Most speakers, trainers, and other thought leaders tell me they know the importance of blogging regularly, but most of them don’t do it!
Some people tell me they don’t have the time. Others say they don’t have enough new material. Others say they don’t see the point.
What’s your excuse?
I reckon if you’re not blogging at least every couple of weeks, you’re not serious about being an expert.
(By blogging, I mean writing and publishing an article publicly. You might do it on your own blog, through LinkedIn Pulse, or whatever. The medium you choose isn’t as important as actually committing to doing it regularly)
This isn’t a hard-and-fast rule, but it’s a good guideline to follow.
Even other people do it.
When I do consulting work with business owners or internal leaders, I tell them to do the same thing. These are not speakers, trainers, or information experts – but they do have expertise. Sometimes they share it internally, and sometimes publicly.
But they do it.
Here are some of the things I tell them to do:
- News story: Mention a recent news story and add a brief comment explaining its relevance.
- Latest research: Report on new research in your area of expertise, and explain why it’s important and relevant.
- Photograph: Take a photograph with your phone and publish it, along with a brief explanation.
- Insights from a conference: Share an interesting idea you heard from a conference speaker.
- Workplace incident: Describe an incident in your workplace and what you learned from it (Be careful about privacy, confidentiality, and sensitivity, of course).
- Useful Web site: Recommend a Web site that you find useful.
- Sent e-mail: Check your Sent Mail folder for answers to questions, edit them for relevance and confidentiality, and publish them.
- Quote experts: Quote other experts in the field (even competitors).
- Personal stories: Share relevant incidents from your personal life.
If they can do it, you can, too.
What can you do to share your expertise, build your authority, and start becoming a thought leader?
