Guest Post by Katie Earl

Being a thought leader is kind of like the holy grail in terms of marketing your services. It’s a long-term strategy that takes a lot of patience and commitment. But the pay-off can be huge. 

One way to get there is to publish regular blogs that help your audience get to the heart of their problem and, crucially, begin taking steps to solve it. Building up a library of blogs is the perfect visual image to show how the journey to thought leader begins with a single step.  

Why bother with thought leadership?

Have you ever bought something from someone you didn’t think was an expert in what they do? Or at least without having an element of trust in their ability to provide the best experience possible? Thought leadership reassures your audience that you seriously know your stuff - you don’t just know it, you know it inside out. 

There’s also a tonne of research showing that regular publication of high-quality, genuinely helpful content sways the buying decisions of your audience – a lot! Get it right, and your audience will form a very favourable view of you even before your first interaction. Get it wrong - i.e. low quality or inconsistent - and you’ll be actively driving clients away. 

Putting in the effort to be a thought leader puts you in the minority of businesses that are attracting clients with ease, and building better relationships with your audience. 

There is one other reason to shoot for the stars…

You have valuable things to say!

A thought leader is an expert who shares their opinion generously and unapologetically. Your audience is waiting to hear from you - they’d love to know what you have to say! So make your mark and lead by example. 

How does blogging get you there?

There are lots of different ways you could become a thought leader - blogs are just one way to do it. Even though these points are specifically related to blogging, they can also apply to podcasts, videos, webinars, and much more. 

It shows that you’re reliable

Blogging means publishing regular updates that your audience can rely on. By being consistent in frequency, date and time, your audience will come to expect and look forward to reading your posts. This reliability is one of the things that will keep you front and centre in your readers’ minds. 

It keeps all of your content in one place

The people you help are all looking for a way to solve their problems, achieve their goals, and take themselves out of pain. So why not make it a bit easier for them to do that?

Collect all of your expertise, your best tips and tricks, and the messages that get your audience feeling all the feels. Put them in a place they can’t miss it, and let your audience nurture themselves while you serve your clients or simply take a well-earned break. 

Grow your audience from across the world

Blogs on your website are freely available to anyone with internet access the world over, at any time of day. It means that you no longer need to be on the same social media platform or at the same networking event to meet one another. 

Set up your corner of the internet

A blog doesn’t have a word count or any limitations on gifs, emojis, or anything else. They’re your space where you can be unapologetically you - no questions asked. 

It also can’t be taken away from you. If you’re relying on social media to connect with your audience, imagine what would happen to your business if your chosen channel was down for a week? What if it was closed down for good? Or you were suddenly not allowed to use it for your business at all? 

While social media is a great way to connect, scaling your business and becoming a thought leader will require you to think bigger. 

What’s the difference between a thought leader and a business with a blog?

Now of course, simply publishing a blog now again won’t be enough to make you a thought leader. There is a big difference between the two things, but the point where they diverge can be a bit of a grey area. 

The thing that really differentiates thought leaders is long-term, consistent action designed to inspire and educate rather than promote services. Thought leaders tend to publish longer articles that dig really deep into their subject - and that requires publishing slightly less frequently than you could publish shorter articles. 

It’s also important that you’re not using this content to directly promote your services. Thought leadership content is helpful for the sake of being helpful, not to fulfil the writer’s agenda. The short-term sales you might generate through promotional content are dwarfed by the pay-off of holding out for the long-term reward. 

Remember that even when you tick all the boxes of thought leadership, it will take years of practice and perseverance to be a true thought leader. That’s what makes you one. 

How to write thought leadership content 

A study by LinkedIn and Edelman established the four facets of true thought leadership. These are:

Timely:

Your content should provide insights that are timely for your audience, whether that’s at a particular stage in their lives or at different times of year. It’s great to be responsive to what your audience tells you they need to know. But how could you anticipate what they’re going to need to know in a month, or 6 months’ time? This is what will make your readers feel that you truly understand their struggle, and more importantly, that you can help them out of it. 

Concise:

While your articles should dig deep into the issue, make sure you’re not waffling on for the sake of it. Keep your insights easy to digest and act upon. Which brings us to the next point…

Actionable:

Your content needs to allow your readers to solve problems simply by reading it. By seeing the small wins they can achieve by themselves with your help, they’ll wonder what more you can help them with. 

Different:

Remember, most of the content out there is poor quality. And a lot of it, good or otherwise, is regurgitating the same old ideas over and over again. You can’t be a leader if you’re simply following the herd. So have the courage to tell people what you think about what people are saying. What do you believe to be the best way forward? How do these ideas affect your audience directly? That’s what people really want to know. 

Make it count

The best thing you can do to catapult yourself into thought leadership is to think more about your audience and less about your own goals. It might seem counter-intuitive, but thinking about how you can give more will only lead to you gaining more in the long run. 

Each time you write, ask yourself “How could I help more, while also being more myself in this piece?”. You’ll soon be on track to being the leader you’ve always wanted to be. 

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