BUT IM NOT AN EXPERT!
BUT IM NOT AN EXPERT!
Go from newbie to expert and radically
skyrocket your online influence without feeling like a fraud
BUT IM NOT AN EXPERT!
Go from newbie to expert and radically
skyrocket your influence without feeling like a fraud
MEERA KOTHAND
WWW.MEERAKOTHAND.COM
COPYRIGHT 2018
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except by reviewers who may quote brief passages in a review.
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CONTENTS PAGE
You can download the Instant Expert pack at https://nowanexpert.com/bonus.
But Im not an expert
These are the words written and spoken by hundreds of readers Ive had the opportunity of interacting with over the years.
Maybe youve uttered these words yourself.
Or entertained them in your head.
Youre new
You want to start a business online
You want to create content to attract an audience
You want to speak, write, create, and sell, but the only thing stopping you in your tracks is fear.
Fear, that youre not an expert.
You dont have the years of experience to prove your worth.
Or testimonials in the hundreds that you can pick from.
Why would anyone listen to you when youre not an expert?
Why would anyone pay attention when you might as well be this tiny speck among the thousands of online businesses out there?
Well, were going to change that.
The aim of this book is not to make you the best in your expert niche, but to help you recognize where you stand and how you can boost your expertise in the eyes of the people you want to servethe people whom your business is for.
But if you think that Ill be revealing the secret thats usually found behind a $3,000 paywall
Or the genius hack that only six- and seven-figure entrepreneurs know of
Or the one-of-a-kind marketing trick thats going to make people believe youre an expert
Then you may be disappointed.
Yes, youll know exactly what you need to do in a 180-day push to start branding yourself as an expert.
Yes, youll build a marketing campaign that you can take and run with at the end.
Youll also know how to apply minimum viable formulasthe bare-bones framework you need to get started in email marketing, creating content, and more, especially if youre time starved and dont have eight hours a day to build an expert business or side hustle.
But the strategies and hacks here are not gimmicks or secrets.
You dont ever have to fake being an expert either.
These are intentional, calculated steps that you can take, and this book will give you a plan for how you can get there.
First, lets get the definitions out of the way.
Who is an expert?
An expert is someone who has acquired knowledge and skills through study and practice over the years, in a particular field or subject, to the extent that his or her opinion may be helpful in fact finding, problem solving, or understanding of a situation.
Some say an expert is someone who has spent at least 10,000 hours studying or learning about a particular topic. But the definition of what and who an expert is, is relative.
There isnt a fixed, absolute definition for what it takes to become one. Sure, in some professional fields there are recognized qualifications. But in several online business niches there are none, and we still recognize and identify some people as trusted experts.
Who is an influencer or micro-influencer?
According to an article by InfluencerBay, influencers have followers of 1 million+ whereas micro-influencers have 1,000+ followers. The key thing to note is that micro-influencers have more trust, higher engagement, and greater impact.
The article aligns with a study by Collective Bias. Their research of over 14,000 online users showed that only 3% of people would consider buying a product if it was endorsed by a celebrity. But 30% of people are more likely to purchase a product based on a recommendation from a non-celebrity blogger than a celebrity.
So, while both segments can influence purchasing decisions, micro-influencers (YOU!) have the ability to build trust with their audience. So even if you have a small audience or are starting from scratch, youre not a fraud for wanting to position yourself as an expert.
This sweet spotwhere youve established rapport with your audience, have a high engagement rate, are able to impact purchasing decisions, and have built trust because you dont just know your stuff but are seen as someone who truly understands their problemsis where you want to be.
First, lets unpack what makes an expert.
Expert Quotient = Knowledge + Authority Architecture + Marketability
The diagram below shows the three different components you need to consider before you start branding yourself as an expert. In this book, youll discover what it takes to build up each of these components.
The Knowledge component is all about how you create and curate content to demonstrate your expertise and attract and retain your ideal customers. In this section, youll discover how to quickly pick up knowledge in your expert niche even if youre starting from scratch.
The second component, Authority Architecture , shows you three different pathways to garnering authoritybuild, borrow, and be. Several people have written about steps and methods to establish authority in your field, including author Steve Scott who mentions the 3 Bs of Authority in his book How to Find a Profitable Blog Topic Idea . Most of the strategies and methods surrounding authority can be categorized into these three different pathways.
To be the authority is the hardest aspect because you've got to have the credentials, achievements, professional qualifications, or years of experience to show for it. Perhaps youve built businesses in your expert niche for ten years or worked for Fortune 100 companies. The majority of people dont start here, which is why I have that portion of the diagram grayed out.
Lets focus on the build and borrow aspects of the authority architecture. You build authority when you demonstrate your expertise through events such as challenges or live coaching. You also build authority when you share your progress online. If youre on a mission to help people lose weight, you document your progress even though you havent made it yet. Notice an explosion in personal brands tracking their quarterly or monthly progress through income reports, Instagram stories, or behind-the-scenes pictures? Those are examples of building authority.
Borrowing authority is when you leverage other micro-influencers and influencers platforms to get in front of their audience. You siphon some of their credibility by associating with the clout their brand has built up.
But these dont work in silos.
As you build and borrow authority, you start being the authority. Your audience starts to view you as one. The arrows in the diagram symbolize the flows between these three different methods, which well cover in the book.