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Building authority isn’t a one-and-done sort of thing. It’s the cumulative result of a series of drips.
Consistent blogging.
A podcast series.
Media mentions or guest gigs.
Becoming the go-to source with your audience is a strategy—it doesn’t happen by accident.
(If you’re not convinced you need to be seen as an authority, read this first .)
You may have plenty of time (not to mention motivation) to invest in building your authority if you’re just getting started with your business.
But if you’ve been at it for awhile, you’ve already got a busy day job serving clients.
How do you ALSO find the time to continuously build your authority?
Simple in theory: you make a line-of-sight plan and work on it every single week, no matter what.
Not sure you can do that? Enlist a partner(s)-in-crime.
Case in point: Jonathan Stark and I decided last year to team up for our Business Of Authority podcast . And on April 30th we published our 26th episode.
It feels like the blink of an eye and yet here we are with a half a year’s worth of episodes (not to mention more new subscribers to each of our lists and a growing audience across multiple platforms).
But that’s just one example.
You can make a plan that exactly fits your expertise AND your business model in five steps.
Step 1: What’s the outcome you seek?
Be specific about what you want in your quest to build authority. Is it to deliver clients or buyers? Get media attention ? Or are you more interested in test driving a big idea?
Step 2: Define your expertise (yes, it will look exactly like a niche).
Financial advice for coaches. Ditching hourly billing for developers . Marketing campaigns for tech start-ups…
Step 3: List all your options to reach your ideal audience.
Where does your audience read, watch, listen, engage in your topic? Stretch yourself beyond the usual suspects—who else is attracting your tribe?
Evaluate every option in terms of time/money/outcome. Is the outcome you’re targeting realistically worth the time/money tradeoff to your business?
Maybe you’re thinking about a podcast. Fast forward to the steps involved: prepping for episodes, inviting guests, recording, editing and marketing .
If that process is simply too risky or too daunting given your resources, your best bet might be pitching yourself as a guest to podcasters with your ideal audience already tuned in.
Keep working your list until it has all your viable possibilities outlined.
Step 4: Pick one.
Yep, you read that right. Pick one thing, one tactic to try. Chances are you’re already investing in other authority-building exercises; so adding one to your list is quite enough.
Oh and while you’re thinking about this, is there anything you’re currently doing that is clearly NOT working? Now would be an excellent time to kick it to the curb.
Step 5: Set yourself up for success.
You know yourself better than anyone—what do you need to make your authority building successful? Should you schedule your actions in your calendar or hire a coach to check in? Or does hiring an outside expert to take it off your hands make more sense?
Related: Be The One Doing The Choosing
Building authority is a strategy. It’s a decision to grow your influence and impact in an area that matters deeply to you.
If you’re going to commit, do it right.