I strongly believe in providing value to others without intending to get anything back in return. It amazes me how dumbfounded people are at the idea of someone wanting to help them without getting anything in return. 

Well, there is a very easy way anyone can provide immense value to others while receiving a great reward in return. 

The value you can provide is introducing two people who can gain value from each other. The reward you receive in return may be hard to define and varies depending on the circumstances, but at the very least, you become someone of value to both parties if the introduction is a success. Becoming someone of value means that people will listen to you when you need them to, willing to repay a favor, and will recommend you over others who don't provide the same amount of value. 

Working for four years at a nonprofit organization that worked with young entrepreneurs helped me to realize the power of networking and introductions. While organizing the National Conferences for the Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization (CEO), I saw how getting the right speaker or the casting director from ABC's Shark Tank to attend could impact the futures of student entrepreneurs. It was still up to both parties to make the most of an introduction for real value to materialize, but sometimes, all it takes is an introduction. 

Over the past few months, my life has changed because of introductions other people have made for me. Once I learned how to ask the simple question of "is there anyone you know who I should meet?" after providing value to someone, the results were truly amazing. I have new clients, new leads, new connections, and new friends from simple email introductions. 

The first tip in this series is a simple one, but one of the most valuable tips I could possibly give others that's just as easy as it is powerful. 

Using The Tip: Identify five people in your network. Write a short list of what you think they have to offer others and what they may need from others. Then, come up with others in your network who either offer something the other person needs or something they have to offer. After each successful connection, ask each party if the connection was helpful and if they know of anyone that you should meet. They will be happy to return the favor, and you will be providing value while getting value back. 

Was this helpful? If so, please share! 

The Tips to Get Ahead Series is a 10-part series highlighting the best tips and pieces of advice from my years of interviewing and working with influential business leaders and entrepreneurs. Do you have an amazing tip for others? Share in the comments below, or email me at [email protected]. 

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Michael Luchies is the Founder of TrepRep, Entrepreneurship Lecturer at Illinois State University, Co-Host of the Entrepreneurs on Campus Radio Show, and Co-Host of theTrepidemic Podcast. Connect with Michael on Twitter. Michael is publishing 365 times in 2015. To find out why, read the first post of the year here! 

“Contrary to popular belief, entrepreneurs can’t do it all by themselves.”

Being your own boss can be a difficult and lonely journey. Without employees or co-workers able to take some of the load off of your shoulders, you take on all of the stress, work, and pressure.To help grow your business and alleviate the loneliness and stress; surrounding yourself with others is a necessity. One of the way entrepreneurs can achieve this is with communities for entrepreneurs and mastermind groups. 

Micky Deming is the Director of Marketing for the Kahuna Accounting Group and is leading TREPX, an entrepreneurial community that is helping entrepreneurs grow, and go from amateur to pro. TREPX is designed to give service-based entrepreneurs support, tools, and a community of entrepreneurs that understand what they're going through. They focus on four areas of business -- operations and logistics, business development, accounting and finance, and capital and funding. 

“The more we surround ourselves with others who compliment what we can do, the more we benefit,” says Micky, who has benefited from entrepreneurial communities over the past few years while building Kahuna Accounting from the ground up. Despite the countless hours of work and effort he's put into the business, he knows that it can't be done without the help of others. “You have to rely on others to achieve the things you want to do.” 

Relying on others is hard even for entrepreneurs who realize they need help to grow. Turning to mentors, advisors and communities for guidance and support is a way to get help, but the success of the business will still rely on the hard work and vision of the entrepreneur. “The community is a way to align yourself with others who are going along their own trajectory as well. A community is never meant to replace the work and the growth that you put into it.”

It can be hard to judge the value of a community due to a lack of organization and clearly defined goals. The furthest most communities go to engage members is to have occasional in-person meetups. Micky stated that the TREPX community believes in three core activities; "learn, live, share."

Learn - The community provides education and resources to teach entrepreneurs about different aspects of business and what they need to know in order to grow their business. They also provide external experts to teach the group anything from marketing to accounting. 

