Lewis Howes

Lewis Howes is an author, entrepreneur, and former professional athlete. He is considered an authority in online marketing and is a former Arena League football player.

Early life

Howes attended Principia College and Capital University and was an All-American football player and decathlete. He is the former NCAA record holder for the most receiving yards in a single game, having caught 17 passes for 418 yards in a 2002 game against Martin Luther College. He left college early to pursue professional football. However, two games into his first Arena League season he collided with a wall while diving to make a catch and snapped his wrist. He played the rest of the season with a broken wrist, and after the last game he underwent corrective surgery that ended his football career.

Following surgery, Howes spent months researching and experimenting with LinkedIn and online marketing. He used his months of research to launch SportsNetworker.com, a social media guide especially tailored to sports, and brand himself on LinkedIn.

In 2012, Howes moved to New York City to play handball for the New York Team Handball Club, and he now plays for the USA Men's National team.

Author and entrepreneur

Howes is the co-author of the LinkedIn book, LinkedWorking: Generating Success on the World’s Largest Professional Networking Website, published in 2009, and the author of The Ultimate Webinar Marketing Guide, published in 2012. LinkedWorking outlines approaches and strategies for maximum utilization of LinkedIn. He traveled to seven cities as part of his book tour to promote LinkedWorking. His philosophy for making connections on LinkedIn includes thoroughly researching potential connections, finding common ground, and crafting personal notes based on the previous items.

Howes has built multi-million dollar online businesses using only his laptop. Using his experience as a collegiate and professional athlete, Howes founded SportsNetworker in 2008, which provides professionals in the sports industry with social media marketing consulting. He then founded Sports Executives Association, a monthly membership website for sports executives that want to continue their sports business education and network with top executives, and Inspired Marketing, which creates educational materials based on social media and webinar marketing with more than 100,000 subscribers.

Reception

Howes has been referenced as:

• one of the “5 Internet Gurus Who Can Make You Rich" by Details
• "an expert on how to use LinkedIn for business" by Forbes
• the "50 Most Influential People in Blogging" by Incomediary
• a "rising star in the social media world" by Entrepreneur
• one of the top 100 “most desirable mentors” by GenJuice

Howes has received mentions in CIO magazine, The New York Times, Fast Company, TIME, Mashable, and Entrepreneur. He speaks on topics such as personal branding, online marketing, and building an online business.

External links

• Episode #13 - The Klhip Ultimate Clipper, LinkedIn Expert Lewis Howes, & Autoresponders Busyness.com
• How LinkedIn Apps Can Promote Your Business on Social Media Examiner