Years ago, we all knew which people were influential.  Which people could talk about us and generate buzz for us.  It was the reporter, the TV anchor, the country club president or the dynamic speaker.  If these people talked highly about you, it was gold.

Then something changed.  These people were still important, but new avenues of communication were opening up and influence was no longer in the hands of the few.  Now, many people are influential.  Yes, it is diluted and each person does not pack the same influence as influentials in the past, but more people have marginal levels of influence in a more targeted niches.

Influence is measured by the number and quality of relationships you have and the extent that those people respect and listen to your message.  You can leverage technology to have more relationships and more contact with those relationships.  If you think of a blog post as the same as an email out to 50 people, it makes more sense.  Either one is a message reaching people that want to communicate with you. (Or at least hear what you have to say.)

So if you are trying to meet influential people that will be interested in what you have to say, consider some of these options and build relationships with people who have an audience in your particular niche.

• Bloggers
• Website Authors
• Podcasters
• Speakers
• Reporters, Anchors
• Online Community Moderators
• eNewsletter Publishers
• Editors
• Successful Business Leaders/Networkers
• Club Presidents
• People that serve on boards and in the community
• Active Online Social Network Participants
• Professors and Educators (I frequently guest lecture and know it will give me the opportunity to influence students in their future jobs.)

Feel free to use the comments below to let me know which ones I missed.

Jeff “Ski” Kinsey is author of The Purple Curve.  He also just conducted a podcast with me as a lead up to the Purple Curve Workshop, where I will be the keynote speaker. 

The workshop is in Canton, Ohio on January 19th, 2007.

I am part of an upcoming conference in February called, Creating Your Celebrity Brand.  I have to say this is going to be a lot of fun.  All designers intent on becoming celebrities (at least at the local level.) 

The conference will have Branding, PR and Marketing, and Buzz Marketing all focused on increasing your celebrity status.  Even if you are not a designer, you might want to sneek into this one.  The concepts are applicable to all of us.

Buzz Marketing is something you can do.  You can start today and build buzz that will have a huge impact on your sales and visibility later this year.  What do you need to do to generate more people talking about you this year?

• Start today and create a little buzz every day.
• Get non-sales and marketing people involved in creating buzz.
• Create a strategy for building advocacy for your organization.
• Learn new online tools to create buzz.
• Start a blog.
• Stop thinking marketing campaign and start thinking corporate buzz culture.
• Become an expert in your field.
• Commit to being remarkable in your client’s eyes.

I am listed as one of the top 10 podcasts for 2006 at Small Business Trends Radio. 

Some good topics in the top 10 and if you are interested in marketing you should go over and have a listen.

Just a funny story for you that you may appreciate if you have considered blogging but have not taken the leap yet.  Last night Mike Sansone replied to my email where I thanked him for writing a Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing testimonial.  He is in Des Moines, Iowa. 

He replied back to me and asked my why I’d never met Chris Brown, another renound marketing blogger.  She is in Hudson and I am in Kent, 10 minutes apart.

So instead of making an excuse, I emailed her and we had coffee today.  We may collaborate on some things in the future.

Blogging, more than any other thing I have done, has created lots of things just like this.  You put yourself out there, build relationships, and anyone might introduce you to anyone else.  Even someone just down the street.

Thanks Mike, and nice meeting you today Chris.

I am refraining from cluttering this blog with Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing book testimonials.  However, for those you interested in what is being said, visit my Amazon Connect blog.  I try to post all testimonials as I get them or find them.

Many thanks to those people for taking the time to let me know what they think.

I am having a good time listening to the podcasts on the Cullinane and Green Report. They have some wonderful, insightful guests and now I am jealous I am not out meeting more of these cool people.

Could you start doing a podcast or blog and interview cool people? Absolutely.

Today we are officially releasing the Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing – Strategy Guide.  It is an 85 page eBook that helps you craft a real word of mouth marketing strategy.

• It discusses the differences between the 3 primary types of advocates and how to reach each type.
• It includes Buzz Guidelines for employee buzz that you can modify for your own organization.
• It includes a tool for assessing the likelihood of your story creating big buzz.
• 8 Step Buzz Marketing Plan
• Assessment tools
• Ways to create buzz

The eBook is for managers, marketers and small business owners that want more buzz and word of mouth but do not know how to craft a real strategy to achieve it.  It does not contain the marketing challenges like the book, Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing.  Instead, it is a marketing guide to help you craft a real buzz marketing strategy.

Purchase Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing Strategy Guide >>

Just like there is a bubble in stock values and real estate values, I believe there is a bubble that we are in for free content creation.

As the new year begins, I have read several people’s blogs, an email newsletter and an online community that are talking about cutting back their effort to focus on making money.  People are realizing that, while it is fun to build communities and produce great free content, they do have to eat as well.  The return on investment is small compared to many people’s billable rates.

As your online resource grows, so does the demand on your time if you are moderating comments or producing new content to meet expectations.

I am still a huge fan of blogging.  However, so your free content bubble does not burst, consider taking a long term approach and having a monitization strategy to at least lessen the financial blow to you once the fun begins to wane.

Making money is not a bad thing.  As your audience grows, it should pay you back something.  Here are some ideas:

Buzzoodle Blog – How I benefit

• Speaking Fees
• Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing – Book Sales
• Consulting Leads

When I started, I did not have any of those things in mind.  However, over time I tried to find more ways to monitize my blog and use it to establish myself as an expert.

What other ways can you monitize your blog or online resource?

• Affiliate links – Getting paid to sell other people’s stuff.
• Advertising
• Paid reviews of books and other products (Please disclose it is paid)
• Donations

It is good to build an audience before you need it.  Call it advance buzz.  However, do not overlook the fact that it is work and you will do a better job for longer if you feel like you are getting some return on your investment.