You know everything there is to know about your area of expertise. Fantastic! Congratulations! But how useful is that if no-one knows that you’re a fountain of knowledge? Part of being an expert in any given field is making that knowledge available and accessible to those who need it. Writing business blogs is a great way to do this, but there’s more to it than that.

Be consistent

You could argue that if you download all the information in your head into one lengthy article, or one comprehensive website, you have demonstrated your knowledge and proven your expertise. I’m afraid it’s not quite that simple. Firstly, how many people will read one long piece of text in one go? Most of us are time poor and when searching for information we need, we want quick answers to specific questions. And even if we did stop and read all of that information in one go, we’re unlikely to remember it, or where it came from, for very long. By publishing content regularly, it keeps you top of mind. The more often people see your name pop up, the more often they will be reminded you know your onions!

Be seen

To position yourself as an expert you need to be seen. This means the more places you can publish content demonstrating your expertise the better. This may sound daunting, but for example if you write a business blog just once a month, you can likely the use the content of that to create several social media posts to dot post periodically each week. If you can secure positions in relevant trade magazines or local publications relevant to your audience, with feature articles about your areas of expertise (not a sales pitch for your business) people are more likely to perceive you as an expert.

Stay relevant

When you know everything there is to know about a particular topic, you might take this knowledge for granted. Don’t! Things change quickly, so make sure you keep up to date with changing technology, systems, suppliers, and trends. If the rest of the market has moved on and you’re still talking about an out of date process or service, your audience will quickly tune out and find another more reliable source of information.

Answer questions people want answered!

Sounds obvious, right? But when you have all the answers, you might assume prior knowledge in your audience that simply isn’t there. It’s often useful to go back to basics, as well as covering more advanced topics and ideas within your field of expertise. To make sure you’re hitting the right note with your audience, ask them what they’d like to find out more about. Or think about what questions you get asked on a regular basis – if a few people have asked you about a certain topic, there are probably many more people looking for the same answers online. If they can find the answers from you when they need them, it helps to build your reputation as an expert.

Ditch the technical jargon

There’s nothing worse than needing to find out more about a subject, landing on a website or finding an article in a magazine on that very topic, and not being able to understand a word it says because it is full of technical jargon. There is always a temptation to prove how much you know by using industry specific terms, technical abbreviations, and acronyms. But trust me, not only is it not necessary, but it will put far more people off than it will ever impress. Perhaps you want to talk in depth about legislation in your field, or the technical aspects of a new product launch. That’s fine to do, as long as you’re explaining it in a way your readers will understand, not just a way that you understand.

Don’t be too pushy

To position yourself as an expert, it’s best to separate the sales pitch from the informative resource as much as possible. if you are constantly trying to push your product or service on people, while answering their questions, they’ll start to wonder about your credibility. For example, if you’re a home improvement company writing a blog about different types of front doors and you only cover the benefits of the products you sell, visitors may not feel you’re offering them an honest, balanced view. If, however you talk about the pros and cons of every available door, whether you sell it or not, they’re far more likely to trust you and eventually buy from you for your expertise.

In conclusion: Generate the right content – generate trust

It’s not an easy balance to strike, to generate content that demonstrates your expertise, without appearing too pushy and without assuming too much prior knowledge from your audience. But when done well, positioning yourself as an expert in your field can generate a level of trust among your existing and potential customers that is truly valuable.

About Blog Write Ltd

Writer of smart, engaging copy for businesses that understand the importance of great copy, but struggle to find the time to give it the attention it needs. I offer a proactive approach to deliver fresh content.