10 Ways to Position Yourself as an Expert, Part II |
To succeed in business, you need to be able to deliver your knowledge and help your customers trust you as an expert. In part I of this series, we discussed three ways to do that:
Now in part II of this three part series, we’ll explore three more methods: 4. Information Products As an expert, you want to make yourself the focal point for finding information on the subject you specialize in. People learn in a variety of ways, so you want to provide a variety of information products to enhance your reputation as an expert. Some ideas include books, audio, video, teleseminars and seminars. You should also create a strategic product funnel that takes your customers through different price points. The idea is to bring people into your funnel by offering something free or inexpensive, then gradually increase the price and value of the products you have available for them to buy. Here’s an example of a “funnel:”
5. Newsletters Newsletters are great for building trust and likeability with your readers. And you can make this be whatever you want it to be. It can be free or fee-based. It can be an online newsletter that you send out to your email list once a day, once a week or once a month. Or just whenever you feel like sending an email. In addition to your online newsletter, you can mail a print newsletter to all your subscribers once a month. This obviously involves more cost and more effort, but it’s worth it. It’s worth it because your readers perceive it—and you—as being more valuable. By communicating with your readers on a regular basis, you accomplish several things. One, you provide the expert information to them that they crave. Two, you build relationships with your readers. And three, you remain in the forefront of your reader’s minds. When you have that mind position, you have the power to succeed that only an expert has. 6. Speaking If you have a fear of public speaking, face it and overcome it NOW. Giving a keynote speech or presentation to a targeted audience is the quickest way to establish you as a guru and to help you find new prospects. You don’t have to be a professional speaker. You don’t have to be a great entertainer. You just have to be yourself and talk about what you know. To get started, contact other people and organizations in your niche. Let them know who you are, what your area of expertise is and that you are available to speak. You can also host your own workshops or seminars. If that thought overwhelms you, try hosting a teleseminar. That way people can hear your voice and feel a little closer to you than they do when reading your material. Not sure what to speak about? Well, if you’re writing articles, books and newsletters, you have tons of information to choose from. Just take one of your favourite articles or a chapter from your book and turn it into a speech. Maybe you’re better at speaking than you are at writing. In that case, record your speech and turn that into an article, book or topic for your newsletter. Do whatever it takes to get yourself in front of a targeted audience. Speaking communicates authority and demonstrates that you are a real person with real knowledge with a real desire to help others. People expect experts to speak and teach them from the stage, so give them what they want. The more you do it, the easier it becomes. In the last part of this series, you’ll learn four more ways to position yourself as an expert. Glen Hopkins is an internationally renowned Internet marketer and Glen specializes in helping online business owners build large, |