becoming an expert

Ask Questions You Want Answers To

A loved one
is known for
asking questions
she doesn’t want
to hear answers
to.

She does this
all the time,
at least once
per conversation,
and I now
ignore her questions.

I also don’t ask her
any questions
that I care about
receiving valid answers to.

I figure
if she doesn’t listen
to answers to her own questions,
she doesn’t have
the knowledge base
to answer my questions.

MANY people do this.
And it is a terrible habit.
It trains people
to not take your questions
seriously.

Only ask questions
you want to hear
answers to.

Then LISTEN
to those answers.

The Pollen Report

Whenever I check the weather,
I also check
the pollen report.

Will it be a bad allergy day
or a good allergy day?

Should I wear a mask
outside
or can I bareface it?

The pollen report
on my favorite weather site
is contained
within
Similasan’s ad copy.

Similasan produces
allergy relief products.

They know pollen.
They track pollen.
They treat reactions
to pollen.

Reporting on pollen
while advertising their cures
is clever
and efficient marketing.

Are you tracking
a factor
for your business?

Would your customers
benefit
from that tracking also?

How To Content

A buddy runs
a popular How To site.

She told me
that, according to her recent survey,
over 90% of her followers
didn’t complete
the simple How To task
in her most popular video.

They seem to like
knowing all about the process.
They don’t seem
to ever plan
to implement that process
themselves.

What does this mean?

It means
we don’t have to worry
about showing customers or prospects
how we do general things.

(Of course,
we shouldn’t share
exclusive-to-us
secrets
that give us
a competitive advantage.)

I, for example,
can talk about
how I create a story
and I don’t have to be concerned
that my readers will write their own books
and stop reading mine.

Most of them
won’t put the knowledge
I’m giving them
into practice.

Embrace
How To tips
as marketing content.

The Hot Gifts List

I bought several things
as gifts
for loved ones
merely because
they were on a Trendy Gifts
for Christmas 2021 list.

These loved ones
have everything they need
but they might, just might
not yet have the hot, newest thing.

You are the expert
in your niche.
You likely know
what the trends are.

Use that knowledge
to gain the trust
of prospects.

Craft a Hot Gifts List
for your niche.

Ensure your product or service
is mentioned somewhere.
Link to other businesses’ products/services
(use an affiliate link
if at all possible).

Post that list on your website, blog,
social media, newsletter.

Your customers will thank you
and you will be viewed as an expert.

Craft a Hot Gifts List
for your niche.

The Anthology

Want the expert status
publishing a book gets you
but don’t have time to write
300 pages?

Susan Friedmann
in Riches In Niches
suggests publishing an anthology.

An anthology is a collection of works
by (usually) different authors.

The best authors to team with
are not direct competitors.
A divorce lawyer
could team with a financial advisor
and a tax accountant,
both specializing in divorce.

The work is shared.
Any publishing or promotion expense
can be shared.
Client bases can be shared.