How to Become an Expert and Gain Credibility (Part 2)

Being an expert is important, but it may not be enough to increase your business. The next step after you gain expert status and become an authentic expert is to start gaining credibility in the marketplace. Today I'll share some ways for you to do just that.

A word of caution: It's important that you actually are an expert before you put these strategies into play. It's a big mistake to put yourself out into the marketplace as an expert, gaining credibility and visibility before you're ready. If you can't meet the challenges of having clients and customers because you don't really know enough yet, you'll have a much bigger fall than if you take your time and pay your dues first. Authenticity matters!

Public relations

The top way to gain credibility in the marketplace is to include public relations as a part of your larger marketing plan. Public relations involves getting mentioned and quoted as an expert in magazine and newspaper articles and on radio and tv shows. If the media sees you as an expert, others in the marketplace are likely to see you that way, too. A publicist who helps you get these mentions and interviews can be a major asset to your team, but having a publicist can be expensive, so you may want to go it alone until you can afford to add a PR specialist. There are many great ways to get press (look for this in an upcoming article), but here's one important tip: craft your pitches to the publication and what's timely and relevant for their target market, and make yourself stand out by mentioning your unique spin on the topic.

Make a contribution

One great way to add value, gain credibility, and make a difference in the world is to donate your services to a charity. If a charity trusts you to work with them and provide services under their auspices, others will, too. Plus, it's a good way to show up in the world.

Speak

Consider who has more credibility when you attend a networking event - the other attendees who showed up with their business cards, just like you, or the speaker who gave the main talk at the event. If you're that speaker, and you're speaking to your target market, you'll gain credibility in your marketplace.

Write

If you're a solid writer and have the expertise, you'll find tons of ways to leverage your writing to build crediblity. You can write your own blog, write an e-mail newsletter or "e-zine," market your articles for other people's e-mail newsletters on articles marketing sites, or write as a guest contributor for other people's blogs. A word of caution: make sure you write your own articles in your own voice. It won't do to hire someone to write articles for you if you're professing to be the expert!

I've listed just a few of the many ways that you can increase your credibility as an expert in your field. There are several other strategies, but instead of trying to do them all, choose one or two ideas and put them into play first, before adding any others. That way you won't get overwhelmed. And don't feel that you have to do everything. If you're not a writer, focus on speaking and volunteer work, for example. Play to your strengths and get the word out that you're an expert!