Dog the Bounty Hunter.

Bill Nye the Science Guy.

While plumbing, bounty hunting and science might be worthy industries, few would have ever thought they might be the breeding grounds of some of today’s unlikeliest celebrities. But such is the case when we live in a world where the popular media, indeed popular culture, is plugged in and turned on 24/7, 365 days a year.

Being an industry expert is easier than ever these days, but perhaps you feel a little “industry envy” when it comes to your field. Believe me, no field is too big, or too small, to brand yourself as the go-to expert.

Think New Hudson, Michigan is too isolated to be a hot spot for experts and celebrities? Think gardening is too insignificant a subject to own as the go-to expert and publish books and have your own radio show? Jerry Baker disagrees; known as “The Flower Expert,” Jerry has carved out an enviable niche for himself that stretches far beyond the finger lakes.

According to Jerry’s website, “Jerry Baker is the author of more than 50 books, including Jerry Baker’s Flower Garden Problem Solver, Jerry Baker’s Giant Book of Garden Solutions, Jerry Baker’s Green Grass Magic… and Plants Are Like People… His radio show, On the Garden Line, is syndicated nationwide, and his gardening specials have been televised on PBS.”

Now, I think we all agree that’s a resume to be proud of and expertise to be coveted. So how did Jerry Baker, Joe the Plumber, Dog the Bounty Hunter and Bill Nye the Science Guy do it?

Simple; they answered the following eight quick questions to determine whether or not their expertise could support the kind of career that celebrities are made of:

1. Does what I do have value? We all like to think what we do is valuable, not just to us, but to the world at large. Every job has value; we just have to determine exactly what ours is.
2. Do I love what I do? Celebrities, experts, pundits, gurus, call them what you will, the go-to people in ANY field absolutely love what they do. Chances are if you’re reading this article, you do too.
3. Do I love talking to people about what I do? Celebrities are natural talkers, not because they like to hear themselves speak but because they just can’t help but share their enthusiasm for what they do with other people.
4. Do I wish more people could do what I do? Experts in every field naturally believe their field is THE field; they want everyone to share their love of gardening, plumbing, accounting, flying, etc.
5. Do I have an intense desire to reach a bigger audience? We all want to go a little farther, reach a little more and do it a little faster, but experts in their fields really do enjoy dominating a larger playing field each year they’re in the game.
6. Do I know my passion inside and out? One thing that always amazes me about my clients is how well they know their business. Experts aren’t called that because they “kinda, sorta” know what they’re talking about. When you know your field backward and forward, you are ready, willing and most importantly able to Celebritize Yourself.
7. Do I want more credibility through books, CDs, interviews and more? Modern experts recognize that they must become “celebrities” to get the recognition and credibility they deserve; they see this as a natural progression of their industry expertise.
8. Do I want to learn more by teaching more? Lastly, every expert I’ve ever met, written about, helped publicize or interviewed for my radio show has been a natural-born teacher. People with expertise want to share that expertise, and do so willingly; in teaching others about what it is they do (plumbing, bounty hunting, science, flowers), they learn even more – about themselves, their audience and their industry.

So you see, becoming a world-recognized expert in your field – in any field – doesn’t require a Ph.D., a 90210 zip code or a nationally-televised talk show. All you need to dominate your field, any field, is the confidence to Celebritize Yourself and the right answers to all of the above questions.

However, over the last decade, a new kind of celebrity has emerged – the expert celebrity. These are people who are absolutely at the top of their professions, and find a way to use the media to offer their expertise to the masses.

From Cesar Millan (The Dog Whisperer), Martha Stewart, and Bob Vila to Dr. Phil, Suze Orman and Rachel Ray, expert celebrities are taking over television, radio, print publications and the Internet. Moreover, according to media expert Marsha Friedman — author of Celebtritize Yourself from Warren Publishing (www.celebritizeyourself.com) – the next celebrity expert could well be you.

