You may not think of yourself as an expert, but chances are, you are one. Think about what your business does. Whether you roof houses, help people market their businesses or sell jewelry, you know your industry pretty well.
Don’t you get into those conversations with people where they know so little about your field, and you have all the answers? Could you talk for hours about what you do because you love it so much? You’re an expert.
And smart entrepreneurs know that you’ve got to leverage that expertise to grow your business. I, for example, run a marketing firm called Egg Marketing & Public Relations. I live, sleep, eat and breathe marketing. And so I share my expertise on my blog, The Marketing Eggspert Blog. There, I give useful advice on how small business owners can market.
In addition to that, I have developed The Marketing EggSchool, an online selection of marketing ecourses designed to help entrepreneurs navigate the worlds of social media, press releases and internet marketing to expand their reach.
Benefits to Being an Expert
You may not see how this ties in to making money. Think about it like this. You need a graphic designer. You don’t really know one. But you’re on Twitter and you see a designer always answering questions from people and offering tips that you find useful. Wouldn’t you go to her first with your graphic design needs?
If you own a baby boutique, you can use social media or write a blog to give tips to new parents, picking clothes for a preemie or help people find products (that you carry and that you don’t). By providing a service, you establish trust with your future customers.
Here are some other reasons you need to establish yourself as an expert.
- You will become a trusted, relied upon resource for others.
- People will refer you rapidly.
- You can dominate your industry by using Twitter, Facebook and blogs to provide information.
- You can package and sell your expertise.
- You can get paid to speak publicly.
- You will get more sales the more you are known as an expert.
What about you? Are you doing what it takes to be the go-to person in your industry? When people need the kind of information you know, is yours the name that comes to mind?
If not, make a plan in 2010 to find channels to share your expertise:
- Set up a blog with a clear-cut topic you know well enough to cover.
- Establish Twitter and Facebook profiles and decide how you will provide value.
- Develop course content on a site like Prfessor to make extra cash.
- Network to find interview and speaking opportunities.
- Attend conferences to learn more and connect with good partners.
About the Author: Susan Payton is the owner of Egg Marketing & Public Relations, an internet marketing firm specializing in blogger outreach, social media, and PR. She is also the blogger behind The Marketing Eggspert Blog. She’s written two books: 101 Entrepreneur Tips and Internet Marketing Strategies for Entrepreneurs, as well as several ecourses on marketing. Follow her on Twitter @eggmarketing.
very good tips, really going to help me to grow my business, focus is the key.
Hi Susan & Jim,
Great article! I never thought of myself as an expert, however when I think of the things I have achieved over the past I guess I am an expert in many things. However in saying that I have been learning about business online for about a year now and I understand the benefits of it for offline businesses.
The sad thing is there are a lot of businesses offline that are too scared to go online! I am always telling my friends who have businesses they should be setting up blogs etc. They say "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink" I hope one day they get it especially before their competition does!
Thanks for the read.
Kind Regards
Jacinta :D
I guess this makes me an expert. I write a newsletter about precious metals that has 80,000+ subscribers. But even if I am an expert, I have established a two-way street as far as sharing information is concerned. They also share information that I don't know and I in turn share it to others. So I guess you're right that people will come to you if you're an expert. I've also just recognized the power of Facebook and Twitter and just started using it.