Taking A Second Look At LinkedIn

Last week I published information relating my gaffe pertaining to LinkedIn, the business-oriented social networking site. The mistake I made was doing a mass invite of everyone in my Gmail address book who were identified as also being LinkedIn members. I sent out a generic invite which brought several queries from a handful of invited parties asking me who I was.

Immediately, I realized that I should have taken another approach as what I did was a spam tactic. In addition, there were a few people who received invites who should have never received one — namely, they aren’t the type of people I would want to do business with in the first place. The people who accept your invitations are called “Connections” and are folks you know and trust in business.

98 Connections, Up From 16

82 people did accept my invitations, pushing my Connections up to 98 people in just a few days. Up until last week I hadn’t worked too hard to add people (since joining LinkedIn in August 2007) with just 16 Connections to date.

You May Have Spammed Me First!

Although I would have changed my plan in hindsight, I do realize that everyone I contacted was, indeed, a previous contact whether they remembered me or not. For instance, you got into my Gmail address book because you contacted me at some point. I don’t add people to my Gmail address manually, instead whenever someone contacts me Gmail automatically adds their personal information.

Likely, we crossed paths in one of two ways:

• You sent me an email about your product, business, or some personal matter.

• I’m very active with social media, particularly StumbleUpon and MyBlogLog. Check to see if MattKeegan or MattK is a friend or community member, as those are two most popular screen names that I use.

New Business Opportunities Are Coming Forth

Since last Friday, I have received four inquiries about work from people, including one I immediately as coming through LinkedIn. I am now faced with the “problem” of responding to each request and seeing which ones are a good fit. The timing is perfect for me as I have been looking to add at least two new clients before the new year.

In summation, I would have changed my method of contacting people by weeding out the handful I shouldn’t have contacted and by sending a personal note with each invite. My gaffe is what it is, but I am certainly not complaining about the increased Connections and additional business opportunities coming my way.

You Must Brand Yourself Or You Will Perish

Are you a writer? Do you aspire to expand your presence far beyond your personal blog or web pages?

I believe that mostly everyone who writes for a living understands that visibility is essential to being successful in this craft, but we aren’t necessarily good when it comes to our personal marketing.

In the competitive world of writing, standing head and shoulders above the crowd will soon establish a brand for yourself. Let’s take a look at some of the ways you can attract the business you deserve through your ongoing personal marketing campaign.

What Is Your Brand? — Is your brand your name, your person, your product, or something else? Well, it could be all of the above. For example, I am Matt Keegan and I am also The Article Writer. In addition, I am Matthew C Keegan, LLC and my writing qualifications extend well beyond articles to include: press releases, web content, blogging, copywriting, SEO, and more.

Sure, being The Article Writer can seem a bit limiting, but it really helps me out with the SERPs! Overall, I would prefer to be known as a freelance writer, a catch-all term with few limits.

Beyond blogging, which is a very important way for me to showcase my talents, there are other ways I can market my brand and so can you:

• Attending conferences and seminars as a guest speaker.
• Write a book, collaborate on a report, publish an exhaustive product review, etc.
• Submit articles to print publications including newspapers, magazines, and newsletters. Online versions work quite well too.
• Write personal press releases and seek out media attention.
• Hold seminars where you are the lead speaker. Leverage key guest speakers as needed — let some of their visibility rub off on you!
• Appear as a guest on a television or radio program. Podcasts are very cool and a terrific way to get exposure today.
• Network, network, network — social communities are a fantastic tool for marketing your personal brand. If you can only join a few, become highly visible in at least one.

Of course, appearing everywhere is one thing, but offering something of value (especially for free) is another thing. Contest giveaways, advice or assistance, and mostly any other service you offer for no charge will raise your visibility in no time. Friends will remember the good you did for them and talk about you on their blogs, mention you in their newspaper columns, and invite you as a guest for their upcoming seminar or conference.

Personal branding never ends, it is constantly changing, and it is the one task you must do or you will perish as the implementers step over the slackers. Marketing yourself isn’t always an easy task, but the benefits will positively impact your business and your bottom line.