Last Updated on by Michael Brockbank
Part of writing with authority is sounding like you’re an expert on the topic. Whether you’re starting a new blog or jumping into the world of content mills, expertise will earn you more money over time. So, what can you do to become an expert even if have no clue about the topic?
That depends on how committed you are to learning.
Sure, you can become an expert in virtually anything. But jumping into a niche you have no interest in just because it’s lucrative will make that success much more difficult to achieve. I’ll explain a bit more about that in a moment.
Write Like You’re an Expert
What separates an expert from a novice? Knowledge and practical application.
For instance, I’d call myself an expert freelance writer as I’ve been doing it for more than a decade and am paid quite well by my clients. Not to mention that I’ve submitted more than 8,000 articles to content mill clients.
But I didn’t always know what I was doing.
Through constant practice and educating myself as much as I could, I honed my skills and have made quite the career for myself.
To write as an expert:
Learn All That You Can
First and foremost, you need to learn everything possible about your preferred niche. This means you’ll do a lot of research regarding any piece of information related to the primary topic.
The more you learn, the greater the level of expertise you’ll demonstrate.
When I built this website back in 2013, it was essentially a place for me to put into practice everything I learned as well as share my experiences as I grew into being a writer. To this day, I’ll still write about the things I learn as I am learning them.
I’m not necessarily faking it until I make it. It’s more of a hands-on learning process that helps many people retain the knowledge better than simply reading it from a book or blog post.
Always Base Information on Factual Sources
Part of being an expert in your field is knowing factual information. This means learning from sources that are credible and not just some news site or a personal blog that you stumble across on social media.
I know…there’s a bit of irony there. After all, you’re reading one of those personal blogs right now.
The difference is that I have an extensive background writing for clients across the globe, thousands of hours in WordPress, and cite information when needed to accentuate a point I try to make.
When learning from a source outside of secondary education, you want to choose those who have a track record of posting high-quality, instructive information. Though, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a college or trade school education.
My point is that you always want to make sure you’re basing your information on a factual source. This is why I often refer to the National Library of Medicine when writing on my health and fitness blog.
Dive Deep into the Topic
Don’t just gloss over the primary topic. The deeper you dive into it, the more knowledgeable you become. Plus, it’ll set your article apart from the others on the Internet if you put your unique perspective on the piece.
How deep you dive really depends on the type of article you’re writing. Sometimes going super deep can result in an incredibly long and effective blog post. Then again, sometimes a simple addition can ultimately improve the article’s significance.
For example, when we write WordPress tutorials for my client, we’ll often add a section for other plugins to try. Not only are we showing you how to do something with a certain plugin, but we’ll also give you options for plugins that work in a similar fashion.
Or, we’ll often answer questions people have regarding the topic from the People Also Ask section of Google or through Answer the Public.
Both of these methods work well to help improve your visibility as an expert, especially when it comes to the search results page. Again, it’s all about how much you learn and how you share it.
Practice Makes Perfect – Ish
Perhaps one of the most effective methods that helped me become a successful writer is by putting everything I learn into practice. Any time an editor from Textbroker pointed out an issue, I took to Google, learned how to fix it, then wrote my own article using what I learned.
I’m not just talking about it from the perspective of writing, though.
Let’s say you want to build a health and fitness blog. After all, that particular industry is quite lucrative. Do you plan on practicing your own health and fitness information? The more you learn by practical application, the more of an expert you appear to be.
Especially if you can show actual results to your readers.
Can I say that I’m an expert author? No. I’ve only published one book. However, I am starting to lean that way as I explore writing apps, marketing methods, and a slew of other topics that are relevant.
If you want to be an expert in your field, you need to practice what you learn.
Have Confidence as an Expert
Confidence is key to any style of writing, whether you’re a blogger or freelancer. And the more confident you are, the more apparent it becomes in your writing.
People want to trust their source. By delivering a sense of confidence, they are more likely to keep coming back to you for more information. That is as long as you’re confident with factual information.
There are people out there who are overly confident and don’t have a clue as to what they’re really doing.
Unfortunately, I know a lot of potentially good writers who have absolutely no confidence. And it holds them back from some amazing opportunities.
It is possible to be an expert without confidence. But working on trusting yourself can open all kinds of doors further down that hallway.
Consistently Write About the Topic
The more you learn and write about any given topic, the more ingrained it becomes. This is why teachers once had students write down information in notebooks and such.
Take this blog, for example. I’m constantly covering everything I can find about blogging, freelancing, and being an author. As I’m consistently covering the topics, I am just becoming more of an expert in my field.
Actually, I guess you can call me a professional as I am paid for my expertise.
The point is that when you’re constantly covering various viewpoints of your preferred niche, you’re showing others you essentially know your stuff.
Don’t Try to Bluff as an Expert
Lastly, don’t try to bluff your way when writing about any given topic. People who know better will call you out and it makes you look inept.
You’ll see this happen on a lot of social media sites. People will often try to fill in the blanks of what they don’t know to sound like an expert. However, a lot of their bluffs fall short because someone points out the flaws.
There’s nothing wrong with saying, “I don’t know.” The difference is whether you’re willing to learn what you don’t know.
I don’t know everything there is about blogging, freelancing, or becoming an author. But I fully intend to continue learning to build on my expertise.
If I don’t know it, I will soon enough. I never bluff.
My Experiences as an Expert Using Content Mills
One of the things that made me a success using content mills like Textbroker was my ability to learn and adapt rather quickly. As a generalist writer, I was able to pick up virtually any order from animals to travel.
The key was how much I enjoyed learning about new topics. And because I was quick with the research, I could write while providing an air of expertise and authoritativeness.
In fact, I remember facts and topics I covered seven years ago because they piqued my interest.
After a couple of years, I did wind up gravitating toward WordPress, web hosting, small business information, and Internet categories. Nonetheless, some of my articles regarding travel and technology were awesome (according to clients) simply because I put in the effort to learn about the primary topic.
The point here is that you can sound like an expert as long as you’re basing what you convey on facts you’ve learned. Well, that and using the best verbiage to come across as an expert.
Why Your Preferred Niche is Vital
Even generalist writers will have a preferred niche. This is one that they prefer to write about regardless of the client or blog. For me, I primarily focus on writing itself as well as WordPress, health and fitness, and gaming.
The reason why having a preferred niche is important is because of how you approach writing articles. Are you writing about something that can hold your attention for longer than five minutes?
The more interested you are in any given niche, industry, or topic, the more likely you’ll want to learn. If you see something as mundane or boring, you won’t have as much ambition to create content.
If you’re not ambitious to learn, the ability to come across as an expert evaporates. You can’t write one piece of content and expect others to look to you for more answers.
It can take months or even years to reach a certain level of expertise. It all comes down to how badly you want to know everything there is about your preferred niche or industry.
In Conclusion…
The more you learn and create about any given niche, industry, or topic, the more others will look to you as an expert. It’s not about blowing smoke up someone’s butt and calling it a rainbow.
If you want to appear as an expert, you’ll need to demonstrate that you are one. And that will require a great deal of learning and practical application of that knowledge.
What topics hold your interest, overall?
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