“In today’s world of specialty programming on TV and radio and with the explosion of web marketing, online media and social media marketing – becoming a celebrity is no longer just for the A list of movie stars and recording artists we normally think of,” Friedman said. “Today, we have celebrity attorneys, celebrity chefs, celebrity financial experts and fitness guru’s – we even celebrity bounty hunters! So, if you’re in business and are focused on expansion, there is no better way than to become a celebrity expert in your field.”

Friedman believes that these expert celebrities and those who’d like to be expert celebrities have one primary thing in common – at one time, they were all just working folks.

“These were people on the street with a passion for what they do and with a valuable knowledge that people need,” she said. “Rachel Ray worked at a candy counter at Macy’s before her passion, her ingenuity and her personality enabled her to forge her own celebrity status. In most cases, the expert celebrities you see in the media today were ordinary people before they became household names, but now they are truly celebrities in their fields of expertise.”

The first step that many experts take to establish their celebrity is to write a book about their area of expertise. In order to be successful, Friedman said that experts should ask themselves five questions before putting pen to paper:

• What message am I enthusiastic about that I want to convey?
• Who can benefit from it?
• How will it help them?
• Why am I the one to bring this idea to them?
• How can I make my points unique and different from what has already been said on the topic by others?

“You must ‘zero-in’ on the one singular, unifying idea that excites and energizes you – the one that urges you to get out of bed every morning – the one that defines who you are and what you represent,” she added. “This one central idea will be the driving force behind every single work within your book.”

Friedman also explained that building more business has been the primary driver behind the emergence of the expert celebrity.

“Businesses are struggling in this economy and success in today’s world requires business leaders to market in a way they may never have done before,” she added. “They need to rise above their competition, become THE ‘go-to’ guy in their field, the recognized expert people want to deal with. The credibility that comes with this recognition can build a business or turn one around that’s failing.”

For example, it might be an expert turned author like Timothy Ferriss, whose first book The 4-Hour Workweek became an instant classic and perennial bestseller, launching his status as a gold-standard consultant, speaker, expert, pundit… you name it.

Or, more recently, it could be internet sensation and media darling Susan Boyle, who stepped onto the stage of the hit show Britain’s Got Talent to low expectations, opened her mouth and sang beautifully, impressing none other than Simon Cowell and winning over the world as a bona fide Youtube sensation.

And “overnight success” Tim Ferris boasts a BA from Princeton University as well as a long list of academic, professional and personal achievements that went into the writing of his bestselling book. And while Susan Boyle may have leaped to national prominence on the strength of one widely distributed TV performance, she in fact studied theater and dance and might have pursued it earlier if she hadn’t been busy caring for her ailing mother singlehandedly.

So while the true “overnight success” may be rare, there is no denying that in this day and age celebrity is not only there for the taking – but can take you by storm if you’re unprepared. So how will you know when it’s your time to open the doorway to fame? Here are a few top signals that you’re ready for that next big step toward your own brand of celebrity:

1. You are confident in your abilities: Confidence is a skill central to all celebrities; they know their stuff and, what’s more, they “know” that they know their stuff. You can only “fake it ’til you make it” so long before being caught short in the celebrity department. True celebrities, be they household names or industry leaders like yourself, let confidence be their ticket to fame.
2. You speak success fluently: Success really is a state of mind. If you base success on your bank account, your stock price, your units shipped or your ROI, there will always be someone bigger and better at what you do. New York and LA don’t hold the patents on celebrity; wherever you are, whatever you do, whatever niche you own or expertise you enjoy, that is your ticket to celebrity anywhere in the world.
3. Your associates already see you as a celebrity: Regardless of how much money we make or our position in life, we are all capable of celebrity in our own unique ways. We may never star in a blockbuster movie, write a bestselling business book or sing on live TV, but when we find – and own – our own particular niche we can become celebrities of equal stature in our little (or not so little) corner of the world. Maybe you already are; maybe you have already wowed the local reporters, mastered the local talk show circuit and are already the go-to person for interview quotes in your neck of the woods. Or maybe you’re just the guy or gal everybody goes to with questions on finance, health, fitness, the tango or tomato growing. Don’t assume that blockbuster status comes one day to your doorstep, gift-wrapped with a card announcing itself. I meet celebrities all day long; they just don’t know it yet.
4. You can “run with the big dogs”: Celebrity requires a certain passion, enthusiasm and expertise that is impossible to fake. You can’t bluff your way through a 2-hour seminar – or even a 2-minute segment with a local reporter. If you’re sweating every answer, stumbling over every reply and desperate to run back to your office, people will see that and celebrity will elude you.
5. Celebrity is the next logical move: There comes a point in your career when you have gone as far as you can go without an injection of something special; being recognized as the celebrity expert in your field is something special – and then some!

