The Top 4 No-Brainer Shortcuts to Achieving Expert Status, Fast!

Independent service professionals often ask me how they can become a sought-after expert in their field, especially if they are just starting out. The secret lies in getting others to perceive you as an expert in your field. To achieve this, you must BE (and believe you are) an expert. After all, if you don’t believe you are an expert, how can you convince your audience that you are?

Done over and over again, the following four shortcuts will help cement your expertise in the eyes of your target market and potential clients, and keep you on their minds whenever they think of the topic that you specialize in.

1. Writing. There is no status-building strategy as effective and as cost-efficient as writing. Don’t let the common excuse of, “I’m not a good writer,” stop you from tapping into this credibility-boosting opportunity. I’m not necessarily the best writer, but I know that the more I write, the better I get. I also know that my audience cares more about content than about proper writing protocol. There are many different writing avenues that will get your name out there, such as:
   • Blog. This is my favorite form of writing, because I’m the kind of person who writes the way I speak. Blogs allow me to take a fun, conversational tone and to attract people who appreciate this approach. Write at least one longer post per week about the topic that you specialize in, that you can use as an article.
   • Article marketing. Submit your articles to online submission sites (like ezinearticles.com) to attract traffic back to your website.
   • Newsletter. Capitalize on your hard work by sending your articles to your mailing list as a newsletter. Many email broadcasting services are free when you have a small list, and are affordable as your list grows.
   • Other options. Write press releases about your new products and services, e-books that solve a problem your target market deals with; write a printed book, white paper or special report; contribute as a guest author on someone else’s blog.

   The key to using this status-building shortcut effectively is VALUABLE CONTENT. Avoid being overly general or blatantly promoting yourself; instead, inform and educate your readers, and be laser focused on their needs and concerns.

2. Speaking. Being a speaker instantly supercharges your status as an expert; it boosts your visibility and credibility and you become a sought-after and skilled professional. It is another highly effective and inexpensive strategy, and it’s another time to let go of the excuse that you’re not good enough to do it. Speaking does not need to mean giving a 45-minute keynote address in front of 500 people. Here are some simpler and less intimidating ways for you to gain expert status by speaking:
   • Volunteer to give a 5-minute presentation at local networking venues like Chambers of Commerce and Rotary Clubs.
   • Apply to be a speaker at online trade shows or expos.
   • Accept opportunities to be interviewed on radio shows or podcasts.
   • Teach a class at your local library.
   • Host a monthly teleclass.
   • Record 10-minute audios and post them to your blog, send them to your mailing list or submit them as a podcast.

If there are no events for you to speak at, create your own speaking opportunities:

The key to using speaking effectively is (can you guess?) VALUABLE CONTENT. Make sure you provide your audience with informative and educational content about a topic that they are interested in.

3. Information Products. In order to be perceived as an expert, you must consistently provide the information that your target market is searching for. Information products are the best way to give your audience this information without you having to actually “be” there.
   • Ebooks
   • Audio recordings
   • Membership sites that offer exclusive access to a variety of products
   • Special reports
   • Guidebooks
   • Ecourses
   • Tutorials
   • Teleclasses
   • Live training events
   • Coaching programs

Information products may include:

The possibilities are endless. While VALUABLE CONTENT is also the key to this strategy’s effectiveness, you will want to offer products in a wide range of price points (from free all the way to your big-ticket item).

4. Accessibility. This shortcut may not seem obvious, but as soon as you make yourself available, visible and accessible to your target market, you gain respect and people will seek out your advice. This doesn’t mean spending your day giving away your expertise on the phone or in emails. Instead, tap into the social networking scene. Let your “followers,” “friends” or “fans” know what you’re up to by updating your status. Post surveys. Answer questions relating to your field. Join groups where your target audience hangs out.

Showing up, in real time, and participating in these interactive forums will not only remind your audience that you are an expert in your area, but will also help you to gain the “know, like and trust” factor that is needed to cement your expert status.

Remember that the first key to gaining expert status in the eyes of your target market is to believe in your own expertise. Use these four strategies to share your knowledge in your own unique way, and you’ll be the first one your audience thinks of when they’re looking for an expert in your area.

© 2008 Cristina Favreau. All rights reserved.

ABOUT CRISTINA
Cristina Favreau specializes in teaching independent service professionals who struggle with marketing, so they get more visibility, build their credibility and increase their self-confidence. Get her complimentary “12 Mistakes To Avoid in Your 30-Second Intro” ecourse at http://www.cristinafavreau.com/index.htm

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You’re welcome to “reprint” this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered, including the “ABOUT CRISTINA” info above. Please send a copy of your reprint to web (at) cristinafavreau (dot) com.

Over on the Marketing Today site, you’ll find a neat little (free) tool to help you calculate your return on investment for any direct mail or email campaign. You can get there by clicking here: Marketing ROI Calculator.

Thanks to Lara Nieberding, The Data Digger for sharing this resource.

As you know, I’m working through Step 2 of my Office Organization Venture — Contact Management (following Tracey Lawton‘s The Complete Office Organization System).

If I’ve been a little quiet lately, it’s because I’m working long and hard hours on this one. This second step may prove to be the most time-consuming of all four, seeing as I’m practically starting from scratch (other than Outlook and iContact for my newsletter, I’ve never taken the time and effort to put in place a reliable, automatic and regular contact management system — now I know why!).