Live - Learning doesn't do much if it isn't applied. "It’s a noisy world out there and there are constantly things being put in our faces,” says Micky. By connecting and learning with others in a community setting, members can hold each other accountable and share their successes and struggles. The community also provides tools to help members take action on new strategies and to organize their business and track financials.

Share - Sharing is about giving back. "As you go through your journey, you want to contribute to the success of others." One way Micky and others share to the community is through an iTunes podcast that features successful entrepreneurs with a heart for giving back to others.

Communities can provide value, but it's up to members to find ways to extract that value and to make sure they're also providing value back to the community. Asked about how entrepreneurs can be sure to gain value from these types of communities, Micky said to ask a lot of questions and have conversations with others. By being active and contributing, valuable opportunities often present themselves. “Be honest. Don’t try to act like you have everything figured out. Lay it all out on the table. Provide the same ear for them."

Micky identified three ways these conversations can add value to an entrepreneur: 

1. They help you clarify what you have going on. 
2. They help you learn that you’re not alone. 
3. Opportunities to provide and receive value will present themselves. Even if the person you're speaking with doesn't have the answer to solve your problem, they may know someone that does. 

Micky concluded our conversations with two pieces of advice for entrepreneurs based on his experience. 

• “Take your financials seriously. Look at them and ask if you know where you stand today and where you should be six months from now.”

• “Give your elevator speech to someone today. Don’t sell to them, but share your vision for what you’re working on and where you’re going.”

What have you gained from online or physical communities? Interested in TREPX? Visit Trepxgroup.com for more information. 

Nothing matches the energy and opportunity of an in-person event. From the potential to meet people to collaborate with to the chance to learn from and meet leaders you look up to, there's no worthy substitution for a well-planned physical conference. The only thing I enjoy more than attending valuable in-person events is sharing what I learned with others.

Today, I went with my wife to the Big Ten Conference’s headquarters in Rosemont (near Chicago), Illinois for the 2015 STRENGTH Conference hosted by The Thought Board. A dozen speakers and panelists shared their insight and expertise on how to exhibit strong leadership, financial management, corporate culture, marketing, processes, and public relations. Here are six things I learned during the event. 

• Make Your Customer the Superhero

M3 Learning's Tom Latourette used the brilliant video short It's Not About the Nail to show how salesmen (the man in the video), often try too hard to fix the problem they perceive instead of focusing on what the customer is saying. “Maybe our job isn’t to fix the problem; maybe our job is to make the other person the superhero.” When selling, put assumptions aside and cater to the stated needs of the potential customer. It's about their pain, not your solution. 

• The Importance of Being a Bilingual Salesperson

Sales pitches have to be altered to speak to the person we're selling to, but what happens when they speak a different language? No, I'm not talking about someone speaking French when you're speaking Spanish, but it can be just as difficult to sell to someone when you don't properly know how to speak to what motivates them to buy.

Tom provided the common scenario of a man needing to talk to his wife before making a purchase. While the salesperson was able to guide the man through the different stages of the process, it starts over completely when the man tries to explain it to his wife. It's like someone translating a language without really understanding how to do it. Offering to translate (speak to the wife) and learning how to sell in any language (to executives, secretaries, etc.) can help keep the sales process moving in the right direction. 

• The Two Goals of Brands

Erin Walter and Jamie Pritscher of Nuphoriq, a creative marketing agency with a niche in catering, spoke on strengthening your brand. Erin pointed out that the two goals of brands are strong brand recognition and top of mind awareness. While I spend hours each week branding my business and I do have branding goals, not once have I thought of these specific goals as the desired result. 

• “When you have a strong brand it makes your job easier as a company.”

Selling is easy when people already know what you offer and trust your brand. After several iterations and years of working on their brand, the Nuphoriq team landed on the right strategy when positioning their services and expertise that worked immediately. Asked by an attendee how to know if their brand needs a different/better position or strategy, Jamie said, “see if it feels right to you. We kept looking at it and thinking it’s just not right...You don’t know for sure until it works."

