Whether you believe or not – much of business is about being the most vocal. A competitor may have a superior product but you could be the top dog if you’re the one commanding it. You see this all the time in business; sometimes it’s unfortunate to see great people go unrecognized but that’s just the nature of the game.
Expertise is about the voice. Not just the numbers.
There are millions of websites out there – thousands within your niche (most likely) – which means that competition is stiff and everyone wants a piece of the pie.
How do you cut through all that noise and become the major player in the market?
You have to take the mental shift away from being “not good enough”.
The Catch 22 of Expertise
How many times have you remarked that “it just isn’t fair that so-and-so gets all the attention”.
You could have worked your ass off creating a spectacular piece of content only to be overshadowed by a larger blog writing on the same topic – with much less information.
Information, on the Web, is a catch 22.
Cover a topic too early and no one will listen. Cover it too late and you’re just a follower. That sweet spot, right as people are ready to listen, is the moment to be heard.
It’s unfortunate but a lot of great information never gets found because people aren’t ready to listen. It’s the right information at the wrong time. This isn’t a reason to give up.
There are many points in your quest to build authority and expertise that your information will be overshadowed by others but what you may not have realized is that there’s a quiet revolution going on behind the scenes. People notice. They become aware. They tell others.
We Take Information for Granted
The Tipping Point- the moment in which you push past obscurity into the spotlight.
Becoming the expert doesn’t mean you reach mainstream appeal; it simply that you’ve reached the tipping point within your own community – you’ve begun the process of distilling authority.
Incidentally, this moment of the tipping point comes when you realize you’ve taken information for granted. You’re an expert and you may not even know it.
Begin to listen to how people talk to you. Listen to their remarks when you convey information. How do they react?
We often assume that others are more than aware of the same information we retain; this mode of thinking sets the divide between someone who will soon become an expert and those on the other end.
There will always be people who view you as the expert whether you realize it or not. Once you do, you can begin the process of building your authority. The information you see as “common knowledge” may be absolutely remarkable to others – never take the information you know for granted.
The Essential Steps to Becoming the Expert
By now, you should have a thorough understanding of the following:
- Numbers don’t matter when building authority
- You’re more knowledgeable than you realize
- There is a hungry community that needs your information
With your own mental barriers recognized, you can now begin the process of becoming the expert in your field. The following are the fundamentals:
Make your voice heard in any way possible
Before you can solidify yourself as an expert, you must make the leap from student to teacher. Don’t wait til tomorrow what can be done today.
Begin to share your best information to those in any way you can; reach people on your blog, connect on Twitter and ignite discussions on Facebook. Don’t be limited to just these examples though; find niche communities that are hungry for your knowledge and make a real connection.
Be great in one, very niche topic
Although we’d love to reach as many people as we can its simply implausible. Instead of taking the broad approach to creating an impact, reject the idea of being a jack of all trades – focus your knowledge and actions within a highly specific topic within your niche.
It takes thousands of hours to learn enough to set yourself above others; trying to cover every topic under the sun never truly allows you to excel in the one topic which you’re likely to make a breakthrough and mass the tipping point of your authority.
Become an influential narcissist
Get over the idea that the information you know can’t compete with others within your niche; adopt a side of narcissism and remind yourself that you’re much more knowledgeable than you realize – begin to let others know of your expertise by telling them straight up.
Don’t push it too far but don’t be afraid to step on a few toes. Plan to create a voice; don’t be afraid of what you stand for. You’ll be infinitely more influential if can stand behind an idea than to be a push-over.
Network until it hurts
You won’t be able to do it by yourself; get over the idea of going at it alone. Network with every person you come into contact whether it’s a blogger with a dozen subscribers or those that have thousands. Build your own quiet revolution by creating an impact on everyone you connect with.
Work on just one relationship at a time until you’ve built a following that is rabid for your brand.
Target the people that matter
Don’t blast your message to everyone that’s willing to listen. Cultivate your community by specifically crafting your message to the type of people you want to connect with. Imagine your community as a single avatar and craft every aspect of your message to perfectly align with the information they seek; speak loudly to a small group instead of being a whimper amongst all the noise.
Building expertise is work. You have to bust ass all day, every day. You have to hustle. You have to make connections. You have to create impact. You’re already the expert; now get found.
