Ready to Build Your Online Stage? Here's How

by Julia D. Stege, MFA

Have you been feeling the urge to get your message out to a larger audience, yet feeling resistence to using computers and the Internet to create your online stage?  Last week when I was travelling home from Santa Fe, I met a woman on the plane who is in this same predicament.  She has a successful healing practice in Europe and when I asked her what her big dream is, she said to teach to a wider audience and to be able to travel the world and not be chained to her office.

When I told her that I'm an internet marketing specialist who trains leaders how to do webinars she smiled, looked up at the sky and said, "I didn't ask for this!"

But of course she had!  And so have you! That's why you were drawn to read this article in the first place. You have an important message to get out to the world.  You were born to provide your own unique perspective on the issues facing us and our planet today. And the Internet provides the perfect stage for you, if you would only use it!

I know, it's alienating to most sensitive folks who haven't yet found a way to happily integrate computers into their lives. I'm here to make the transition easier.  It's part of the reason that synchronicity led me to become one of the first designers to use desktop publishing and then the Internet. I've been doing it a long time and I have learned how to use these tools to create a public stage for my creativity and my life purpose, and I've helped my clients to do the same.

So how do you do build your online stage?

One thing I've learned is that trying to do to many things at once doesn't really work.  You have to start with just a couple of new activities, get that rolling, and then add another and another, building your online stage one step at a time.  Move at the pace that feels good to you and you will start to see results.  Here are a few of my favorite ways to build an online stage.

FREE WEBINARS provide a global stage for you to share your message, your gifts, your tips and strategies designed to help your perfect peeps get rolling (or proceed further) on their path.  You have a specific offering, a particular way to share that will attract those people who are a perfect match to you.  Offering webinars allows you to present your work in an international interactive container with multi-media capabilities.  You can share all kinds of pictures, slides, imagery, charts, photos, even live video if you want.  Any kind of visual and/or auditory presentation can be displayed to your live audience, and recorded for download or replay later.

THE FACEBOOK PROFILE is still the most powerful tool you have for attracting a large audience of simpatico peeps.  You can connect with up to 5,000 people and businesses and message every single one directly or collectively through lists.  You can share any kind of media (pictures, videos, audios, links, blogs, websites...) with your people.  Take it from someone who has taken 12 years to build an e-list of 2,000 - and in only 3 years topped out my Facebook - Facebook can be built fast!  Now that I have topped out my facebook, I can go through my network and weed out any who are not a true match for me and my message.  Soon I will have an emensely powerful network of completely aligned souls.  And all it takes is a bit of time each day to connect with people you relate to.

LINKED IN ANSWERS is a wonderful way to share your expertise with others who are seeking answers.  I have only recently begun to use this tool and have already attracted inquiries in to my services.  What you do is go to LinkedIn and click "More" in the navigation bar, then "Answers"  You will see all sorts of questions in a variety of categories.  Select the categories appropriate for you and see how many questions you can answer there.  I immediately attracted some "Best Answer" accolades which helps me build my leadership within LinkedIn.  The more I answer, the more likely I am to attract people seeking answers.  It's a wonderful way to help others, too.