You can become a noted authority in your field, quickly and at no cost, with simple writing. You do not need a higher education or any special credentials. In as little as one hour you can gain authority as a published writer and reap the many benefits that come with that status.
Author = Authority
The secret to success is right in the name: “AUTHORity”. As you can see the word “author” is not only the root – but the majority of the term. This is because those who author works (aka/ write about a topic) are recognized as experts, or authorities, on those topics. The origin of the author/authority relationship dates back more than 2,000 years. After 100 generations it’s pretty-well ingrained in most folks.
Authority Defined
People know, inherently, that “author = authority” but what does this mean to you as an authority? Let’s turn to the number one resource in the English-speaking world for an answer. Here are four ways in which Webster’s defines the term:
Authority
noun | au·thor·i·ty
- an individual cited or appealed to as an expert
- power to influence or command thought, opinion, or behavior
- convincing force
- persons in command; specifically
Source: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/authority
As far as definitions of professional status go; I would gladly take any one of the above!
Authority = Opportunity
Once you are established as an authority, you will find the opportunities around you tend to open up almost magically. A request for a quote here; an invitation to speak at a function there – those who need answers tend to seek out experts.
Of course, it is NOT magic. You are continually earning your reputation and the benefits that come with it. You will find that, like a muscle, the more you use your authority; the stronger it grows. From a pure publicity perspective, you can consider your authority to be your best-ever marketing muscle.
But what does this really mean in terms of tangible benefit? The sky is the limit! Use your newfound expert recognition for attracting new business and closing deals. Gain legitimate celebrity status in your field. Impress future employers whether for a full-time job or consulting gig. Your opportunities are phenomenal!
Let’s take a moment to see how others have flexed their new ‘marketing muscle’ and reaped the benefits of authority status…
By Who’s Authority?
Wondering if this can work for you? See how it worked for these folks and judge for yourself. Following are real-life examples from white-collar professionals, tradespeople and retail establishment owners alike. Their authored works range from a 490-word mini-article to a 25,000-word book. In fact, let’s start with those two as examples.
Unstoppable Profit: $1,380 for One Hour
Bill, the owner of a three-truck plumbing company in Central Virginia came to me during a prolonged lull in business. The off-season was slower than usual, and his technicians were starting to lose hours. He did not have a lot of money to invest and needed fast turn-around.
This is not uncommon, so I already knew the most important question to ask, which I did; “What’s your quickest money-maker?” “Unclogging drains” was Bill’s immediate reply.
Using a free internet search keyword tool, I tracked down the most commonly searched terms relating to unclogging a drain and used those keywords to build specific topics we could write about. In about an hour we had a short (490 word) article with a great do-it-yourself method for unclogging a tough drain.
But there was catch… three actually:
- The first was that our research showed a lot of people were looking for tips to “unstop” a drain rather than “unclog” it (about 22%).
- The second was that about twenty percent of the searches involved requests for methods that involved no mess.
- The third catch was that over fifteen percent of the requests included how to get the best results without the use of dangerous chemicals.
That’s great information to know and it really helped shape our article. Rather than potentially interesting the roughly 520 web searchers in the local market that were projected for that month, we crafted an article that would potentially attract about 1,200. With a few minutes of research, we found a way to more than double the potential value of our work!
We crafted a title we felt would appeal to our target audience; “Unstoppable Clean and Safe Way to Unclog a Drain without Chemicals” (title modified to protect client identity). In just 490 words we provided a step-by-step process for using baking soda and vinegar to unclog a drain with no fuss and no muss.
The article was quickly submitted to the five most popular local area websites with a “Home” or “Home and Garden” section. One of them published it as a blog post just two days later.
Although there was no way to tell exactly how much came from this article, I can tell you two things that are definite.
First – Bill, the plumbing shop owner, was approached one of the site publishers that posted his article. He was asked to be a local subject matter expert on future plumbing pieces.
Last I heard he had been interviewed for a piece on how to avoid pipes freezing and another on how to save money with simple plumbing fixes. I only know this because I followed-up with Bill a few months later and he said “That little article really opened doors. My phone rings every time I get quoted on that website. I even submit a few of my own originals when I get the urge.”
