Publishers are the gatekeepers to that new fractal or industry you’ve been eyeing.
Think Gandalf standing at the bridge shouting...
‘You shall not pass… unless you’re in my magazine!'
Once you’ve spoken at one of their events or been featured by them in their magazine, the bigwigs of the industry will more likely trust you and view you as the next thought leader they must have on their stage.
This isn’t just my opinion, either. The ROI of Thought Leadership research backs up this idea that professionals discover trusted experts via conferences, industry organizations, and via other experts… aka, by paying attention to who the publishers are already featuring.
So, what’s your next step now that you’re armed with this incredibly powerful tidbit of information?
Well, it stands to reason that you should go ahead and make some friends with publishers! Here is a step-by-step method I’ve used in the past that works extremely well.
Step 1: Identify publishers in your target fractal.
Practically every industry out there has specific publications (either online or paper-based) that feature content for industry-insiders.
For instance, in the university-run healthcare fractal I'm pursuing this year, you might look to publications like Beckers, Fierce Healthcare, and Modern Healthcare. In the banks and credit union fractal, look to American Banker. In higher education, read from The Chronicle of Higher Ed and Inside Higher Ed.
Even the very small and odd-sounding fractals have their own publications…
… Asphalt Magazine (for people who pave with asphalt), The ACHR News (all about news in air conditioning, heating, and refrigeration), American Farriers Journal (for horse farriers), Knitting (um… about knitting), and even Pro Landscaper Magazine (for people who do professional landscaping.)
If you need a deeper understanding of how fractals work and why they're so powerful for speakers, we've covered this extensively.
If you want to connect with a specific list of publishers in your fractal, you need to know two things:
