Wait – it actually can be almost that easy.
The first thing you need to know about becoming an expert is WHY you want to be one. People want to buy your products and services when you are viewed as an expert. They also want to promote you. Whether sharing your stuff via social media or interviewing you for the news, you become THE person in your niche that people gravitate to.
The second thing to know is HOW to be seen as an expert, which works like this: You need to ACT like an expert, THINK like an expert, and SPEAK like an expert. And all three of these will become natural when you believe you are the expert. But what if you don’t think you’re an expert? Then start acting like you are, and your actions will bring about the belief.
Of course, none of this is of any value if you don’t have a clue when it comes to your niche. That’s why constant study and practice in your field are essential. You’ve got to know what you’re talking about, and the best way to do that is to learn from others and your own experience.
So how do you get others to view you as the go-to person, the expert they should do business with? Here are 12 methods:
1. Choose your niche carefully. It’s much easier to be a big fish in a small pond than a whale in the ocean. For example, if you want to be a business coach, you’ve got a ton of competition. But if you coach massage therapists on how to grow their businesses, you can very quickly become a whale of a fish in that particular pond.
2. Act like you have a list of thousands, even when making your debut blog post. Be a professional from day one by imagining you have thousands of people depending on what you say and do. Sure, the only person reading your blog is your grandma, but remember that will change soon. Hundreds of thousands will eventually read the debut post you write today, so make it good.
3. Use a great incentive to build your list from Day 1. Keeping them updated on your blog posts will yield some subscribers, but offering a coveted bribe will get you far more. And if your incentive isn’t ready yet, tell them what it is and that by adding their email, you’ll send them a copy the moment it’s prepared.
4. Write a newsletter. Yes, an actual newsletter. And do it weekly. Please put it in PDF form so readers can download it. Anything in PDF has a higher perceived value, probably because PDFs are often paid for.
5. Interview experts for your newsletter. When you have an expert interview in your PDF newsletter, it raises your own perceived stature considerably.
6. Hold webinars. This is less effective in the online marketing niche because it’s already done so extensively. But if you are in any other place, offer to hold webinars and give free teaching. You can make these offers via social media and also list owners. You aim to get ahead and help as many people as possible. Ensure they sign up for the webinar – this lets you capture their email address. And if you don’t yet have a product to promote, offer individual or group coaching at the end of the webinar. Split proceeds with the list owner (if there is one.)
7. Guest blog. The more high-traffic websites you can appear on, the better. Always insert your short bio at the end and offer them your free incentive to click your link.
8. Pay attention to what people ask you – it’s essential. The questions you receive are a great indication of what’s on the minds of your prospects. Find ways to answer those questions straightforwardly.
9. Skip the big words. You might think being an expert means using a lot of big words and fancy phrases, but being an expert means having the capability to help others further their goals – no fancy jargon is needed.
10. Find your voice and your message and stick to them. You don’t need to know everything about everything. What you do need to know is a whole lot about a real little. Choose your stand on a topic and make your best case – don’t try to make everyone else’s case as well. For example, if your frame is that massage therapists can do 100% of their marketing and do it entirely through the Internet, don’t tell them how to hire a marketing agency or place a newspaper ad – tell them how to do their online marketing. That’s it.
11. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. You can if you want to, but you don’t have to. You might think that to be an expert, you must constantly think up new ways of doing things, but that’s not true. 99 times out of 100, it’s best to stick with what works. For that 100th time, test it yourself before advising anyone else to try it.
12. Recycle your content. A blog post can become an article in your newsletter, which can become the content for your latest video, etc.
Remember: When you think, act, and speak like an expert and have the knowledge to back it up, you ARE the expert. It is that simple.
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