Second – Based on customer feedback from those who completed the “How did you hear about us” section of their satisfaction survey, Bill’s company received at least thirteen leads and landed nine jobs from that first article. Four were for stubborn clogs that required snaking (as mentioned as a possibility in the article). The rest ranged from a running toilet to piping in a new jetted bathtub. In total the company earned $1,380 in labor costs alone.
Not bad for an hour of work! Especially since those were just the immediate results of a single article. Drains clog all the time and as long as people see his article, he will reach new customers.
Writing Topic Research Tools
Today it’s easier than ever to find the best topics to target for your writing efforts. And trust me, you want to be as clear as possible in your targeting.
For example – Bill knew what he made the quickest money doing but was able to attract twice as many readers by knowing the specific keywords people searched for.
Here are three fantastic tools for finding the exact keywords people search for:
- Bulk Keyword Generator by HigherVisibility.com
- This tool is geared specifically toward helping small businesses identify keywords that local customers are searching for.
- By default you land on the “Keyword Suggestor” that has you select a business category from drop-down options.
- If you want to find something completely different, click on the “DIY Generator”. You can’t miss it.
- Answer the Public by AnswerThePublic.com
- If someone has asked the question of Google, chances are AnswerThePublic.com has that question along with several hundred related.
- This is the ultimate authority for getting into your potential reader’s mind.
- Google Keyword Planner by Google.com
- One of the originals and still one of the best, Google’s keyword planner will provide approximate search volume based on local, regional, and even worldwide interests.
- You just need a free google account to access the planner and chances are – you already have one.
He Wrote the Book on SEO
Several years ago, I had the pleasure of working with Mike Meyer, the President and CEO of NetSearch Digital Marketing (formerly NetSearch Direct). Mike was working hard to help his company stand out from the thousands of others that were entering the online marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) business.
Mike has a great business model and an outstanding team. They do quality work, getting excellent results for reasonable rates. But the amount of competition had doubled in just three years and showed no signs of slowing down. NetSearch needed an edge; preferably something that made the company and its founder stand out for their knowledge and experience as “the real deal” in an industry becoming inundated with late bloomers whose main method of getting business was price undercutting.
One day while brainstorming Mike and I toyed with the idea of writing a book. We would have done it sooner but SEO is one of those few areas where the technology is dated before you get the book on the store shelves. We’re talking months; not years. Worse yet is the fact that acceptable technique used today might be against the rules, for major search engines like Google, tomorrow. So while SEO is great for writing a never-ending supply of fresh material, it’s not as conducive to writing books with a long shelf-life – unless you find a unique angle…
While brainstorming we reflected on a common theme we had heard from clients and prospects alike; with ‘the rules always changing’, finding the “right” SEO solution is a tough job. That was it! We had our hook and Mike started writing that same day. Within a month “SEO 3.0: The New Rules of Search Engine Optimization” was published and available on Amazon.
But that’s far from the best part. Mike had 500 copies printed for that year’s International Franchise Association (IFA) trade show. Although there were five other online marketing/SEO companies with booths at the show, Mike was the only one passing out copies of an industry book that he wrote! He had found the edge he needed and it came with all the expert status you could ask for. By the end of the second day he was signing autographs for franchise business owners who we very impressed that he literally wrote the book on SEO.
In all Mike Meyer and his sales team gave away and sold more than three thousand copies of “SEO 3.0” over the course of three years – with purchases made from nearly a dozen different countries. As you can probably imagine, this helped bring in a lot of new business and cement Mike’s reputation as an industry authority.
He has written three more books since and is a recognized SEO expert in the business community locally and nationally. He’s been featured on the radio and in newspapers as a regional SEO guru ready to help local businesses get more leads. In addition, since authoring his first book Mike has been quoted in blogs, served as a guest speaker at multiple regional events and appeared as an SEO subject matter expert panel member at one of the biggest international industry-specific trade shows in the US.
What Should You Write? – From Blogs to Books
What you write depends on the results you want to get.
Starting out by writing an entire book can be daunting and best and terrifying at worst. If your goal is to establish yourself as an expert in your field, start with something smaller. And keep in mind that good things come in small packages. If I can get the answer to a tricky question with five minutes of reading, that is my preference.
