When I hosted the recorded webinar last week on How to Use Twitter Lists & Directories to Promote Your Expertise and Build Your Brand,  I encouraged participants to get onto as many Twitter lists as possible because lists are a powerful form of free advertising. 

One of my suggestions was to write a blog post telling readers the types of lists where you’d be a perfect fit, and then suggesting that they add you to existing lists on those topics, or create new ones.

But before you do that, it’s helpful to first find out how people on Twitter perceive you.  This will give you other ideas to add to the list of topics on which you’re an expert, and some of them might surprise you. The instructions below are included on the handouts from last week’s webinar, and the entire package is available here.

To see whose lists you’re on:

• Log into your Twitter account
    
• Go to your Home page
    
• Look in the upper right corner, near your gravatar, for the word “Listed.” It will tell you how many lists you’re on.
    
• Click on it. You’ll see all the names of the lists and the gravatars of the people who created them. The names of the lists will be in bold.

Scan the list and you should start to see a pattern. The screenshot above shows some of the 668 lists I’m on. Many of the lists are devoted to PR, publicity, marketing communications, book marketing and social media.

Now that you have a good idea how you’re perceived, write a blog post like this one, suggesting that your Twitter followers add you to their lists on certain topics.
    
   
Add Me to These Lists

Here are topics for other lists you can consider adding me to, based on many of the other lists on which I appear:

Writing or Writers

Editing or Editors

Journalists or Journalism

Marketing

Authors

Business Women

Small Business

Online Marketing

Digital Marketing

Self-promotion

Shoestring Marketing

Book Publicity

Resources for Authors

Inspiring Quotes

Humor

Entrepreneurs

Advertising/Marketing

PR Pros

Press Releases

Blogging or Bloggers

Dog Jokes (I include a dog joke in each issue of The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week, my free weekly ezine, and often share it on Twitter)
     
     
Other Ways to be Included on Twitter Lists

1. Tweet helpful, relevant content frequently and forego the “here’s what I’m doing today” tweets. Help people solve their problems!

2. Add yourself to your own lists if you’re a perfect fit. Remember that other people will be subscribing to your lists. If you’re a small business expert, for example,  and somebody is following your list of small business experts, you want to be on it.

3. Include a short blurb in your email signature suggesting that people add you to their lists, with a link to your Twitter page.

4. Ask! Don’t be shy about suggesting that people add you to a particular list they’ve created. They might be grateful that you’ve helped them grow their lists.

Be sure to reciprocate. Welcome requests from other people who ask you to put them on your lists.

What other ways do you use Twitter lists? Is there anything about lists that you don’t understand? Sharre your own tips here on how to get onto other people’s lists.

Mickie Kennedy’s excellent post Blog commenting for PR–do’s and dont’s, reminded me about something that every smart Publicity Hound do. 

State your expertise whenever you comment.

For example, if I’m commenting on a post about how to write well, I’ll start by saying…”As a publicity expert who worked as a newspaper writing coach for many years, I disagree with….”

Here are ways to state your expertise:

• Have you written a book on the topic?  If so, say so.
    
• Are you a speaker or trainer?
      
• Are you a consultant?
     
• Have you written more than two dozen articles on the topic?
    
• Do you have a Facebook Fan page devoted to this topic and does it have a large number of fans? (Be sure to link.) 

Mentioning this just might tempt people to click the link.

When Patsi Krakoff was my guest expert on the webinar “Time-saving Tips for Smart Business Blogging,” she mentioned the value of comments, especially for people who don’t yet have blogs. I spend as much time as possible commenting at other people’s blogs. In a few instances, the bloggers have liked the comments so much that they extended an invitation to me to be a guest blogger.

How much time  do you spend comnmenting at blogs? Have you seen a good return on your investment of time? If so, what has happened as a result?

Suffering from headline writer’s block? If so, don’t sweat it.

Dozens of formula headlines are just waiting to be tweeked. You’ll find 49 fill-in-the-blank headlines in Headlines for How-to Articles I wrote several years ago at my website.

Over the weekend, I stopped at my local bookstore and scanned the covers of the June issues of several dozen business and consumer magazines and found these 12 headlines which you can add to the list:

Turn the _______ You Have into the _______ You Want

A _______’s Playbook for Winning the _______ War

The Best _______ for Anything, and Where NOT to _______

Inside America’s Best-Run _______; What Smart, Principled and Effective _______ Looks Like in 2010

Worst _______ of the Year

The 100 Most Brilliant  _______ on our Radar

Managing _______: How to Do It and When to Do It

The 7 Myths of _______; Know the Truth

The Worst Advice I Ever Got About _______

6 Symptoms of _______ You Should Never Ignore

25 _______s You Can _______ in One Day

What You Need to Know Before You _______

What fill-in-the-blank or formula headlines are your favorites?

Rosemary Lichtman, Ph.D. & Phyllis Goldberg, Ph.D of Los Angeles, Calif.  write:

“We are family relationship experts who have developed an ebook, ‘Courage and Lessons Learned.’  
      
“It’s full of practical tips that help you take the first steps toward a new goal—running a 5K, starting your own business, reconnecting with an old friend.  By logging on to our blog, you can join the email list and download a complimentary ebook, in PDF format.
     
“We’re looking for some creative ways to let bloggers and organizations know about this free ebook.  We already have an autoresponder on our blog and website at http://www.HerMentorCenter.com, but a broader reach would help us spread the word.”

