And if you wonder whether online publications may be less effective or less credible than those published in the traditional hard-copy format, then it's time to get yourself out of the Dark Ages. For many reasons, online publication is now the way to go.



Beyond the issue of credibility, which I'll address later, publishing online has many advantages over print—so many, in fact, that I would venture to deem it vastly superior. For example:

• Publishing online allows your article (and you, your bio, and your firm) to show up on Google.

• Publishing online allows easy forwarding of your article to your own contacts and your e-list.

• Publishing online allows your readers to locate your article easily on your publishing online website.

• Publishing online allows your readers to send you an immediate reaction via e-mail.

• If there is a typo or other error, publishing online permits quick and simple corrections to be made, even well after publication.

• Publishing online permits your article to be quickly and easily updated whenever you wish, even well after publication.

In defense of traditional hard-copy publication, what can you say in rebuttal? That a hard-copy publication is shiny and fits snugly in your hands? Well, yes, sometimes—but not always!

In terms of the credibility factor, while it's true that many hard-copy offline publications will surely garner a certain level of desirability because of their high name recognition (Harvard Business Review, the Wall Street Journal, and CFO magazine come to mind immediately), to be able to brag that you were published in Strategic Finance magazine (a hard-copy publication) rather than Finance Executive Online tends not to earn you all that many extra points. Given that the online versions are infinitely easier to get into than the extremely space-challenged offline versions, is it really worth all that much more time and trouble to set your sights on print rather than online? If you say yes, you're either someone with a lot of time on your hands or a dreamer who isn't likely to wage this long, tough battle in the first place.

To Blog or Not to Blog

What about blogs? Are they a good idea? Are they in synch with the thoughtleading approach? Are they worth your time and trouble?

Like other “thoughtleading” actions, a blog will powerfully set you apart if you treat it as a tool. Simply posting a blog entry every day or so, then passively hoping that someone will see it will not help you.

Remember that if your aim is to position yourself as a leading thinker (or thought leader) in your field, you must find ways to proactively promote your blog and draw readers to it, rather than waiting for them to discover it. “If you build it, they will come” does not apply here.

Should you decide to set up a blog, heed these tips for making this leading-edge tool a success:

Blog frequently, to keep your blog vital. Otherwise visitors will stop coming, tired of not finding anything new there.

Keep blog entries short. If your blog entries are very long, your visitors will resist coming back, feeling that reading your blog entries takes too much time. Word of mouth will spread, but that will work against you. New visitors will stay away, not being willing to even try out your blog.

Blog as a firm. To prevent burnout, employ your entire firm to produce your blog. This way, no one partner, associate, manager, or staffer is fully responsible for all the postings. This distributes the workload, keeping blog entries fresh and varied and involving your whole firm in positioning its thoughtleading ideas.

Websites for Thoughtleaders

From a similar thoughtleading point of view, your website should emphasize that you and your firm are the leading experts/thinkers in your profession. This dictates some seemingly obvious website sections that on the majority of business websites, astonishingly, are nowhere to be found. I'm talking about such sections as “Published Articles,” “Published Books,” “Speaking Engagements,” “Media and News” and “Surveys and Research.” Naturally, an e-mail sign-up box will be readily visible as well, the better to grow your client community list. An archive of your past e-blasts is a must.

If you have reached the thoughtleading pantheon, meaning that you are the author of a book, your book cover must be highlighted on your home page with a link to more information on a special book page inside. You might also post another link to Amazon, http://BN.com, or another website where your visitors can purchase your book, as well as to testimonials of your book, perhaps a sample page or two, your book's table of contents, and other such information. The key here is not to forget that a book is your absolute best expert's calling card, packing a credibility wallop via a third-party endorsement (your publisher's) that cannot be beat. If you have a book, or as soon as you publish one, do not forget to revamp your website in such a way that your visitors cannot escape knowing about it.

The benefits of online publishing have nowhere to go up but to continue its steady upward climb. As more and more of us spend more and more time on the Web, most of our reading will be done there. Concentrating your publishing goals in this direction can thus only enhance their impact and bolster your overall thoughtleading business development results.

(Originally published at GoArticles and reprinted with permission from the author, Ken Lizotte).