Not all that long ago, when I was writing for magazines, I sought out an agent in New York to help sell my words. “Magazine articles,” said he, “they are mighty hard to sell. Unless you have a niche, you know, a brand!”

A brand? For a magazine or book writer? Well, yes. He proudly pointed out that he represented a writer known through the publishing industry simply as “Mr. Dog” because he was the go-to guy when anyone needed an article or small book about just about any kind of dog or dog training. The idea, said the agent, is to brand yourself so people can quickly make a link in their mind between you and the product they want to buy.

There is a former CNN producer in Washington who years back wrote a fairly good book on terrorism. The book sold, he made money, he left CNN and now, he is a brand - Mr.Terrorism Expert. When anyone in the media need an expert to quote or get a good soundbite from, all someone has to say is :”Let’s get a hold of that Terrorism Expert,” and before you can say “bin Laden” an emailing is flying to this guy inviting him bask in the glow of media exposure.

Can you do it? How about on a smaller scale?

Sure.

Say you are in a lucrative legal practice. You handle many cases. That’s well and good, the variety and what not, but hard to define for media types looking for an “expert” to quote on a given topic. The media are basically lazy institutions and ,for the most part, will seek out those who are the easiest to get even if they are not the best ones to get. But, if you can manage to be both, all the better.

So, you may want to make sure the local press, radio and television, know that you handle more cases of drunk driving,say,than just about any lawyer in town. In fact, you are Mr.Drunk Driver Lawyer and the one the press MUST go to in order to fill out their story, the name that comes to mind without any further thought.

Congrats. You have become a band name.