If you’re looking for an expert source because you need to hire a speaker, or you want a guest for your podcast, or you’re doing research for a book, don’t get discouraged if you don’t find one on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn, or by Googling .

There’s still a large percentage of people—even experts—who aren’t at those sites or who don’t know how to get good search engine ranking.

Check out this treasure trove of sources just waiting to be tapped: At the article directory sites.

Sites like EzineArticles.com, ArticleBase, ArticleDashboard and Expertclick: the Online Yearbook of Experts, have thousands of experts who would probably love an invitation. And most of them can be found fairly quickly because these sites are usually searchable by category.

Freelance writer Angie Gambino, one of myLinkedIn connections, invited me to respond to her question on how freelancers can use Twitter.

I came up with several ideas and added more to the list:

• Follow journalists in your target market.  Regardless of whether they follow you, pay attention to what they’re tweeting. Retweet some of their content that’s of interest to people who follow you.
      
• You probably have a “dream list” of magazines, newspapers, etc. you’d like to buy your articles. Find out if the editors of those publications are on Twitter.  If so, follow them.  They may follow you back. Do your research at JournalistTweets.com, JustTweetIt.com, MediaonTwitter.com and TwitteringJournalists.pbworks.com.
      
• Search for journalists at Search.Twitter.com. Search by job title. For example, if you’re looking for assignment editors, search for “assignment editor” and “#assignmenteditor” and variations.
    
• Also use Search.Twitter.com to find sources.
           
• Do you review books? If so, discuss the types of books you review and some of your favorites.
           
• Offer advice on how the media can work with freelancers.
           
• Offer tips for people who want to make money freelancing. Is the market saturated?
           
• Link to your blog posts. (You ARE blogging, aren’t you? If not, see “Time-saving Tips for Smart Business Blogging.”)
           
• Which writers do you admire?
           
• Cast your net on Twitter for specific types of sources you’re seeking.     

How about it freelancers? What have I missed?

The most fun thing in my office: A miniature replica of my first car, nicknamed “The White Tornado”

Fiction writers often struggle with what to write about at their blogs.

Help is on the way.

1. What writing problems do you struggle with, and how do you solve them?
       
2. Share fun facts about geographic locations where your romance novels or other fiction takes place.
       
3. Pay attention to questions people are emailing you. Often, these are great fodder for a blog. (Excerpted from the handout “101 Ways to Find Content for Your Blog” from the teleseminar Time-saving Tips for Smart Business Blogging.)
       
4. What’s the most unusual thing in your office that inspires, entertains or humors you?  Make sure to include the photograph when you post.  Mine is a miniature replica of my first car: a 1962 white Chevy Nova we affectionately nicknamed “The White Tornado.”
       
5. What sparks your creativity?
       
6. Who is your hero?  And why?
       
7. What one event in your childhood had the greatest effect on your writing career?
       
8. If you weren’t doing what you do today, what other job would you have?
      
9. Who is your best friend, and what do you like best about him or her?  List your best friend’s favorite books. How do they compare to yours?
       
10. What “lesson from mom” do you still live by today?
        
11. What’s the one thing you want to accomplish, or write about, before you die?
        
12. If you could spend a week anywhere in the world, where would it be?  Would you write or read there, or do something else?
        
13. Do you have a pet that keeps you company when you write?  If so, write about him or her.  Has your pet taught you anything about writing?  If so, what?
        
14. What’s the worst writing mistake you ever made that taught you a valuable lesson?
        
15. What’s the most unusual place you have visited?
        
16. What’s the most unusual book you’ve read that’s made a lasting impression on you?
        
17. If you could have a quiet dinner with just one author, who would you choose?
        
18. Create a survey that’s related to the topic of your book and share it with readers.  Report the results.
        
19. Create a fun quiz about one of your books and award a cool prize.

Finally, the very best free tool for finding content for your blog is Google Alerts. Create one or more alerts using keywords or keyword phrases that tie into the topics you write about. You’ll have so many ideas for blog posts that you’ll wonder how you ever worried about finding enough.

Authors, what do you blog about? Which posts elicit the greatest number of comments from your readers?

Katie Schwartz Chattanooga, TN, asks:

“What are some ways to reach education reporters, or parents of students about to enter college?

“I have written an ebook called Portable Parent for parents and college students, with advice the students need on life skills such as time and money management, as well as much more.  Parents download it, add their input and upload it to the students’ computers so the advice is ready when they are.  Instant info, with a parent’s input, 24/7.  How can I publicize this?”

(Shutterstock photo)

If you’re a frustrated author who has been trying to think of an idea for a book, finish a book already under way, or boost sluggish sales of a book that’s been on the shelves for several months, Jack Canfield has some sage advice for you.

And who better than Jack to give it?

He and Mark Victor Hansen recveived 144 rejection letters from publishers who all gave a resounding “no thanks” to publishing their first “Chicken Soup for the Soul.” book. As you know, the entire series went on to become one of the hottest selling mega-series of books on the planet.

Jack will share his best advice for frustrated authors during a free 90-minute teleseminar at 7 p.m. Eastern Time tonight, April 22. (If you can’t attend, recruit somebody to listen for you and take notes. These are almost never recorded.) You can register here.

You will learn:

Anne Roos of  South Lake Tahoe, CA, writes: