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Do you consider yourself an expert in your field? Do you feel like you can’t create an online course yet because you lack the experience or expertise in your field. In today’s Online Course Coach Podcast, we talk about how to become an expert in your field to improve your online course. While it’s easier to be an expert and monetize that…but what happens when you don’t feel like an expert? Here are several tips and techniques you can use to grow your knowledge, expertise, and confidence in your topic.
I’ve been reading The Millionaire Messanger by Brendon Burchard, and he lays out some good points on how to increase your expertise.
1. Become a research expert
Want to learn more about a subject? Study a topic. Read books, listen to interviews and conduct your own interviews. After you’ve conducted several interviews, find common themes or best practices and turn them into your own advice. Please don’t blindly copy what the experts say but put your own spin on it, improve it and make it teachable.
Are you sceptical of this strategy? What if a person had interviewed the 20 billionaire real estate investors and broken down their success principles? Wouldn’t that person be considered an expert in their field, now that they have interviewed 20 other experts? Yes. An example of this is Napoleon Hill who wrote, Think and Grow Rich. He interviewed wealthy people, found common themes and applied it to the reader’s life in simple steps.
Keys to the Research Expert:
- Don’t do this too quickly. This shouldn’t be a fast process.
- Create action steps, acronyms or other ways for the student to learn the material
How to become a Research Expert:
- What are 5 books you can read on the topic?
- Who are 10 experts that I can interview? This can also be turned into a product or bonus material for an upcoming product or course
- What are 5 videos you can watch on the topic?
- Who are 5 industry leaders that you can follow and read their content?
2. The Role Model Expert
People listen to those they know, like and trust. But how do you get people to know, like and trust you? You have to serve them, help them and give people a chance for them to know you. You can’t sit in your office all day without interacting with others and expect people to get to know and trust you. The more people who know you, can refer you and vouch for your expertise, the more success you will have. And this applies to your online courses too.
3. Niche down the topic of your expertise for your online course
Want to become an industry leader but feel discouraged that there are too many competitors? Determine a small niche where you are the expert and serve that audience. Don’t sell to them immediately. Listen to their problems and see how you can best serve them.
Practical ways to market your expertise
Once you’ve built your expertise (and your confidence), it’s time to make it known what you do. It’s easier than you think to grow your platform and demonstrate your expertise. These 6 steps will help you build a platform and showcasing your expertise quickly. The key is to get yourself out there and serve other people. Find like-minded people and connect with them.
- start a podcast (see my friend Aaron Walker at ViewFromTheTop.com) Aaron was able to quickly grow his business to an impressive level.
- be a guest on podcasts (see InterviewValet.com) Whether you use a service or do it yourself, when you’re a guest on other podcasts, you serve other audiences and can promote your message.
- leave comments on forums, FB groups, etc.
- write guest blogs
- speak at conferences
- attend industry conferences
How are you building yourself into an expert so you can create or improve your online course? I’d love to hear from you.
If you have ave a question or comment, please leave it below.