Who decides if you are an authority in your niche?
It`s not that you wake up one day and label yourself “authority”.
This is my view on it…
YOUR authority comes from your VISITORS; it comes from your audience. You don`t decide, THEY do.
If you give your audience helpful information, give them solutions to their problems and make them want to come back THEY will “label” you authority.
Let`s look at the definition of authority:
a person or organization having power or control in a particular, typically political or administrative, sphere.
As I see it that power and control is GIVE from your audience.
There are things that you can do to position yourself to become an authority, here are 4 things you can do.
4 Tips to Become an Authority in Your Niche
1. Have a Mission – Your WHY
One of the most important things is to have a clear message on your site. You visitors should easily be able to tell what the site is about. WHY you are running the site and what it can help your readers with.
Have a clear mission, if your mission statement is fussy to you, then it will not be very clear for your audience.
Make sure you have a clear mission statement! A clear WHY!
This will not only help you but it will allow for your audience to connect with you on a different level. If you and your reader agree on the mission, the why, then you will connect on a deeper level.
A clear mission statement will also set your website apart from the rest of your competitors. It becomes clear to your reader WHY they should read your blog.
2. Become an Expert in Your Field
There are many ways to become an expert. To have “lived it” and “tried it” is one of the best ways to gain expertise. I find it kind of ironic when the first niche you start with doing affiliate marketing is “how to make money online” if you have never done it.
Not saying it can`t be done but personally I find “my journey to making money” better suited, if you are just starting out.
Other ways to gain expertise is to read books, take a class or course, go to a seminar, research and more. Stay up to date with changes and news in the niche.
You can become an expert in any niche, if you have the desire to learn. It will take some time but it sure can be done. So how do you put your expertise to use…
3. Prove Your Expertise
Don`t say you`re an expert, prove it.
So how do you prove your expertise? If you are passionate and an expert in the field you will not struggle to write a 400 word article. You will with ease write 1000+ words articles that are helpful and leave your visitors wanting to come back for more. This might not be every single article of course, but if your article is on a subject that needs dept, you can easily provide it.
You want to help your readers. You want to show them with your posts and pages that you are the to go to person within this field.
You want to share the expertise with the mindset of wanting nothing in return. This doesn`t mean you can`t make money from your site, not at all. If your audience like what you give away for free, if they find it helpful and see the value, they will be happy to pay for more.
4. Build Relationships
You want to build relationships; you want your readers to come back. Value the long term relationship with your audience MORE than a quick sale.
Treat them with respect, make them trust you, connect with people that believe what you believe… and the money will follow.
You also want to build relationships with people in the industry. Who are the “authorities” right now? How can you connect with them?
Online communities are a great way to network and get to know people in the same niche. You can also participate in other niche related events like conferences and seminars.
Hang out in places where they hang out, get to know them, don`t make them your enemy make them your friends.
I hope you found this article helpful – 4 Tips to Become an Authority in Your Niche.
I want to hear from you, what do you think what`s your tips to become an authority in a niche? Please leave a comment below.
Vicky
Hello Vicky,
You really have shown indeed that you know your niche and business. I really appreciate your informative post on how to create an authority site.
Thank you again
Glad you found it helpful!
Vicky
Building a relationship with our audience is perhaps the most important aspect to become an authority in any niche. If this is missing, people are most likely to avoid our recommedation. This will result in low conversion and pain to our own online business.
Thanks for sharing your 4 powerful tips here Vicky.
Very awesome!
Cheers,
Edy
Hi Edy,
You are right building a relationship with your audience is super important. That`s why I think, your audience decide when you become an authority.
Thanks for commenting Edy,
Vicky
It’s funny that you say that about PROVING you’re an authority to your niche, I was thinking that this morning! After starting my website, I’ve found myself wanting to take it to the BIG screens, and I have every intention to keep going! I love this post! Thanks for sharing!
Matt TheDopestMatrix
Hi Matt,
Yes putting helpful content out there, provide content in a matter where you prove you are authority and there are no reason “saying” you are.
It is kind of funny if you look at the “make money” industry, where people claim that they made big amount of money, have a huge house and a fancy sports car… they are saying all this, they are claiming the “guru” status. They are often short lived…
The people working tirelessly providing helpful content will be the winners in the long run!
Vicky
You are spot on with this article. I’ve gone to many a website that claims to be an expert or experienced only to find erroneaous information. There are too many sites out there that have ads all over the pages and you can tell that the person “writing” the information is adding fluff just make it sound or look like they know what they are talking about. You can usually tell, within reading the 1st paragraph, that you have run into one of these websites.
Anyway, nicely written article!
Thank you Debra,
Yes, I brought up the “make money” niche as an example of self proclaimed experts in an earlier comment. This is a good example niche of people doing the opposite of what I suggest. It`s not their audience giving them the “expert” title it`s them selves. And you are right a lot of “fluff” and empty promises to get to a sales pitch…
Thanks for your input Debra!
Vicky
hi Vicky
great ideas you present here! Being seeing as an authority in your field is not an easy thing to accomplish. It involves being very involved yourself in the field, making sure you are on top of things and constantly searching for what’s up and new. It does require some time and effort but if you are dedicated, you do it 🙂
Hi Emily,
Yes it will take time and commitment but over time you can earn “authority”. This will be up to your audience though to decide in my opinion.
Thanks,
Vicky
Hi Vicky,
Not only a great article you also have a very well thought out site! I was in sales for over 30 years and the one thing I always worked on was relationship building. It is like building a bridge. The material that builds that bridge is trust. Once you have built that bridge of trust you can reach your destination … your customer and they will listen to your recommendations!
Julie
Hi Julie,
Thank you.
I totally agree with you. I like your relationship building analyses, it makes a lot of sense.
Trust is a major ingredient, building that relationship.
Vicky