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Get Published
One of the most influential ways to make people
decide that you are truly an expert is to get yourself published. Obviously, no one wants to spend years writing
a book and then trying to market it just to make a strong favorable impression on others. At some point, the
amount of time and money that would take grossly exceeds the benefits of proving you are an expert. There are
other ways to do this, though, by taking advantage of the many new online content areas on the Internet. There
are also many self-publishing companies that make it easy to become an expert these days. Let's go over a few
different ways you can get yourself published, while reducing the amount of time and effort needed to accomplish
your goal.
Short Articles, Guest Posts, Blogs
The Internet is hungry for original content. If
you are a good writer, you can easily get yourself published just by writing a few articles and submitting them
to any number of article directories out there. EzineArticles.com is one article directory that many new people
join to help them get recognized as experts. They have a large audience and you can see how effective your
articles are by the number of reads you are getting. Just be sure to write on the subject you are promoting as
your expertise. Make the articles informative, entertaining, and be sure to add a link to your website in the
resource box to show where others can find out more about you and your business.
If you have networked with people knowledgeable
in the niche you want to market, they can make a perfect venue to start creating guest posts on any number of
sites. You supply the content and they give you a byline. This automatically gives you credibility with their
audience and promotes you as someone worth listening to.
You can also start your own blog and write daily
posts in an informal and conversational style. This counts as “online publishing.” As the number of people
reading and commenting on your blog increases, you automatically become known as the expert on that
subject.
Get Ghost Writers
What if you're not a great writer, but want to
get some articles or even an ebook written with your name on it? Luckily, you can pay someone to do it for you.
Freelance writers are ready and waiting to take your ideas and make them a reality, for a fee. You can look at
Elance.com or Guru.com to find people who will write an ebook you will be proud to put your name on. This frees
you up from spending massive amounts of time trying to do something you may not be good at in the first place
and still get to look like an author.
Get Them To
Testify!
Testimonials on your website, particularly when
they relate to a specific product or service, can be a very effective way of imprinting on the reader's mind
that you are an expert. If other people are listening to you and buying your products, then it shows that others
trust you. If, in addition, they are also taking the time to give a testimonial, it can show that you are
providing service beyond the average Internet marketer. It enhances your online reputation and is a subtle, yet
very powerful, psychological trigger that spurs sales.
A Sense Of Belonging
The trigger this invokes is a sense of belonging.
Who doesn't want to be a part of the “in crowd,” the people in the know? If everyone on the Internet is saying
good things about you and your products, why aren't they buying them? It's a subtle form of peer pressure that
can trigger an immediate response to take you up on your offer because everyone else is doing so
too.
This can be combined with a need for status by
putting up testimonials from people who are very popular or well-known. This can include an endorsement from a
celebrity, if you can get one, or just endorsements from people who are successful in their field and can prove
it. If you can get these types of testimonials and you are selling high-priced products or services, it can make
a huge difference in whether people are willing to open their pocketbooks or not. If they know that someone who
has already built up a large profile as an expert in a similar field and has achieved success is endorsing your
products, it makes you look like an up-and-coming expert too.
Placement Is Important
Putting a testimonial on a sales page is not a
bad idea. Testimonials should be on your website in areas that make the most impact. This is typically
associated with a sales page or promotional offer, not all by itself. If a person is visiting a sales page and
trying to make up his/her mind on whether to purchase that particular product or service, knowing that someone
else trusted you enough to make the purchase and recommend you, is a sure-fire way to make a positive impact on
the psyche of the reader.
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