• “Processes allow you to deliver creativity to the customer.” - Larry Walter

Creativity is vital to all organizations, but it can be hurtful if the proper processes aren't in place. COO of Tasty Catering Larry Walter shared how employees have creative freedom to put their own touch on their job, but only within structured processes that the employees have a hand in creating. For example, an employee could decide to cook certain foods before others and box items differently, but if their changes lower the temperature that chicken is cooked at, this will break a process that could result in food that isn't safe to eat. 

• PR Can't Compensate for Weak Marketing Practices

Julie Baron of Communication Works presented on how public relations can help businesses grow. My favorite takeaway from her talk was her thoughts on companies trying to cover up bad practices with press releases and twisting the truth. "PR is not about spinning," said Julie. 

What's the most valuable lesson you've ever learned from an in-person event? Please share in the comments below. 

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Michael Luchies is the Founder of TrepRep, Entrepreneurship Lecturer at Illinois State University, TEW 2 contributor, Co-Host of the Entrepreneurs on Campus Radio Show, Co-Host of theTrepidemic Podcast, and writer of all things entrepreneurship. Connect with Michael on Twitter. Michael is publishing 365 times in 2015. To find out why, read the first post of the year here!

No longer can I believe it's just a coincidence. 

Moments after receiving a Facebook message from a student who was at a conference I spoke at this past weekend, I found myself trying to help him with his business. He didn't tell me he had a business and didn't ask for my help, but I felt compelled to offer. This was the message: 

"I was at the MWEC 2015 and I wanted to say thank you for speaking, I got a lot out of it." 

His simple compliment got an immediate response and an offer to help. Why did I feel so compelled to help him when he didn't ask for it?

I often try to go out of my way to help others, but this is not a random occurrence or solely due to my passion for working with other entrepreneurs. 

There's an odd power of not asking for what you want, but it's difficult for me to define. Let's look at two other examples where avoiding asking for something resulted in getting what it was that person wanted. 

Ask for Advice, Get Money 

At the above-mentioned conference, young entrepreneur Cory Levy discussed startup fundraising among other things with attendees. One of his pieces of advice for students looking to fundraise was "Ask for money, get advice. Ask for advice get money." 

Cory, who has helped ONE raise several million in funding from venture capitalists, got a soft commitment from his first investor due to a tweet where he was complaining about the cold. 

Cory went on to tell another story of a fellow founder who was struggling with fundraising. After over a dozen meetings of asking investors to invest in his startup, his business was still without anyone agreeing to invest. After being urged to approach each meeting asking for advice from the investor(s) instead of money, the next meeting resulted in an investment. 

Better to Give Away Than Sell 

As a passionate sports fan and an entrepreneur at heart, I've had many sports related business ideas and ventures. Since I frequently attended sporting events as a 20-something, I decided to try to make money buying and selling tickets to other fans.

After purchasing a large number of tickets for a Michigan State basketball game, I was stuck with around 15 tickets to a lightly attended game about 10 minutes before it was set to start. I kept lowering my asking price and even went as low as $5 each, which was far under face value. The tickets weren't selling, and I got to the point where I just wanted someone to enjoy the game for free. 

As I started giving out free tickets, people started to give me money. In fact, I received more money in return for giving the tickets away than I received from the limited number of tickets I was able to sell. 

I used to think this was just an odd occurrence and a fun story to share with friends, but I'm starting to doubt that belief. 

More Questions Than Answers

This can't all be a coincidence, can it?

I've always been told that you don't get what you ask for, but what happens when you get what you wanted but didn't ask for it? 

I don't have the answer, but there is an obvious power to not asking for exactly what you want or need in specific situations. 

I'd like you to comment below, but I won't ask just in case I'm on to something.

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Michael Luchies is the Founder of TrepRep, Director of Content Programming for Pursuit, Interview Editor for Under30CEO, Entrepreneurship Lecturer at Illinois State University, TEW 2 contributor, Co-Host of the Entrepreneurs on Campus Radio Show, Co-Host of the Trepidemic Podcast, and writer of all things entrepreneurship. Connect with Michael on Google+, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Michael is publishing 365 times in 2015. To find out why, read the first post of the year here! 

