Ever wonder how to build an authority on the web? I’m talking about the type of authority that allows you to become a credible leader in your niche, generate a full-time income, and help others. When you build an authority on the web, you become a beacon of excellence for others to follow. Building an authority on the web takes time, but a good portion of that time is spent searching for the blueprint. How can you do something if you don’t know how? You can’t solve a Rubik’s Cube unless you know the necessary steps. On the same token, you can’t become an authority on the web unless you know what it takes to become one. No more guessing. I’m showing you the blueprint.
#1: Provide Free Value
Providing value is essential for the success of your business and what you stand for. Many people understand this principle. However, some people have a natural tendency to skip over the word “free.” Some people believe they must only provide value in their products and that they can get away with haphazardly putting together the free stuff.
The problem with that approach is that customers nowadays look for the free value before they buy anything you sell. People are not visiting your blog or YouTube channel for the first time, eager to buy your product. They are looking for free value. Many of the people who buy my books read my blog posts first.
[tweetthis twitter_handles=”@MarcGuberti” url=”http://bit.ly/1Oja7M0″]Customers nowadays look for the free value before they buy what you sell.[/tweetthis]
The free value you provide is so important because one of the beliefs many customers have is that the paid product is better than the free product. Another belief shared by many customers is that if the free content and videos are duds, then that person’s paid products can’t be that good either. Providing free value in your blog posts and your YouTube videos allows them to spread, reach more people, make your products look better, and ultimately lead to more revenue. Think of the most successful blogger you know, and ask yourself whether that blogger’s free content is valuable or not. I read Seth Godin’s blog posts for a year or two before I decided to buy most of his books and training courses.
#2: Build Relationships
Providing free value is critical towards building healthy relationships with the people in your audience, but starting the relationships requires more than just valuable content. Building relationships means emailing people, interacting with people on social media, and responding to comments on your blog. If you look through the comments on my blog, you will notice that I respond to them. I respond to comments to encourage more conversation, build relationships with my readers, and let everyone know that I am a person who responds.
What many successful people tend to do is ignore others. Many people in high positions look at their email and don’t always address the newbie asking a few questions. I make it a point to respond to them. Taking the time to leave a quick response allows you to help others, and the people you help will see you as a role model of excellence. In the first welcome email I send, I let people know that I respond to the emails they send me. Of course, if I see an irrelevant email or comment, I won’t respond, but that rarely happens.
On social media, the relationship starts when you follow someone and that person follows you back. The relationship continues when you both interact with one another. After interacting with each other over a long period of time on social media, these people may email you and have conversations with you one email at a time. As the relationships continue to build, these people may eventually buy your products, but the relationships don’t stop there. They keep building, gaining momentum, and leading to the symbiosis of you and the people you interact with.
#3: Create Products
When it comes to building an authority on the web, affiliate marketing only goes so far. Having your own product, being able to call yourself an author, and creating more products along the way will establish yourself as an expert and create a nice revenue for yourself at the same time. I have experimented with numerous revenue generating methods. I have done anything from social media ads to being an eBay affiliate. Creating your own products and effectively marketing them is by far the best and most reliable way to make money on the web.
Creating a product also gives you more respect in your niche. If you write a 100 page book or create a five hour training course, your audience will look at those products and realize that you knew enough about your niche to create those lengthy products. At this point, the products just have to be packed with value, and you must continue learning more about your niche. The products you create reflect how much you knew at the time, but learning more will allow you to create better, more successful products in the future. Better yet, you can update your products to reflect the new things you learn about your niche. Updating your products allows you to over-deliver to your current customers and provide a better experience for your new customers.
#4: Grow Your Audience
Once you implement the first three methods, all you have to do now is get more people to know about you. When you grow your audience, you can build relationships with more people that eventually lead to customers and opportunities for more growth.
The most effective tool on the web to grow your audience is social media. Whether you use Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or another social network, you must use social media. If you want to grow a massive social media audience, then you must take on one social network at a time. Imagine trying to learn five different languages at the same time. That’s what we do when we try to master Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and Google+ at the same time. I recognized this trap and committed all of my time to Twitter. Once I mastered Twitter, I started to master other social networks.
One thing to know about social media mastery is that all social networks follow similar patterns. If you master Twitter, it becomes easier for you to master Pinterest. If you master Pinterest, it becomes easier for you to master Instagram. Each time you master one social network, it is easier for you to master all of the others. If you master five social networks and have tens of thousands of followers on each of them, then mastering a 6th social network would be simple.
[tweetthis url=”http://bit.ly/1Oja7M0″]The more social networks you master, the easier it is to master others. However, master one social network at a time.[/tweetthis]
Growing your social media audience is an effective way to build an authority on the web, but where you lead your social media audience is just as important. You must lead your social media audience to your blog, and in particular, your landing page. You want as many people to subscribe to your email list as possible because that’s where the money is. I make more money sending emails to my email list than through any other method because communicating with the people on your email list and occasionally promoting products works very well.
In Conclusion
Building an authority on the web is only as difficult as we think it is. What initially looks impossible at first glance is quite possible, and the more work you put in, the easier it will become. If you want to view building an authority on the web as an easy endeavor, then you must take rapid action. Many things look scary because we don’t take immediate action. There are many things in life that don’t look as scary once we do them. Take the time to build your authority on the web, stick with it, and who knows, you may become the next success story others aspire to become.
How do you view building an authority on the web? Do you have any other tips for us? Please share your thoughts and advice below.
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