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American society is obsessed with celebrity. Where you once only saw them on the covers of gossip or fashion magazines and tabloids, now you see their photos on the covers of major news magazines.

What about in the marketplace? Celebrity-driven infomercials permeate television programming. The George Foreman Grill was not invented by George, but is enormously popular. Joan Rivers is currently a very powerful salesperson on QVC. Guthy Renker, the major informercial producer, was built on celebrities like Victoria Principal and Cindy Crawford.

Can a small business use celebrities to grow?

"Yes!" says Jordan McAuley, author of Celebrity Leverage and owner of the web site, www.contactanycelebrity.com.

Here are four ways to use celebrities to grow a business:

1. "Hook" a publicity story into a celebrity story. For example, Richard Blackwell became a celebrity himself by publishing an annual "worst dressed" list of celebrities.
2. Participate in celebrity "gift bag" promotions or otherwise "place" your product with a celebrity. If you can get photos of celebrities using your product or service, they are enormously valuable as part of your marketing kit.
3. Hire a celebrity. Sometimes you can hire a local celebrity, such as a local newscaster or sports figure, for a very reasonable fee. Another reasonable source of celebrities is "Love Boat" celebrities. These are the types of celebrities who used to appear on The Love Boat television series. Their careers are on the downswing, but people still recognize them.
4. Become a celebrity. Through speaking, writing, and publicity, you can gain public recognition. That recognition increases your authority and credibility, even though your skills may not be greater than your peers. (Think Dr. Phil.)

In Celebrity Leverage, Jordan McCauley provides many details about how to go about implementing strategies like these, including providing the names of booking agents and the details about how to work with celebrities.

Celebrity Leverage should be part of your marketing library.

Buy it on Amazon: Celebrity Leverage: Insider Secrets to Getting Celebrity Endorsements, Instant Credibility and Star-Powered Publicity, or How to Make Your Business - Plus Yourself - Rich and Famous.

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