Authority Marketing To Boost Sales
If you want to increase your sales and expand your outreach, you need to position yourself as an authority in your market. An authority can:
- Persuade visitors into becoming lifelong customers.
- Easily convert traffic into buyers.
- Maximize their income quickly.
- Expand into new markets easily.
- Build a brand and audience in any market.
The first step in your journey to positioning yourself as an authority in your niche is to ask yourself two important questions:
1. Who are you?
2. What do you have to offer?
Seems like two rather easy questions, right? Yet answering them carefully and thoughtfully will go the distance in helping you find the best entry point into your niche so you can truly connect with your target audience.
Ultimately, all people care about is “what is in it for them?” They need to know how you plan to help them, what you bring to the table and how you will solve their problems. Authority marketing is about positioning your business in a way that you become the logical choice when someone is deciding who to turn to for help, advice, products or services.
Your goal is to become the go-to person in your niche, or at the very least, one of the first names that come to mind when someone thinks about who to turn to for help with specific topics. Note that I didn’t say “specific markets or niches”, I said topic.
That’s because it’s always best to position yourself so that people identify you as an authority on a very specific topic or category rather than the market as a whole. For example, rather than trying to establish yourself as the authority on all things related to blogging, positioning yourself as someone who is known for teaching people how to drive traffic to blogs, allows you to connect to a specific audience.
This will make your marketing campaigns far more effective and targeted than when casting a wider net. Of course, you can always expand your focus later on so you can reach additional markets and cater to a larger crowd, but when just starting, it will be a lot easier to position yourself as an authority if you focus on one specific segment of your market, rather than the market as a whole.
Trust me, it’ll cut down on a lot of research, trial and error and testing as well because you’ll be able to spend the majority of your time researching that one specific segment of a market and learning everything you need to know about it.
So, begin by taking some time to decide what area of your niche you’ll venture into. Then you’ll be able to study that segment of the market thoroughly, create a plan of action and execute quickly.
In the following report, I’ll share some of my best tips and strategies to gain the upper hand in your market by positioning yourself as an authority.
Know Your Audience
Sounds obvious, right? You need to know WHO your audience is and HOW you can help them. Knowing your audience is one of the most important things you can do when trying to establish yourself as an authority in your market.
This goes beyond just creating a quick overview of your average customer. Instead, spend time on the same websites, in the same circles and on the same platforms that they do. Get to know the top, burning questions in your market. Find out what makes people tick, what they are responsive to, and what their triggers are.
This will go the distance in later helping you create laser-targeted, effective marketing campaigns that will resonate with your core audience. Always put yourself in your customers’ shoes. They don’t care about your personal goals - they care only about themselves and their needs - and above all else, how you will help them solve a problem.
Read that again: you’re the only one who truly cares about your business growth. Everyone else just cares about how your business can personally help them. This means that your focus should always be on identifying key areas in your market where people are struggling.
Then you can use that information in many different areas of your business, such as: coming up with customized products and services that fulfil that need, developing a USP (Unique Selling Proposition) that offers a promise to solve that problem and creating marketing campaigns that trigger your audience into taking action. Thorough market research is the key to success when it comes to gaining the advantage of becoming an authority.
Those who overlook the importance of truly understanding their audience even before they create a business plan or launch a marketing campaign will quickly discover just how difficult it is to gain traction.
In fact, without knowing your audience, you’re venturing into a market blindfolded with little chance of success. On the flip side, putting time and effort into researching your market and connecting with your core audience early on, will make all the difference in your ability to create in-demand products and services that are a no-brainer for your customer base.
You’ll be able to stand out from the crowd, position yourself as an expert and easily convince people to give your brand and business a chance. And your marketing campaigns will be far more successful and ultimately, cost you less in terms of time spent tweaking and split-testing campaigns. Because you’ll know what makes people tick.
If you already have active marketing campaigns in your niche, take a good look at your campaigns from their side of things. Be objective and see if it truly answers their questions and addresses their main goals, fears or concerns. Are your ads mainly geared towards highlighting features rather than benefits? Are your campaigns structured in a way that personally connects with your core audience and goes to work at solidifying your brand?
Do they help position you as an expert?
When it comes to the psychology behind successful brand building and authority positioning, it often hinges on your ability to demonstrate empathy.
