Marketing Me! Using LinkedIn Answers and the origin of Marketing Me

I try and keep up with LinkedIn and Yahoo answers. Both are good methods for getting the word out on you. The reason is easy. Answering questions establishes you as an expert in any number of topics. Experts are easy to hire.

I had the chance to answer a networking question recently, and it reminded me to tell once again, the story behind Marketing Me! and why I started this blog.

A few years ago, I found myself suddenly out of a job. Since then, I have turned the experience into the theme for my personal blog.

Here were my steps to secure a new and far better position in 30 days.

To start, know what you want to do and what industry you want to work in. That is a given that many overlook when they are out of work.

1) Collect your contacts. Divide them into hot, warm and cold with hot being good possible employers. Warm contacts are persons you use for advice and referrals. Cold contacts are names without possibility but good to have as referring points.

2) Start phoning. Never start out with email - nothing says lazy like email Call, connect and communicate.

3) Clearly state what you are looking for. Never phone and state "I need a job, got anything?". Instead, use the value proposition "I have known you a long time. What is your best advice about where I should look/what I should do?"

4) Plan to visit in person for follow up. I scheduled a trip to an industry convention which happened to take place two weeks after my last day. I scheduled meeting times with prospects. That included breakfasts, lunches, dinners, walks, anything which put me in front of a prospective employer. Remember to schedule with a set time and place. Leave nothing to chance. Be flexible. You may meet someone walking from one hall to another or on a shuttle bus or at a reception (all of these happened to me).

5) Meet. Be clear about your goals, skills and value to any prospect.

6) Thank. Send a thank you note, hand written, never email, to each person who took the time to meet with you.

7) Follow up. I was fortunate. I ended up with five solid job offers, two possibilities and dozens of future business contacts. Had this not happened I would have directly contacted each of these people again until something happened.


28 days to the day, I had my starting date at my next job. It was a lot of work and travel, but it has paid off nicely. To this day, I network constantly.

Marketing Me! has transformed into a blog about anything which appeals to me in my profession. Be it business travel, cell phones, productivity tools, conference calling and even entertainment.

In the 21st century, we are often defined by our career or more correctly, our work. Marketing Me! has become my diary, journal and sanity check over the past three years.

I don't plan on changing any time soon.

Marketing Me! They should do something

I read an interesting article not too long ago which described the conditions in the former U.S.S.R. following the fall of communism. Besides the shortages, crime and anarchy which came after the heavy-handed government ceased to exist, everything having to do with work and employment changed as well.

The author primarily noted middle aged men, going day after day to their offices and factories, sitting idly for want of something productive to and complaining endlessly that the government should do something.

Election year or not in the U.S., we hear this frequently, that no matter what the problem, the government "should do something".

Frankly, I don't know what it is people want the government or anybody else for that matter to do for them.

Rather, Marketing Me! declares that YOU have to do something for yourself rather than waiting for the other guy to step up.

Look, the Internet alone has created a huge virtual billboard with your mug displayed potentially for the whole world to see. And in the spirit of the long tail, the more traffic you can run to YOU the more business, however small, you can build for yourself.

How? Again let's always start with what we know. If you have not already, start a blog. Start a couple. You can use Blogger like I do, or Wordpress or Typepad. If you feel really gung ho, get your own domain name and host your blog on your new name. Which domain name? Register your name (I finally got mine this weekend!). Register your business skill or calling. Check out the GoDaddy link to the right and get your domain name and hosting account today!

Start a mailing list. I use AWeber, but there are lots of them (use a real mailing list company rather than Outlook. Spam complaints can shut down your access). Build an opt-in mailing list (people join voluntarily rather than you spamming). Remind people weekly through email of your existence and expertise.

Write an ebook. It is not that hard. Pick a subject. Write a 16 page ebook. Convert it to pdf and give it away to new subscribers to your mailing list. It helps to make it related to your line of work, but people remember the expert no matter what you write about.

Why stop there? Offer to speak. There are plenty of events in your line of work that need speakers. I recently signed up to speak at a telephone carrier sales meeting. Yes, there will only be about 30 attending, but if I am good, that will be 30 new evangelists spreading the word about my brand.

What else? Have you ever considered consulting? Have you ever considered starting your own business? You already have the blog and domain name, why not use it to generate extra revenue for your time?

There is so much you can do right now that will result in right now opportunities that it makes no sense to wait around for the "government" to do something.

So get off your butt and get busy. Time is wasting!

Marketing Me! Personal Brand Network Value

This past week the phone rang with a number of opportunities; a job available and a large product offering. Both were the result of my self marketing and the personal brand awareness campaign now entering its third year.

You know the drill. At Marketing Me! I have been promoting this for nearly three years where YOU market yourself under YOUR brand. There is no sale, no e-book, (not yet at least), no software to buy, no long term contracts and no small print.

You market yourself the best way you know how. Again, here are some pointers and the possible results.

First and foremost, give.
- I work in the wireless hardware industry. Consequently, I have numerous contacts with carriers and service companies. I regularly pass along leads and opportunities to my network without reciprocal requirements. This benefits the industry and spreads my product name.

Promote and evangelize.
- Do not worry about the competition, rather embrace what they are doing and take possession for yourself. For instance, if one of my competitors has a new product which addresses a particular need, I promote the idea behind the product when speaking or writing about the industry or market. I make my competitor's product mine as a further example of my own expertise.

Be open to interviews, even when not looking.
- Not press interviews but job interviews. Be open to discussing opportunities with other companies, it is great practice. It also spreads your name. Remember, companies recruit talent.

Pay back often.
- Repay all who have paid you seven fold. It will be returned.

Marketing Me! Takes time. It cannot be built over a weekend or with a simple blog post. It is a journey of patience and perseverance and most of all, clear focus with particular goals in mind.

Get busy and make the phone ring.

Happy hunting!

Marketing Me! Squarespace

I recommend that everyone trying to market their own personal brand setup 1) a blog and 2) a website.

Not having either these days is like looking for a job without a phone, resume or business clothes.

Although I am not currently a customer of Squarespace, I have to say, after looking at their site, they have some of the best looking templates and examples I have ever seen.

Although I have been planning on migrating Marketing Me to Wordpress and seriously looking at Dreamhost (because of the one-button Wordpress install and good reviews) for my hosting account, I am considering putting a personal page on Squarespace simply because they have such incredibly good form and function.

Also, I am a big advocate of *good* support documentation. Squarespace has excellent tutorials and tips online.

Finally, check out some of the examples online. These are not your typical cheesy websites. They are all high-quality, well designed sites.

If I sign up with Squarespace, I will let you know if the customer experience is as nice as their website appears to be. I sure hope so!