Location, location, location.

Think of your content like a brick and mortar business -- the location determines who will see it. By moving your business a couple of blocks down the road or to a new city, you’ll have the ability to reach a new audience, but you may also be leaving your biggest fans behind.

With content, you don’t have to rely on only one location. Today, there are many places to republish your content. Instead of only being able to publish on your personal blog or website, which was once your only option, you can reuse, repost, and repurpose content to get the most out of your marketing efforts. Here are 5 reasons you should be republishing your content to LinkedIn.

#1. Your Potential Audience is Astronomical

For most of us, our personal and business websites don’t have millions of unique visits each month. LinkedIn, however, does. With over 38 million unique visitors every 30 days, it’s not hard to see why it would be an attractive place to get your brand and content out to people who may benefit from it. Not all LinkedIn members will see your content, but because of their sharing and search features, your content has the ability to reach more eyeballs than anywhere else.

#2. Give Your Profile Depth

One of the greatest benefits of publishing on LinkedIn is the ability of your content to strengthen your profile. Having a long work history and a few recommendations is fine, but nothing gives your profile a better way to connect with visitors than through content.

Your post headlines and images can be seen by everyone who visits your page, giving it some much needed character and a stronger visual presence.

#3. Reach a Specific Audience

We build our networks around common interests and people we look to gain value from and provide value to. Your LinkedIn network is filled with people who are most likely in your target market. Everyone in your network can receive a notification each time you publish a post, which is like a non-intrusive email. This helps get your articles and posts in front of a focused audience easily without having to send emails or begging people to read your newest post.

#4. Gain Followers and Connections

Publishing on LinkedIn is the easiest way to get new connections and followers. Before starting to publish every day on LinkedIn (December 31st), I had a total of 1,062 followers. Nearly 80 days into the year, I’m currently at 1,862 followers. Although I wouldn’t recommend publishing every day, publishing on LinkedIn will increase your followers and connections because you’re providing value and giving people a way to connect with you.

#5. Lead Leads

Face it, many people that may benefit from what you offer will never visit your website. Any opportunity to get those people to your website or relevant information on what you offer is a potential money maker. What you’re writing about will show others the value you provide and will lead them to your website, product, book, or whatever else you have to offer.

Example: Many authors use LinkedIn to republish a small section of their books. The post engages the author’s target market, provides a preview of the book, and allows the author the ability to present additional information on how to purchase the book at the end of the post. It’s a valuable tool to market what you have to offer. Use it wisely!

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Want to create amazing content to strengthen your brand and increase sales? Let’s get started! Email me at [email protected].

Michael Luchies is the Founder of TrepRep, Director of Content Programming forPursuit, Interview Editor for Under30CEO, Entrepreneurship Lecturer at Illinois State University, TEW 2 contributor, and writer of all things entrepreneurship. Connect with Michael on Google+, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Michael is publishing 365 times in 2015. To find out why, read the first post of the year here!

I’m Michael Luchies, an entrepreneurial writer, father of a one-year-old, and a big sports fan. Tell me a little bit about yourself.

It’s a simplistic networking pitch, but the power of making an interesting first impression and building a foundation to start a conversation is extremely important when pitching yourself, an idea or a business.

An elevator pitch is a succinct and persuasive sales pitch, but it has applications that reach far beyond selling situations. In college, students have the opportunity to compete in elevator pitch competitions and are often required to give pitches as a part of their curriculum. The Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization (CEO) hosts the National Elevator Pitch Competition, which gives each student 90 seconds to convince a panel of judges/investors that their idea is worth giving a chance. I had an opportunity to compete in 2009 and then to help organize during my time as manager for CEO. Although it may be appropriate to talk for a minute and a half straight in a competition, in most real world situations, it’s not. So does this mean that you need different pitches for different situations? Well…YES!

My introductory example is a basic networking 15-second mini-pitch, which is designed to give enough information to start a conversation with nearly anyone, but not so much information that they are overwhelmed or put to sleep. It can be used for a product, idea, business, or yourself.

