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Exploring the New Breed of Celebrity

It used to be that the only way to be a celebrity was to be on TV, in the movies, or to do something completely lame.

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."

Marsha Friedman is a prominent business woman who has run her company successfully through prosperity and adversity, ironically having one of her best revenue years in the midst of 2008's recession. As a radio personality and public speaker, Marsha can be heard every week on the nationally syndicated talk radio show "The Family Roundtable" where problems that modern families face are discussed. Marsha and her co-hosts have enjoyed interviewing family experts as well as celebrities such as Tony Curtis, Ed Begley Jr, Augusten Burroughs, Faith Evans, Vicki Lawrence, Denise Jackson, Janine Turner and Rose Rock.