Five Ways to Use Blogging to Establish Yourself as an Industry Expert
Twenty years ago, if you wanted to establish yourself as an expert in your field, you had to be visible: attend every conference possible, publish articles in trade magazines or academic journals, and network constantly. Establishing your expertise was expensive, time-consuming, and it took years.
Blogging has made it much easier to become a recognized expert in a particular niche or industry. Conferences, article publication, and networking are still important, but what took many years can now be done in a couple, if you do it correctly.
Here are five ways blogging can help you establish yourself as an industry expert.
1. Share Your Knowledge in Bits and Pieces. For Free.
"For free" freaks people out. "For free" violates the secret code of the paid consultant. That's okay. Because the more you give away, the more people think you know. The more good stuff you share, the more people are willing to hire you.
I know one expert who turned his blog into a best-selling book and turned the book into a speaking career worth several thousand dollars per speech. This lead to a six-figure consulting career and two other businesses. All because he gave his good stuff away for free on his blog.