The more you do this, the easier it will be to resonate with your audience and connect with your customer base. You’ll come off as more personable, approachable and someone who truly has their best interests at heart.
There are 3 basic types of empathy: cognitive, emotional, and compassionate.
Cognitive empathy is also known as perspective-taking. It’s the ability to think the way someone else thinks, to imagine you’re them and see how they’d react to something.
It’s a useful skill, especially in marketing, but not exactly what you imagine true empathy should be. Empathy should have an emotional component if it’s going to go the distance.
Emotional empathy is when you inject emotional triggers into your campaigns, ads, sales copy and general content.
How do your customers feel when they look at your ads or read your content? What emotions do you stimulate with your communications, campaigns, and emails?
Emotional empathy allows you to feel what others do, like when you hear someone laughing and you smile without knowing exactly what they’re laughing at.
It’s contagious. And when you learn to inject this kind of emotion into your overall brand, your ability to connect with your audience will become one of your superpowers.
Finally, compassionate empathy is the ability to identify someone’s emotion and act on that with a solution.
In this way, you’ll create something that not only takes their feelings into account but gives them a logical solution to that emotion. Example: Someone is stressed out because they’re unable to pay their monthly bills.
You understand their concerns, what keeps them up at night and act on that with a solution: a business opportunity that will help them gain financial freedom and eliminate stress.
Stress is the emotion you identify and your business positions itself in such a way as to become the solution to eliminating or addressing that emotion. And it doesn’t have to be a negative emotion either. Someone could feel elated that they have discovered that blogging is a great way to connect with people and help them but they need to know how to create that blog, launch that blog and grow that blog.
The emotion is excitement and happiness. Your solution is to demonstrate to them just how happier they’ll be when they are not only able to share their content with the world, but with your help, they’ll be able to quickly maximize that exposure.
All of this comes down to knowing your market so you can position yourself as the expert and authority they are looking for.
They’ll feel they need you, that you’re the solution to their problems and that you truly understand how they are feeling and what they need most. That is how you’ll stand out in your market.
Be Where Your Audience Is
We just talked about the importance of knowing your audience through market research so that you can position yourself in a way that people relate to, resonate with and believe in.
The next step is to be where your market spends most of its time. Creating your forum or message board is great, but it’s always easier to connect with people within the social platforms and websites they are already familiar with and actively use. What one social media platform is most commonly used by your core audience?
When conducting research for one of my markets, I discovered that most of my younger customers spend more time on Twitter or Instagram while the older generation seems to prefer Facebook.
You might even find that your ideal customer likes some other platform entirely, like Pinterest, Reddit or YouTube. The point is: to do your research and find out where they are spending their time online. Then join the discussion!
Set up accounts on these platforms and create a content plan that stays true to your brand. Don’t confuse your business brand with your personal life, either. You’ll want a separate account where you’re going to share expert advice and high-quality information that targets specific areas of your niche.
You don’t need family photos or your political views on that platform. Keep it separate and keep it focused!
Also, don’t overextend yourself or you’ll lose your ability to truly connect with your audience through consistent engagement. Instead, choose one or two of the platforms where your customers spend the most time and set yourself up.
Create a consistent theme across all platforms as well. Use the same colour scheme and other components and elements so that you’re able to solidify your brand and become instantly recognizable. This is critical when it comes to creating a well-known brand that people identify with.
Use a good professional photo and profile picture. If you need royalty-free images, try Dreamtime or Shutterstock. It’s usually best to spring for a good professional photo you can use across your platform.
Create a killer bio, focusing on what matters to your audience. This will include relevant keywords that instantly identify who you are and what your focus is. And of course, include a link to your website or squeeze page where you offer a free incentive for joining your inner circle.
Then, spend time connecting with your core audience! Offer quality information, link back to a blog or website as often as possible and focus on delivering value. That’s how authorities are created. Tip: Look for things like:
- Commonly asked questions posted by your target audience.
- Posts with a high number of comments or likes.
- Posts with the highest number of social shares.
Identify Pain Points
Now that you’re on the most popular social media platforms that your customer base uses, pay attention. Follow trending hashtags (#) in your area of expertise to see what people are talking about.
“Friend” or “Follow” some other experts and read their posts. Always work towards staying engaged. Comment where appropriate so people begin to associate your brand with being a knowledgeable person and thought leader.
