You’re a rising professional nearing the top of your field. The world is your oyster, on good days anyway. Surely you can sit back, sip your drink, and allow new business to float your way?
Nice try. That’s not how the business world works, as you know. Cultivating new client relationships is an ongoing project; ensuring a steady stream of business to get you through good times and bad requires an all-of-the-above approach.
One of the strategies floating in that nebulous “above” is creating and maintaining highly visible listings on legitimate online directory websites like Yelp, Crunchbase, and LinkedIn.
Yes, that LinkedIn.
Anyway, these directory listings won’t write themselves, not that producing them personally is a heavy lift for accomplished professionals such as yourself. You do need to take that first step, though.
Crunchbase
Crunchbase is a place for ambitious businesses and leaders to tell data-driven stories about where they’ve been and where they hope to go next. More database than directory, it’s a useful resource for professionals highlighting key aspects of their CVs, rather than simply listing their professional experience in chronological order a la LinkedIn.
EverybodyWiki
EverybodyWiki is a legitimate alternative to Wikipedia, which needs no introduction. As you can see from this bio for Daniella Rand, a financial advisor based in San Francisco, EverybodyWiki has the same “vibe” as Wikipedia and conveys much of the same information in a familiar-feeling package.
Yelp
Yelp might just be your go-to source for new restaurant and professional services recommendations. Likewise, you should make it the first stop in your professional marketing routine. You don’t need us to tell you Yelp is popular with potential clients, after all.
5 Tips to Finding Business LeadsManta
Manta is a lot like Yelp, if more “warm and fuzzy” than its bigger, redder competitor. That’s just fine for professionals whose “human touch” is integral to their business.
Whether you believe it to be so or not, LinkedIn is an online directory of sorts. Given the platform’s insane popularity, optimizing your LinkedIn profile is probably the possible way to give your professional profile a visibility bump right now.
YP.com
YP.com is quite literally the digital version of the old-timey Yellow Pages, which are now but a distant memory for most of us (and all but unknown to “digital natives”).
It’s a no-nonsense online directory that’s just about perfect for professionals seeking to convey “just the facts” to a huge pool of potential customers. Best of all, it won’t leave you any lighter in the pocketbook. That’s something all of us can appreciate.
Don’t Delay – Get Listed Today
You’ve got your work cut out for you, friend. These six online directories for upwardly mobile professionals won’t list you on their own initiative.
That’s quite alright. You’ve surmounted tougher challenges in your time; creating content for a few professional directories is no sweat off your back. For your troubles, you may well win a new client or two — or several, or more than you can count, fingers crossed.
Also, don’t write off legitimate professional directories not featured in this article. For every Yelp, Manta, and LinkedIn, there’s a lesser-known online resource that could prove just as vital to your customer acquisition efforts. Maybe more so.
Happy listing!
