I have just been reading a 25 page report by Jeffrey Davis called ‘Write To Lead’ which is really about how to be a leader in your niche. Here are a few of the key points in the report..

He says that in order to lead, you do need some grounding of expertise gained through one or more of the following areas:

• Experience – what you have produced or created with your own customers or clients

• Skills – what skills you bring to bear in your business

• Knowledge – what you know to be true in your niche

• Research – what you are willing to discover through reading, interviewing, viewing and testing

He then gives ’10 Kickstart Actions’:

• Claim Your Content Influence Areas – this is an exercise where you draw a circle on your notebook. Outside the circle you list words or phrases that you do NOT want to be associated with. Inside the circle you list words or phrases that you want to write about, research or discover. You refine these down to 3-5 topics that will become your Content Influence Areas.

• Take Your True Stance – you have a point of view and certain values. You examine your niche and contribute your own ideas and critique

• Get Obsessed and Get Devoted – gives you the courage to surmount unpredictable difficulties. Your words line up with your choices and actions.

• Give Your Readers a Slice of PIE – consider the purpose of what you write – there are 3 purposes:

  • to Provoke – challenge the accepted norms

  • to offer Insight – give valuable tips or knowledge

  • to Entertain – tell a story, surprise or arouse delight

• Comment on and add to the big picture – dare to ground your ideas in a greater context than your personal experience. Examine trends and conversations in your niche.

• Test it and ship it – the act of writing clarifies your ideas on your topic. It doesn’t have to be perfect – you learn by shipping and testing your ideas in public (possibly on social media). You are a mad scientist in a laboratory of your own making.

• Fashion Your Voice – consider your ‘tone’ – it’s not what you say but how you say it. Create a writing persona.

• Ask & Listen – be curious and ask questions e.g. at the end of an article to get comments, on social media, crowd-source an article (i.e. get different peoples opinions on a subject).

• Search Again – research to see what is currently going on in your niche – top 5 books, 3 current experts etc

• Tell stories rather than sell stuff – tell stories to illustrate why you are writing what you do- use experiences gained by you, your clients or other people.

This is simply a short summary of the report I read but it does give you a place to start when you are considering how you can create thought leadership in your niche or you are thinking about how to become a leader in your niche.