What you’ll want to focus on is gaining valuable insights that you can later use in your marketing campaigns. You’re researching your customers to see what they need and how you can give it to them. Some researchers call these “pain points” - what are people complaining about or feeling pain from?
Not particularly emotional pain, but what struggles are they facing in their personal or business lives?
This step takes a bit of time, but it’ll be worth it in the end because you’ll know, with certainty, exactly how to solve problems and position yourself as someone who can help them reach their goals.
You can’t possibly learn enough from your core audience based on one or two posts or comments. Dig down into these ongoing conversations and see what the majority of people are saying or needing help with within your market.
What do they already know and what do they need to become aware of? What areas have been exhausted and where do you see a niche you can fit yourself into?
Remember, you’re looking at what the majority needs help with. Never focus your marketing campaigns on what one or two people need help with. Instead, always look for ways to solve the largest problem in your market.
Engage in conversations regularly. This goes beyond just social media as well. You should be frequently visiting authority blogs, or forums, as well as Facebook groups that include an active audience.
The point is to make yourself visible and to stay on people’s radars. The more you interact and engage your audience, the easier it will be to position yourself as an authority in your market. You’ll automatically build an audience just because you’ve dedicated time to addressing problems and consistently provided helpful content that resonated with them.
Share-Worthy Content
One of the easiest ways to position yourself as an expert in your niche so you can maximize your outreach and income is to create share-worthy content. What does this mean? Shareworthy content is material that people feel compelled to send to others. They feel it’s incredibly useful or valuable in some way and they want others to know about it.
This is also called pillar content because it’s the strongest, most engaging material found on your website, blog or within your marketing campaigns and funnels. Ideally, your content should always focus on 3 main things:
Connecting with your readers:
Your content needs to resonate with your audience so they begin to see you as an authority or expert on the topic. This means that your content needs to be well-researched, actionable and comprehensive.
Persuading your readers:
Your writing needs to motivate them to take action, even if that simply involves returning to your website again, subscribing to your newsletter or sharing your content with others. To persuade readers, you need to earn their trust and convince them, through your content, that you are an expert on the topic and that they can learn something useful from you.
Exciting your readers:
Your content should invoke excitement and convince people that you have something valuable to offer that will improve their lives in some way.
When people are excited about something, they naturally want to share it. They’ll talk about it to friends and family and spread your message amongst their networking circles. This is how content goes viral!
So, begin by thinking about what your primary objective is:
- Do you want to write a piece of content that motivates someone to subscribe to your list?
- Will you require a specific action after someone reads your content?
- Is your content designed to garner attention and gain trust?
Identifying your content’s objective before you start writing is extremely important and will ensure that your material is direct, informative and hits the target. Once you know what your objective is, concentrate on conveying your message in a concise, direct manner.
Create exceptional, highly-targeted content that people will want to share because it speaks to them directly, communicates a positive message that supports your brand and demonstrates your knowledge on the topic. And above all else, explain to your audience what’s in it for them.
You want to gain the respect of your market so you can build an authority website that people turn to again and again, and you’ll do that by producing top-notch content that helps your audience in one specific way. And if you are suffering from writer’s block and have no idea how to create share-worthy content, go to the source!
Spend some time reading content from authority websites and influencers in your market. Identify the thought and study their writing style, their voice and of course, the topics they focus the most time on. Takedown notes! Write down anything that comes to mind whether it’s an idea for a killer blog topic, or ideas regarding content structure, format and style. It’ll all come in handy later.
One great tool that makes it exceptionally easy to research your competition, find the top content in your niche, collaborate with influencers and gain access to content insights that will help you generate fresh ideas, is by using BuzzSumo.
They offer a free version so check it out: http://www.BuzzSumo.com
Join ProfNet or HARO
These two platforms connect journalists with experts. HARO stands for Help a Reporter Out. These “matchmaking sites” hook journalists up with experts who can answer their questions and help them with their research.
ProfNet is designed for public relations experts who want to pitch their organizations to journalists. You set up your profile on the site and set preferences for which types of queries you’re interested in.
When a journalist is looking for sources to help cover that breaking news story, they’re going to look over their databases. If you match their criteria, they’ll contact you.
HARO will deliver an email three times daily (5:45 am; 12:45 pm: 5:00 pm EST) to sources, listing dozens of queries from reporters looking for experts.
