As a trainer you are an influence professional. In order to have the greatest amount of influence you need to get your message out to as many people as possible. Speaking and training are methods for getting your message out and you can reach a limited number of people through these modalities. In order to get your message out to a broader audience you need to write. When you write your message has the ability to impact people around the world. What should you write?
Write articles for the ILEETA Journal (if you are not a member then go to www.ileeta.org and join).
Write for law enforcement publications like lawofficer.com, policeone.com, officer.com or one of the many other online or print trade periodicals.
Write a blog.
Write a guest post for someone else’s blog.
Write an e-zine or newsletter.
Write for your agency, association, FOP or PBA newsletter.
Write a book.
Write an e-book.
The key is to write.
I hear a number of trainers talk about how they would like to get at least one article published, but they have never submitted anything for consideration. The worst that can happen when you submit an article is the editor does not accept it. That happens for a variety for reasons and it happens to everyone. Sometimes the piece needs more work, sometimes it is not a good fit for that periodical, sometimes the timing is wrong, and sometimes your style does not resonate with the publisher. So you get rejected. Big deal. Get over it, rewrite the submission to make it better and resubmit it to someone else. Sometimes however, your article gets accepted and gets published. When that happens start working on your next article.
The only way to become a better writer is to write. In fact here is some very sound advice:
Make sure you check out Copyblogger for some great tips on blogging.
Take care.
Brian Willis
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