I spent all of last and some of this week just setting up an automated Complimentary Coaching Session scheduling procedure. Here’s how the process is broken down (completed actions steps are crossed out):

1. A potential client who checks out my web site and is interested in experiencing my no-nonsense coaching style signs up for a Complimentary Coaching Session by filling out a form.
   Action: Create sign up form in iContact.
   Action: Create Complimentary Coaching Session web page.
2. The person soon receives a “Welcome to Complimentary Coaching Session” email with scheduling instructions. They must click the link in that message to access my online scheduling program. Once there, they select an available date and time slot for our call.
   Action: Create appointment type, schedule time slots, Thank You message, and reminders in Web-appointments.com.
3. After filling out and submitting the scheduling form, the program displays (and sends an email with) a Thank You message confirming our scheduled time, calling instructions and a link to a short Pre-Session Questionnaire.
   Action: Create Pre-Session Questionnaire in iContact.
4. After answering and submitting the short Pre-Session Questionnaire — that’s it. At the scheduled time, we each dial in to my teleconference bridge line and I do the rest manually (send a thank you email with link to recording of call).
   Action: Create and set up follow-up auto responder messages in iContact.
   Action: Make Complimentary Coaching Session web page live on my site and let the calls begin!!

Isn’t that a lot of work? Not only that, each step requires testing to ensure a smooth transition to the next.

Why am I adding so many steps to this particular process? It’s simply my way of filtering serious potential clients from the not-so-serious (those just looking for a freebie coaching session). Entrepreneurs who are serious about achieving their goals, want an accountability partner and are ready to go places they haven’t before will take the time to go through each step.

What’s next in Contact Management? I’m not sure it’s ever done, especially as I make more products available to you.

With the impending arrival of baby #3 this July, I’m motivated and determined to automate as many processes as possible. That means clearly outlining a marketing funnel and setting up more auto responders.

If only there was a way to automate the article-writing process for my monthly newsletter… then (most of) my woes would be a thing of the past!

How have you automated your business? What tools have been a Godsend? What would you do differently? What systems are you working on?

Here’s an article my long-time colleague, Tracey Lawton, wrote last year which generated good feedback. She re-published it in her ezine today, so I thought I’d pass it along to you. By the way (she doesn’t even know I’m telling you this), I highly recommend you take a look at Tracey’s Complete Article Tracking Toolkit manual and workbook (it’s worth a whole lot more than the selling price of $47). Enjoy!

3 Simple and Low-Cost Marketing Strategies to Create Visibility
by Tracey Lawton

Marketing your business is one of the biggest challenges for any solopreneur – it’s a task we all find quite daunting, and are simply overwhelmed by all the information that’s available. Below I have put together some information on 3 simple and low-cost marketing strategies, which you can easily implement right away to create more visibility for your and your business. They all work well for me!

To help you decide which is the best strategy (or strategies) for you, I have listed the pros and cons of each one.

Create a Blog
Pros

• You can really show off your expertise by posting on a regular basis.
• Blog posts don’t need to be very long – approx. 200-350 words.
• If you have some important information to share, you can instantly create a post – no waiting for your next newsletter to make your announcement!
• If you use a blogging platform such as WordPress, this is hosted on your website. Each time you post to your blog you are creating fresh content for your website, which the search engines love!

Cons

• You need to post regularly – at least once a week – in order for this to be an effective marketing strategy.
• You need to feel confident that you will be able to write fresh content regularly.
• It can be difficult to build a direct relationship with your reader.

Publish an Ezine
Pros

• Unlike a blog, readers sign up to receive your newsletter so you already have a connection with them.
• You can build a relationship with your newsletter reader and encourage one-on-one communication.
• You can go into more depth in your newsletter article than you can with your blog posts.
• Your clients/target audience can get to know you through your newsletter.

Cons

• You have to make a commitment to publish on a regular basis, otherwise your subscribers will see you as unreliable, and may even forget about you!
• There is more work involved in putting together a newsletter than writing a simple blog post.
• You will need to subscribe to one of the ezine distribution services – I strongly recommend you do this and not send your ezine via your email client!

Article Marketing
Pros

• If you are already blogging or publishing a newsletter, you have your articles written.
• It is highly likely that once you submit your article to one of the article submission sites, it will be picked up and published on other article submission sites.
• Regularly submitting your articles will elevate you to ‘expert’ status within your field/niche.

Cons

• You have to write the articles if you’re not publishing a newsletter or posting to a blog.
• It takes time to manually research suitable article submission sites and submit articles.
• In order for this strategy to be effective, you have to submit your articles regularly – at least once a month.

Conclusion: You can just pick one strategy to focus on, or you can do all three! Whichever one you choose make sure it’s the right one for you. The key is to be consistent in your approach. If you decide to go with a blog make sure you have the time and motivation to add new posts regularly – at least once a week. Don’t start a newsletter if you know you won’t be able to keep to a regular publishing schedule! And for article marketing to be effective you need to submit articles on a regular basis.

WANT TO READ MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE?
Visit Tracey’s Article Library

© 2007 Tracey Lawton

Online Business Manager & Virtual Assistant Tracey Lawton, has been helping professional speakers, coaches, and authors operate an efficient, organized, and profitable business. Learn how to create an efficient and organized office in 7 EASY steps, and receive free how-to articles at www.VirtualSolutionsEzine.com