The One Basic Skill Every Startup CEO Needs When it comes to getting the word out about your business, startups need this one skill to get noticed.
By Will Caldwell Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
When starting a new venture, it is critical to your success that you effectively communicate your vision to build trust in people around you -- everyone from your business partners to investors and customers need to believe in you. You need these people to buy into your new idea. This is done through effectively communicating the value proposition in what you are trying to do. It must be succinct and to the point or else you will quickly lose the interest of others. This is where the skill of writing comes into play.
While, it takes passion and determination to convey your message, it isn't always easy and it takes time to develop these communication skills. (Ever heard the saying, "a writer is only as good as the sum of his experiences?")
For those just getting started in the startup world and need to brush up on their writing skills, here are a few tips.
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Create a blog post and socialize it. Before I was ever published by a major publication, I posted some of my pieces on entrepreneurship as my Facebook status. This provided me with an audience to read what I had to say. I was blown away by the positive feedback, which helped me build up my confidence and was the stepping stone for approaching the media.
Related: Have a Blog? LinkedIn Wants Your Copy.
Write for you startup industry's media outlet. Whatever industry your startup is in, it is critical to build credibility around your name and business. Without credibility your startup will not go very far. Be relentless in trying to get published, as it is the best press for your business.
When I first approached Entrepreneur.com, I saw a gap in its publication in which I had the expertise to speak intelligently on. This area was building mobile apps and the column was the College Trep section on its sister site YoungEntrepreneur.com (now just blended into Entrepreneur.com). As a college entrepreneur, I believed I had a compelling case to get published and most importantly add value to the readers of the column.
When approaching media outlets, my best advice to getting published is to create value and add practical wisdom to gain the attention of editors.
Communicate your experiences starting up. For every startup CEO, it is difficult to build a business, maintain customer relations, raise money and stay focused. Through these trials and tribulations, you most definitely learn a lot. Use this as an opportunity to express your experiences in writing. Not only does it help you build credibility but an audience, as other struggling entrepreneurs will be looking at you for advice.
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