I drew Dan Heath, co-author of Switch, and the keynote speaker at a recent NTen Technology Conference on my iPad

Has this ever happened to you?

You are in a roomful of people who you would love to get to know.  People who are important or influential connectors in your field.  How are you going to make a good impression on them so that they remember you and better yet, want to work with you?

Why people connect

Think about it.  Why do you want to meet certain people?  For world peace?  For a better tomorrow?

People connect to benefit themselves.  Simple and plain.  If you happen to cure cancer along the way, great.  Now why would someone read your blog?  To increase your subscriber list?  To move you to higher in Google search?

Are you kidding?

People will read your blog if it helps them save money, learn how to do something or meet somebody.  To solve a problem or to make their lives better. Think about it.  You search for a deal on airline tickets, how to invest, where to go for fresh gnocchi, etc.  You read blogs that are all about the things you are interested in so that you can learn stuff and connect with similar spirits.  It is all about your readers, not you.

Here’s a simple twist on human nature

There is another reason people go on line.

They like to see themselves in the blogosphere.  People love to see who is responding to their tweets, who liked the photo of themselves they just posted on Facebook, who left a comment on their blog.  They want to be noticed, they want their presence to be acknowledged.  They want other people to see them.

Knowing this, I have a secret weapon for all of you ninjas:

Sketchbook Pro for iPad

How can a drawing program help me?

So glad you asked.

You don’t have to be a portrait artist to do this.  Stick figures, flattering of course, will work just as well with a little creativity on your part.

1. Download SketchBook Pro on your iPad You can get the free version to start off.  If you want more features, the upgraded version is about $7.  Use your stylus to take notes.  I picked one up at the Apple store.  You can also get them online if you Google “cheap iPad stylus”.
2. Use your stylus to capture quick sketches I like doing quick sketches of speakers at conferences.  Here are some of  the smart folks I heard from at the NTen Technology Conference who told us why you should be in the Google nonprofit program.
3. Take photos with your phone camera Can’t draw fast enough?  Can’t draw?  Take pictures of people with your phone camera.  If you have a really nice camera, use it.  Try to get good close ups of their faces.  Many times I produce a sketch from the photos I take.  The great thing about SketchBook Pro is that you can scribble notes on your sketch so if you do a lot of conference blogging like I do, you can capture both text and image.
4. Get business cards This is what I always do:  Go up to the people you have just captured in a sketch or a photo and ask them for their business card.  Smile like a media pro and say,  “I have a great sketch of you and it is going up on my blog.  Do you have a card so I can spell your name right?  I’ll send you a link.”   People will gladly exchange cards with you and remember you with interest.
5. Make notes Whatever people say to you is a story worth remembering.  Try to capture the essence of your conversation in brief notes, I am partial to  seven words or less.  You can use them later as quotes or even as captions
6. Write a hot headline If you write something that piques or provokes interest on top of your sketch, people will be curious and want to read on.  Here’s a great piece on Copyblogger about how to write magnetic headlines.
7. Link and love Remember those business cards?  Link to them if they have a blog or a website.  I like to send a personal email with the link inviting them to read my post and see themselves!

People love seeing themselves drawn and photographed.  And shared with you.

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Style Notes from me, your artspy

Hoong Yee

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– Forward the link to someone you think would be interested

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– Put a link to the blog in your Facebook status update

Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help.

Word of mouth is the best way to share, don’t you agree?