VISIBILITY!
The true cry of my heart since I began my business back in 2002 has never changed. It has always been, and still is, visibility.
When I first hung my shingle as a freelance writer and joined the ranks of service providers selling on Elance (now Upwork.com), I wanted ... needed ... to be seen by the people searching for the right writer for them.
I created my profile.
Added samples of my work (I'd been published several times before leaving the establishment).
And began bidding on -- and winning -- projects, simply by doing what came naturally.
Quick success led me to want to be even MORE visible.
I created my website; here's a screenshot of what it looked like on June 30, 2002, courtesy of WaybackMachine.org.
I wanted more, so I created a newsletter called "The Tampa Bay Marketer's Report."
Here's a snapshot of the first issue from July, 2002; it was still text-based, back then.
I quickly caught onto the ability to send HTML newsletters, and turned the Tampa Bay Marketer's Report into an HTML production.
Notice how, in the opening, I point to most people preferring the HTML version.
Sadly, the images aren't showing, but the first image was my logo (the same logo I'm using today), and the next was my photo.
For the next 13-14 years, I didn't need much in the way of visibility, as many of my clients were repeat clients, and I enjoyed a lot of business based on word-of-mouth and referrals.
When I *did* need new clients, it was easy enough to head over to Elance and to bid on (and win) projects.
I always wonder what kind of online empire I could have created had I kept up my visibility efforts.
Hindsight!
The freelance life finally began to get the best of me because there are only so many hours in a day, and only so much work I could produce.
I began my effort to go from primarily 1:1 to primarily 1:many, and am still in the midst of that effort today.
And with the start of that effort came a renewed need for visibility.
The thing is ... getting visible is not nearly as easy these days.
These days, it's harder to be visible because the online business world often makes us feel as if we're in a wave pool like this:
No worries though.
If you want visibility, here are three proven ways to get visible, FAST.
Three Ways to Get Visible, Fast
1. Join active Facebook groups and fix your settings so that you receive notifications as to what's happening.
At first glance, this may sound like a "duh" way to be more visible.
And it IS "duh" if all you do is join groups and never make it a part of your week to visit them and follow the activities.
Here's what I do.
First, search for groups where your target audience hangs out.
In the image that follows, I outlined what to look for and how to think about what you're seeing. (Click on the image to get the full-sized graphic if needed.)
Then, after you've been admitted into your groups, set up your notifications.
Here's a quick (soundless) Loom video that shows how I do it.
I recommend setting notifications to ALL at first; you can always change it later after you've had time to scope out how things work in a group.
And when you see your notifications bell light up, simply work through the list, right-clicking and opening the notifications that interest you in new tabs.
When you're finished, mark all notifications as read, and then work through each of the new tabs you just opened.
2. As you visit your new groups, look for ways to participate.
By participate, I don't mean that you simply share a link to your "thing" in the provided weekly thread.
Look at this image, for instance.
Every Monday, Alina Vincent posts a thread inviting business owners to share links to their stuff -- and 148 people shared links in this particular thread.
Riddle me this: When's the last time you went through more than 100 posts on a thread like that one?
That's what I thought.
If you have time to reach each post in a thread like that, then you won't have much of a business.
The secret to getting visible in other people's Facebook groups is to look for posts where people are asking for help -- and where you can give that help.
For instance, here's another post in a group of almost 30,000 women. This time, the group's owner had a question about computer monitors, one I could answer.
Her question had nothing to do with my business, but I wanted to help.
And I could.
So I did.
Do this regularly, and people will begin to see you, understand what you do, and know who you are, even if you don't interact with them directly.
I can't tell you how many leads and lead-generating opportunities have come to me through this method of visibility.
But I can tell you that it works.
3. Participate in the once-a-year Visibility Kickstarter.
The Visibility Kickstarter is a fun, free, five-day challenge hosted by my coach and mentor Alina Vincent.
It happens once a year, and is guaranteed to bring you visibility, fast.
Alina has successfully run this challenge over the last few years, and it gets better every time.
It's truly the fastest way to become THE recognized go-expert in your industry.
If you feel like your business is invisible to potential clients, and if you're struggling to get noticed, then don't miss this event.
Alina will teach you her exact formula for getting visibility and increasing your reach and exposure online--without paid advertising.
There's no cost to join.
If you can invest 30-minutes to an hour a day for five days, then I promise you will come out of this challenge with a tighter understanding of what it takes to be visible, what you should be visible for, and actual visibility!
You will get visible.
By the way, the Visibility Kickstarter is not a lecture thing where you watch videos and do homework on your own. Because thousands and thousands of people participate (I think she said more than 8,000 people participated last year!), it's really an EPIC EVENT.
Yes, you watch one short video a day. And yes, you do ONE action each day, an action that moves you closer and closer to the visibility you're looking for.
And here's the thing: Just participating is an AMAZING visibility-generating activity as well.
You'll be learning and playing alongside thousands of entrepreneurs, many of whom will be your potential customers.
In front of those people, you'll be sharing who you are, what you do, why you're a standout, and, "Hey, what do you think of THIS to help me get visibility?"
I attended the year before last, and I will be attending again this year, just to up my own visibility, both the act of getting more visible and improving how I am showing up to the world.
By the way, you'll get a whole lot of Alina as well. She's an active participant in the challenge, and often shows up in pop-up Facebook Lives to answer participant questions and coach on the spot.
What more can I say? I invite you to join me!
Learn more and sign up here: WriterRen.com/visibility.
And then message me or leave me a comment so we can support each other and work the challenge together.
Join my tribe?
Do you sweat the small stuff? Do you want your online presence to inspire trust and confidence? Do you grit your teeth when others don't care enough about YOUR web experience? Are you all about creating an excellent website and excellent content that makes it easy for people to get to know, like, and trust you and buy your stuff?
I think we might be soul mates. And I'd love for you to join my tribe.
When you do, I'll alert you to new blog posts, new programs and products, and new ways for you to create excellent, frictionless, online experiences that lead more people to YES! I promise to be relevant and real, and to send only thoughtful content and advice.
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