How To Become An Expert...And Why
Copyright 2006 Donovan Baldwin
Do you remember the old ads, "When E. F. Hutton speaks..."?
Of course, the idea was that E. F. Hutton could offer expert
advice on investing, and that it was good to listen to experts
before making such an important financial decision such as
investing your hard-earned money.
Most of us realize the value of listening to, or getting
guidance from, an expert before we enter into important changes
or projects.
In fact, a whole new breed of "experts" is emerging due in part
to the internet and internet marketing programs. Just what are
these people experts on, and how do YOU become an expert? Why
would you even WANT to be an expert?
WHO ARE THESE EXPERTS?
They are people from every walk of life. They may be doctors and
lawyers, housewives, internet marketers, shoe salesmen, Wal-Mart
clerks, automobile service managers (met him last night),
unemployed or retired. Male, female, young, old, college
graduates and high school drop outs. Some are well known in
their areas of expertise, and some have never been heard of by
their peers. The next expert could be you!
WHAT ARE THEY EXPERTS ON?
Well, what do you need an expert on? Investments, child-rearing,
self-defense, auto maintenance, cooking, network marketing,
sales, running a home business...or even, how to become an
expert? You name it, you can find an expert on it. Just this
morning, I uncovered two experts on the uses of dryer lint.
WHO NEEDS THEIR EXPERTISE AND EXPERIENCE?
Just about everybody. Hey, I just looked for somebody who knew
something about dryer lint! I was serious. I had a purpose for
trying to find somebody that could tell me about it. That's what
the internet is about...information. Everyday, around the entire
planet, millions of people turn to the internet in hopes of
finding information on just about every topic you can
imagine...and some you can't!
WHY BECOME AN "EXPERT" ON SOMETHING?
If you have any interest in establishing an internet business or
presence, one of the best ways is to be an expert in a field
related to your business, project, or interest. People on the
internet are seeking out experts daily, and once they find an
expert they can trust, they come back to the same person for
more information, and, maybe more importantly, they come to
trust the opinions and guidance of the expert. If you sell pet
products for example, becoming an expert on pet care could bring
you into contact with many people who would be willing to buy
your pet care products because they have come to trust your
opinion and advice.
HOW DOES BEING AN EXPERT HELP ME FIND POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS?
Actually, if you do it right, the potential customers will find
you. A lot of the information seeking on the internet is done by
means of search engines. If you have established yourself as an
expert in a given field and search engines become aware of this,
you, and your information, will be presented by them to the
seekers of the information you hold.
BUT I'M NOT AN EXPERT ON ANYTHING!
You are probably wrong. You know something about something.
Somewhere there is someone who wants to know what you know. That
makes you an expert, at least to them. If what you know can be
linked to what you want to offer to people as goods or services,
that can lead them to accept your guidance in the purchase of
those goods or services. There may be people who know a lot more
about the subject than you do, but that just makes them "more
expert" than you. It doesn't diminish the value of the advice or
information you have to offer someone who knows less than you. I
have even seen instances where someone who was a "real" expert
on a subject acknowledged that they had not thought of an idea
offered by a "not-so-expert" expert.
HOW DO I GET MY EXPERT KNOWLEDGE TO A SEARCH ENGINE?
One of the simplest ways is by writing small articles (600 to
1200 words) on the field you have knowledge in. The more
articles the better, and, with time, you may find that even when
topics and knowledge are limited, you can often approach the
same idea or point from different angles. Once these articles
are written, they can be submitted individually to sites such as
EzineArticles.com where visitors can read them, follow links to
your website, or copy the articles, with your links intact, into
their web pages or ezines. The more this happens, the more links
will show back to your web site, and the more people will become
aware of your status as an "expert".
Another, similar technique is to use an article submission
service, such as SubmitYourArticle.com, to have the articles you
write submitted to several sites where they will be posted for
real people to read and search engines to follow links to your
site. SubmitYourArticle.com submits to EzineArticles.com, by the
way.
Blogs are also a way to get your information out to the internet
public, and you can establish a blog related to your area of
interest or expertise at sites such as Blogger.com. You can
always round out the content of your blog, or even a website
devoted to your subject area, with relevant articles which you
can find at places such as EzineArticles.com.
HOW CAN I GET PEOPLE TO BELIEVE I'M AN EXPERT IF I CAN'T WRITE
VERY WELL?
That's not really as tough as it sounds. First, while a
well-written, grammatically correct article is more attractive
in many cases, many people seeking the knowledge you possess
will overlook technical errors in the writing if the information
is valid. If you really know and care about your subject, this
will shine through. There are also several services online which
will proofread and help write your articles for a small fee.
There are even services which will write the articles for you.
I HAVE A SUBJECT THAT I HAVE SOME KNOWLEDGE ON AND WANT TO WRITE
MY OWN ARTICLES, BUT I JUST DON'T KNOW "A LOT" ABOUT THE FIELD.
Not a problem. If you are starting with a subject you know
something about, a quick search on the internet will provide
additional facts and figures you need to round out your article.
Following up in this way may also give you more ideas for future
articles. Also, writing articles is the sort of thing that you
get better at the more you do it. Remember, these articles will
generally be very short and to the point and will only need to
cover a small portion of your subject area, at least until you
become more proficient at it. Another point is that although
your main point is to attract human visitors, you are also
trying to attract search engines, and the search engines will
not be quite as picky about your writing skills. They will be
more concerned with overall content and relevance.
OKAY, I'LL GET STARTED TODAY!
That's the spirit. Go get 'em, Tiger!
P. S. Just for info, this article is just under 1200 words.