How to Position Yourself as an Authority in Your Niche

How to Position Yourself as an Authority in Your Niche
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By MaryEllen Tribby

"Who me? An expert?"

Yes, nearly everyone has the ability to be a thought leader, an authority or an expert in their niche.
Remember you don't need to know
everything
about your topic to be considered an expert - you just need to know more than the average person.
There a number of effective ways to position yourself as a thought leader in your niche without spending a fortune on marketing.
Know Your Niche
The first step is to know your niche inside and out. Make sure you can answer these three questions:
  • What do your customers want and need most?
  • What are their pain points, that is, their most important problems that they need to solve?
  • Where do they hangout online?
Customers are looking for solutions that actually work and offer good value for money. They are constantly asking the question, "What's in it for me?" With so many websites and businesses online, you need to answer that question from the moment they show up at your website or discover one of your products online.
Offer the Answers
Once you know what your niche needs, the second step is to offer solutions to them in a number of ways.
Start with your website. Make sure your website has information on every product and service you offer. Include a Marketplace that links to every product. Your site needs to look professional, with an easy-to-use layout that is mobile-friendly.
Your niche-related content must be worth taking the time to read. Just because it is free does not mean it should be junk. In fact, publishing impressive niche content regularly is a great way to position yourself as a thought leader.
Frankly you have the best example of this right in front of you. Heck each week Working Moms Only brings you GREAT content. As a matter of fact colleagues ask me all the time, why I give this away when I could be charging a boatload (when will they learn? :) ) .
Your Lead Generation Website
Use your site as a lead generation tool in order to build your email marketing list. In this way, you can communicate with your list on regular basis, presenting your niche customers with information, products and services that will prove you know what you are talking about.
The products you promote can be yours, or affiliate products you are selling for a commission. They might also be Joint Venture (JV) products you are promoting to your list in exchange for your partner promoting your items to theirs.
In order to get people to sign up for a mailing list or inbox magazine these days, you need to go beyond the free newsletter offer and give away a compelling special report that website visitors can download that will be packed with information (and links to buy products) related to your niche.
Your special report should solve one big problem your target market has. Aim for a broad topic most people interested in your niche will be eager to read, and even to pass on to others via email or social networks. Just look at WorkingMomsOnly.com and MaryEllenTribby.com for great examples.
Work with Joint Venture Partners
Working with JVs gives you other opportunities to show yourself as a thought leader. These include writing reviews of every product you sell as an affiliate or a partner. JVs might also invite you to participate in an online webinar or interview you as an expert in your niche.
Syndicate Your Best Articles
You might even get some guest blogging opportunities in which you write articles for some of the top blogs in your niche to show what you know.
At a minimum, use some of the syndication sites to get your name out there and include your bio.
Publish an Infographic
One of the easiest ways to be seen as a thought leader is to publish an infographic on your topic. Create a list of 5-6 steps and have an outsourcer turn it into an infographic for you. Be sure to include a link to your landing page to sign up for your special report, your photo to make it more personable, and a short bio to display your expertise. Just look at this infographic as it has been passed along on social outlets over 500,000 times!



Write a Book

One of the best ways to give yourself instant expertise is to write a book and publish it on Amazon. It doesn't have to be an encyclopedia of everything you know about your niche. Many bestselling books are usually ones with "How To" somewhere in the title, offering real solutions to your readers.

Publish it as an e-book through the Kindle Digital Platform first. If there is enough demand, publish it in paperback as well. Get a great cover designed for $5 on fiverr.com.

Offer High-Value Webinars

You can also offer high-value webinars to your community to share your expertise. Use the webinar to give them the "what" to solve a problem. Then your paid products or services complete the "how." This not only builds your credibility as a thought leader, but also helps sell your products and services by leading your prospects directly to your solution. And it is easier to do that today than ever before. As a matter of fact click here to see a great solution for webinars made easy.

Becoming a thought leader, expert or authority in your niche is easy if you give your prospects what they want and need, and show you are in the know about all the top products and services available, not just your own.

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