Womens Media Summit

Creating a Who’s Who Directory Part two

 In November I wrote about getting known by creating a Who’s Who directory which was inspired by reading about a local woman, Pamela M. Hutchinson of Davie Florida, the creator of Who’s Who in Black South Florida - a directory of black professionals. She recently passed away and the article focused on how well-received her directory was and also talked about who would take over her legacy. I thought it was a terrific idea which inspired me to let you know what I and my staff have done. Which lead me into my marketing and self-promotion tip which was to create a Who’s Who Directory of a specific group of people or organizations in your community. It is a great way to gain local media attention, exposure for your business and to become the go-to person in networking.

Recently I created the Who’s Who Directory of Women in eCommerce. If you are a woman-owned business (online for at least one year) and would like to be listed, you can learn more at http://www.whoswhoinecommerce.com. Deadline for submission of the 2008 Edition is next week March 24^th!  We have received more than 400 listings to date!  Best of all, a BASIC listing is Free.

To see a directory I created in the mid ’90’s (I compiled a list of Women’s Organizations in my county that in 3 years time grew from 72 to over 450 in our tri-county area).  This year we decided to create the directory as a downloadable PDF simply because of the cost and time involved in printing. It has positioned me as a resource for professional women - especially those moving into the area.   The interesting thing is that local libraries, high schools and Chambers of Commerce have the directory and Chambers often refer women to me to learn more about the directory and groups pertaining to women.

 It is called the South Florida Network Directory of Women’s Business & Civic Organizations and is available online at www.southfloridanetworkdirectory.com in case you would like to check it out. If the link does not work, try http://www.speakingwithspirit.com/SouthFloridaNetworkEdition7.asp

In addition to creating your own, I highly recommend you submit your listing to several online directories (if they are free, all the better). One word of caution – two really – make sure the directory is one that reaches your target audience and that it draws enough traffic to warrant spending the time (and in some cases money) to submit a listing.  Don’t waste your time on those that don’t. How will you know if it’s right for you?  Find out who else is listed in the directory, what types of people and professions are included.  Look around the website or blog promoting the directory.  Ask for references or read testimonials and comments on the site. This will give you some indication of the value of the listing in the first place.When you’ve done your homework and you feel confident that the listing will get your name out there, submit away!

Wishing you much success when you do!

Heidi  Heidi Richards, Founder & CEO – The WECAI Network - http://www.wecai.orgPresident & Chief Goddess – Eden Florist & Gift Baskets – http://www.edenflorist.com – We send flowers around the corner or around the world!Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, Check out the latest issue of WE Magazine for Women! http://www.wemagazineforwomen.com

March 22nd, 2008 Posted by admin | Self-promotion, PR & Media Resources, FREE MEDIA RESOURCES, PR and Media Tips | no comments