So you want to be an expert in your field? Want to get to know the big wigs, who’s who, brand yourself as part of the in-crowd in your industry? Steal this strategy!

I’m looking to build my brand as a young entrepreneur, developing leaders who want to do things they are really passionate about. But how do I meet them?

Step 1: Hit http://speakers.com or any other professional speaking bureau and find your industry. I checked out Business: Leadership, Small Business, Technology, and Innovation.

Step 2: Several hundred keynotes will come up: Google them.

Step 3: Subscribe to their blogs and furiously leave comments. Make them good thoughtful comments though; stuff like “nice post, thanks” provides zero insight. Leave a good thoughtful comments and these people will start to respect you, like what you know what your talking about. Sound real smart and they’ll click your link and check you out. Bloggers love to know their readers are.

Step 4: Find them on Twitter. Either search their name in Google with the word twitter, ie: Matt Wilson twitter or do a Twitter Search for their name here. Follow them and put them in a special group in Tweetdeck. Stay ontop of what these people are doing, send them thoughtful replies, try to promote their stuff for them if you think it’s worthy and get to know them.

If you position yourself in your industry, staying on top of all the buzz, all the news and who’s who, you CAN establish yourself as the go-to person in your field. It takes a lot of time and energy–you’ve got to be all over the place. Put your name everywhere and attach it to valuable content and people will begin to listen to you as the voice you’ve imagined yourself as.

Here’s who I’m looking to meet this week:

Simon T. Bradley @stb2009 An amazing keynote and author of Release Your Brilliance. His blog: here