twitter.

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digg_title = ‘Online Marketing: Your Big Electronic Business Card’;
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Growing really tired of attending rubber chicken luncheons, paying for ineffective classified ads, mailing out postcards that bring no results, and spending countless hours doing cold calling? Then you’ll want to learn about the important benefits of marketing your business online.
The internet provides [...]

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Can you see a need for using PLR as an integral part of your marketing strategy?   Nicole Dean offers the Best Original PLR on the planet.

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Can you see a need for using PLR as an integral part of your marketing strategy?   Nicole Dean offers the Best Original PLR on the planet.

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Hundreds of passionate bloggers have signed the Small is Beautiful Manifesto.

The manifesto and the image above were created by Jen Lemen and Rachelle Mee-Chapman.

THE SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL MANIFESTO:

• We believe stories are valuable, no matter how many people read them.
• We believe following your passion is more important than watching your site meter.
• We believe in the handmade, the first try, the small start, and the good effort.
• We believe that Small is Beautiful.

Join in this tiny revolution.

digg_url = ‘http://www.melaniekissell.com/2010/01/stories-are-valuable-no-matter-how-many-people-read-them/’;
digg_title = ‘STORIES ARE VALUABLE, NO MATTER HOW MANY PEOPLE READ THEM’;
digg_bodytext = ‘

Hundreds of passionate bloggers have signed the Small is Beautiful Manifesto.
The manifesto and the image above were created by Jen Lemen and Rachelle Mee-Chapman.
THE SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL MANIFESTO:

We believe stories are valuable, no matter how many people read them.
We believe [...]

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Don’t you just hate it when you really need to update your blog and draw a blank?  Well, one of the best ways to jump start those creative juices is to simply look at the calendar.  How simple is that?

Every month, week, and day, there are some really strange and downright funny holidays and observances celebrated everywhere.  In fact, you can even make up your own ‘holiday’ to celebrate on your blog with your readers – that’s how easy it is to come up with days of posts at a time.  But you don’t have to make it up yourself.  It’s hard enough coming up with a post.  Here’s a blogging calendar I found that features some of these holidays. The other nice thing is, it has room to jot down your own ideas and you can use it to literally plan out the year’s content – or just a month or two ahead if you’re not the planning type. This really helps keep your blog going without rushing to write last minute posts.

Check it out for yourself. I bet you can find a couple of posts just off those dates you can write about.  In fact, you can write about them right away and schedule them.  Your readers will have fun and marvel at how you are so on top of the holidays and seasons.

digg_url = ‘http://www.melaniekissell.com/2009/12/a-free-2010-blogging-calendar-and-planner-for-you/’;
digg_title = ‘A Free 2010 Blogging Calendar and Planner For You’;
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Don’t you just hate it when you really need to update your blog and draw a blank?  Well, one of the best ways to jump start those creative juices is to simply look at the calendar.  How simple is that?
Every month, [...]

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I sent a Facebook message to Donna Kozik of “My Big Business Card” and “Write A Book In A Weekend” on Friday. She responded quickly. I wrote her again on Saturday. Got another reply. Sent her a note of thanks and appreciation. Received a warm, genuine compliment in return and a promise to send me some new, exciting affiliate promotional materials soon. Trust me, they’ll be in my mailbox in a jiffy pop!

Every single time I reach out to Connie Green of “Build An Online Empire With Connie Ragen Green”, I not only get a timely response, I get the most beautiful words of encouragement. Imagine that!? I don’t have to question Connie’s intentions, I know she sincerely gives a hoot about her affiliates.

I felt as proud as a peacock when Cathy Goodwin of “Copy Cat Copywriting” actually thanked me, publicly, for my loyalty on one of her Thursday copywriting Cat Chats. Does it get any better than that!?

Michael Katz of “Blue Penguin Development” and “E-Newsletter System” is another story. When I saw the exceptional value of what Michael had to offer (and his refreshing sense of humor), I went looking for his affiliate sign-up page. There was none. So I started sending him messages – pronto! He wrote back to tell me that he had turned off his affiliate program. Long story short. I gave him the proverbial “nudge” and he re-opened it again. He emailed me to say “thanks” for giving him the push to light it up again! He added a little compliment by saying that I was “convincing”.

Jessica Swanson of “Shoestring Marketing” makes me feel like I’m the most special Twitter follower in the whole wide world … the whole world wide web! Enough said.

I recall when I wanted to become an affiliate for blogger extraordinaire, Denise Wakeman, of “The Blog Squad”. At the time, she was re-vamping her affiliate program. But … she religiously followed up with me over a period of time and made certain that the sign-up process went smoothly. She checked, double-checked, and triple-checked in with me. Amazing.

I could go on and on …

However, are you seeing a pattern here? As an affiliate, HEARING from the online marketing experts you’ve aligned yourself with is a good sign that you’re promoting the right people.

If you’re looking for worthwhile affiliate programs and professionals that will treat you with dignity and respect (plus great follow up), go to the top of this page and click “Melanie Recommends”.

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digg_title = ‘Affiliate Marketing: How To Know If You’re Promoting The Right People’;
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I sent a Facebook message to Donna Kozik of “My Big Business Card” and “Write A Book In A Weekend” on Friday. She responded quickly. I wrote her again on Saturday. Got another reply. Sent her a note [...]

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