Do you have an online business? If you do, the second question is how are you doing? The bottom line is always the uppermost concern in your mind. To that end, creating expert status may be just the thing to catapult your business to the next level.
What is Expert Status?
Well, it is comprised of many things actually. Mostly, it is a tool to increase the number of people who patronize your online business. It involves raising your visibility level. Potential customers have to know that you exist before they can visit, get advice and buy your products.
But, you knew that already. You've told all of your friends and family, and also your church members and co-workers that you have begun an online venture. Your marketing strategy has served you well so far to draw traffic, but you wish you were doing better.
Here's a question: When you need help, who do you go to? Hopefully you seek out someone who knows what they are talking about on the subject. They are the experts and that is what you want to be.
Why Become an Expert?
Experts are not necessarily know-it-all people. They just know a lot about their chosen subject. As an online business owner, you had an interest in the niche you chose for your business enterprise. That alone means that you know a great deal more than the average person about your topic.
People like experts. They are the go-to person who takes the headache out of your research. If your information is helpful, these people will come back to you over and over again and bring others with them.
It sounds like a lot of work but it is well worth it. Besides, you love your chosen business niche (that's why you are in business) and you were going to do the work anyway. So why not reap the additional benefits of being an expert?
Experts have several things going for them:
- Can demand higher pay rates - Credibility - Increased visibility - A sphere of influence
What's the necessity?
Expert status lifts you head and shoulders above the rest in your field. Where they KNOW about the basics of the niche, you go deeper to provide your customers with a better understanding of what you can offer them. That translates into many more dollars and cents.
So, are you interested in expert status now? It is a worthwhile venture for your online business that creates a win-win situation. The next step is to implement strategies to begin marketing yourself as an expert in your business area.
Membership sites are the hottest ticket these days. You can get in on the ground floor and ride the wave if you have the right setup and an idea that can satisfy the need of a number of people. Try a membership site that offers perks for a job well done.
Maybe your idea for a membership site is to get people to come and partake of your exclusive products. They can be privy to content that gives them more than the content they can find on other sites for free. The content is also well-written and informative. You can also offer them eBooks or special reports on various topics that they can use for personal growth.
If your membership site is in the business of showing people how to go into business for themselves, you have another unique opportunity. Let's say that with their membership, they receive access to content and other resources that teach them the basics of starting their own business. You can leverage that content and create a variety of other informational resources that you can offer to those who would dare to purchase a higher membership.
Those products could be for the intermediate online businessperson. This person already has a business but wants to know how to increase their profits. To do that, they would need to view some of the free videos you have available for an upgrade in membership.
Better still, is the highest membership level that includes other perks. Each level of your membership needs to be more enticing and deliver greater products than the level before. The information at each level will be enough to get them started and make them want more. Even include previews of what they can gain access to with a higher level membership.
This is just one example of a multilevel membership. Depending on your topic you can offer a variety of different perks that increase as membership does. But, you have to be prepared to give what you promise. If you want to appeal to everyone from the novice to the expert, you have to have that level of expertise within yourself.
Don't forget your affiliate program. Performing well here can earn them an upgrade in membership for a certain amount of sales completed. For you, your traffic and membership increases. For the member, they earn a commission as an affiliate and get a better membership without paying a dime out of their pocket to do it.
Give your members something to strive for with a multilevel membership program. If you don't have one now, you can always implement such a program to keep your members motivated to stay with you.
What's the first thing you notice when you click on a website? There are words everywhere! No matter what other media marketing tools you use on your site, the ones that people still gravitate towards include words. Use article marketing to help you gain expert status as an online business owner.
Why Articles?
You might be wondering about articles. Perhaps you have shied away from them up until now because you don't write very well. Maybe your 11th grade English teacher scared the bejeebers out of you with her killer writing assignments. You don't have to go into therapy to write an article - simply write what you know.
Articles are the quickest and easiest way to drive traffic to your site. When people type all of those keywords into search engines, they are looking for information. It can come in a variety of forms but the one that most people know and are comfortable with is the article format. On your website, hopefully you have some form of content displayed there to keep your visitors happy.
Writing the Articles
Since you know a lot about the subject of your business, use that knowledge to elevate yourself to the level of expert. With what is trapped in your head, you could probably write a hundred articles.
How should you write? Create a list of topics that are related to your business. Because the subject is familiar, it will probably only take you about 30 minutes to write a 400 word article. This length is pretty normal for blog posts and article directories.
Did we mention article directories? These are the places where you will be submitting your articles to gain visibility. When you write articles, use the bio box to provide a link to your website so interested readers can find your business.
Some types of articles work better than others when it comes to promoting an expert status:
- How-To Pieces - Tips - Article Packs/Reports
With how-to articles and tips, you are sure to gain the reader's attention with bulleted and numbered points. Using numbers in the title also alert the reader that your work is something they want to check out. When you can put what you know into a format like this, you actually become an instant expert. And, the writing is fairly straightforward for those who doubt their skills.
An article pack can be created from ten or so articles that you have written on a similar subject. Marketing them on your site as a guide to "Learning Internet marketing" or whatever the subject of your business is.
Writing and submitting articles will get you noticed. Linking them to your website can increase your sales as you go from business owner to business expert.
Autoresponders are a series of messages you can send to your list via email to let them know that you value their participation in your business. Autoresponder emails are not sales pitches but a way to communicate with people on your list that will hopefully lead to a sale.
If someone has signed up as a subscriber, then you know one thing already: they are interested in your niche. Your content, blog posts and other marketing tools have led them to believe that you just may have a product worth buying.
There are some people who find a site that they instantly click with and purchase right away. They are not usually the norm especially on the Internet where "sight unseen" can spell disaster and lost cash for customers. People will ask friends, visit review sites and follow you for a while before deciding to hit the checkout page.
Constructing an Autoresponder Email
Email marketing is an effective campaign when done right. Once you have someone's email address, you also have the addresses of their friends and their influence. You just have to get at it. Use targeted emails and an autoresponder service.
Autoresponder services take the guesswork out of delivering your email series. You can also deliver other products also, but that will come later.
If your emails read like a sales letter, you will probably get a lot of unsubscribe notices. Avoid this with these few tips.
1. Use keywords in your catchy headline. Headlines are going to be the first thing that your subscriber sees in their subject line. If you want them to open it, get straight to the point. Tell them exactly what they will find if they open the email. It could be the answer to a question you pose or specific information:"3 Easy Ways to Create a Family Budget."
2. Address your subscriber by name. General greetings don't let your reader know that you know them. It's a sign that you are too busy to actually be "connected" with your readership. Address each person directly in your email series.
3. Provide pertinent content. Begin with the question you posed or the statement you made in your headline. If you are focused your subscribers will be also. Give what you promise in as few words as possible - 300 to 400 words.
4. Ask them to do something. This is not a sales hook. If you are offering a free eBook with more information, this is when you discuss what they will find in it and provide a link to the landing page. If you would like them to opt-in for something else like a monthly newsletter, include that here.
5. Salutations. Use your real signature. Let them know that you are personally involved in everything that you send out to your subscribers and customers.
An autoresponder program lets you communicate with your subscribers in a variety of ways. What is important to them is what you say and how you say it through well-constructed emails.
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