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"Exposure plus 95 cents might buy you a decent cup of coffee," says networking expert Bob Burg. "The key is to position yourself in your market as the expert, the resource, the only person your prospect would ever even think of doing business with, or referring to others."

The surest way to make a credible name for yourself is by becoming a "recognized" expert. Who counts as an expert? Experts include authors, speakers, consultants, business owners, managers, and professionals. If you have in-depth knowledge about a specific subject — and that subject can be your business — you qualify, too. The test is how much you know, and if you know a lot about something, you can leverage that knowledge into a halo of authority.

As an authority, you can write articles for trade and special interest publications (if you're too busy to write, or uncertain of your writing skills, it's easy to find help — use the Web or the Yellow Pages to look for "Editing and Writing Services"). You can give talks. And you can become a news resource, providing quotes to the media on issues relating to your industry.

Theresa Iglesias-Solomon started Niños, a Spanish/English bilingual catalog business, out of her home in Michigan several years ago. Realizing that her focus on the Hispanic market made her newsworthy to business writers pursuing stories on niche markets, she regularly notified reporters and editors about new ethnic products and buying trends.

Over time she built a reputation as an expert on the Hispanic market, and this has led to frequent media mentions, including some in the Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, USA Today, and Catalog Age.

In addition to making the news, you can augment your marketing and your business by creating information products — booklets, e-books, classes, audiocasettes — around your area of expertise. These will cement your place as the leader in your market niche.

A business coach herself, C. J. Hayden markets to other professional business coaches, marketing consultants, and sales trainers. While her book, Get Clients Now!, helped to establish her credibility in this field, Hayden took the concept one step further. After writing her book, she trademarked the

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