Featured
Posted by
Ian Brodie on July 18th, 2017.

I'm sure you've noticed that becoming seen as an authority or “go to expert” has become rather fashionable as a marketing strategy. It seems that no matter what new tactic, tool or technique is being promoted, one of the main selling points is always that it will help you become seen as an authority in your field.
Write a book and become seen as an authority in your field. Do guest blog posts and become seen as an authority in your field. Do a podcast and become seen as an authority in your field. Be everywhere on social media and become seen as an authority in your field. Do live video…you get the idea.
Every guru and marketing trainer seems to want to teach you how to become seen as an authority.
Maybe you're a little bit skeptical?
I don't blame you.
The truth is that hundreds of thousands of people write books, yet only a tiny fraction of them are seen as authorities.
Millions of hours are spent on guest blog posts, podcasts and live video and again, very few people who do it are known as authorities.
And “being everywhere” on social media? Even if you had the time, there are countless thousands of other people doing it too – and again, very few of them ever get close to authority status.
Click here to find out what I learned on my journey to authority »
Featured
Posted by
Ian Brodie on December 17th, 2016.

There's been a big trend in the last few years that says that the way to win clients as a professional service provider is to become seen as a leading expert in your field.
As a result, more and more professional services marketing has become focused on creating mounds of content which showcases and proves the expertise of the service provider.
It makes sense, in theory. When clients want help for complex, tricky problems, they call the best expert they can find.
Or do they?
Let's give this idea a little reality check.
Think about the last few times you pitched for a piece of work with a client and didn't win. How often was it because you weren't seen as being enough of an expert by that client? Or because the winner was seen as a bigger expert?
My experience: very few times indeed.
The reasons you win or lose work are rarely because they don't see you as an expert.
Click here to find out why clients REALLY don't hire you »
Featured
Posted by
Ian Brodie on June 20th, 2016.

I saw a presentation recently about “how to be a thought leader”. Like all presentations there were some thing I liked, and some things I didn't. But there was one thing that got me really worked up: advice that I hear repeated again and again that I think is misguided and will take you down the wrong path if you want to be a thought leader.
In this week's video I highlight the big mistake that often gets recommended, and more importantly, tell you what to do instead if you want to become a real thought leader.
Click here to watch the video »
Featured
Posted by
Ian Brodie on March 22nd, 2016.

The “Propinquity Effect” is a fancy name for a simple, yet powerful principle first observed by MIT researchers Leon Festinger, Stanley Schachter and Kurt Back in 1950.
The Effect tells you the most powerful factor in building friendship, liking and trust.
And in this week's video I explain how you can use it as a budding authority to be more liked and trusted by your audience.
Click here to watch the video »
Featured
Posted by
Ian Brodie on March 14th, 2016.

Ever read a comic book or watched a superhero film?
One thing you'll have noticed in every one is that the hero always has an “origin story” – the way they got their superpowers.
A powerful origin story makes the hero more credible and believable. Spiderman can climb walls and shoot webs because he was bitten by a radioactive spider. Superman can fly because he comes from a planet with a red sun. Batman is driven to fight crime because his parents were gunned down in front of him as a child.
As an expert in your field, you have “superpowers” too. Clients hire you because you can do things that others can't. And just like with a hero, having a clear origin story of how you acquired your powers can make you more credible and believable.
In this week's video I share a number of effective models that you can build your origin story from depending on your own specific experiences.
Click here to watch the video »
Featured
Posted by
Ian Brodie on March 9th, 2016.

A special 5 Minute marketing Tip for you this week, and another in my series of tips on how to build authority in your field.
This video is an interview with Steve Washer. Steve's both a personal friend, and a real expert in building authority using video.
In the video I ask him what the best ways are of using video to build authority, and how to get started if you've not done video before or are in the early stages with it.
If video is on your agenda, this is well worth watching.
Click here to watch the video »
Featured
Posted by
Ian Brodie on March 1st, 2016.

World's longest title. Bold claim :)
In March I'm going to be focusing my 5 Minute Marketing videos, blog posts and emails on Authority Marketing: Strategies for becoming seen as a leading expert in your field.
In today's video I give my tips and experience on a really tough but highly relevant question: “How do you become seen as an authority if you're starting from scratch, without a best-selling book, popular blog or top-ranked podcast?”.
I give my view on what I would do to build Authority From Scratch in today's video…
Click here to watch the video »
Featured
Posted by
Ian Brodie on December 8th, 2015.

A different approach to becoming seen as an authority this week.
Your status as an authority is based on your audience's perception of your expertise relative to other experts they know.
So one shortcut to being seen as an authority that we've discussed before is to focus on a very tight niche or specialist area where there's less competition and so it's easier for you to stand out.
Another approach that works in a similar way is to master a new media. Over the years we've seen an acceleration in the pace of new media appearing: from blogs to Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter, to Youtube, Pinterest and Instagram. Today's hot new media is live video with Hangouts, Periscopes and Blabs.
Each new media brings with it a new audience, and a chance for early adopters of the new media to position themselves as authorities to that new audience. This week's video explains how.
Click here to watch the video »
Featured
Posted by
Ian Brodie on November 18th, 2015.

Another simple “recipe” for becoming seen as an authority in your field this week: using a “Celebrity Showcase”.
This is an approach that doesn't work for everyone: you need a couple of specific conditions in place. But if you can get it to work for you it can be hugely powerful as it allows you to rapidly build both visibility and credibility in parallel.
Watch this week's video to find out how to make it work for you…
Click here to watch the video »
Featured
Posted by
Ian Brodie on November 10th, 2015.

This week's 5 Minute Marketing Tip is the next in my series of simple “recipes” for becoming seen as an authority in your field.
This is one of my favourites. It's to become seen as an authority by taking a stand. By championing a cause.
Watch this week's video to find out how to use this recipe…
Click here to watch the video »