One of the best ways to market your expertise is to become published in magazines.  Potential clients view articles as a much more credible source than simply buying ad space.  Anyone can purchase an ad, however, not everyone can become published.  Here are some tips to help you get published in magazines, blogs and newspapers.

1. Research and gather the names of magazines that publish articles on your particular topic.
2. Gain a solid understanding of what each magazine tends to write.  This will help you adapt your style, titles, etc. to their needs.
3. Make note of their writing schedule. Do they focus on specific topics during certain times of year?
4. Keep track of current events.  Articles that tie in to current events, trends or historical dates are easier to get published.
5. When submitting an article, check with each magazine first to learn who you should submit your pitch to.
6. Send a pitch to the desired contacts with “pitch” in the subject line followed by the subject of your article.  Either submit your entire article (no attachments) or submit an outline of what you would like to write.  Be concise.  Also, be sure to include if you are giving them first right of refusal or exclusive rights.

Join me as I’m driving from a photo shoot from Houston Woman Magazine.

For the most part, LinkedIn has been recognized as the most sterile of the larger social networks.  It’s one of my personal favorites for business, but, until now, was not well suited for daily interaction.  The following new releases may change that a bit.  Facebook users will find the changes to be very similar to Facebook offerings.

1. LinkedIn has a new short URL: lnkd.in
2. You now have the option to “attach a link” to your posts when you paste a link.  Similar to Facebook, LinkedIn will now pull an image to attach to your post.
3. You can now edit and even delete your posts.
4. Enjoy the ability to now control who can see your posts.  Make it available to everyone or just select specific groups or connections.
5. SHARE!  There is now a new share link that will allow users to repost content.  Like Facebook, it has a credit attribute that shows the name of the original source.