If, on the other hand, I want to be entertained, I have no objection to reading a piece ten times as long.
In other words, the medium that you choose to write through is largely dependent on who you want to read it and what you would like their experience to be. Here are some good examples of writing to establish yourself as an expert.
| Medium | Purpose | Words | Read Time |
| Mini Blog Post | Answer a question | 300-600 | 2 mins |
| Blog Post | How-to info | 1,300 + | 10 |
| Article/Pamphlet | Multiple topics | 2,200 + | 13 |
| Feature/Whitepaper | In-depth or technical | 3,500 + | 20 |
| eBook or Booklet | Gen. info 1-3 topics | 5,000 + | 30 |
| Book (medium) | Det. info 1-3 topics | 12,000 + | 70 |
| Book (full) | Any | 30,000 + | 180 |
The above is a very general guideline of what works for most people. But it is just a guide. Do what feels right.
Much of the information is based on what the typical reader expects to see.
For Example:
If someone has a quick question that cannot be easily answered in an FAQ, they might just need a 400-word blog post with some basic instructions.
When someone needs detailed analysis or citable reference material, a white paper or industry journal entry might be most appropriate.
For those looking to get into a new pastime or profession, investing one or more hours reading a book is a good option.
Where to Publish
This site will have plenty of detailed tips on where to publish your work to get the results you want. For now, let’s stick to the golden rule:
Be available where your audience can find you.
I realize that sounds way too simple – but simple is good. It makes more sense when you look at examples.
Becoming the Local Expert
If you want to achieve local expert status, start by searching for free online and print publications that serve your area. These are often the free papers sitting in the racks at grocery stores and local restaurants.
Do a web search to find their publication information and visit the site. Once there, use their search tool for “submissions” and you should get all the information you need.
You might find yourself quoted as a local authority on an article written by a staff writer. Or your actual piece might be published. Just be sure to follow the editorial guidelines listed on the site. Most local papers want about 500 words for typical entries. In exchange you get a nice byline.
The byline is usually about 30 to 50 words of text giving your name, company name, area of expertise and website or contact information.
Establishing a Regional Reputation
Use the same strategy as for local but aim higher. Approach the largest paid newspaper or magazine in your region or field. If there is a print edition, there will almost certainly be an online version as well.
With more refined media outlets, you are likely to be refenced in an article written by a professional on-staff writer. You will not get a byline; however, you will be credited as the expert that media outlet chose to use. This a is a BIG win!
Also reach out to television and radio stations. They also have print websites. This is a widely overlooked gem of a resource for writers.
Insider Tip: The more you have plainly and clearly written for the reporter, the more likely they are to use your material. It is not unusual for the reporter to pull quotes from the article you provide to them as a way to provide a high-quality article with minimum time investment.
Become a Published Expert in Your Field
From guest blog posts to industry journals and whitepapers, submit your work far and wide. Don’t be shy. Shoot for the Moon!
Most major hobbyist and skilled craft publications publish pieces submitted by knowledgeable readers. The same is true of business and finance publications as well as general publications that want to feature everything from an insider’s take on travel destinations to the best place to get the best burger in town.
Self-publish a Book
Amazon is not the only self-publishing game in town – but they are the biggest and one of the easiest to work with. Visit kdp.amazon.com see what Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing can do for you.
With a little insider knowledge, you can even find ways to earn Amazon Best Seller badges and bragging rights. I will show you how.
Then again, making money never hurts so I will also show you how to get paid for every page of your work someone reads – even if they don’t buy your book!
Self-publishing on Amazon is a topic large enough to fill a book. In fact, it does – many books. And I will show you how to do it right here, for free.
Authority by Writing Books
Seeing real-life examples of how everyday businesspeople like Bill and Mike benefitted from their authority can be inspiring, but how about something bigger?
Have you heard of Dale Carnegie? He was one of the most successful businesspeople in the world because he was a standout authority in the fields of public speaking and negotiating who helped hundreds of thousands of others become successful in his lifetime. Founder of the Dale Carnegie Institute, a worldwide personal and business coaching phenomena, Mr. Carnegie’s legacy has now helped millions of people and shows no signs of stopping.
