Do you ever feel like you don’t get the credit you deserve as an expert in your field?
Does it piss you off when people with less expertise than you are successful and you aren’t?
Are you sick and tired of getting up each morning, only to go to a job you hate, when you’d rather be your own boss and work within your field of interest?
Or do you even secretly wonder if you’ve wasted your time becoming really good at your craft, when you aren’t getting anything out of it?
If your answer is “yes” to any of those questions, then you’re facing a challenge mankind has struggled with throughout the ages. And interestingly enough the solution has always pretty much been the same.
You’re an Expert, but Nobody Pays Attention (Except Your Mom)
You have put in the hard work it requires to become an expert. You have spent countless hours reading about your subject and taken the time to implement expert advice in your own life. And you’ve kept going when you wanted to give up and forget all about it.
But except for the fact that you’re good at what you do, you don’t have much to show for the effort you’ve put forth. Most people don’t know that you’re an expert in your field and those that do, don’t care (except your mom off course, but let’s face it – you didn’t become an expert to impress her).
The Reason? People Don’t Care About You
As long as mankind has been around, people have cared more about one thing, than anything else – themselves. That also means that they don’t really care about you and what you’re good at. And that’s bad news for you in two ways.
First of all, people need to be aware of what you are good at for you to become recognized as an expert. But its an impossible quest to inform the world single-handedly. You need help from other people, but they aren’t going to help you, if they don’t care.
And your impact on the people you do manage to get in front off, will be minimal because they don’t care about you and what you are good at, unless there is something in it for them…
The Ancient Way of Showcasing Your Expertise to the World
The one thing all well known experts have in common, is that they have figured out how to take advantage of the fact that people primarily care about themselves and use it to their advantage (knowingly or unknowingly).
Its a simple trick. It worked in the ancient Greece, it still works today, and it will work as long as people have a strong self-interest (probably as long as people are around).
All you have to do is to help people publicly.
It’s a deceptively simple strategy, but it works wonders for several reasons. First of all, people become interested in what you have to offer, because it’s all about them (what they really care about) and not about you. Secondly, you automatically position yourself as an expert, by showcasing your expertise and helping people with less knowledge/know how/experience.
On top of that, people will be grateful if you truly help them out and will help you spread the word as a way of paying you back (nobody likes to be in debt and if you help someone they are in emotional debt to you). And if what you have to offer really is good, then people will also be motivated to share it simply because it will make them look good to the people who benefit from it.
There are several ways to help people publicly, but one is better than all the rest in my opinion and that’s the one I’d recommend you start with.
Not So Ancient Way of Getting in Front of People
Back before the industrial revolution, you had to physically get in front of people to help them out, but as human technology evolved it became increasingly simple to get in front of people. Just think about how few people experts were able to reach before printing was invented and books existed.
Books are still a powerful way of getting in front of people, but the advances in human technology have created a much more effective medium and it’s also both cheaper and more accessible.
You’ve probably already guessed that I’m referring to websites. Websites are the perfect medium for helping people publicly as “a website is a platform for leveraged human interaction via the internet” (that’s my definition of a website).
There are plenty of examples of people who used a website to establish themselves as experts. And if you think about it, you probably can’t name a single living recognized expert that doesn’t have a website.
So here’s what you should do:
1. Make a Website
If you want step by step instructions about how to make a successful blog then check out the Start a Blog That Matters course. And if you just want to know how to make a website then check out my site (there’s a link next to my picture below the post).
2. Find Out What People Want Help With
Think about what you wanted to know when you knew less about your topic, what problems you’ve faced, etc. Talk to people with less experience and ask them how you can help. And head over to the Google Keyword Tool to find out what people are searching for related to your area of expertise.
3. Write About it
Then simply start writing articles that truly help people – aim for epic every time.
4. Get in Front of People
And last but not least make sure people become aware of your website. Be active on social media, write articles on other peoples websites (you can even become an expert at that) and tell everyone you know.
It’s as simple as that and if you put in the work and keep going, then I guarantee that your days as an unknown expert will be over soon.
So what are you good at that only few people know about?
And if you have experience with other effective ways of helping people publicly, then I’d love to hear about it in the comments.
Did you find this article helpful? Then I’d appreciate if you would help me look like an expert by commenting below and sharing the article with your friends. 
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Hey Caleb and Corbett, thanks for the opportunity to guest post on your blog!
I’ll be reading and responding to every single comment. And I’d love to know what people think. So if anyone have a question, just ask and I’ll do my very best to answer.
Tune,
I think you said it all in the line “All you have to do is to help people publicly.”
helping people is definitely demonstrates your skills/expertise/knowledge AND if feels awesome!
Hey Lori,
Thanks for the comment!
And you’re right, that is exactly what I wanted people to get out of reading the article (and of course to make them aware of my website). But that sentence alone, wouldn’t have made a very good blog post
. So I had to flesh it out a little.
Some good thoughts here, Tune. Thanks for this article.
Hey Shirley,
Thanks for the comment and glad you like it.
Hi Tune,
Nice piece. I’ve already shared the link on my twitter accounts. I’m wondering, would you be interested in writing another article on this topic for my company’s site? (It’s a publishing platform for professionals.) I think it could be really useful for our readership.
Let me know if your interested and I’ll send you a link.
Cheers,
Erin
(erin@exploreB2B.com)
Hey Erin,
I’ll take that as a compliment – thanks
I’ve sent you an email.
Hi Tune
I’m thinking a lot at the moment about the most effective ways to share my ‘expertise’ with the people who I can make a difference for – which is every reason for putting the work in! So, your helpful thoughts are very timely.
Hi Sarah,
Glad you found it helpful!
And best of luck making a positive dent in the world
You’ll need to figure out where your target audience hangs out and how to get in front of them with something they’ll find interesting – simple, but not necessarily easy.
Perhaps my “customer magnet tips” can help:
http://websitefromscratch.org/website-tips/
Great point! Helping people publicly – I never thought of that opportunity. But I’m proud to say that I’m currently working on all four steps you suggested (I’m doing Start A Blog That Matters).
ExpertEnough introduced the idea of, well, being Expert Enough in your field. Realizing that I might have more experience in certain things than 90% of my friends gave me the courage to start working on my blog.
I might not be as smart as the world class leaders in my field, but I still know enough to share it with people who are just starting out.
Reading this post was really inspiring, it got me thinking about other ways I could help people publicly like featuring success stories etc. My brain is working away…
So thanks for the tip and the inspiration!
Hey Iris,
That’s awesome, glad it made you think!
And good point you are bringing up. So many people aren’t doing what they want, because of self-doubt. You just gotta find people with less experience than you have and help them out.
Good luck with your blog, when it goes live.
Hi Tune,
Your thoughts are right on. To be successful, one has to think about how they are going to help others since most people have a “what’s in it for me” mind-set.
People can quickly suss out who is willing to divulge great information for free and others who only allude to helping but really don’t. If you keep it to yourself you may get a few interested but the majority need to be convinced of your expertise. Show them you know what you are talking about. Give them a reason to believe you. If you have this mentality when you go into business, you’ll quickly gain people’s attention and they will look to you for the quick expert answer.