Several years back, I met a business owner who introduced himself to me as a thought leader in his field.
I found this introduction awkward and a bit unusual, especially because he wasn’t an author, and his website was a flat, basic site that looked like every other consultant’s site in his rather broad field. There was no blog or podcast or social media presence that demonstrated his expertise or unique voice.
It seems he simply decided to call himself a thought leader. But that’s not exactly how it works.
Dictionary.com defines a thought leader as “a person whose views are taken to be authoritative and influential.”
I define a thought leader like this:
Someone who consistently demonstrates expertise and unique perspectives in their subject matter through content marketing strategies. This can include a combination of tactics including a book, podcast, video, blog, social media, speaking engagements, media interviews, white papers, articles, and reports. Thought leadership is not a title to be claimed, but one that is earned. It is earned from experience and knowledge and a unique perspective on your subject matter, that is then amplified through content marketing practices.
Benefits of Establishing Thought Leadership
When you do the work to earn a seat at the thought leadership table, all kinds of opportunities can happen.
Here are some potential benefits:
- Increase book sales.
- Get a book deal with a traditional publisher.
- Attract media interviews.
- Grow an audience of readers who become lifelong fans.
- Get invited to speak.
- Work with corporate sponsors.
- Monetize your expertise through teaching, consulting, etc.
- Attain career advancement.
Whatever your motivation for establishing yourself as a thought leader, following are variety of strategies to help make this your reality.
Own Your Niche
One of the most important ways to establish thought leadership is to get ultra clear about who makes up your target audience. There are countless fields that are competitive with existing experts, making it harder to stand out. And if you’re aiming at a field with a lot of competition, it’s extra important to carve out a niche for yourself.
For example, there are thousands of health and wellness experts in the world. But there are far fewer experts in the health and wellness space covering niche topics like these:
- Lactose allergies
- Weight loss after age 60
- Nutrition for arthritis/fibromyalgia/ADHD/depression, etc.
- Self-care for new moms
- Anxiety solutions for teens
- Holistic mental health care
These examples don’t mean there aren’t people covering these topics, but there are undoubtedly fewer than the massive number of people competing for attention in the general health and wellness space.
Choosing a niche makes it easier for you to carve out your place at the thought leader table by bringing your unique perspective to a sub-topic within your greater genre.
Benefits of Owning Your Niche
You might think that narrowing your focus also limits your potential audience reach, but the opposite is true. When my son was an infant, he had a variety of food allergies. As I searched for answers, I found countless websites and books on food allergies but far fewer resources covering allergies for children or infants.
Several years ago, I attended a business meeting where attendees stood up and introduced themselves. One woman introduced herself as a life coach. A few minutes later, another woman introduced herself as a life coach for mid-life women who want to lose weight. At the conclusion of the meeting, I watched as people flocked to the weight loss expert, while the general life coach sat alone.
Imagine you have just gotten divorced and decide it’s time to hire a financial planner. You have countless choices available because financial planning is a common service. So, you line up three interviews. The first is with a general financial planner who works with anyone. You hear the standard pitch about services and choices for risk management.
The second meeting is with a financial planner who specializes in divorced parents. Now you feel like this person gets you. And then you meet with the third financial planner. She also specializes in divorced parents, but she has authored a book on the subject AND has been featured in the media offering tips on the topic.
Who do you think you would be most likely to hire?
The reality is that it will be far easier to attract and connect with a specific, niche target audience. When you add in content marketing tactics, your status is elevated in the eyes of your readers and potential clients.
Bottom line: When your audience discovers that you’re an expert in something that specifically relates to their challenges in life, you will attract far more interest.
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