When it comes to establishing your credibility and value, few things are more effective than endorsements. An endorsement puts a trusted and well-known figure behind your invention. It says to potential customers, in effect, “I wouldn’t stake my reputation on this invention unless it performed like its creator says it does.” This is an enormous help in the task of establishing your invention as something worth buying. But how do you go about getting endorsements for your invention?

Well, there are basically two types of endorsements you can get for your invention: endorsements from respected people in your field, or endorsements from celebrities. We will examine each type separately.

Endorsements from those in your field

Getting a respected authority in your field to endorse your invention is an excellent way to build credibility. Fortunately, getting one is a bit easier than getting celebrity endorsements. There are a few ways to go about it. One way is to contact the person you are seeking an endorsement from and simply ask for one. Tell him or her that you are willing to send them one of your widgets and that you would appreciate a few positive sentences to use in your promotional materials. Nine times out of ten, the person you ask this of will be happy to help. Just be respectful of their time and be sure to thank them if they do help you.

If you are not sure how to strike up a conversation with this person, try flattery! After all, if you are in the same field as this person, you should have some common ground right there. If they have a great product on the market, tell them how big a fan you are, how you use it yourself, how you have recommended it to others. This builds some good will between you and establishes a basis for continued conversation. Once this has been done, feel free to come right out with something like “Hey, so speaking of kitchen widgets, I just invented a really neat new so-and-so and I was wondering if I could send you one to check out and possibly review for me. A testimonial from someone as accomplished as you could really help.”

Where do you find professionals in your field? Typically, trade journals, conferences, or periodicals are the best source for this information. Anyone who publishes papers or is generally considered an authority in a field will probably be in these publications. You can also ask your colleagues if they know anyone of importance.

Endorsements from celebrities

Now, a word of caution: A-List celebrities like Angelina Jolie probably won’t be singing your invention’s praises anytime soon. However, that does not rule out local celebrities! An excellent article on Helium.com gives some practical tips on how to find them:

“Try local celebrities. Many local radio personalities are not only expected, but contractually required to advertise for a certain number of sponsors. Contact your local radio stations, and you’ve got your celebrities. Local acting schools and modeling agencies are filed with eager students, always needing a few shots and spots to boost their portfolio.

If you do want to spend the bigger bucks, subscribe to the professional version of the Internet Movie Database and gain access to actor’s agencies. While you may not net or afford any A-Listers, there are plenty of more obscure actors who would consider giving an endorsement.”

Of course, it helps if your invention is in some way related to what the celebrity is known for. For example, it would not make very much sense to ask a radio DJ to pipe up your latest suite of computer programming tools. But if you just invented a new kind of stereo speaker or sports widget, a radio DJ would be a perfect fit. Seek out celebrities that have something in common with your field, and you will drastically increase your odds of scoring that killer endorsement.

We live in a celebrity obsessed world, so it certainly makes sense to try and get one to endorse your invention. However, it may be far more effective to go the first route: getting one from a credible authority in your field. These are people who your customers already know and trust. You can only benefit from capitalizing on their good will. Additionally, some celebrities are very polarizing. Half of your customers might love someone while the other half despises them. It would be a shame to alienate potential customers over something trivial like that. Therefore, you should take care to only seek out neutral celebrities that don’t engender a whole lot of controversy.

If you are diligent and selective in the process of seeking endorsements, you will almost certainly secure one. It is simply a matter of getting out there and making the necessary phone calls.

Eric Corl is the Founder and CEO of IdeaBuyer.com, the online marketplace for intellectual property that gives inventors the opportunity to showcase their intellectual property to consumer product companies, entrepreneurs, retailers, and manufacturers. You can email him at EricCorl@IdeaBuyer.com.

While the swift cut-and-parry of creation is the heart of an inventor’s life, there is another important component – networking. Let’s face it; no matter how great your invention may be, you can always benefit from talented professionals in your field that might be willing to lend a hand. Maybe it’s that database programmer you’ve been scouring the earth for, or that distributor you need to get your product on store shelves, or a patent attorney to make sure your intellectual property is protected. Whatever the case may be, there are steps you can take to put yourself in the path of networking success. In this article, we will examine five of the most helpful. By applying these tips to your day-to-day efforts, you will increase your odds of meeting the people you need to move your invention forward.

