Last week, Tom Johnson wrote an excellent post on how to market yourself and your experience. The post consists of some very detailed notes that Tom compiled from a panel he participated in at the STC’s recent Technical Communication Summit.

Tom wrote:

… I dislike the term marketing. I don’t think of myself as a “marketer” or as someone who is engaged in marketing.

Instead, Tom considers himself an influencer — both within his organization and within his profession. You can’t deny the man’s reach into our community on the Web.

He markets himself and his expertise, but in a way that’s not aggressive and which is very effective. How? By positioning himself as an expert and sharing his knowledge. Sure, others might know the same things that Tom does, and their knowledge might have more depth. But the fact that he’s sharing the information (usually on his own time), and learning from the feedback he gets, shows that Tom is:

1. Passionate about what he does
2. Wants to learn more
3. Is willing to explore new trends and technologies

And when mated to knowledge and experience, passion and willingness are some of most powerful marketing tools that you have.

Related posts:

1. Stepping into the freelance world part 3: marketing
2. Writing technical marketing copy
3. Keep marketing away from the documentation