Become a participant yourself
If you want online respect you'll need a significant and honest presence online. The easiest and simplest way to do this is to start a blog. One reason to have a blog is because when you start communicating with someone, they're going to want to know who you are and what you do. Writing an introductory email won't cut it. They'll want to see your public profile and what you write about.
Here's how you do it:
Create a blog -
Wordpress is easy to use and set up. It's free. But most importantly it has the largest developer community around it so if you want to add elements to your blog, you can. Blogger and TypePad are also easy to use but they don't have the flexibility to grow and customize like Wordpress.
Write an about page - Explain who you are and what the blog is about. Maybe add a list of your clients. Include contact information (email and if you want, your phone number) as well.
Make a few blog entries - You've got to fill it up with something. Start off with three entries. Speak personally about your business. Keep this in mind as you're writing: You want to be seen as a voice in your industry. What do you have to say that would be of value to your colleagues?
Tell all your friends about it - This is not a situation of "If you build it, they will come." You have to let people know you're out there.