1) Have a clean, approachable website.

The benefit of having a simple website to send people to cannot be stressed enough. Let’s say you are at a party or industry conference. Suddenly, you meet a new colleague and the two of you get to talking about your respective projects and goals. As the conversation comes to a close, the colleague asks you, “So, how can I stay abreast of what you’re up to, how can we keep in touch?” If you are networking-savvy inventor, you will reply, “Oh, no problem! My website is www.JohnDokes.com, it has all my contact information and what I’m working on. Check up on me there from time to time!”

This is extremely simple to do. Your website does not have to be flashy or fancy; a clean, black text on white background HTML layout will do just fine. As mentioned, your website should include your name, profession, hobbies, and areas of expertise, achievements, and maybe a periodical blurb about what things of importance you are working on at the time.

2) Print business cards and carry them at all times.

But what happens when you meet someone on the fly? There isn’t always time to scribble down web URLs or phone numbers, and lack of preparedness could kill an otherwise great networking contact. Fortunately, this does not have to befall you. The solution is a timeless standby of professionals everywhere: business cards! Simply visit your local Kinkos and print up 200 standard business cards with your name, e-mail address, mobile phone, and anything else you deem relevant. Then, make a point of carrying 5-10 of them in your wallet with you at all times. With business cards in tow, you will be able to capitalize on networking opportunities wherever you happen to be – on vacation, at restaurants or coffee shops, even in the grocery store. You truly never know when you will meet someone important.

3) Consider a separate phone line or wireless phone for professional purposes.

While not an absolute necessity, you need to consider how a potential contact or partner might perceive you. If they call your house line and hear lots of family commotion in the background, it might send the message that you are ill-prepared to take on a serious venture of any kind. Whether this is reasonable to infer or not, perception is reality for many people. Therefore, it might make sense to get a separate landline or wireless phone for your professional needs. You would then print this number on your website and business cards instead of your house phone. A wireless phone is best because you can carry it with you and never miss an important call. In addition to upholding your professionalism, doing this also helps you delineate between different areas of your life.

4) Follow leads wherever they may appear.

Anyone who has been in business for long knows that leads and opportunities can crop up almost anywhere, at any time. It is not uncommon for new business partners to meet on vacation, over dinner and drinks, or while playing golf at a country club. Therefore, you should keep this in the back of your mind and be ready to pounce on new opportunities as they arise. If you are out on the green with someone and you get to talking about your professions, there is no shame in “testing the waters” and seeing if he is interested in new projects. Do not assume that just because you aren’t in a business setting, you cannot pursue business leads. Truly successful inventors are creative and resourceful.

5) Use the direct approach whenever possible and appropriate.

Many people take a passive approach to life. Instead of acting to bring about some outcome, they simply hope it comes to be through osmosis. When it comes to networking, this attitude is a death sentence. If you want to meet the best people and bring them into the fold, you need to proactively seek them out. Let’s say you are in desperate need of a graphic designer, for instance. Throw up an ad on Rent-A-Coder that says you’re looking for one! Better yet, ask around your circle of friends and contacts to see if they know anyone with the skills you need. This is how networking happens. Of course, you should seek to establish some kind of relationship with a person before you just mine them for contacts. You wouldn’t want to bombard someone you just met. But by all means: once you are on good terms with someone, feel free to ask them who they know.

Apply these tips to your inventing and you will soon find that networking is not so difficult and it can make the difference between a successful invention and a failed one.

Eric Corl is the Founder and CEO of IdeaBuyer.com, the online marketplace for intellectual property that gives inventors the opportunity to showcase their intellectual property to consumer product companies, entrepreneurs, retailers, and manufacturers. You can email him at EricCorl@IdeaBuyer.com.

