Part Three: Building Your Influence
Now that you’ve learned a bit about key influencers, where to find them, and how you can collaborate with them, let’s move on to bigger things. Because eventually you’ll want to start building your influence, so you can begin to be recognized as an expert or thought leader in your field.
Every Step Gets You Closer to Building Your Influence
Once you’ve really started growing your personal brand through building engagement, creating owned media that elevates your authority, and influencer collaboration, you’ll start to notice something. Opportunities to build your influence will start coming to you.
This is when all that networking, attending those conferences and other events, making those connections with those in your field, and having a following of fans starts to pay off. Because this is how you’re able to get opportunities like hosting events, speaking engagements, and requests to submit your content to outside sources. All of which are chances to build your own influence and grow your personal brand even bigger!
Like I mentioned in my Easy Start Guide to Personal Branding series, part of building your tribe should include attending events and conferences and putting yourself out there, as well as creating content and engaging with your audience. I mention this now, because it relates to the story of how I started out. Which I explain a bit below.
Where to Submit Your Content in Order to Build Your Influence
So, remember how I pushed creating content? There was a reason for that. Because now you have a backlog of good content to submit to other blogs and publications. Maybe you even have a book! You’re blogs could lead to a book without you even realizing it. This means there’s a big chance you may get asked to submit content from someone in your tribe, without having to query them. I personally kind of did this backwards. I got my first speaking gig before I wrote my first book, which I explain below.
But you can and should submit your relevant content to industry newsletters, blogs, and other publications. Remember, being published, leads to more of the same. If you’ve done your research, you will know which publications need your content (and who is reading that content—your potential audience). If you haven’t, put in that research, because it really does pay off to be in the know.
How and Where Do I Get Speaking Gigs?
Before I wrote my first book, Website Wow, Turn Your Website Into Your Most Powerful Marketing Tool (2007) Chad and I were in the early days of Monkey C Media (we founded the company in 2004). I had been writing blogs on website fundamentals and digital marketing, but I hadn’t really thought about speaking. In fact, the idea of it scared the hell out of me. Even so, I accepted an invitation to speak at an Author Marketing Bootcamp event put on by the Learning Annex, here in San Diego. The organizer had read a few of my blogs and thought I would be a good fit to talk about author websites.
So, I did that. I remember sweating inside my brand new lady suit, looking out at the crowd of expectant authors, all of whom were in desperate need of a powerful website. Those were the days when people were straight up impressed if you had a website. Now a days people look at you sideways if you don’t have a website. But I digress. After my talk was done, I distinctly remember thinking, “that was a disaster—I will never do that again.” But then something magical happened. A line of 30 or so authors lined up to talk to me and ask me questions, and at least half of them wanted to buy my book. The problem was, I didn’t have one yet. You can bet your bottom dollar I wrote one and it further elevated my reputation as an authority on websites and digital marketing.
I started attending conferences like IBPA (formerly PMA) where I would network, (and learn), and distribute free handouts with easy bite-sized tips for authors. That was the only owned media I had at the time. But get this—those handouts had traction and pretty soon I was speaking at IBPA. By 2007 I wasn’t just part of the conversation, I was starting the conversation and I had my first book published, which lead to more speaking gigs, and more guest blogging opportunities, etc. See how that works?
If you’re out there, and if you have owned media, and you’re making connections with those in your industry and building your tribe, the opportunities present themselves. This is why networking, attending conferences and events, and creating all that content is so important to building your influence. Because, like me, you could just get asked to show your stuff. And, when you do, you’ll need to be ready!
How Do I Get Opportunities to Host Events or Teach Classes
Pretty quickly I started to gain a following of loyal clients and people who enjoyed my content—I found my tribe. And through my tribe, and because of my speaking experience, I’ve gained opportunities to teach various classes, seminars and webinars over the years.
Today, I’ve co-founded the San Diego Writers Festival (with headliners like Piper Kerman, author of Orange Is the New Black) and I continue to speak all over the country at Universities and National author events, and locally at places like SDMWA. It’s funny to think back on how terrified I was to speak that first time—I’m still scared, but I do it anyway, and I love it too. I love connecting with and teaching people. I have partnerships with amazing, supportive people and I’m not only still running Monkey C Media, but last year I started rebranding my services as Jeniffer Thompson Consulting and started a podcasts about storytellers called The Premise. It’s been quite the ride.
Here’s the thing: if you don’t show up to the party, you won’t get asked to dance.
In conclusion, if you create good content, if you show up at the events, if you participate and engage, those opportunities come to you. And it will feel weird. You will experience Impostor Syndrome. You will doubt yourself. But ultimately, if people want what you have to offer, you will be in demand. This is why (as you’ve probably known me to say before) your content should be quality and it should offer value.
This isn’t to say that you can show up and stand on the sidelines, however. Remember, I had those free tips sheets I was giving out? You don’t necessarily have to do any of this in any particular order. Heck, if you get an opportunity to speak at a conference or event before you’ve even written your first book, like I did, then go for it!
Luckily, today we have websites like LinkedIn, and so many other online resources, creating so many opportunities to share and connect. Little by little, and by using every resource you have, you can build your influence into your own little empire. And it all begins with those first steps in your personal branding journey.
