BECOME AN EXPERT IN YOUR FIELD

One of the best ways to help your marketing efforts is to become the “go to expert” in your field. By promoting yourself as an expert to your target audience you gain both credibility and trust.

There is a small catch, it requires a lot of hard work but the end results are well worth the effort. Not only will your current customers become loyal followers, but you will attract new clients as you become known as “the expert”.

The following suggestions will help you get started in the right direction:

• Find out who the current experts are in your field. Meet with them if they are local; if not, introduce yourself via e-mail. Get involved in their associations.
• Expertise comes in two forms, knowledge and experience. The internet is a great source of knowledge. Start your self-education on line and supplement it with books and magazines. Attend seminars and classes in your field. Experience comes with time but knowledge can overshadow some lack of experience.
• Become a resource, share your information via blog, newsletters, news releases, newsletters, talks, etc. You may not receive compensation for your efforts but your reputation as an authority will spread.
• Getting published in a trade journal, local newspaper or writing a book, will add to your “expert status”.

The final step is to incorporate your “expert status” in all your marketing efforts. It becomes part of your story and your visibility will confirm your status.

When a leader has much influence, much can be accomplished.