You’ve got the expertise. You deliver the professional service. But how do you really separate yourself from the herd of competitors clawing for attention? How do you stop competing on price and start commanding premium fees?
For most experts, the idea of publishing immediately jumps to “writing a book.” And that’s where they stop. They think, I don’t have the time, the idea, or the energy.
Here is the good news: Publishing is the key to building your expertise business, and it does not require a book to start. You can, and should, start small and build your authority from there.
Publishing, Authoring a Book, and Speaking.
These are the Big Three “Unfair” Strategies. If you’re serious about attracting ideal clients, these strategies don’t just elevate you—they launch you into a different category entirely: A recognized authority.
It Starts Small: Your Credibility Transfer Strategy
A book is the ultimate credibility piece, but you don’t have to start there. Publishing is the engine that gets you noticed and respected.
When I started out, nobody knew who I was. My wallet was thin, but my hustle was strong. My focus wasn’t on flashy advertising; it was on securing published articles in relevant trade and association publications whose members tended to be business owners with an interest in marketing and client acquisition. I secured 25 published articles in various outlets. That wasn’t luck; it was a purposeful strategy that bought me the social proof I needed.
Here’s the thing you must understand: Don’t assume you can only get business from those that read your articles. (Few will.) That assumption is wrong.
The power comes from the credibility transfer. When you can confidently state, “I’ve been published in 3, 5, 10, or even 25 different publications,” you are instantly elevated in the minds of potential clients. When you prospect or market to your ideal client profile, that track record bestows a certain, undeniable authority upon you. It gives them the justification they need to hire you and pay your premium fee.
A Winning Tactic: Don’t chase the big national outlets first. Target 10-20 smaller, niche trade or association journals whose members are your ideal clients. Get your 5, 10, or 25 publications, then use that number as leverage.
Repurpose or Perish: Maximize Your Inventory
The secret to prolific publishing isn’t writing 100 new things. It’s using everything you write, multiple times in multiple places.
Most of those 25 articles I mentioned? They started as simple blog posts on my website. They then became content for my email newsletter. From there, you can bundle them together into special reports or downloads to generate immediate, qualified inquiries.
Stop viewing content creation as a one-and-done task. View it as inventory you can repackage in various forms. If you wrote it, it needs to work for you at least three times.
Tap the Mic: Leverage Audio & Video
Today, you can create high-impact content without ever typing a word.
Simply interview an expert or authority in your field—someone your future clients would benefit from hearing—using a tool like Zoom. You capture the video and the audio, generate a transcript and you instantly have material that can be leveraged in dozens of ways:
• The full audio can be broken down into snippets.
• The full video goes on your website.
• The transcript is turned into blog posts.
If you’ve given seminars or presentations, your existing material and recordings can be instantly repurposed into articles and even full chapters in your future book. Use what you have!
The Cost of Doing Nothing Is Greater
If you’re thinking, “Publishing and recording all that content sounds too hard for me,” let me offer a sharp contrast:
Working for less than you’re worth or servicing less-than-ideal clients is a lot harder and lasts a lot longer.
The only way to break free from that struggle is to implement a strategy that ensures great, future clients become aware of you and grasp that you are absolutely worth those premium fees.
Start with “Bits” and Build Your Empire
Don’t wait to write a masterpiece. Just start publishing in whatever form suits you best:
• Articles (Short or long)
• Blog Posts
• Interviews
• Recordings
Start small. Start now. Once you have something, reuse it in multiple places. Combine it with other bits to create something new.
My first Amazon book, Setting Sales Appointments (2004), changed the trajectory of my business. About 70% of that book was previously written blog posts! I simply edited, polished, and filled in the gaps.
You likely have enough existing material right now for a book and don’t even realize it. You just haven’t organized it yet.
Atomize Your Content for Infinite Leverage
Content creation works in two directions:
• Small to Large: You take smaller pieces (articles, posts) to create a larger one (a book).
• Large to Small (Atomization): Once you have a book (or, like me, eight of them), you can break them back down into smaller, fresh pieces.
This is where it gets sweet. I can now load my books on lead generation and sales, use AI to extract information on specific topics, and instantly create new, powerful content—all my own thoughts and expertise—for blog posts, articles, and newsletters.
Publishing is your most powerful, flexible tool to build a more profitable expertise or professional service business.
If you need a publishing strategy, take a look at my new book on Amazon Write Books Get Clients and if you have questions, contact me to discuss your situation and options.
