Q: I want to expand the reach of my consulting business' speaking platform. What is the best way to reach buyers who are interested in hiring speakers on start-up, entrepreneurial and women's topics in other midsize cities?

Linda Murray Bullard, founder
LSMB Business Solutions

A: Expanding awareness in new markets is a challenge every brand faces, and individuals are no different from products when it comes to branding.

I would start with the local chambers of commerce in the cities you wish to target. Local chambers provide a wide variety of services to their members and expert advice is one of those areas. There may be an opportunity to contribute a guest blog or to give a presentation. You may have to give a presentation for free, but the exposure to businesses and other organizations provides valuable contacts that you can then use to market your services.

Also try local chapters of associations including women in business, human resources, marketing and sales, and many others that are always looking for interesting speakers. Some organizations will provide a speaker's fee and some may just offer to cover your travel costs, but what you're really after is making connections.

You may also want to consider buying a mailing list. I recommend starting with the training and development subset of a human resources list.

These are professionals whose task is to further educate and develop the workforce of the organization, and they are always looking for new resources.

A blog on your website is a good way to disseminate information on your speaking topics. I recommend updating it at least every other week. Similarly, keep your website design updated using colors that make it easy to read, and consider what you could do to capture the e-mail addresses of people who visit your site by offering them an incentive.

You never know when an organization is going to be looking for a speaker, so frequency is very important. I recommend some form of outbound marketing communications at least every other week, and don't get discouraged if nothing happens right away — it takes time to develop relationships.

Glenn Karwoski is an adjunct professor of marketing at the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business.