As pointed out in Dessert First Pitching, the average attention span has decreasedover 30% in the last fifteen years from 12 to 8 seconds. Grabbing the attention of your audience immediately is extremely important, whether networking or competing in a competition. By pitching the most interesting or relatable aspect(s) of what you’re sharing first, you’re giving each situation and opportunity your best shot at success.

Today, I’m headed to Chicago for the 2015 Self Employment in the Arts Conference. In addition to speaking on a panel and moderating several sessions, I will be giving a keynote talk with Katie Sowa about the importance of pitching and how to create a mini-pitch. The audience will consist of hundreds of artists, musicians, and design students from colleges and universities across America, and each will be required to do the exercise below and then get off of their butts to start putting it to work.

How the Mini-Pitch Works

Length: Maximum of 15 seconds.

Goal: Give the audience enough information to understand who you are and what you do, and help begin a conversation.

Parts: Think of a head and three legs.

Create your 15-Second Mini-Pitch

The mini pitch is perfect for a short introduction or when you’re asked what you do for a living. Remember that you’re not trying to close a deal with this pitch, you’re trying to start a meaningful and productive conversation.

Head: The head of the pitch is who or what you are representing, whether an idea, business, or yourself. The head should be a maximum of three seconds. Your audience doesn’t care much about your name or the name of your business, they are going to relate (hopefully) to one or several of the legs of your pitch.

Leg 1: Start with the most relevant fact/statistic to your audience. Since this article is about both writing an entrepreneurship, I started with “an entrepreneurial writer” hoping this would get your attention and start a conversation.

Leg 2: I took a wide net approach for my second leg by introducing information that I’m a parent. Since a lot of people can relate to kids and being a parent, I’m hoping this information can help me relate to you. I would normally keep the legs more relevant to your overall goals of meeting people, but I’m just attempting to start a conversation. If my pitch was only for business purposes, I would mention that I’m the Founder of TrepRep, Interview Editor for Under30CEO or Director of Content Programming for Pursuit.

Leg 3: This is your last shot to connect with your audience and save the potential to have a conversation with whoever you are talking with. Sports has always been a great conversation starter for me and I like to use that to help me connect with other sports fans, who are often also part of my target market.

Personal example: In my example that starts this article, the head is my name, and the three facts about myself are the three legs.

Business example: TrepRep is a content creation business that works with entrepreneurs to increase the impact both their personal and business brands.

“TrepRep is a content creation business” is the head, and the legs are the focus on entrepreneurs and the increase in impact of an entrepreneurs’ personal and business brand are the three legs.

Now create your mini-pitch and share in the comments below!

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Michael Luchies is the Founder of TrepRep, Director of Content Programming forPursuit, Interview Editor for Under30CEO, Entrepreneurship Lecturer at Illinois State University, TEW 2 contributor, and writer of all things entrepreneurship. Connect with Michael on Google+, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Interested in Why I’m Publishing 365 Times in 2015? Read the first post of 2015 here! Want to be a part of my series? Share topic ideas or volunteer for an interview in the comments below.

The most powerful and influential leaders, celebrities and entrepreneurs in the world transcend their niches and industries. You don’t have to be a sports fan to know who Michael Jordan is, nor a fan of Microsoft to know who Bill Gates is. Similar to how these celebrities have risen to become influencers, the television show Game of Thrones (GoT) has exceeded the standards set by their fantasy television predecessors to heavily impact pop culture on a large scale.

After their first season on HBO had averaged 2.52 million initial-airing viewers an episode, the series pulled off the rare feat of significantly increasing viewership year after year. In the fourth season, which ended in mid-2014, GoT averaged 6.8 million viewers on the initial-airing night, becoming the most popular show in the history of HBO.

GoT has developed the above mentioned following by telling a unique and wildly entertaining story and keeping the viewer on the edge of their seat. They have provided the best show of its kind and been able to build on their legacy week after week. The popularity of the show has grown like a weed, and according to Varys -- so does influence.

