You want to write a book, start a podcast, do a TED-style talk, get yourself out in front of more people … but before you start increasing your visibility, make sure you are focusing your energy in the right place.

Here are my 5 tips to think about as you start a visibility project for your business.

1. Know the results you want for your business
   Get really specific about what you want your visibility project to do for your business. Do you want to attract more clients? Do you want to be seen as an expert? Getting more general exposure is different from getting people into a specific program. It’s not about what you “should” do or even what you want to do. It’s about what will give you the results you want for your business.

2. Know your customer

How does your ideal consumer access information? Do they listen to podcasts? Do they devour books? Do they prefer videos? Are they going to show up at live events? What they need defines how you show up.

Once you know how to show up, you also need to know what they need. Do they need inspiration – or targeted action steps?

3. Remember…it is still about them

When you don’t know your customer, you talk about yourself. You need your clients to say, “I need this.” That means you need to be really clear about what you are providing your customers. It can’t be all about you, they have to see clearly how it applies to them.

Even if you are sharing your own transformation, it is about the transformation they can have. Think of your story as a testimonial.

4. Deal with the scary part of visibility

While it can be exciting to picture yourself on that stage or imagine having a best seller, we need to overcome some fears and hesitations too. Let’s talk about the mindset issues.

Start by identifying your fears. Are you afraid of what your kids will think if they read your memoir? Are you worried that about your inlaws’ reaction to you traveling to speak? Are you worried you’ll say the wrong thing or offend people?

Now, how do you know this is not true? Think about examples in your life that show you this is a fear, not a reality.

What steps do you need to take to overcome this fear? Are there conversations you need to have? Do you need to hire a speaking coach? Knowing what you need to do can help you take action and overcome your fear.

Know what you need to do and put that plan into place!

5. You’re visible! Now what

Make sure your visibility project has a really clear call to action. What do you want them to do next? Should they book a call to talk about your new program? Should they opt-in for a special resource to get on your list?

Set up a landing page for different events. This helps you track and segment. It also lets you personalize responses.

Have a nuture sequence set up, so that you don’t lose warm leads that you’ve worked to create. Remember, it should all flow together. You want your visibility project to lead naturally to your next ask whatever it is.

Before you start getting visible, know why you are getting visible and exactly what results you want. Then make sure that you are set up to use that visibility once you get it!