They’ll describe the type of story they’re working on and list what expertise they’re looking for. You can reply to the queries and give your qualifications.
Let them know why you’re the perfect person for that story. In addition, HARO is free but offers a paid selection with more filtering options.
There are a couple of other similar services as well. SourceBottle includes a searchable database of active queries so you can hook up with the right journalist. PitchRate is mainly for bloggers and website owners, but it’s the same sort of game: they’re looking for experts to comment on or post articles on their sites.
Here’s some advice from a HARO writer (Ritka Puri):
Focus on the story instead of your bio. “I care about what the interviewee has to say and am less concerned with how many patents the person holds.”
Stick to the system. Don’t email your contact directly. They’re likely using the HARO system to organize their queries and an email will get misplaced.
Make and keep journalist relationships. When pitching, mention whether you’ve worked with a journalist before.
Directly answer the question. Don’t just ask if they’d like to interview you. Give them a direct reply to their question so they can decide for themselves.
Be personable and helpful. Your contract should contain a friendly introduction, a fun fact, keywords or bullet points that describe your story and humility!
And of course, you could create a press release that will not only help you gain authority but generate targeted traffic by helping you rank in the major search engines for relevant keywords.
Press releases are still incredibly viable marketing tools, so be sure to check them out. They’ll help you get attention, generate buzz and create brand awareness.
Here are a couple of resources to look into:
https://newswire.com
https://prnewswire.com
Here are a couple of articles to help you create the most effective press release for your business:
https://neilpatel.com/blog/ironclad-rules-for-press
https://www.shopify.ca/blog/how-to-write-a-press-release
Create an Authority Blog
It should go without saying that you need a website to showcase your skills, present your shareworthy content and establish yourself as an authority in your niche.
Of course, your website should be professional-looking and responsive. Purchase a professional template from leading developers and spend some time setting up your blog so that it’s fully optimized for search engines.
Use a memorable domain that makes it clear to visitors what you’ll be talking about and what the blog’s main focus is.
Post regularly. At least once a week - more often if you can find the time. The more you post, the easier it will be to rank for additional keywords and it’ll also send out a signal to the major search engines that you have fresh content to offer. When creating content for your blog, you want to focus on 2 things:
1: Educate
2: Empower
Every post on your website should do one or both of these things!
If you are writing how-to-style posts that offer readers a step-by-step process to completing a task or accomplishing a goal, you are educating.
If you write a blog post that offers insight such as a personal story of success, case studies, or motivational-style posts, you’re empowering your audience.
Content that either educates or empowers is the easiest way to create posts that become viral. It’s also one of the easiest ways to create share-worthy content and position yourself as an authority in your market.
Another thing to consider when writing content for your blog is to focus on evergreen content. That ensures that the content you post now will still be relevant months or even years from now. This will cut down on the time you spend updating content.
You should also aim to create 4-5 pillar posts for your blog before you set up marketing campaigns. That will give your visitors enough material to convince them to return to your blog and will also go the distance in leaving a positive first impression in the minds of your audience.
Regarding the overall length of your content, it’s been proven that search engines prefer longer blog posts that provide informative, fresh and well-written content that is free from errors, so aim to write posts that are between 1000-1500 words
Try to land guest blogging spots on authority websites as well. It’s one of the easiest (and fastest) ways to grow your audience by siphoning traffic from existing websites and piggybacking off the authority of others.
When one of their followers sees that you’re being featured, just by association they’ll begin to think of you as an authority as well.
If you’re considering creating podcasts, see if any of the experts in your niche will appear on your show. It’s a great way for them to expand their outreach while helping you gain authority in your market.
Create Webinars & Training
The best way to become an expert is to share your knowledge with your community, right? Well, one of the easiest ways to do that is by creating webinars and offering free resources and training to your target audience.
Webinars can be used in a variety of ways: from product demonstrations to offering step-by-step visual training, you can easily use webinars to further your outreach, maximize exposure and position yourself as an authority in your market.
First, you’ll want to choose one specific topic for your webinar and then define its primary goal:
- Is your webinar going to be used to introduce your brand?
- Are you planning to sell a product or service at the end of the webinar?
- Are you simply using your webinar to answer a burning question in your market so you can build authority?
