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Networking On The Net
By C. J. Hayden, Sat Dec 10th
Networking is one of the most effective ways to find clients forany consulting or professional services business. But if youlimit your networking to only what you can do in person, you'llbe missing out on a huge number of possibilities. Networking ismore than entering a room full of people and exchanging businesscards. It's creating a pool of contacts with whom you canexchange clients, referrals, resources, ideas, and information.Networking can happen by phone, by mail, over coffee, andincreasingly, over the Internet. The growth of the Internet hascreated many new ways to network without ever leaving your homeor office. Pick a topic, any topic, and there will be multipleweb sites and online communities devoted to it. Almost any typeof Internet presence offers opportunities for networking. Inyour favorite search engine, type the name of your profession orspecialty, e.g. "interior design" or "marketing communications."Or, if you have a clearly defined target market, you can usethat, e.g. "baby boomers" or "biotechnology." Skip the sponsoredlinks or banner ads and focus on the detailed results. What youwill find is the following: Professional Associations & Schools-- Many association or school sites provide member rosters,resource pages, back issues of newsletters, event calendars, andbulletin boards or discussion lists. Not all of these featureswill be restricted to members or students. Resource Sites &Online Communities -- These include directories of people in theprofession, vendors, articles, event calendars, bulletin boards,discussion lists, live chats, and links to even more resourcesites. Publications -- Magazines and newsletters maintain sitesthat offer everything from back issues to complete onlinecommunities. Job Postings -- These may appear on any of theabove sites, and often include opportunities for independentprofessionals, not just those looking for full-time employment.Colleagues & Competitors -- Colleagues and competitors may beexactly the same people, depending on your relationship withthem. Their sites will tell you more about them and their work,and may offer many of the same features as resource sites.Potential Clients -- Their sites will tell you about the workthey do, current and upcoming projects, and even the names ofexecutives and managers. Also, if you subscribe to an onlineservice offering interactive "channels," like America Online,CompuServe or MSN, there may be an entire area dedicated to yourprofession or target market. Some of these resources areavailable to non-members as well. Now, how can you use all thisinformation to network? Here are some of the most common ways:Bulletin Boards -- These are web pages where you can view andpost questions and comments on a specific subject. Answering aposted question is an excellent way to demonstrate yourexpertise, become known to the people who frequent the board,and get to know others in your field. Don't be overlyself-promotional when posting, just include a signature line
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