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Personal Visibility: How to Take Charge and Create Buzz for Yourself or Your Business

by: Regina Barr

Personal visibility is critical for success no matter what business arena you work in. Many women make the mistake that if they work hard and do good work, that they will be recognized for their efforts. This is just not so.

Take a look around you at the people who seem to buzz with success, no matter what they do or what they touch. These are the people you read about in the paper and who seem to be at all of the right networking events and know all of the right people. They are also the people who are in demand to speak at events and whose articles appear in your local paper.

What do these men or women know that you don't? They have mastered the art of personal visibility. I spoke with a woman that fits this description shortly after she had signed on to do her own radio show with a local station. I asked her what her secret of success was in terms of personal visibility. The main thing she told me was that you can't sit back and wait for visibility. Instead, you have to go out and find it.

Here are some practical tips you can use:

1. Send News Releases:
Send out a news release for anything noteworthy that you might do. Signed a new client? Appointed to a new board position? Remember, local papers are often searching for stories with a local angle. Be sure to include a photo.

2. Write Articles or Editorials:
This is a great way to become recognized as an expert in your field. Remember to develop relationships with your local editors. Contact them with your ideas and help them when they are looking for resources.

3. Speak at local events:
Many chambers of commerce, professional organizations and other non-profit organizations look for local speakers knowledgeable on a range of topics. Find the organizations that might be interested in your area of expertise and get on a panel or facilitate a program for them.

4. Allow reporters to interview and quote you:
Reporters are always looking for third parties to corroborate or refute information that they include in their stories. Many women do not like to be quoted because they fear that their words will be misconstrued or misrepresented. Women need to get over this fear and make themselves more available to be quoted in public. This serves to position you as an expert in your field and gets your name into the public eye.

5. Volunteer for visible projects or committees:
This can be either internally at your organization or externally within your community. Then use this opportunity to advantage by using tips 1-4 above.

6. Get nominated for an award or recognition list:
Typically women sit back and wait to be nominated by someone. However, if there is an award or recognition that you think you are worthy of, let someone know that you are deserving and ask if they would be willing to nominate you. Even if you don't win, you will still receive visibility.

7. Teach a college class or seminar:
This allows you to get out in front of your peers or a target audience that you are interested in getting exposure from. This not only gives you visibility but may also provide you with your next business referral or job opportunity.

These are just a few ideas. If you have other ideas, we'd love to hear about them. Email them to us at info@redladder.com and we will share them in next month's newsletter.

In the meantime, remember, to get ahead in business you need to take charge of your own visibility. For those that do, the possibilities for success are endless.

About the author:
Regina Barr is a management consultant and speaker with a special passion for helping women achieve leadership success. Regina helps companies develop strategies to attract, develop and retain women leaders. Her consulting firm, Red Ladder, Inc., also helps organizations and their leaders develop their full potential through strategic project management and coaching. For more information visit or

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