3 Tips for Internet Fame, from an Almost-Famous Blogger (Part 1 of 3)

I am an online marketing and PR consultant as well as a writer. Along the way, I’ve helped business people and book authors give their reputations a little (okay, maybe BIG) boost online.

In the search for internet success, the same question always pops up, though it takes different forms: “How do you become famous on the internet?” (Also: “How do you drive traffic to your site?,” or “How do you make something go viral?”)

Unlike many other professional arenas, where you have to pay your dues, the internet moves fast. You could set up a blog in January, chat a few people up, publish a few interesting things, and be featured in major newspapers and radio outlets by March. Mainstream media continues to quote and link to bloggers and Twitter users on a daily basis in news stories on TV, radio, and in major papers.

So how can you get some of this coverage and run with it, becoming an internet sensation?

There’s no sure path or guarantee, but based on my personal experience as a blogger, I’m sharing 3 tips on how to maximize your chances at gaining — and running with — internet momentum. Look for Tip #2 next Friday.

Tip #1: Locate some influencers. Follow them on Twitter. Do what they do (and fast).

A couple of weeks ago, an influential personal blogger I follow on Twitter mentioned an essay series in which she’d participated. The blogger that created and hosted the series was not well known (yet). She was asking for additional essays. I liked the concept, so I wrote something in about 10 minutes. I left my last name off of it and asked the blogger not to link to me, because the topic was personal and I didn’t want it tied to me forever in the public sphere (but I did want to write something and contribute to the conversation).

Two weeks later, this blogger and her series was mentioned in The New York Times. Several of my co-contributors with blogs (there were about 8 of us total at the time) were excerpted and linked to by the paper. A few days after that, the series was covered by NPR. Additional bloggers and their blogs were named on the air and later on the website.

Imagine if I’d wanted my name and URL on my essay? That’s a possible free shout-out in two national outlets. And because I acted fast and was one of the few contributors on the list at the time, my chances of being mentioned were pretty good.

Do This: Find people whose endorsements make things take off. Follow those people on Twitter, Facebook, and/or the RSS to their blogs, and act quickly if they name opportunities that suit you. If you need or want PR, use your full name and always provide a link to your site.

Next week… Get Yourself a Gimmick.