7 Steps to grow your authoritative personal brand as a speaker

If you are ready to get your message heard by a wider audience, and grow your personal brand as a professional speaker, online publishing is a powerful tool. 

Whether you're looking to reach new customers, grow your brand awareness, or simply educate people about what you do, publishing online content provides significant advantages to public speakers, keynote speakers, and motivational speakers in many industries.

Those advantages include such benefits as improved search engine ranking and exposure to more potential clients, all of which boosts your business and increases your revenue. 

If you are not currently using a consistent strategy to publish online in order to grow your business, here are seven keynote speaker tips to amplify and magnify your message through online publishing.

1 - Clearly identify your target audience

Remember that you can't be all things to all people. It's critical to zero in on a particular audience or market that is struggling with a specific problem. How can you help them solve that problem?

If you aren't sufficiently narrowed down in your target audience yet, consider conducting market research or using analytics tools to help you better understand who your ideal customer is.

2 - Choose the right online publishing platform for your message

Once you know who your target audience is, determine what kind of content will resonate with them and where they are spending their time online. This will help you choose the right platform or platforms on which to publish.

The key is to identify where your target audience 'hangs out' online and then focus your publishing efforts there.

Different platforms also offer different opportunities for amplifying your message. For example, LinkedIn provides a great way to connect with other professionals in your field, while Medium can help you reach a more general audience.

When you are a member of a professional networking group, like Newsweek Expert Forum, you get to publish on Newsweek.com and build a library of thought leadership content that will help you build your online presence.

Think about what kind of platform will work best for the kind of content you want to create and the message you want to communicate.

3 - Create powerful and engaging content

You can't skip step #1 above if you are going to create the kind of engaging and relevant content that leads to high-quality speaking gigs. You can be the go-to authority when you share information that consistently addresses their biggest concerns, problems, issues, and questions.

Start by exploring some of the most popular articles on the platform on which you're interested in publishing. Study what makes those articles successful and try to replicate that in your own content.

Make sure your copy is well-researched, informative, and interesting to read. Make sure it is NOT self-serving.

Always include a call-to-action (CTA) in your post so readers know what you want them to do next. For example, "Click the link to read my latest article on XYZ." This keeps them engaged and coming back for more.

Another way to create powerful content is to use images, infographics, or videos. People are more likely to share and engage with visual content (as opposed to pure text), so if you can incorporate it into your article, you'll be more likely to reach a wider audience.

4 - Craft an attention-grabbing headline

You could have the best article in the world, but if your headline doesn't make people want to click and read, they'll never know about it. 

Your headline is often the first - and sometimes only - thing potential readers will see of your article. So make sure it's something that will make them want to learn more.

A good headline should:

• Be clear about what the article is about
• Use active language
• Be interesting and make people want to read on
• Be specific
• Use relevant keywords that are likely to be searched for
• Include numbers or statistics whenever possible
• Use emotional and power words

Once you've written several possible headlines (good copywriters typically brainstorm ten or more) check them out - and work on improving them - with a free headline analyzer tool, like Monster Insights.

5 - Optimize your content for SEO

One of the best ways to ensure your article is seen by as many people as possible is to optimize it for search engines. This means including relevant keywords throughout your copy, as well as in your headline and meta tags.

You can use a free keyword research tool, like Google AdWords Keyword Planner, to find popular keywords related to your topic. Without going overboard, sprinkle in those keywords throughout your article, as well as in your headline and meta tags.

6 - Promote your article through social media and other channels

Now that you've written your optimized article and crafted an attention-grabbing headline, it's time to promote it through your channels. If you have a large social media following, start by sharing your article on those platforms.

You can also share your article with relevant online communities or forums, as well as through marketing to your email list of subscribers.

Remember to use traditional media outlets too; if you can get your article featured in a print publication or on a popular website, that will help amplify your reach even further.

You can also use paid advertising to reach a wider audience. For example, LinkedIn allows you to promote articles to specific groups or demographics that match your target audience.

Keep your LinkedIn profile up to date so prospective customers and clients can find you easily and discover how you can help them.

Remember to share your content more than once. Research shows that the average person needs to see something seven times before they take action. So don't be afraid to promote your articles multiple times on social media, through email, or in other channels.

When you promote your article through multiple channels, you're more likely to reach a wider audience and have a greater impact with your message.

7 - Partner with influencers who have similar audiences

Start by commenting on their content on blogs and social media platforms. Don’t just write, “Great post!” Respond in a positive, thoughtful way that lets them know you read it, and you took something valuable from it. Not only does this get your name in front of their audience as another respected authority and thought leader on the same topic, but the influencer will begin to notice your comments and wonder who you are.

Freely share influencers' content to your audience and tag them or send them an email to express how much you liked their content piece. This is how you can start to build a relationship with them. Give freely long before you ask for anything in return.

8 - Measure the results and adjust your strategy

Once you've published your article and promoted it through your channels, take some time to measure the results. How many people read it? How many people shared it? What kind of feedback did you receive? Are you beginning to get invitations to speaking engagements as a result of publishing this content?

You can use Google Analytics or another analytics tool to track your article's performance. This will help you understand what's working and what's not, so you can adjust your strategy for future articles. Remember to focus on creating quality content that resonates with and impacts your target readers.

By following these simple strategies, you can start to build your brand, magnify your message and reach a larger audience with your online publishing.