An introduction from a known source may make the difference in booking a speaking engagement. This outreach has four steps:

1. Assemble a list of trade associations and professional membership groups where you are likely to meet your target audience. Or compile a wish list of companies and organizations that are potential clients.

2. Locate the appropriate contact, President or Chair of the Program Committee, and email them regarding your interest in speaking on a few subjects to their group.

3. When the group’s officer does not respond, identify a mutual contact of any officer of the group and ask them to introduce you, following the template.

4. When this intermediary agrees to do so, send them a lightly revised version of your original correspondence with the organization so it may be copied and emailed to the group’s officer.

Prepare an evergreen newsletter article. An evergreen article is one that is always relevant and not tied to the calendar or a news event. It’s neither in step nor out of step. Knowing you have an article on the shelf will give you peace of mind when your plate is so full that your newsletter plops onto the floor.

The best times to call may be at 9:55 am and 1:55 pm. Try calling just before the hour marker when your connection might have a few moments before going into a meeting. Your conversation may be brief enough to set up the next call.

Google has nearly 90% of the online search market in the US, but it is not the only game in town. Look also at Yahoo, Bing and DuckDuckGo. Yes, there will be considerable overlap. You may, nevertheless, be surprised by what you turn up there.

Confirm your emails speak to the reader. Read one of your recent emails to a potential client, or one you received. Highlight in red the words I, MY, WE, OUR Then highlight in yellow the words YOU and YOUR. When you are done, the email should display more yellow words than red. If not, take a stab at inverting some of those sentences to address the interest of the reader.

Podcast hosts are always looking for guests; accordingly, write an email to the host that shows why YOU would be a great resource to their audience.
1. Refer to your shared interest in the subject that is the focus of the podcast and mention that you have listened to previous episodes.
2. Cite one that is closely aligned with your proposed topic or name a colleague who appeared on the show.
3. Indicate how you will provide a fresh look at a specific subject.
4. Remember to state you will actively promote the episode to attract more listeners.

This approach will make you a highly attractive guest.

Refer to the holiday season without specifying the observance of a specific faith. In America’s culturally diverse society, you can not assume that others celebrate the same holiday as you, whether Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa or Diwali. Popular images include candles, which brighten the darkest months of the year and are prominent in each holiday. Photos of winter scenes are also appropriate.

Take the reader by the hand and guide them through the list by using categories. Don’t make them scour the list in search of a name that aligns with their business or problem.

Make it easy to contact you by putting your phone number and a link to an email address on EVERY PAGE of your website, in addition to a Contact page. Simply place them in a colored border at the top of the page. Put them on your LinkedIn profile, Facebook page and other digital assets, too.

Display ALL your newsletters on your website, not only the current issue. (The person you met in July may find your March newsletter of interest.)

Create a downloadable tip sheet, with your contact information and logo. (You may choose to require an email address first.)
Save your published articles and guest blog posts as PDFs with the notation As previously published and the appropriate copyright. Assemble them in one place on your website for easy download.
Create a list of your appearances on podcasts and speaking engagements.

Are you doing things the way they have always been done? Take a closer look at the rationale for following the ways of the past using the five W’s:

Who said this is the way to do it? (Perhaps it was someone who’s long gone.)
What will happen if it’s done differently — or not at all?
When must a change be made? (Is there a deadline?)
Where can you gather support (buy-in or funding) to make a change?
Why will a new way be better?

Tips to improve your recorded voicemail greeting:
State your name (and company) so the caller can confirm she reached the party she seeks.
Invite the caller to please leave a phone number and message. State that you will return the call as soon as possible.
If this is your office landline, consider leaving your cell phone number — enunciated slowly and perhaps repeated — so the caller might text you or reach you at that number, in case it is an urgent matter.
Here’s how you can say your cell phone number at a pace that others can follow. Write the number as words; mine is three-four-seven-two-five-six-nine-one-four-one.

#Hashtag. Filter. Read. These simple steps are the best way to select the most relevant posts. Another quick way is to click on the arrow in the upper right corner of your LinkedIn feed labeled Sort by. There are two options: Top and Recent. See which one works best for your interests.

Search online directories to find the podcasts most relevant to your target market. Also, search for Ten Best Podcasts in (name of industry).

When you prepare to give a talk, remember to promote it before and after the event. Assemble a list of three to five takeaways. Recruit someone to take a photo, if there is no official photographer. As an attendee, plan to take notes AND photos.

Post the highlights of the event and a photo, with a substantive caption, on your LinkedIn profile and in relevant groups, plus on your Twitter account.

Make a list of your professional membership organizations, networking groups, LinkedIn groups and other communities. Peruse the membership directory and cross-check those names in your LinkedIn network. If you are not yet connected, compose a connection request to introduce yourself, citing your mutual association. (Note: I am currently engaged in this outreach with a 90-member virtual group; about one-half have accepted my invitation.) When you are already connected on LinkedIn, and it has been a while since your last interaction, get a meaningful conversation started.

Your free giveaway can keep on giving. Once prospects receive the link to the giveaway, or download the freebie, it is easy for them to share it with their colleagues and other contacts. This results in a wider distribution. Even if you may not know where the giveaway has been sent, by using a link shorten-er, you can track the number of subsequent clicks.

Make it easy to find an available date on the calendar by blocking out federal and state holidays, plus days of religious observance. The website www.calendarlabs.com displays religious calendars for 2018, so you can quickly confirm a date is holiday-free.

You keep in touch with industry colleagues, current or former clients and business contacts, among others. When one of them introduces you to someone, who becomes a new client, congratulate yourself. Give yourself the credit you deserve. That is a referral from your network. That is not word-of-mouth.

To lead a workshop that will attract new clients, look beyond the membership of a professional organization and the four walls of a classroom. Develop an interactive session and offer it to your connections for their professional development and that of their peers. At this contact’s office, you’ll collect their colleagues’ cards and their appreciation.

Tap into your network for advice and your own brain-stretching. Networking meetings are not only about individuals and their presentations. It’s the collection of multi-disciplinary perspective each one brings to the table. Informally advising your colleague will help you exercise your brainstorming muscles, build trust among contacts and garner ideas to develop your own business.

When writing an article, an author or reporter traditionally thinks of the five W’s – Who, What When, Where and Why, plus How – as questions to be answered.

Consider how that familiar paradigm looks when the reader is put at the center of the discussion.