5 Powerful Ways To Build Authority In Your Niche
Being a trusted authority in your niche is vital in 2018 and beyond. You want your audience to know, like, and trust you; that doesn't happen overnight. Building authority in your niche is still possible, even if your niche is well populated. It does take effort on your end, to position yourself as the go-to person in your niche, though. Today, we are going to discuss five simple, but powerful ways to build authority in your niche.
*This post contains affiliate links.
1. Build A Trustworthy Website
If you want to build authority in your niche, you must first create a trustworthy website. When someone visits your site to book you for a speaking engagement or ask you to be their business mentor, how does it make them feel? If you want to be seen as an authority, your site has to position you as one.
So, what does it mean to build a trustworthy website? Focus on the people you have served! People trust the opinions of others after all, especially when they don't know who you are yet.
Get testimonials (especially video testimonials!)
Share the number of customers served (this is especially significant for product-based businesses)
Be open about the amount of something you've generated for other people (pageviews, shares, dollars, you name it!)
Above all else, you want to make sure that people know who you are, who you have helped, and how you can help them.
When you are sharing this on your website, make sure the site matches the information you are sharing. Create a website that's clean (not cluttered!), professional, and easily navigable. Focus on your customer's journey through your website. Use sites like Hotjar and Mouseflow to optimize your user's experience.
Related Reading: How To Build A Trustworthy Website via Neil Patel
2. Produce Brilliant Content Across The Web
Content is king. Creating content is a fantastic way to build authority. We consume so much content on a daily basis. You want to be sure that you are creating content that cuts through the noise and provides value.
It's 2018, people! We can no longer create 300-word articles and hope they stick. Instead, we need to invest in producing long-form articles. The problem with long-form content? Some entrepreneurs don't understand that you need to say something.
Here's my suggestion––stick to the good old-fashioned listicle. Why am I such an advocate of the listicle? Simple, it keeps you (and me) on track. For today's article, I started by listing out five ways to build authority. After I created my main points, it was just a matter of filling everything in and forming a conclusion. Now that this post has an outline, I know that my work will say something.
It's easy to create short or long-form content without actually saying anything. Make sure that you are creating content that doesn't waste people's valuable time. Even if you are guest posting or sharing your expertise with someone else's audience, be sure that you have a point to your communication that people can follow.
Related Reading: Use These 16 Content Ideas To Get High-Quality Traffic To Your Site In 2018 (And Beyond)
If blogs are not your cup of tea, try something like a podcast or videos! You don't have to produce written content, although that is usually the easiest thing to do if you want to build authority in your niche.
Get In Front Of The Audiences Of Other Authorities In Your Niche
If you genuinely want to gain authority, you need to branch out further than the audience you are creating for yourself.
Write guest posts for industry blogs
Become a guest for a podcast in your niche
Do a social media takeover for a popular social media account
Present with another person in your niche on a joint venture webinar
Host a giveaway with someone in your niche on niche specific products
There are so many ways to collaborate and reach out to people who would love your content while growing your audience.
Related Reading: How To Write A Fantastic Guest Post
3. Link To Reputable Sources
We have all checked a Wikipedia article for some information about someone famous. We may have even used Wikipedia to start researching a topic in high school or college, even though our professors told us not to. I am guilty of this, at least.
Wikipedia is not a reputable source, though. Anything that can be changed by anyone is not a good source to use.
Now, this doesn't mean that you should only link content written by people with P.h.D.s! We don't all need a Dr. in front of our names to be considered an authority on a topic. You need someone who has a following for knowing what they are talking about.
Think about the leaders and emerging stars in your industry. Link to their content proudly in your posts. You never know, one day they may be linking to the content you write.
I would make it a goal to share 2-3 great articles from outside sources in each piece you produce. Your articles don't have to be a college research papers, but it's always good to back up what you say with further reading for your audience. Make sure all your sources open in a new tab, so you don't disturb your reader's place in your article.
4. Give Advice Online In Groups And Reputable Message Boards
If you are trying to build authority in your niche quickly, a fantastic way to do so is to give advice to newcomers trying to make it in your industry. Here are a few places you may want to look for questions:
Facebook and LinkedIn Groups
Quora
Niche-Specific Message Boards
Reddit
Twitter
How To Give Advice And Build Authority At The Same Time
One of the most important things you need to understand when giving advice is that you shouldn't link and run. Even if you have already produced the perfect piece on the topic, don't just drop your link with no explanation. Instead, give that person your #1 tip on the subject. For example, say a new freelancer wanted to know what to do when they were facing a lull in their business. I have an entire post about this topic on my blog, but I want to build trust with this person before I link my content. I might say something like:
Hi (insert their name here)!
I'm a freelancer too! I know how hard it can be to deal with lulls in your freelance business. I have found that the #1 thing I have done to get more consistent work right now is to reach back out to past clients. Instead of focusing on getting new clients right away, go back through your old clients and reach out to them. See if they would like to work on a different project and make sure they know your entire freelancing skillset. For example, maybe they hired you as a blog writer in the past, but you also write social media copy or ebooks. You never know what they may be looking for in a freelancer!
If you want more information on what to do when you have a lull in your freelance business, I wrote an entire post about this topic called 10 Tasks You Can Accomplish When Freelance Business Is Slow! I would love for you to check it out. Let me know if you have any more questions about this topic!
As you can tell, I give actual advice that the freelancer can follow for dealing with a lull in their business. I start with their name, and I empathize with them for a little while.
Now, you should follow this formula in your own way. You don't have to do exactly as I do, but you should always chat with them for a little while before you go right into linking mode with them.
Don't Answer The Same Questions Everyone Else Is Answering
Another piece of advice, answer the questions no one is answering. Don't jump on the post that already has 20 responses. Instead, answer the question that has no replies or only a handful of them. People may look through every response, but by the tenth responses, everyone has already said what needs to be said. Your time is better served as an authority builder by focusing on the questions no one has answered yet.
5. Speak At Conferences
Last, but not least, let's chat about speaking engagements. Getting your face out there at conferences in your niche is crucial. One thing you must understand, though, is that we can't all speak at big conferences. You have to start somewhere before you get on stages like the HR Technology Conference for instance. There are huge conferences in your niche that you would love to speak at one day, but you need to build your audience and speaking engagement list first.
So, before you get on the big stage, think about the small ones you can occupy. Here are some ideas:
Online conferences in your niche: With the increasing use of webinars, a ton of businesses and entrepreneurs started throwing online conferences. These are cool and likely easier to speak, even though the audience size can be much bigger than a traditional conference in your niche.
City, State, and Regional conferences in your niche: If you want to get out there and attend an actual live event, try smaller conferences in your niche. You may not be able to participate in the national conferences, but you can start with smaller ones that are more local to you.
Overall, you want to speak at as many events as you can. Come up with a few topics that you feel knowledgeable about and come up with a good 30 minute to an hour speech on the topics you love. See if you can find events to pitch speeches too. It doesn't even have to be a conference. You could even start teaching what you are passionate about to local businesses. For example, a speech about Instagram marketing pitched to your local Chamber Of Commerce.
Everyone starts somewhere. As long as you are getting your face out there, you can build authority in your niche.
Conclusion: Go Build Authority In Your Niche
Now that you are equipped with a ton of ideas for authority building get out there and do it! I am so confident that you can build your authority and reputation in your niche. So, start building your authority today!
If you need help with content creation along the way, don't hesitate to reach out. I would love to work with you to take your expertise and turn it into engaging short and long-form content for your audience to consume. Check out my services and give me a holler if you need my help!
