Would you say you are an expert? I did a poll on my Instagram stories last week and over 80% of people said it felt hard saying ‘I am an expert’, but 80% also said that they were!
The definition of expert in the Cambridge dictionary is…
So If I asked you again if you were an expert, what would you say?
I think so many of us find it hard to say that we are an expert at something, it seems to be such a scary word!
Maybe it because there is no definite level when you reach expert status. You don’t need to be able to recite 10 facts about your industry. Or pass a quiz that says you are an expert.
But I think you will know if you have a high level of knowledge or skill when it comes to what you do. Instead think of it as ‘something I know lots about and can help people with’ and start practising saying out loud - I am an expert in….
Being an expert comes up a lot when I’m working on the Six Week Marketing Fix because someone might ask what it the point in blogging or writing newsletter or using Pinterest, and the answer is usually being an expert in your field.
What are the benefits of being an expert?
There are a few reasons
People will trust you
They will refer people to you
They know exactly what it is you do
It will be really easy to create content
I think the main benefit is that you become the person that people come to for advice and knowledge and the best part it that This works even if you don’t see yourself an expert!
To someone else they might think that you are, which means when they have a problem the first person they will think of is you.
You could be an expert in anything
fashion
Accounting
Art
Wedding dresses
Marketing
Fitness
But the key is using your marketing to show that you are an expert and knowledgeable and trustworthy about what you do.
How can you show that you are an expert?
The first way is to link it to current events that people will need help with. Last week we had the new budget announcement and this was the perfect chance to share information.
For a lot of us who didn’t understand it, didn’t watch it, or simply drifted off we needed the updates in a quick shareable way.
One of my clients Lucy did a simple reel with the updates for 5% mortgages (and declared her love for Rishi at the same time). She is an expert in the mortgage process and it means that now there are new potential customers who will want to use her and she’s showed she knows how to help.
If you are an accountant, maybe you could write a blog about the update and explain how the tax changes will affect different groups of people who might be self employed or run their own business. Think about the problems they are facing right now and give up to date and relevant information that shows you know what you’re talking about.
The second way is by looking for opportunities.
My favourite ever quote is ‘Opportunities multiply as they are seized’ which is actually from The Art of War but I like to think of it as different opportunities as you go through life.
Have you ever had a situation happen where you think that if you hadn’t done that one thing, other opportunities wouldn’t have happened?
I feel like that about moving to Barry. If I hadn’t taken that opportunity I wouldn’t have met all these new people, met Tom, organised Barry Pride or started Barry Magazine, and look at how many other opportunities those things led to! But how does this relate to being an expert?
Well I think there are lots of ways you can use these opportunities to show you are an expert.
If there is an industry you have a lot of knowledge about that you could share, look for events that would benefit from having you speak about it.
There are so many groups on Facebook who look for guest experts to come in and go live. You could pitch to go on the radio and speak, and if you link it to something relevant like we just spoke about then that’s even better!
From those first steps more opportunities will come as you start to put your name and face out there and own that you know what you’re talking about.
A couple of years ago I started being more visible, giving online talks to the university and sharing tips in groups. It didn’t go unnoticed and I was invited to speak back at the university I went to infront of the other students.
Opportunities multiply as they are seized!
My final way to show you are an expert is to Be generous with your information.
I try to make my website, social media and newsletter as useful as possible for the people that visit them, without giving all my secrets away of course. This is something I think not everyone will agree with, but I know that it works for me.
Be generous with how you share your knowledge but also know that you are the only person who can work and run your business the way you do.
If someone wants to work with you it will be because of the way that you do things, so show them!
Share your opinion in blog posts, share your experiences in a newsletter, keep everyone up to date on social media and show what it’s like to work with you.
You can give as much help as you like online but it will still be totally different to working with you one to one and that’s why I offer the Six Week Marketing Fix. Having tailored advice specific to you is different to reading a blog post or listening to a podcast about it.
I hope you feel more confident in embracing that you are an expert and there are so many ways that you can help people because of it. If you know someone who you think needs a confidence boost, send them this blog and tell them to let me know what they are an expert in!