Attention Doesn’t Equal Success

Last week I was listening to a great call by my pal Debbie Page Whitlock. During the call she mentioned “Attention doesn’t equal success.“

It was EXACTLY what I needed to hear that day. People get loud (yes, pot/kettle, I get it) at events, online and in your inbox. It doesn’t mean they’re winning, it means they’re loud. Maybe instead of paying attention to the people talking about how awesome they are, listen to the people telling you how awesome someone else is.

It feels great to receive praise, and to be talked about. But make sure you aren’t always the one talking about how awesome you are. So how do you get people to talk about how awesome you are?

• Give First, SHARE always. You’ve heard this before (I hope). If you want to be praised, start by praising others. Write that LinkedIn recommendation of a service provider or colleague. Write up a quick Google+ review of someone.
• Be Awesome. Why aren’t people raving about you? Maybe you’re too head down and forgetting to be awesome. We all get into a rut, make sure you are being awesome, and not half-assing your work.
• Be a Resource – do you blog? Make sure you’re posting your posts regularly on social media, and tweak the message so it resonates to your target market and your specific social media audience. I wrote a post the other day, and when I tweaked the message on Twitter, I noticed multiple people caught it and retweeted. Check your messaging and be a resource
• Volunteer – If you’re involved with an organization make sure you’re volunteering and offering to do stuff. I always offer to be a table leader at eWomen, it’s extra exposure for me and I’m helping the organization.
• Donate – Sometimes donating an hour of your time as a raffle item, or just a colleague in need can go a long way. I recently received a free one hour consult from a service provider, and it was so helpful I would have gladly paid for her time. I immediately wrote her a review online as a thank you.