You don't have to be rock-star famous before you are recognized as an authority in your field. You just have to begin to get the word out. Your goal is to be the person that people think of when your field is mentioned. At first, that may happen only locally, but take heart. Start where you are, with what you have, and you'll light a spark that could eventually become a firestorm of publicity.

Maybe you offer a workshop at your office, church, or community center. Get it in the community calendars, from newspapers to cable television. Call up your local news stations, and offer yourself as the subject of an interview. One listing or call at a time, you'll begin to make a name for yourself.

When you have an event coming up, call your local news stations and offer to interview on their early morning or noontime talk shows. Prepare for your interview by identifying two or three main points you want to make about your subject. Take a blank videocassette to record the show. Then, you can send the recording as an audition tape to a station with a wider audience.

Contribute to public discussions. Write letters to the editors of newspapers and magazines whenever they cover stories in your field. You may offer an alternate viewpoint or simply compliment them on a well-written article. The more people see your name in connection with your subject, the more they'll recognize you as an authority in your field.

You can take this strategy to the Web, too. Do you have a blog that allows you to share your thoughts and expertise on a daily basis? If not, that's one place to begin. It's quick, fun, and makes you available on the Web. If you already have a Web page, make it a habit to visit message boards in your field and post your link, along with your opinions.

Begin today to put these strategies into practice, and before the next 60 days are through, you'll have a steadily growing number of people who recognize you as the authority in your field.