Become a Valued Community Member

You need to be where your ideal clients are: offline and online. This begs the question, "Who are your ideal clients?" To attract ideal clients you first need to know who they are, what they need, what they value, how they think, and where they hangout. As a valued community member, your ideal clients become your fans. This deepens and effectively drives your relationships and word-of-marketing campaigns. If your ideal clients are soccer players, you need to become a highly valued member of the soccer community. In turn, the soccer players will become fans of yours and will loyally market you. People can smell a poser, so be genuine and compelling. Offline, help out at soccer practices, get to know the soccer coaches, and attend soccer games. Online, post soccer pictures to Flikr, post soccer videos to YouTube, make friends on MySpace, and blog about soccer stuff. A growing number of Web 2.0 tools give you new and creative ways to connect and reconnect with your ideal clients. In a Web 2.0 world, you cannot control the conversation, but you can shape it. As a beloved member of a community, there is no need to stoop to the hecklers and haters that will post rude, flaming, and unfair comments. They give you an opportunity to further distinguish your professionalism. Never post anything that you will regret. Stay confident, positive, and continue adding value to the community.