7. If your ad has appeared on TV or your press release has appeared in news, provide an "As Seen on" link to story or press release.

8. Announce a professional article with your by-line/powerful resource box at least once every 2 weeks.

9. If your articles appear in prestigious publications, create an ‘My articles as seen on’ directory on your website, giving dates and names of publications and online links where your article appears online.

10. Publish a periodic newsletter to maintain regular contact with your clients. And try to help them out as much as you can.

11. Prominently display your privacy policy, terms of operation and procedure of work/code of conduct/ ethics on your website.

12. Tell your clients how many hours you will be spending on their order, how much expertise and technique you will be putting in, how difficult it is, your exact method of operation. Display some finished samples of your work.

13. Tell them how good you are, how well appreciated, how many awards you have received.

14. Join organizations like icop or BBB and prominently display their logos on your website.

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Shahnaz Rauf is a freelancer actively seeking writing projects. She is also The Editor of The Monster Twister - a Newsletter helping ordinary web owners achieve extraordinary heights without losing their shirts. To Subscribe mailto:themonstertwister-subscribe@snzeport.com Or visit http://www.snzeport.com

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Another technique for this situation is to paraphrase speaker’s point. Interrupt when he or she takes a breath and say, “So you’re saying that…” and when they agree, you turn to rest of group and ask if anyone has anything to add or a different perspective. Thus you use power of paraphrasing to help speaker be concise while taking back control of group.

How you close a meeting is very important. Much like mythical vampires who fade away at sunrise, many meetings tend to splutter to a close when allotted time runs out. We’ve all been in meetings where chairperson is trying to set up another meeting while attendees bolt for exits.

Energize participants by doing this. Five minutes before end, call a halt to discussion and revisit each of agenda items and state what was decided. Then identify next steps with specifics. “Sandy, you will investigate prices for this, right? When can you have it done?” Then set date for next meeting.

By pointing out what has been accomplished, identifying next steps, and setting next meeting, you will create a sense of momentum and people will feel time spent was productive.

Like a wooden stake, these tips will slay pale, unproductive vampire meetings and replace them with lively, effective ones. Attendees might actually look forward to your meetings! And you will, too.