Ethanol, the long-time front-runner among gasoline alternatives, might have to step aside for a new technology from British energy company BP. As early as this spring, gasoline stations in Britain could begin offering butanol, an easily transportable and more energy-efficient substitute to ethanol. It will be distributed as part of a trial period that will determine public response to the new fuel and its marketability.

The process by which butanol is created is very similar to that of ethanol. “[It] is a type of alcohol that’s made by fermenting sugars with microbes, such as bacteria or yeast,” said Popular Science magazine. “Most ethanol is produced from corn, wheat and sugarcane.” It’s important to note the similarities between the two, but the differences are what make butanol a more plausible fuel alternative.

Butanol is a more viable energy source than ethanol in part because of its superior energy density. Philip New, president of BP Biofuels, explains that ethanol only provides about two-thirds the energy density of gasoline compared to the upper 80 percent that butanol provides. This means that one gallon of butanol will provide only 10-15 percent less energy than one gallon of gasoline – a huge achievement in a world that isn’t quick to sacrifice performance for a cleaner environment.

Another considerable benefit is the easy storage of butanol. “It isn’t as corrosive [as ethanol], so we don’t have issues with it at higher concentrations beginning to eat at aluminum or polymer components in fuel systems and dispensing systems,” New said. The inability to store a volatile substance could easily affect its practicality as a gasoline replacement.

Additionally, butanol can be transported using existing gasoline pipes. Water gets in pipes with any fuel system; gasoline and butanol allow the water to settle out of the bottom. Ethanol, however, mixes with the water, causing potential problems with the integrity of the final product. New said the big problem, though, is that if the same fuel line used to transport ethanol is then used for aviation fuel, there is the potential of water contamination of the aviation fuel, which could be a very serious problem.

Although butanol has many advantages over the more commonly known ethanol, it is not flawless. According to Popular Science, butanol is far less-efficient to make than ethanol largely because it is more toxic to the microbes that ferment it. Because of this, every bushel of corn produces less than two percent butanol in comparison to 12 percent ethanol.

This variation in the amount of fuel yielded is bringing the affordability of butanol into question. The less butanol extracted from a particular feedstock, the more resources required to produce a certain quantity of butanol. Technology Review said ethanol relies heavily on government subsidies and questions the affordability of butanol if they do not receive any. In response, New said he is unsure if butanol will need subsidies from the government. He thinks that it is important, however, to change the way subsidies are offered. “A transition away from subsidizing biofuels on the basis of volume towards subsidizing on the basis of energy content would represent a level playing field,” he said. “By subsidizing volume, you’re effectively supporting less-energy-efficient alternatives.” It is a valid point considering the high energy efficiency of butanol as compared to ethanol.

Steps, however, are being taken to improve butanol’s fermentation yields. BP has enlisted the help of chemical company DuPont to help engineer microbes that can better sustain themselves in the fermentation process. According to Popular Science, “John Ranieri, head of biofuels development for DuPont, [said] this will drastically improve butanol’s yield, clearing the way for what is potentially a much more useful fuel.”

Though the primary, short-term goal of butanol use is providing alternative fuel to the automotive industry, it is not limited to that. Boeing has teamed up with Virgin Green Fund, a sub-brand of Richard Branson’s Virgin Group conglomerate, to explore the use of alternative fuels, including butanol blends, in aviation, said Popular Science. With increased efficiency through the work of DuPont, there are better chances that butanol use in aviation could become a reality.

Butanol and ethanol both have significant potential as permanent alternatives to gasoline. Although ethanol has provided an excellent renewable source of energy, butanol promises to be a much more reasonable substitute. Its superiority in energy output far outweighs its issues with low yields from feedstock. Further, the collaboration between BP and DuPont will undoubtedly minimize its production problems. With improved efficiency, butanol might become an important player in the future of biofuel.

John Gerbich is the Staff Writer for IdeaBuyer.com, a marketplace for new technology and products that allows inventors to showcase their intellectual property to consumer product companies, entrepreneurs, retailers, and manufacturers. Visit the site by clicking here > Patents for Sale.