You’ve likely never heard of some of the most successful people on the Internet, just as you’ve likely never heard of some of the most successful business people in the offline world. These are the kind of people who miraculously work their magic and watch as millions of dollars coming pouring in through their front doors. Being rich and being famous don’t necessarily go hand-in-hand.
However, this can change dramatically based on the kind of business you are in. If you want to be a hugely successful actor in Hollywood, you certainly want everyone to know who you are. If you want to sign those huge multi-million dollar contracts to play in the NFL or NBA, then you want your name plastered on every sports page across the country. And if you want to be a hugely successful blogger who is highly recognized and respected in his or her field as an expert, then you want people to know you too.
In the world of public relations (PR), they have something called a “media hit.” Basically, this is when they are able to get one of their clients mentioned or featured on a media outlet. Traditionally, those media outlets would be newspapers, magazines and TV shows, but in the digital age, getting yourself featured on a major website can be quite the “media hit” too. To get noticed by a site like Mashable is kind of a big deal. And you want to make sure you leverage that appearance for all that it’s worth.
One of the reasons why John has managed to be so successful at what he does is that he has done a great job of getting himself in front of the public eye. This includes not only speaking at major blogging and Internet marketing conferences and getting mentioned on major sites online, but his fame has transcended into the mainstream too. Relatively early on in the life of the monetized John Chow dot Com, John was interviewed and featured by both Ming Pao Magazine and The Province newspaper. This put his face and his story in front of an audience that may not otherwise know who he is.
The thing with media appearances and media “hits” is that they tend to build upon themselves. They can build into a snowball effect, because getting featured in one major newspaper lends itself to being noticed by other journalists, columnists, and editors. John got famous for making money online and, as it worked out, this also helped him make even more money online… and this led to him getting featured by more publications and websites, which generated more fame and traffic, which generated more revenue and so on.
You might remember a long time ago when John listed seven tips for building credibility as an expert blogger. One of those tips is to get on the cover of a magazine. This is no small feat and it really sets you apart from other “experts” in your niche.
I don’t claim to be anywhere near as well-known as John, but I have been accumulating “media hits” of my own. It’s important to keep track of these in whatever fashion you deem appropriate. Some people keep these lists private, tapping into them on an as-needed basis. Me, I have a page in my blog’s About section that lists where I’ve been featured. You can see a portion of that in the above screenshot.
It’s up to you whether or not you want to put together an official “media kit” that can be sent to editors and journalists. There are many bloggers and professionals who do and this can add another layer of credibility to who you are and what you do. And the more you appear on other sites and media outlets, the more you can legitimately pull off the Troy McClure line of “You may remember me from…”
And if you keep yourself in the public eye like that, the audience really might remember you from your appearances both online and off.
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