As an entrepreneur, I look for the most efficient way to market myself and my business. Two of the most effective are OPM and OEM.

• OPM – Other People’s Money
• OEM – Other Expert’s Markets

Both are great ways to increase your reach, while lowering your cost of marketing.
OPM can be through sponsorship dollars, co-op advertising, affiliate sales, and angel investors. According to an article on Inc.com, “There are different flavors of OPM from which to choose, and there are advantages and disadvantages to each. Depending upon the circumstances, some of forms of OPM may be easier to obtain or less costly than others. To minimize the cost, the entrepreneur must make strategic choices with respect to which category of OPM to seek, how much to seek and when to seek it.”
If funding is an issue for your business, consider collaborative efforts with OPM.
Another, somewhat underutilized powerhouse marketing strategy is OEM – Other Expert’s Markets. This is where you are invited into an established community to share your message.
It can be through webinars, teleseminars, summits, guest blogging, radio and podcast interviews.
Personally, I love OEM. When I’m invited to share my message with an established market, I gain instant credibility with that particular group of people.
The more visible you are, the more opportunity seems to come out of the woodwork.

Starting out

One of the best ways to create opportunities to get in front of someone else’s community is through proactive content marketing. Simply put, content marketing is a type of marketing that involves the creation and sharing of online material (such as videos, blogs, and social media posts) that does not overtly promote a brand but is intended to position expert status and/or generate interest in a brand.
The more high value the content is you distribute online, the easier it is to generate opportunities to get in front of other expert’s markets. In addition, you will find organizations seek out experts who do have a lot of outstanding content online.
Even if you are not sought out directly, you may subscribe to services that inform you of various opportunities. Or, perhaps you belong to organizations that offer the opportunity for members to gain visibility through their content marketing.

Make it Easy to Say Yes!

When these opportunities show up, it’s easier for someone to say yes to you, whether it be for an interview, an article for the ezine, a spot in an expert summit or a featured post on their blog when you have various types of content readily available. This gives the decision maker the chance to evaluate the risk of putting you (and your message) in front of their audience.
When I started online, back in the late nineties, I constantly searched out opportunity. Often, I was told no. Fast forward twenty years and the conversation is very different. More times than not, I am sought out to contribute. The primary reason for this is due to the amount of content I have online.
A quick Google search will bring up listings of interviews, summits, articles, blog postings and books I’ve contributed to. I’m a relatively low risk for someone seeking an expert with my background and perspective.
I don’t say this to impress anyone, but to impress upon you the importance of starting today to get your content out to market.

Two recent opportunities

Your Pursuit of Purpose Summit

What an amazing opportunity I was presented with when Ben Stein reached out to me. He said he had seen a few of my interviews, read lots of my content and felt I would be a great fit for this event.
Had I not had so much content online, he likely would not have found me. Content marketing is a powerful, powerful strategy.
http://www.yourpursuitofpurposesummit.com/kgage

eWomen Network Featured Blog Post

I’ve been a member of eWomen Network, the largest online women’s community of its kind. Boasting membership of thousands of professionals from around the globe, there’s a lot to be gained by being featured on the organization’s blog.
When the call for contributors crossed my desk, I wasted no time responding. After checking me out online, the editor quickly got back to me, officially inviting me to contribute.
Had I not had lots of content online, including on my own blog, it’s likely I would not have had such a positive response.
In both these cases, my success resides in the amount of my content one can easily find. In truth, I’m a very low risk to anyone who extends an invitation.
https://www.ewomennetwork.com/blog/ewomennetwork-1/post/how-i-turned-my-big-hairy-audacious-goal-into-a-reality-124
The best part of all is this; both opportunities allow me to increase my market reach, drive traffic to my blog, mention my books and increase my credibility.
It’s simple mathematics. OEM increases opportunity.
Where to start
I started my content marketing journey like others, at the beginning. By sticking with it, I am now able to fully enjoy the power of OEM.
With vision, time and commitment, you can too.
If you’re in the beginning stages of utilizing content marketing, the best thing to do is have a targeted and consistent approach.
Each day, post something. Whether it be a video, article, blog post, an interview or excerpts from a book you’ve written, or are writing, take daily action.
Here’s a simple checklist of activities.

• Article directories
• Social media posts
• YouTube videos
• Blogging on your blog
• Guest blogging

Again, make a commitment to take one action per day and more if possible. Do this for the next 30 days and watch what happens.