I’m gonna make you a star! (Part 1 of 2)
An article by Jim Connolly
In this two part article, I am going to show you how you can make more money, increase sales and massively boost the visibility of your business; without spending a fortune on marketing!

Ask an editor what’s the best way to sell more newspapers or magazines and he or she will tell you; “just put a picture of a celebrity on the front cover.”

People are attracted to celebrity in a big way. Even very minor celebrities have amazing power over people. We see this at small-town awards ceremonies; where successful and influential businesspeople queue up like kids to have their picture taken with the events minor celebrity speaker. The power of celebrity is so strong that politicians seek the endorsements of celebrities during election campaigns. There is even an entire industry that has grown around ‘normal’ people who simply happen to LOOK like a celebrity - because people want to be near them.

The public hunger for celebrity is stunning – and you, your business or career can start benefiting from it. Over this two part article, I am going to show you a few simple ways to tap into the power of celebrity. No matter what line of business you are in or what personality type you are, you will find at least one approach that is a perfect fit for you.

Here in part one; I am going to show you how to benefit from an extremely powerful technique, which has transformed the results of people around the world for decades!

Become ‘almost famous’
What I am referring to here is elevating your profile within your target market, so that you become a mini-celebrity within that marketplace. Through gaining media exposure, you become ‘known’ to people that would not have known you - but far, far more importantly, you will start benefiting from the power of celebrity. Your media exposure positions you as the pre-eminent professional within your industry!

Here’s a superb example of what I mean
Last year, I had a new computer server built. The company who built it have been custom building my servers for over 10 years. The night before I met them to explain what I wanted from my new server, I heard a computer ‘expert’ on the radio; recommending a certain type of server configuration. The next day, I met my IT provider and asked them if the new server could be like the ‘expert’ suggested. They said that in their experience, it was not a good idea. I found myself actually torn between what they were telling me and what the ‘expert’ on the radio had said; even though they had 10 years of credibility with me and the radio expert was a total stranger!

I quickly realised that I was being manipulated by the power of celebrity. I was placing way too much value on what the chap on the radio said. Just imagine how much more successful you and your business would be or how many more sales you would make, if your words carried the same kind of instant, almost hypnotic credibility as the chap on the radio!

When I started my business in 1996, few people knew who I was. Because of my marketing background, I knew that I needed to quickly develop my ‘brand’ and that the best way for me to do this was to become ‘almost famous’. I started-off by contacting all the relevant radio stations, TV stations, newspapers and magazines in London (where I lived at the time). I explained that I was a media-friendly expert in the field of; ‘helping people and businesses achieve their best results ever’ and that I was always available to comment on news stories or features.

I regularly sent press releases to all of these outlets and one release; regarding a contract I helped a small business to win with Lufthansa Airlines, was picked up by a local radio station – then by a larger radio station and then by the BBC!

From that moment on, I started to market my services with the tagline; “As featured on the BBC.” Overnight, I had become ‘almost famous’. My press releases kept me in the public eye, I met lots of well-known presenters, editors and journalists - as well as many people who went on to become very famous and influential in the media. I never let them down, so they regularly come to me when they needed someone to comment on a story or to join a panel for a radio show.

Influential people suddenly wanted to speak with me and large businesses were eager to use my services. My sales increased as my profile and status increased. My business started to fly! I was achieving more success with my 6-month old business than many others were managing after 20 years in the same profession!

I had become almost famous – and it had cost me almost nothing!

The lesson here is this; as soon as you gain media exposure as an expert within your field, both you and your opinions gain massively more credibility and you rise effortlessly above the competition. By the way - you do not have to be a business owner to become ‘almost famous’. Many people you see in the media speaking about; interest rates, pensions, the job market, IT and everything else are actually employees.

Whether you are an employer or an employee, please give serious consideration to becoming ‘almost famous! Now, you may feel uncomfortable at the idea of speaking on the radio, appearing on TV or even submitting articles/press releases – but then you probably also feel uncomfortable about chasing your bad payers or dealing with awkward clients; yet you still do it! Becoming almost famous is no more difficult than many of the things you already do, however, the payoff is massively greater.

Here are some things you can do, starting now, that will help you gain that all-important media exposure. This list is by no means definitive; it simply highlights some things that anyone can do with little or no training whatsoever.

Find your media voice
Before going on TV or the radio, you need to make sure that your voice is clear and interesting. Most people who speak in the media have a media voice and a normal voice. Spend a little time listening to the way professional presenters use the tone, volume and speed of their voice and emulate it. Never fake an accent!

Research
Think about the kind of people you would like as clients or customers – your target market. Then consider what they; watch on TV, listen to on the radio and which web sites, newspapers, and magazines they use. Next, gather the contact details of the appropriate editor for each show or publication. For web sites, contact the content provider. The best place to conduct your research is the Internet. If you are not sure what media your future clients engage with, survey the best of your current clients and focus on the shows, web sites and publications they use.

Introduce yourself
Contact the appropriate editor for each of these media outlets; either by ‘phone, letter or email and introduce yourself as someone who would like to contribute to their show, web site, newspaper or magazine. By the way, lots of web sites get far more readers than many regional newspapers and magazines, so make sure you do not miss them out! Also, find out who to address your press releases to.

For those of you who would like to benefit from the power of celebrity without becoming ‘almost famous,’ there are other, highly effective routes you can take! I will cover these in the second and final part of this article.