Alastair McDermott

I’ve found that there are three main roadblocks to building authority: Getting results takes time. Inbound leads from your authority content is measured in months and years, not days and weeks. Creating content is very time consuming, and experts are typically business leaders with very little spare time. Even if

If you’re like me, you got into a consulting type business because you love solving complex problems and helping people. You most certainly did NOT get into it so you could do marketing and sales. And yet the marketing and sales part is essential. Someone has to do it. Wouldn’t

In my last post, I shared the real business benefits of being recognized as an authority in your field. Let’s talk about how a focused approach to content authority marketing can help you get there. A strategic approach to content marketing means having a clear understanding of content marketing goals

I’ve been writing about how to become recognized as an authority and thought leader. But let’s be realistic: it’s a big commitment of resources, particularly your time*. Is this commitment worthwhile? Let’s look at the business advantages of being recognized as an authority or thought leader: Enhanced Credibility: When you

The words we choose have a power to change the perception of a thing. Yesterday I wrote about how “content” is one of those terms where I believe the generic nature of the word may create a dangerous tendency for the entire concept being undervalued and maybe even written off,

An authority platform is a trusted and respected source of information. It is created when an expert is present in a space, publishing educational, expert *content*. “Content” is one of those words that can be problematic. It falls short of conveying its true significance as it is so incredibly bland

I am not as polarizing as Alan Weiss. “I poke people because people need to be poked if you’re on a plateau, even if you’re happy with that plateau. All plateaus erode because of the laws of entropy. The only way that you’re going to be successful is to continue

I heard someone use the phrase a “marketing asset for life” and that struck me as powerful concept. Your body-of-work is out there, working for you 24/7/365. There’s a compounding effect of consistently adding to your body-of-work. Each new piece of content – be it a blog post, podcast episode,

Yesterday, I discussed some of the downsides of a dependency on referrals: It’s unpredictable, you can tap out your network, they can bring in bad-fit prospects if your business changes, your network shrinks as people change jobs or retire. This makes it hard to grow, change your business model, and

When I researched building authority as a marketing strategy, I surveyed over 1,000 consultants at firms sized 1-200. Referrals are the number one source of leads for independent consultants and firms sized 2-10, 11-50, AND firms sized 51-200. The main reason that consultants rely so heavily on referrals for business

What’s the common thread here? Read Exercise Write a book Start a podcast Choose healthy food Spend time with family Catch up with old friends For many these are in the Important/Not Urgent quadrant. They don’t demand immediate attention. They have payoffs far in the future. Often they’re uncomfortable. Put

I wrote about the huge benefit of having a platform where you can invite someone to share your stage. This ability to invite and showcase a guest is a major benefit of podcasting as a component in your overall authority platform, and a super-power for networking. There’s another major benefit

There’s a massive benefit from creating a podcast that you don’t get with most other platforms: the power of invitation. I speak to a lot of experts and thought leaders about the choices they have when building their authority platform. And I’m very pro-podcasting, for a number of reasons. The

Yesterday, I highlighted the risks of over-dependence on social media platforms. Now let’s talk about “owned” channels, like your website, your email list, and your podcast. You own these channels yourself, and the major advantage is that you have complete control over these platforms. However, it’s important to understand the

Yesterday, I wrote about an authority platform as a container for your authority-building content, your body-of-work. One major consideration when thinking about what components (or “sub-platforms” or “channels”) to use within your authority platform is ownership. When you build a profile on a social media platform, like LinkedIn, Facebook, or

I think of an authority platform as a high-level container that an individual authority uses to share knowledge by publishing expert content. It’s a container for your “body-of-work”. It can include one or more components which are sometimes referred to individually as platforms. We tend to use the word “platform”

There are many options you can choose as a platform to build your authority. Here’s what I consider to be the “minimum viable authority platform”. A reminder: an authority platform is a trusted and respected source of information that is created when an expert is present in a space, publishing,

An authority platform is a trusted and respected source of information. It’s created when an expert is present in a space, publishing, educating, and being a source of knowledge. Marcus Sheridan answered customer questions on his website, massively growing his business to dominate his industry. David C. Baker, alongside his