There are many ways you can build authority as a writer: deliver quality work on time, charge premium prices, and develop a personal brand to just a few name. However, many writers overlook one important element: identifying a core area of expertise.
Knowing what you’re great at will allow you to focus your time, effort and resources on the area that is the best fit for your business. Here are my tips for how to choose your area of expertise and start writing with authority.
Great writers know they can’t be known for everything. But how do you go from a generalist to an expert?
You need to choose your area of expertise.
It’s not as simple as choosing a subject area at random either. It has to meet the below requirements.
You’re an expert in the area or field – You have formal qualifications and extensive work experience. You don’t need to 10+ years’ experience but you do need to have clocked a decent amount of hours in your field.
You enjoy the area or topic – You have a lot to say about the topic and you feel passionate about the area. You find yourself bringing it up at events or always coming back to it in business meetings.
You find yourself drawn to the area or topic – You could read about it for hours without getting bored and you actively seek out information about the topic wherever you can.
People come to you for advice about the topic – You get asked questions daily and you can answer them! You also find yourself wanting to educate others about your topic.
You can offer something unique to the topic – You think about your area differently than the crowd and you feel you have something constructive and interesting to add to the conversation.
The area is niche but can scale – There are plenty of people who care about the topic and the area is of general interest to many.
Try a few topic areas. The one that meets all these requirements is most likely your area of expertise.
Once you know your area of expertise, you’re able to clearly define who you are, what you do and how you help others. Being able to position yourself correctly not only helps you attract the right kind of readers, it helps you choose which topic you should write about to start building your authority.
How did you choose your areas of expertise?
This pieces was originally written for and featured on Newsmodo.
Featured image from Pexels.
