by Charles George
How do you become a thought leader in today’s digital world?
When I was 18 years old, I went to a bunch of conferences. One thing that fascinated me early on was the featured speakers. As I attended more events and people got to know me, I became friends with many of the speakers at the conferences.
One question that became apparent and that I continue to ask myself today is:
“What are the differences between the people who speak at conferences, get sponsorships, and have their own products than the other people in the audience?”
This single question has fueled my entire career.
Another way to phrase the question, “What are the differences between today’s thought leaders, industry professionals, and hobbyists?”
Over the years, my answer to this question has evolved into three distinct components.
Three elements that differentiate thought leaders from others in an industry.
1. Talent/ Skills/ Expertise
My first inclination was talent and skills. The people speaking are very gifted in their industry. Their skills propelled them to be noticed, which led them to share their knowledge and expertise.
Today, one of my favorite things to do is to watch people who have mastered their vocation.
Whether it is a preacher delivering a sermon, a musician, an actor, guys carving wooden statues with chain saws at the State Fair or watching Tom Brady continue to play at a high level, I relish the opportunity to observe such mastery.
It can be reading sales letters of master copywriters or witnessing anyone else who has ascended to the top of their profession. I love watching people perform at a level that almost looks effortless. But also understanding they have invested their entire lives developing their skills to achieve their level of mastery.
Talent, skills, and expertise are big components of being a thought leader, but there are two other components.
2. Marketing
The second piece of the puzzle that I noticed was marketing. The people speaking on the stage are very good at promoting themselves.
This led me to earn a marketing degree from Christopher Newport University.
What I didn’t realize when I chose CNU, was Dr. Lisa Spiller designed the entire curriculum on direct marketing. Thoroughly learning the fundamentals of direct marketing has made the single biggest difference in my entire career. I’m always grateful for her sharing her knowledge and her impact on my life.
This is a relationship that I still nurture to this day.
I have been guest speaking in Dr. Spiller’s classes for more than 12 years now. Speaking at the University, where I learned direct marketing, is one of my highest honors.
The picture was taken after David Hancock and I, both spoke in Lisa Spiller’s Personal Marketing class a few months ago. Super fun times.
Direct Marketing and Thought Leaders
Direct marketing boils down to three components. As your audience and customer base grow, so do your opportunities, sponsorships, and revenue.
Three components of every successful direct marketing campaign:
- Audience– who are you targeting and why
- Offer– what product or service are you promoting and why.
Tip: The highest converting products often come from knowing your audience, identifying how you can help them, and then creating the product. Often this is a better formula for success than creating a product first and then selling it to an audience.
- Creative – The final component of a direct marketing campaign is the creative.
-How are you going to present the offer?
-What copy are you going to use?
-What graphics are you going to include?
-What core customer emotion are you going to tap into?
-What stage in the customer journey does the offer target?
-Where is the person within the buyer’s journey?
-Is the product a front-end or back-end product?
These are some of the questions the creative component needs to answer.
Essentially, the creative is how you present the offer to the target audience.
But there is still one more component to becoming a thought leader today.
3. Publishing
When we think of publishing, the very first product that comes to mind is a book.
Throughout history, books have distinguished people as experts like few other products can. Today, a book is still invaluable in establishing expertise. If you want to speak at events, then write a book.
But there are other components of publishing that can lead to being a thought leader.
-Podcast – this is still one of the best tools for connecting with an audience and other thought leaders. It is one of the best tools for establishing expertise and building trust.
-Newsletter – If I had to pick one marketing tool to build an audience, it is an e-newsletter. Newsletters deliver value, connect with an audience, and can generate a variety of revenue streams.
-Creating Content
Today there are so many different types of content that we can create. One question I ask before I create any content is, “What is the purpose of the content?”
We can relate each piece of content to the buyer’s journey to build and engage an audience.
4 Different Purposes of Content for Thought Leaders
Introduction
Content designed to introduce you to new people. For this type of content, think about social media posts, infographics, blog posts, and podcasts, etc.
Evaluation
Content designed to move someone from a suspect to a prospect. Plus, now we can follow up with the person. People in this stage are getting to know the business and are still learning about it.
The types of content you will need for this stage are newsletters, promotional emails, lead magnets, landing pages, etc.
Conversion
This content is designed to convert prospects into customers. Sales pages, cases studies, testimonials are types of conversion content.
Premium Content
These are products that generate revenue, such as books, workbooks, paid newsletters, online courses, membership sites, group coaching programs, workshops, boot camps, accelerators, intensives can all include premium content to help attendees learn and gain skills.
Thought Leaders Build Strong Relationships
Expertise, plus publishing combined with today’s digital marketing allows you to build an audience. The purpose of building an audience is to connect with people. Ultimately, direct marketing focuses on building relationships.
The stronger the relationships you have with your audience, then the more likely they will ascend to become higher-level customers. The stronger the connection, then, often the more valuable the customer will be to your business.
Finally, remember real estate is about “Location, Location, Location.” Thought leaders focus on developing “Relationships, Relationships, Relationships.”
Are you building your email list?
Today, when it comes to building your audience, one of the most profitable marketing channels is email.
According to the Direct Marketing Association, email marketing yields a 4,300% return on investment for businesses in the United States.
ExactTarget reports for every $1 spent on email marketing, the average return on investment is $44.25.
One of the most profitable ways to build your audience is to increase the size of your email list.
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Do you know that email is the most profitable marketing channel?
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