Becoming An Authority or Influencer

So you want to be a star huh?

Well, there is a lot of unglamorous aspects to becoming a star, an influencer or an authority.  But . . . they often don't outweigh the benefits that the attention brings to you and your business.

Why would you want to be an influencer?

This week in Episode 58 of the Feed U Podcast I dive into the 5 reasons becoming an influencer and authority in your market space is critical and necessary, especially in today's hustling bustling online world.  I also walk through the 10 steps to become an influencer.  Are they hard? No.  Are they instant? No.  Are they worth it? Abso-freakin-lutely.

What are the benefits of becoming an influencer?

Below is the top 5 list of why you want to become an authority in your field of specialty.  You can get all the details and examples by listening to this week's episode here. 

1. It will help you gain momentum and traction in your business, especially online.
2. It will enable you to make a greater impact, change more lives and leave a legacy.
3. It will help you build trust with your audience, customers and fans.
4. It will help you become an authority with prospects, industry leaders and your clients.
5. It will help you reach larger audiences through collaborations, which leads to you growing your own audience.

So are you in yet? 

Well, if you are - keep reading.  I'm about to lay out the 10 steps to becoming an influencer.  Again, more antics, hilarity, and information are in the actual episode which you can listen to here.

Here are the 10 authority building action steps:

1. Do things differently.
This is probably a duh, Alisa factor. But it needs to be said.  Take a look at the people you admire online and offline. That list of top 20 entrepreneurs.  They all have one very BIG thing in common.  They looked at the way things were being done and said, uh no, I'm doing it this way.  And guess what? People LOVE them for it!  So what makes you different, what makes you unique?  Why aren't you talking about it some more?  Get to it! 

2.  Be or become a leader.
I'm sure you've heard the saying, "they are a born leader". I don't think leaders are born.  I think people become leaders through trial, tribulation and taking a chance.  Leaders take chances.  They look at fear and laugh and jump in with no abandon.  Becoming an authority is a one-way ticket into self-love and improvement.  It is impossible to stand in front of a group of people and "influence" them if you are carrying around of bunch of self-doubt emotional garbage.  So let that shiitake go for the love of Pete.  People are waiting for you and they aren't going to wait forever.  So, become the leader I know you are.

3. Value and hold yourself in integrity.

Simply put, if you promise you are going to do something, do it. Especially if it is a promise you have made to yourself.  There is nothing worse than letting yourself down because you will carry around the guilt and negative nelly self-talk F-O-R-E-V-E-R.  So be true to yourself and be true to your word.  It goes without saying to also be true to your word with other people.  There isn't enough of that going around these days, so be the exception and you will be remembered.

4.  Know your audience/niche.
You've heard it before the riches are in the niches. Did you consider there is a reason for the saying? Because it's true.  Once you get clear on who you serve it becomes SO much easier to create and implement all of your marketing.  When you are running around trying to figure out where to be, what to say and how to say it - stop! Because your audience already has the answers to all of those questions. If you get to know them, you will have the answers too.  More importantly, you will know where to show up (think events, social media, podcasts, etc.) and when to show up there.  There is nothing worse than showing up every day to an empty room hoping someone shows up.

 

5.  Collaboration over competition.

This is a biggie.  You see if you can really and truly embrace that there is MORE THAN enough for everyone.  This amazing thing happens, the flood gates open, opportunities show up unexpectedly and the world REALLY is your oyster.  Not to mention that you have met some really cool cats along the way. So look at those people that you are internally at tug-o-war with and see why they are different and then reach out to figure out a way to partner with each other.  Will it work with every single one? No.  Will it work with the ones that it's meant to work with? Absolutely!

6.  Share what you know, but have it lead somewhere.

You've learned a lot of stuff along your journey as an entrepreneur.  Share it.  Save somebody time, energy and headache and they will forever be in your favor.  Yes, that was a total Hunger Games line, but it fits so well!  One of the biggest mistakes I see small businesses make is not sharing what they have learned or know, out of fear.  The second biggest mistake is sharing everything they know and not having it lead into selling their product in some way.  So, share - but make sure that sharing has a plan behind it.  Sharing increases trust, authority, and influence. But it does you know good to have those if you haven't figured out a way to monetize them.  Otherwise, you won't be in business very long.

7. Pick one platform and how up there.

Most business owners have a supercalifragilistic plate full of things to do. Add in marketing in multiple places and creating all kinds of content and they will be one step away from packing it up and heading to Tahiti, permanently.  Besides that it is an insane way to run your business, it will only lead to one place - burnout.  Instead, pick a platform that melds where your audience is and what you like and show up there.  Which leads us to #8 . . .

8.  Be consistent.

This is the most important marketing advice you will ever get.  No matter what you choose to do, online or offline, do it consistently.  As one of my mentors, Donald Miller would say, "marketing is an exercise in memorization".  People can't memorize who you are, what you do or how you can help them if you aren't in their face.  If you train them to know you will be on Facebook every Wednesday at lunchtime, they will show up there.  If they get an email in their inbox every Wednesday morning, the week they don't get one, don't be surprised if you hear from them. Consistency wins the race, every. single. time.

9.  Engage with your fans.

Imagine the phone rings. You pick it up and say "hello". It's your best friend calling to say she saw your newest blog and how great it was.  You set the phone down and all she hears is crickets.  How long do you think she would stay on the line?  Obviously not long.  And this is someone who already knows and likes you.  Now imagine, that's a stranger.  That person would be so outta there and more than likely would never return.  This is exactly what happens when you create engaging content and then don't respond.  Your audience is ready to have a conversation, but you just disappeared.  So create conversations. Talk to them, not at them. And for the love of all things holy, love on them.  Call them out for being fans. Say thank you.  Dedicate posts to them. Sing them a song. (Ok, maybe that's a little far, but you get the idea.)

Drumroll please . . . . .

10.  Have a plan.

Having a plan to become an authority, step by step and then taking action on those steps is THE only way to become an influencer.  Period.  If you don't create a plan, and you just wing it, you will either 1-get burned out or 2-give up because it's a lot of work and you don't know when, why or how you will get there.  Your plan doesn't have to be a spreadsheet with every detail mapped out.  Just create a list of goals and tasks to achieve those goals. Make it an outline.  Pretend you're creating a college research paper (do they still write these?)

I have a surprise tip #11

But you can only find that one by listening to the episode.  So head over here and give Episode 58 a listen.

What did you learn from this episode? 

Come and tell me in the Facebook Group. Not in the group yet? Consider this your official invitation to join me in my Facebook Group. I talk all things online business growth but specifically sales funnels, branding and WordPress.

Download the episode transcript here.