Become an Authority in Your Niche
One of the reasons to produce and share content that you’ve created is to become an authority in your niche. As an expert in your niche you will get a certain amount of respect, which leads to more traffic due to your perceived expertise. But, in order to become an expert you must start at the beginning.
Niche? What exactly is that, you may ask? In simple terms, it is the specific area of expertise your blog focuses on: parenting, finances, savings, etc.
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Blog Consistently
Blog about much focused topics, starting from a beginner’s perspective and working your way up over the next year to a more advanced perspective. Also, guest blog strategically on websites that market to your audience. Blogging often is the best way to get traffic to your website.
Write Articles
Write and distribute articles about your niche on topics your audience would be interested in. Find online and offline magazines in which to contribute as an expert in your niche. If you submit a compelling article, it’s likely your submissions will be used. Whether online or offline, this type of content helps establish you as an expert to the public.
Become a Resource
Let the local and national press know that you’re a resource they can call on when they need a quote about your niche. You can do this in a variety of ways, such as sending email to reporters when they write about your niche, making blog comments, and using a service like HARO (Help a Reporter Out). HARO is a way that you can sign up to be a source to qualified reporters on any topic you choose. There are free and paid opportunities.
Set up Consistent Public Profiles
No matter whether it’s Facebook, LinkedIn, or your blog, your profiles should be very consistent. You want to be very careful about contradicting who you are across accounts. Ensure that you essentially say the same thing on each social media account but in different ways based on the type of social media account. For instance, LinkedIn is more business and buttoned up, while Facebook is more social – more like an after-hours business event. Of course, be businesslike and professional on all accounts.
Send Out Press Releases
When you do something exciting in your business, whether it’s publishing a book, having a webinar, or conducting an interview for a radio show or podcast, send out a press release. Press releases are a good way to get online back links to your website but they’re also a good way to get in print.
Form Partnerships with Other Experts
Collaboration is a key area for me. I truly believe that we could be so much more successful if we would combine our knowledge, reach and audiences. A really good way to get your name out there is to form a joint venture with another expert. Perhaps you know an expert who markets to your audience but performs or creates a complementary service or product. Seek to do something with that person such as a webinar, podcast show, or jointly write an informative eBook.
Finally, it’s important to work on yourself and your knowledge of the area you want to become an expert in. Malcolm Gladwell, in his bestselling book, Outliers: The Story of Success, surmised that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert on any topic. Seek to keep learning as you become a true expert. You don’t have to wait until you’ve spent 10,000 hours to start presenting yourself as an expert. If you start now, by the time you are truly recognized as an expert you’ll be close.