Visibility = Authority.
The more your prospects see you, the more your sales authority grows. This is why celebrities have strong influence and why companies are willing to invest huge sums for a celebrity endorsement.
Or what many are calling influencers.
Likewise as a freelancer and entrepreneur, having authority will help you close sales effortlessly.
So the question that remains is…
How do you make your prospects are seeing you?
By building touch points that leaves your brand and you always at the top of their minds using this 2-pronged approach.
The Visibility Blueprint to Rapid Influencing Authority
When a freelancer gets a sudden boost of influence, you know they are doing something behind-the-scenes.
The truth is…
What they’re doing is a traditional approach most people would have tried at one point or another.
In my 7 Industry-Kept Sales Secrets challenge, we’ll also be looking at this same strategy but by combining the 2 approaches, we can expect much faster results.
We’ll be combining an online tactic with the old-school offline approach. Most internet entrepreneurs see it as an either-or…
As a copywriter, we understand that by leveraging on both of them, we’ll have a strategy that will be multiple times more effective.
So what does this strategy involve?
Putting yourself directly in front of your leads, prospects and customers.
Done right, you can expect to see the following:
- A sudden influx of friend request and followings on social media
- More comments, likes and shares for your posts
- More people talking about your brand and you
- Invitation by other speakers and authority figures in your niche to events
- Requests for interviews by fans and even possibly media companies
Let’s start with building your offline authority…
Leaving Physical Marks
The first thing you need to do is make sure your customers see you. That means going to places where your customers are.
This could be tradeshows or simple networking events.
For instance, if you are a web developer for businesses, start appearing at corporate tradeshows. Meet up with potential prospects to find out what they want in their business.
This is also an opportunity for you to pitch your services. (I’ll cover this in the branding challenge)
Here are some website where you can find upcoming events around your area.
- Meetupcom – most of the events here are free and they cater to a wide variety of audiences
- Eventbrite – there are both free and paid events, look out for the industry-specific events your prospects are likely to attend
- Google search – do a search on the search engine for events that are taking place around you
- Deal sites – you can also find some workshops and seminars on deal sites like Groupon
Or if you have a group of prospects, you can even host your own event and get them to invite their clients and partners.
Leaving Digital Footprints
The best part about the internet is that it is now easier to connect with people.
Already in the traditional strategy, we’re using the internet to help us find possible events and tradeshows to attend.
Here however, we’re going to explore ways to build up our credibility by connecting with prospects and possible partnerships through the internet.
Here are a number of ways to do that:
Participate in Social Media Groups
Most of the major social networks these days have their own unique communities and groups. Whether it is Facebook, Google, Twitter or Linkedin.
Find a group you know your potential customers are likely to hang out at and start contributing to the group.
Not sure what to say? Begin by commenting on another person’s comment or post. Give your opinion from your experience.
As you get more confident sharing, start to contribute your own post. Give a tip or two about something you do which can make the lives of your prospect much easier.
The more you contribute, the more you’ll build your visibility. And that means building your authority.
Hook Up with Influencers
Just like groups, find authority figures in your industry and start following them. Using the same approach, begin by commenting and making that initial connection.
Little by little, start contributing to the discussion and giving your two-cents or two-dollar’ worth.
The benefit of this is that you get to tap on the influencer’s credibility and at the same time build a connection.
Here are a couple of websites to help you find influencers:
- Followerwonk – this is a great site to find influencers who are on twitter
- Topsy – another amazing tool that lets you find tweets and influencers that are trending
- Google Blog Search – another simple way is to use Google to search for personal blogs of influencers
Guest Articles on Influencers’ Blogs
Following up on the previous point…
As you start to grow your own connection and authority, a great strategy is to contribute articles to influencers’ blogs. This strategy is particularly powerful when paired with online copywriting as it combines conversational writing with education.
Here’s why this strategy works wonders…
Say you already have 1,000 fans following you and your influencer has 6,000 fans, by connecting together, both of you will have 7,000 fans.
That is a wider reach than what each of you would have on your own!
At the same time you’re spreading your reach wider across the internet. Which is the goal of brand awareness.
Digital Business Card – Putting the Strategy Together
We’ve covered a number of ways you can expand your presence.
Each of them will work wonders on their own but if you want to accelerate this entire process, you’re going to need a central point for them to assemble.
While most people will call this a website, I prefer to call it a digital business card.
You see, having a beautiful website on its own isn’t sufficient.
You want to build a business presence that transforms you from a freelancer to a premium business solution. (That’s how you charge more and close sales more easily)
There are only 3 key pages your web presence needs to have that will make it a digital business card ready to help promote and sell your services 24/7.
If you don’t already have a proper website, check out my copywriter swipefile resources page I set up with some of my favourite tools.
If you already have one, remember to join my business branding challenge where I explain deeper about the 3 key pages inside.