I notice a phrase coming up a lot lately during my private business coaching sessions with clients: don’t be the best kept secret! You can only do the great work you do if you have clients to do it for. And you can only get clients by getting yourself out there. If no one knows about you, then no matter how great you and your business offerings are, you won’t be able to share that unique brilliance with the world.

So how do you get out there? Glad you asked!

Create & Send an E-Zine

If you do not yet have an e-zine (electronic magazine or newsletter), then it is time to develop one. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but should carry your “brand” to your clients and allow you to “touch” them.

You probably already know how important it is to keep in touch with your e-mail subscribers. Consistency and follow-up is what builds the “know, like, and trust factor” between you and your subscribers. While one of the biggest reasons for sending an e-zine is to provide valuable content for your readers, you also have to remember to do some (gasp!) self-promotion.

I know many people struggle with this, but the truth is, you owe it to your clients and prospects to educate them on what you have to offer. They can’t read your mind or see behind the business curtain. I usually recommend that if you haven’t done promotion before in your e-zine, just start out small and do about 10-20% worth.

Promote Yourself

You have to let people know what you’re doing! Again, they can’t read your mind or get a glimpse into your business unless you let them in. Have you been asked to speak for a particular group? Have you received an award? Did a client achieve a certain level of success because of your assistance? Have you received any significant accolades recently?

Sharing select pieces of promotional information raises your profile in your reader’s eyes and helps to establish you as the expect you are! So don’t be shy about doing some self promotion, as long as you deliver that along with great content.

Be Found Online

If you don’t want to be a secret, then share your business with the world by having a strong online presence. These days, your business doesn’t really exist unless you have a website. But take it a step further and create a blog, and profiles on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Consider having a YouTube channel if any of your work lends itself to the video realm. Yes, social media can be overwhelming, but it works! It can boost your list subscribers, and help you be perceived as an expert in your area of business. And taken a step further, it can actually help you get paying clients. Now that’s getting out there!

Speak… and Speak Often

One of the best ways to establish yourself as an expert is to speak in public about your topic. This can be done in a live setting, or through teleclasses and webinars. There are tons of groups looking for speakers, so the options are endless. You can speak for free as a marketing tool, or even get paid for it. You can host your own teleclasses and webinars, or be a guest expert on others. If you want to speak, trust me, there are many vehicles for it. And talk about getting out there and not being kept a secret! This is one of the best ways to do that, so if the fear of public speaking is not an issue with you, tell it from the mountain!

Offer Options

Another way to get out there is to offer multiple options to your clients and prospects so that there is more than one way to work with you and access your services. Maybe your services are usually one-to-one, but consider other ways you can provide value to your prospects and clients. Perhaps you could package your knowledge or expertise and reach more people through products, teleseminars, or workshops? People will appreciate being able to learn from you in other ways, especially if your private services are are at a higher price point.

Offer Specials

If you feel that your clients and prospects don’t really know what you offer or are bored with your offerings, this is a great opportunity to offer a special to help make your offerings more exciting in their eyes (or is a great excuse to tell them what you offer in the first place!). You can offer specials only to certain groups that you speak for or only to your e-zine subscribers. This gives an air of exclusivity to your offers and makes people feel special that they are able to receive perks and discounts just for hearing you speak to that group or for being on your list.

Now it’s your turn to think about this: how will you get out there? Don’t allow you and your business to be the best kept secret any longer!