Brand Yourself - Are You an Expert?

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Are you an expert? What makes someone an expert?

Your answer to those questions may depend on how you think about it.

On one level, we consider the time, experience and success somebody has to determine whether or not they are a specialist. You may have heard that it requires 10,000 hours of practice to become a specialist at something, or 10 years of experience. These are very straight forward ways of considering the question.

On a deeper, personal level, the question becomes: what would it take for you to think of yourself as a specialist? Can someone be a specialist if who doesn't recognize themselves as one? What would need to happen for you to see yourself as a specialist?

Would you just tally up your hours of practice, and lay claim to the "expert" label when you cross10,000 hours. Or, you might look around one day and realize that you know more than anyone else in the room on a particular topic.

But too often, we won't consider ourselves as experts unless and until another person recognizes it for us. We don’t allow ourselves the conceit of regarding ourselves as a specialist unless another person first gives us the label.

So, is it experience and achievement which makes someone a specialist, or the recognition, or both?

I was recently listening to a radio host talking about people who are recognized as “experts” by the media. It seems no story on a news/information program ever runs without including an “expert” to comment on it.

The radio host’s take was that scores of of those experts are nothing of the sort. They give themselves the “expert” title, and then go about getting themselves booked on television.Sometimes, they know just enough to be dangerous. While I do not suggest that you do this, the approach does work… Very much as the late Michael Jackson labeled himself the “King of Pop” and people just went along with it, so it is with a lot of so-called “experts” in every field.

Now Michael Jackson really was a specialist in his field. But his moniker was self-given: he named himself the King of Pop.

So take a moment to ask yourself… Do you think you're a specialist? If that's the case, are you comfortable calling yourself an expert, even if nobody else has acknowledged you for it yet?

You almost certainly are a real expert in some area, hopefully in your business niche. If so, the lesson here is that is it OK for you to present yourself as such. You don’t need to wait for other people to acknowledge it in you first. If you have expertise, you are a specialist; and it is OK to bill yourself as such.

But... don't pass yourself off as an expert in an area where you have no expertise! And don't fall for the flattery of others if you aren't really an expert yet. In business, there is nothing more important than your reputation. A sure way to ruin it is to give bad or bogus advice.

So what do you do when you are in business in an area where you are not legitimately an expert?

The good news is that you are not out of the game in terms of marketing a product or service in that niche. Many business people, especially affiliate marketers, sell products in multiple niches. They can profit even without being an authority in each.

The big guideline here is, if you end up in that situation, don’t pass yourself off as someone you aren't. Instead, take the “reporter” or “interviewer” method in your marketing.

Just like on the news, "reporters" don't necessarily have to be experts in the story they are covering. The reporter gathers the facts, organizes them appropriately, and presents them to their viewers. You can do this in your marketing as well. Pull together and present the facts, and never take credit for ideas and content which is not yours.

The “interviewer” actually has , to do even less work! And you continue to be perfectly credible. Your job is to search for other experts in the field and interview them. The expert brings all his knowledge to the table. All you need to do is ask the right questions and keep them talking. Then you present your interview with the expert to your audience.

Another key benefit of the interview approach is that it's an ideal way to create products instantly! Record your interview with the expert on video or as audio, or transcribe it. You will have immediately created a product you can market!

Do not hide your plan from the expert. In fact, you'll likely be able to use it as leverage to get them to participate! Since you are going to be profiting off of his/her expertise, you should make some financial arrangement with the expert. You might pay them a flat fee for the time it takes to record the interview, or give them a certain percentage of the sales revenue, or allow them to use the interview to pitch their products to your customers, or any combination of these.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

Next, discover the secrets to launching and profiting in any business by leveraging the revolutionary e-Marketing tools of the Information Age.
The playing field has never been more level! The opportunities, never so plentiful!
Alex Arthur emarketingheadstart.com

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