Of course, he wasn’t always one of the most successful and sought after celebrities in his field. Just like anyone else he needed an edge to make him stand out as an authority, and he certainly found it…
How to Win Business and Influence Customers
Most people know Dale Carnegie as a renowned businessman and author, or by the Institute that bears his name. He earned his greatest fame for writing “How to Win Friends and Influence People” after he had already spent two decades teaching his incredibly popular “Dale Carnegie Course”. Now in print for over eighty years, “How to Win Friends and Influence People” was a runaway success that is still one of the most read business and self-improvement books in the world. But that’s not why Mr. Carnegie is being recognized here.
What most people don’t realize is that Dale Carnegie was still a struggling entrepreneur and trying to establish himself as an expert trainer when he co-authored “The Art of Public Speaking.” His now famous “Dale Carnegie Course” (the first of his many courses) was in its second year and still relatively unknown. “The Art of Public Speaking” helped change that by getting his message out to a much wider audience who now saw him as an expert on exactly what they needed. He went from tacking up hand-typed flyers within a few blocks of his home base to corresponding with people hundreds of miles distant who were eager to attend his course.
Incidentally, this occurred in 1915 at a time before most Americans had ridden in an automobile or used a telephone. People who read his book were willing, and even eager, to get on a train and travel for hours or days just to meet the man and see what he could teach them in person. He became THE ultimate authority!
Imagine what you could accomplish today between Amazon, the Internet and social media!
Authority by Writing Booklets
Yes, in my experience writing a book is the best way to firmly establish yourself as an expert and gain instant credibility. But it’s not the only way. You can gain a significant air of authority by authoring blog posts, whitepapers, and magazine or e-zine articles. In fact, one of my heroes, Suze Orman, helped share her expertise in the personal finance world through an informational booklet.
She has, of course, also published ten comprehensive books (or more by now) on finance and investing but here’s how her first booklet helped launch her brand and showcase her expertise to many future clients. Incidentally, this all happened before the World Wide Web when she had to do all of the legwork herself!
If you’ve never read her story I urge you to do so. She’s incredible for many reasons but one of my favorites is her use of authorship to gain authority. Here’s a super-short summary from the Wikipedia page…
“In 1987, Orman resigned from Prudential [Prudential Bache Securities] and founded the Suze Orman Financial Group, in Emeryville, California. While there, she published a booklet, The Facts on Single Premium Whole Life, which compared single-premium whole life, universal life, and single-premium deferred annuities; she distributed copies of the booklet for free to anyone who requested one.”
Source: Wikipedia; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suze_Orman
Write Like a Pirate
- Who: Scott Jason and Mike Small of DotComPirates.com
- When: Winter 1999
- How: E-Zine article
- What…
I’m writing this from personal experience. Since it’s been 21 years since these events took place I’ll rely on my friend, and former business partner, Scott Jason to help fill in some detail.
Scott and I were in our late twenties working dead-end landscaping and construction jobs in New England. Winter was fast approaching and we were about to be laid off for a few months. As was the custom we would get seasonal work to get by until spring. This typically involved plowing snow, driving heating oil delivery trucks, etc.
But something changed that year. We had been doing some good work, as a hobby, in the new field of “Website optimization” (soon to be known as “search engine optimization” or SEO). We both wanted to see if we could earn a few extra bucks that way in addition to plowing and driving. In about two weeks we’d have plenty of time on our hands so the timing could not be better.
Within a few minutes of deciding “Why not?” we were brainstorming ideas of how to get our name out there. We had zero money for advertising and only a goofy little 5-page website that was obviously not built by professionals. We did however have good ranking results on Yahoo and AOL.com for our little site. And that something we could use – especially at a time before Google ruled the world of search.
