Why Getting Published Can Help You Network

By Ivan Misner - Jul 11 , 2007

It may take a lot of work, but branding yourself as a local expert will do wonders for your networking efforts.

Recently, an associate of mine who’s read my books and attended some of my trainings, called me up and said: “I really love your material, but [Oh, I always worry when there is a “but”] why don’t you emphasize your ideas about ‘creating your identity as a brand’ and how it affects your networking efforts more”? He went on to say, “These ideas have made a HUGE impact on my business, and I don’t hear you talking about it very often.” Well, he was right. I haven’t talked a lot about it in my material, and I should (you’ll learn why I haven’t at the end of the article).

When I first started in business several decades ago, I must say that I had no idea how important it was to focus on branding my company AND myself in the marketplace as a way of enhancing my networking efforts. I understood the concept from an advertising and marketing perspective, but, as a small business, I didn’t have the advertising budget to effectively mold myself and/or my company into any kind of brand (at least, that’s what I thought). So, I ignored it. Big mistake. It wasn’t until the early 90’s that I started to think about “branding” and how it would help in my networking efforts.

Networking is all about relationships. Relationships are about establishing credibility. Credibility takes time. What I needed to do was to expedite that process as much as possible while still creating genuine credibility with others. Not having much of a budget, I had to get creative about how I would make this happen.

I decided that if I wanted to increase my visibility and enhance my credibility in the community, I needed to be viewed as the local expert. The way I decided to start creating that brand was to begin writing articles. Now, you may say, “What’s so special about that idea? I’ve heard people suggest it before.” Well, the bottom line is, “hearing it” and “doing it” tend to be very different things.

Surprisingly, editors and reporters need “good” story ideas from wherever they can find them. Too many people who seek to be featured in newspapers or magazines send the equivalent of a company brochure. They fail to realize that editors and reporters need hooks, angles, ways to relate to distracted, overworked, frenzied readership.

Either by phone or by letter, tell the editor why readers will be interested in the feature idea you have or why it is newsworthy. What are you doing in your business that strikes a cord in the community? What can you share that will “educate” the readership of the editor’s specific audience?

Think about the things that you know and understand best. What elements of that knowledge might be of interest to the general public or, a segment of the general public such as a specific industry or targeted demographic? Then review the types of media outlets that write for that audience. Consider not only newspapers, magazines, and industry journals, but take a good look at online opportunities such as e-zines, online newsletters, and information sites like Entrepreneur.com.

The associate I mentioned in the beginning of this article told me that he used this idea from my Certified Networker® trainings, which is part of the Referral Institute® and worked with it for some time. He is in the travel industry, and he wrote a series of articles about travel and sent them to various outlets each month for several months. He received some responses (all “No thank you”) until one local newspaper finally called him personally and said they’d like to use his piece in the next day’s issue. After it came out, they contacted him again and asked if he’d like to do a monthly piece. After a little while, another media outlet had seen his work and asked him if he’d like to write for them. He told me today that he writes regular articles for several media outlets. More importantly, he explained that it has totally changed his business. He said that while most travel companies are going out of business with the vast changes in the industry, he is actually growing and thriving because his articles have created an “identity” or “brand” for him and the company he owns.

He said that he continues to be very active in his networking activities and that the articles he writes puts him way above his competition because it greatly enhances his credibility when meeting other people (he always brings some of his recent writings to networking meetings he attends). This is important because it is the relevant connection to your networking efforts. When you get some of your pieces published, promote them. These articles won’t necessarily increase your sales “overnight;” however, they will greatly enhance your credibility throughout the networking process, which absolutely increases your sales over time. In addition, my friend told me that he now includes links on his website to some of the online articles he produces as a way of enhancing his credibility with existing and potential clients.

So, if this is such a great idea, why don’t I suggest it more? In my book, Masters of Success (Entrepreneur Press), I talk about success being the “uncommon application of common knowledge.” If you ask a successful person what their “secret to success is,” you will almost never hear a secret! Writing articles (consistently, and for an extended period of time) to increase your credibility and enhance your networking opportunities is not a secret. But it’s an idea that most people are just too lazy to implement.

The bottom line is—98% of you won’t actually do it. Or you’ll do it for a little while and give up. I told my friend this and he said, “Do it for the 2% of people like me who will apply the idea. It will make a difference for them, as it did for me.”

Well, there you go. That’s pretty good advice. So the question now is: Are you part of the 2% or the 98%?
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Called “The Father of Modern Networking” by CNN, Dr. Ivan Misner is the Founder and Chairman of BNI, the world’s largest business networking organization, which has more than 4,900 chapters in 37 countries. Dr. Misner is also the author of several books, including the most recent addition to the bestselling Masters Series—Masters of Sales, and The New York Times bestseller TRUTH OR DELUSION. He is the Senior Partner for the Referral Institute, a referral training company with operations around the world.