Influence is powerful. “Michael, you inspired me to…” is the most invigorating and exciting sentence that anyone could say to me. Not only does influence grow like a weed, so does the want and need to influence and inspire others in a positive way once you get a taste of making this type of impact. Since starting my quest to publish every day this year, I’ve received several comments and messages stating that I was the reason someone else took action to write more frequently. It’s a great feeling to have inspired someone, even in a very small and insignificant way.

By influencing others, they pay attention more deeply and engage with you on a greater level. Because of their engagement and interest, you start to work harder and smarter to make a bigger difference. GoT didn’t get lazy with their storylines or character development, they worked hard to increase the quality of the show. I plan to do the same with my articles to increase the chances of positively impacting my readers.

The beautiful part of influence is that everyone can have an impact on others. You don’t have to be a social entrepreneur, teacher, preacher or wildly successful television show to influence others. While most of us will never have 6.8 million people interested in what we’re doing, being an inspiration to others is a powerful tool, and one we should work towards enhancing. Here are seven techniques for growing your influence.

Exceed Expectations

Employees, leaders, and businesses keep their jobs and reputation by meeting expectations, but they create influence and grow by exceeding them. You don’t get applause for doing your job; you earn the appreciation and respect of others by going above and beyond when no one is expecting it.

Make an active effort to deliver more than what is expected of you every time. Using this strategy as a freelancer has earned me dozens of repeat customers, unsolicited tips, and one of the highest feedback ratings among thousands of freelancers who provide a similar service.

Tip: Don't go out of your way to under-promise just so you can deliver more than what was promised. Find tangible ways to provide more value. The unexpected gesture builds credibility and a stronger relationship. Think of it as bringing a rose to give your date before going out to dinner. The dinner was expected, but the rose, although a small gesture, may stand out more because it was unexpected.

Listen

How often do we actually listen to others? Hearing comes naturally to most of us, but listening is a completely different skill. Listening includes hearing details that other people would gloss over and giving additional thought to what’s behind the spoken words.

Tip: Start by trying to remember the names and details of everyone you meet. Remembering the names of people you meet, their families, what they like, and other pieces of information will earn their respect and show them that you are listening.

Stay Top of Mind

Don’t let people forget you exist. Find ways to stay relevant in the minds of those you want to keep as contacts.

Tips: Send monthly updates of what you’re working on. Meet monthly for coffee. Setup a get together for people who share common interests.

Provide Value to Others

Think about your best friends and favorite products. Why are they your favorite? There are outliers, but our closest friends and favorite products are our dear to us because they provide us with value. Every relationship you have should be beneficial to both people. Unfortunately, with connections and people we meet, we often force ourselves to remain friendly and act like we should just stay in contact because we think we should, not because it’s a beneficial relationship. You can put an end to relationships without value by providing value to others.

The more value you provide to others the stronger your influence. This doesn’t have to be time intensive or extreme, but finding a way to benefit others is a valuable skill.

Tips: Introduce contacts that would greatly benefit from knowing each other. Make recommendations to others facing a problem based on your area of expertise.

Spread Your Wings

You won’t inspire anyone if you don’t get off of the couch. Get involved in events, give back, and strive to improve yourself. What steps can you take today to begin making an impact on others?

Tips: Write an article, get back in touch with someone you’ve been meaning to reconnect with, volunteer to speak at a local event.

Be Vulnerable

The above mentioned quote comes from a scene where Varys tells Tyrion Lannister the story of how he was maimed as a child, and later shows how he took revenge on his tormentor. The conversation raised the profile of Varys to Lord Lannister and made him relatable and likable; increasing his influence.

Being vulnerable is an important part of being a leader, and someone people respect. If you’re too hardheaded and tough to show that you are human, how will anyone be able to relate to you? Admitting you can be flawed and being willing to share failures with others will earn respect and the admiration of those you are leading or trying to impact.

Tip: Watch 4 Powerful Things Leaders Should Know About Vulnerability

Additional read: 10 Strategies To Grow In Your Influence With Others

“Dude, we just had a meeting and my boss passed out one of your articles! You’re a rockstar.”