Like Nike Says; Just Do It
We decided to write a short article loaded with the tips we used to get the results we were currently enjoying on Yahoo and AOL.com for our own website. Neither of us was much of a writer at the time and didn’t know what we’d do with our bunch of tips once complete. But we did it anyway. Sometimes it’s a good thing to jump in and not have a clue. Here’s what happened next…
No Writing Experience, an Old PC & AOL
Using Scott’s Windows 95 PC and AOL dial-up Internet connection we started looking for articles about online marketing. We wanted to steer clear of anything specific to Website optimization with the thought maybe we could find an outlet that wanted to break into this relatively new area. Within an hour we had a list of about a dozen e-Zines and that looked promising. We picked the top five that we felt we had the best chance with and went over their options and rules for article submission. This brought us down to three realistic options so we reformatted the article for our top picks and went through the submission process.
About a week later we received the surprise of a lifetime. After finishing work we met at Scott’s place to check email on the off chance we had feedback about the article submission. What we had was much better. The “Admin@” email box had 55 messages from people who had read the article. It had apparently been published and sent to the inboxes of nearly 50,000 e-zine recipients – without us even knowing it! At the very bottom of the inbox was the article in the free e-zine we had subscribed to the week before when doing our article submission.
It just got crazier from there. We did this with absolutely no idea of how big it could be. We had no rates established or “packages” to sell. We were utterly unprepared and it was still the best feeling in the world! We felt like celebrities. Here we were, a couple ditch-diggers (literally) getting advice requests from online business owners from across the country. That was on a Wednesday. By Friday evening we had nearly 800 email messages.
We spent the entire weekend responding while more poured in. I worked from my home and Scott from his. We even got help from a friend who responded with thank you messages to those who just wanted to say they liked the article. By the following Monday we had received more than one thousand emails; six hundred of which were requests for proposal to do work for people.
I wish I could describe the feeling. We were excited, exhausted, grateful and scared all at once. I still remember seeing Scott on Monday after our day jobs and saying “Do you think we bit off more than we can chew?” His response was the best “Mike, we just swallowed the whole cow – and it tastes good!” I think that summarizes the experience better than anything I could say.
Instant Authority
We did not get rich nor famous from one article but we did gain instant credibility that was worth more than either of us could have imagined at the time. We made some good money and great contacts doing what we loved. And the following was our last year doing landscaping and construction work.
We both landed white-collar computer jobs and ran our small SEO company on the side. We were even approached by a venture capitalist but realized there were too many strings attached and accepting their offer would be a mistake.
It turns out we made a GOOD choice – but that’s another story. The point is that we had opportunities we never dreamed of and we can both trace it back to that first article and the dozens more articles, industry whitepapers and books we co-authored since.
Writing for Prestige and Profit
This experience showed me how powerful a short series of words could be. The timing was a big factor as well, but by 1999 there were thousands of people doing SEO. We just decided to share our tips in writing and it paid off.
Since that first article in 1999, I have written or co-written twenty two books (mostly as a ghostwriter), more than five hundred articles and thousands of blog posts. That short series of tips, and the positive feedback, gave me the confidence I needed to make writing such a large part of my life.
Although I use multiple pen names and ghostwrite most of books, some of my books have landed me incredible consulting jobs over the years. For example…
Computer Security in the Workplace is a short “best practices” book I co-wrote with my friend RC Burgess in 2003. RC wanted to get out of IT lower-level management and become a highly paid computer security expert. Mission accomplished!
It worked out well for me too. I had no interest in doing computer security but I did want to help others get published. When Computer Security in the Workplace got picked up by Harvard University Medical School as a staff training guide, my life as a ghostwriter began.
The SEO Answer Book was written over the course of three weekends in my spare time, in 2006. It was basically just a compilation of answers to questions people had asked me about SEO over the years.
Right before self publishing, I sent out a press release through PR Newswire announcing the release date and a few details. A reporter from a small business journal contacted me and asked to use me as a reference in an upcoming article. This helped me sell a record number of books and get SEO consulting jobs for several months after.
Life as a Ghostwriter
By the time I wrote my fourth book I realized I enjoyed writing more than I did the work I was trying to promote. I switched gears to being a ghostwriter, using my first few books as a resume of sorts. In fourteen years I have never looked back.
Ghostwriting for others to help them earn industry prestige is a lot of fun and more than pays the bills. I have also made some good friends and had the opportunity to learn things I never even imagined.
If you want to supplement your income, and love to write, it is certainly worth giving it a try.
Good luck!