They say “timing is everything,” but that’s only partly true; for me, timing is a big part of the Celebritize Yourself equation but so too are talent, drive, experience, skill, motivation, energy, enthusiasm, etc.

In other words, if you’re not ready at the right time – or not confident enough or experienced enough or passionate enough, etc. – then not only is the time not right but celebrity will continue to elude you. So, when IS the right time for you to become a celebrity? When the time is right for YOU.

Let these five signs alert you to the fact that your time might just be right now!

As you may know, for nearly 20 years my firm has been arranging national media exposure (TV appearances, Talk Radio interviews and print campaigns) for experts in a vast array of fields ranging from health, entertainment, finance and technology and also for corporations and their products and services.

Over the years, I’ve thought many times about writing a book that would help people become nationally recognized leaders in their field. But I didn’t want to write just another self-help book – I could have – but I knew it wouldn’t get done if my heart wasn’t in it. So, I waited until I found the message that inspired me. And now I’m very excited to tell you that my book is done and just released this week!

It’s called, Celebritize Yourself; The Three Step Method to Increase Your Visibility and Explode Your Business. I can tell you, nearly every moment spent writing this book didn’t feel like work at all – it was time spent doing something I thoroughly enjoyed.

My motivation was to give people an easy to apply formula that would influence the success of their business and help them achieve their personal goals. And the best part is anyone can do it – no matter if you are a lawyer, health professional, scholar or even restaurateur…you can “Celebritize Yourself.”

I asked a few nationally recognized experts to have a look at “Celebritize Yourself” and their responses were overwhelmingly positive.

Al Ries, the legendary marketing expert said,

“We live in a celebrity world. To take full advantage of what that world has to offer, read Marsha Friedman’s astute analysis of how to turn yourself into a celebrity. It’s a sure-fire formula for success.”

Online marketing specialist David Meerman Scott, best-selling author of The New Rules of Marketing & PR and the hit new book World Wide Rave had this to say:

“Personal branding is one of the hottest ideas out there. But most so-called experts don’t tell you enough. In her must read book, Marsha Friedman shows you how to transform your personal brand to celebrity status and how to reap the resulting rewards. Fame and fortune anyone?”

You may also know financial guru and New York Times Best Selling Author Howard Ruff. After reading my book Howard told me:

“Your book gave me back my marketing mojo. It reminded me of principles and techniques I had forgotten that once turned The Ruff Times into the biggest-selling financial newsletter out there. Your techniques really work and are worth millions!”

Lee Habeeb, Co-Creator of The Laura Ingraham Show and media coach to today’s top talk radio hosts told me:

“Celebritize Yourself” should be required reading for any professional who wants to stand out in a crowded marketplace. The truth is; celebrity isn’t only for celebrities anymore. We have celebrity political pundits, cooks, lawyers, financial experts, fitness gurus, even celebrity bail bondsmen! This is a must read for any professional who wants to take full advantage of this new media age – and the New Age of Celebrity we live in!”

As you can imagine I was really thrilled with this great response from these experts!

If you’re interested in reading my book, just go to www.celebritizeyourself.com. And if you decide to read it, I hope you enjoy it. Of course, I’d love your feedback and please stay in touch!

Warm Regards,
Marsha