The text, received from a friend who works at a $50B company, made my day. It also led to an offer for an interview by his manager. While I turned down the opportunity for the interview, the impact of my writing in terms of networking became clearer than ever.

Business professionals, entrepreneurs, and leaders frequently read and write and seek out others who do the same. Your writing will earn you respect among your peers and will help you expand and engage your network. With every valuable piece of content you provide, you’re building a small amount of equity with each reader. When you build up enough, which could be after just one article, this equity can influence a decision. Whether to add you as a connection on LinkedIn, email you through a contact form on your website or share your article with others on social media, these decisions will help further build your network.

On January 1, I began my mission to publish an article every single day of 2015. After three weeks, it’s clear to see the positive impact on something as basic as my LinkedIn profile. Outside of pageviews and comments, I also have had four phone interviews from people who contacted me due to my new content. I’m not recommending you publish every day, but by starting to produce engaging and valuable content on a consistent basis, you can take your network, which will help gain you access to new opportunities, ideas, and possibly business, to new heights.

There is more to online writing than to post and share. Sure, this works, but just because I’d eat a hamburger with ketchup and mustard doesn’t mean that a double quarter-pounder with a fried egg and avocado on top wouldn’t have a greater effect on me – one that I would want to share with others. In addition to sharing your content on social media, here are 6 Great Ways to Build Your Network with Writing Content:

• Guest Posts and Contributions

Utilize the audience and influence of others to help you connect with more people. Search for blogs, websites, magazines, and books looking for contributors. Not only will this help your SEO efforts, it will expose you to a new group of people that may benefit you and your business.

• Personal Website Blog

A personal website and blog may both seem like unnecessary efforts due to other tools like About.me and Medium, which are extremely easy to setup and free, but there is still a lot of value to gain from creating both. Your unique site and blog will help establish your personal brand the way you want it to without restrictions, and the blog will allow you other ways to network (mentioned below), which are hard to do on external sites that you don’t own or manage.

• Offer Guest Contributor Opportunities

Just as you should be finding places to contribute to, other professionals are looking to do the same. Put up a call for contributors on your blog to attract writers and experts in areas that you are involved in. This will not only strengthen your blog, it will bring people you wish to network with to your doorstep. I put a call to action at the bottom of my articles published on LinkedIn and have received several inquiries from people I want to work because of it.

• Curate Content

Influencers track who are talking about them and who share their articles. To curate content on your blog, search for relevant news stories and opinion pieces to quote, and then add your own thoughts. When sharing information about the post on social media, make sure to tag the original author and publication in your post.

• Commenting and Sharing Others Work

Similar to curating content, taking an active role in other writer’s work will make it very easy for new people to find yours. Leave insightful and non-promotional feedback on every article you read, and you should see positive results. This works especially well on LinkedIn.

• Interview Those You Admire

An interview request, even if unwanted is a flattering experience. Use interviews to provide your website with content and strengthen or start a new relationship with the interviewee. Make sure this content aligns with the focus of your blog/website and try to add as much value to your interviewee as humanly possible. You will honor them with the request, and add value to their brand by sharing the interview content with others.

Bonus Tip: Add your latest article/blog post to your email signature. Just make sure to update it with each new piece you publish.

Selfish Bonus Tip: Email me if interested in getting involved with my series, or if you need a little boost getting your content off of the ground.

Related Good Reads:

• 5 Reasons You Should Invest Your Time in Networking
• Top 9 Benefits of Networking
• The 20 Biggest Benefits of Blogging

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Interested in Why I’m Publishing 365 Times in 2015? Read the first post of 2015 here! Want to be a part of the series? Share topic ideas or volunteer for an interview in the comments below.

Michael Luchies is the Founder of TrepRep, Director of Content Programming for Pursuit, Interview Editor for Under30CEO, Entrepreneurship Lecturer at Illinois State University, TEW 2 contributor, and writer of all things entrepreneurship. Connect with Michael on Google+, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.