Defining your goal upfront will make it easier to create enough content to support a webinar while also helping to guide you through the process. You want your audience to follow along easily and not be confused by the content so keep it simple and very focused. Don’t try to cover too many points within one webinar.
Here are a few platforms to consider if you are interested in creating webinars:
https://GotoMeeting.com
https://www.ClickMeeting.com
https://www.LiveStorm.co
And here’s an article that will help you create a successful Webinar in 10 easy steps: https://www.convinceandconvert.com/digital-marketing/create-a-webinar/
And if you’re looking to create a webinar without investing in tools, check out this article: https://smartblogger.com/your-first-webinar/
Tip: When creating your lead generation page, you’ll want to use a benefit-driven headline that captures attention.
Highlight the greatest benefit your prospects receive when they join your webinar. Tap into your target market’s hopes, dreams and emotions. Remember, people don’t buy products, they buy solutions.
Create an Online Course
Begin by evaluating your skill set, experiences and personal interests. What do you know a lot about? What books have you read recently? What courses have you personally taken?
Check out the top course marketplaces like www.Udemy.com, www.Teachable.com and www.Skillshare.com and you’ll be able to quickly nail down dozens of course ideas just by browsing the descriptions and overviews of popular courses.
When choosing the topic for your online course, consider:
- What is your target audience struggling to understand?
- What are people actively trying to learn?
- What segment of your niche could you create a course on?
- What problem could you help people solve?
Next, create an outline for your course. That way you can plot out the different components and create a solid structure for your training that guides customers from one module to the next. Break down topics into smaller, digestible segments as well.
You want to be careful not to overwhelm your students so focus on one specific segment of your topic in each module and then provide them with simple tasks or assignments that they can complete to demonstrate their understanding of the topic.
When it comes to hosting your course, you’ll have many options to choose from including https://www.Teachable.com Teachable provides you with the ability to fully brand your course, including creating and customizing a complete online school using their easy website building tool.
You can then incorporate your design into your main course page, lectures and even sales pages. https://www.Thinkific.com
With this platform, you’re able to create and host courses directly on your own branded website. This is a great option for those who want more flexibility and control over their product. They also put you in full control over pricing, course content and marketing while providing you with all the tools you need to create a stunning course.
https://www.udemy.com
Udemy is one of the top course marketplaces online with over 20 million students enrolled in various programs. They provide free course design tools that guide you through the entire process of developing, outlining and executing a high-quality product.
Conclusion
Maximizing your income by positioning yourself as an authority in your market isn’t as difficult as you originally thought, however, it will take time and dedication. The key is to take consistent steps that will help you further your outreach, day by day.
Focus on completing one step or task every day that moves the needle. It’ll all add up over time! Becoming an authority will help you stand out from the competition and position yourself as a go-to thought leader in your market. And subsequently, it will give you the ability to maximize your income by unlocking countless opportunities so you can enjoy true financial freedom.
Work towards creating high-quality, engaging content. Establish a blog or website that serves as your central hub. Leverage the power of existing audiences through social media, Linkedin and other networks to increase visibility. Seek out opportunities to guest blog, co-host podcasts, develop webinars and above all else, always look for ways to share your unique perspective and valuable content.
Create in-depth courses and training programs or teach an online workshop or class through a series of live videos. Virtual summits are proven methods of growing a community quickly while allowing you to demonstrate your expertise.
And finally, develop your story. Marketing and reaching new audiences through storytelling is one of the most effective methods of maximizing visibility and truly connecting with your audience.
Always look for ways to weave your brand story throughout your marketing and content campaigns. Every business has a story worth telling.
I hope this report has provided you with the information you need to take the next step in building authority in your market.
Resources
Here are links to a few resources that I believe will help you:
Research Your Competition:
https://BuzzSumo.com
Create Press Releases:
https://www.NewsWire.com
https://www.PRNewsWire.com
Create Webinars:
https://www.GotoMeeting.com
https://www.ClickMeeting.com
https://www.LiveStorm.co
Create Online Courses:
https://www.Teachable.com
https://www.Thinkific.com
https://www.Udemy.com
Storytelling Marketing Examples:
https://www.singlegrain.com/content-marketing-3/7-examples-of-storytelling-content-you-can-use-in-your-marketing-campaigns/
Funnel Builder Software:
The Best Way to Build Funnels and Sell Digital Products
Apply AI to Avoid Tedious Marketing Tasks: