Tips for the Self-Proclaimed Guru

You have an inspiring message, a wonderful solution, or a great product. You have something people need. Now, you have to let them know about it. You want to teach people to think of you as a guru in your subject of expertise. Fortunately, that’s not as hard to accomplish as you might think. The hard part is to convince yourself.

Who me? A guru? An expert?

Yes, you. Absolutely. A guru is simply an acknowledged leader or teacher. An expert is just anyone who has mastery of a particular subject. Neither of these words means that you know everything there is to know. They DO mean that a particular subject is your specialty. If you have delved so far into a subject that you have created new ideas or product around it, you have already exhibited mastery in your specialty.

But you’ll need more than intellectual understanding to give you the motivation to get the word out. So take a few minutes to do an inventory. Think back to your beginnings in your area of expertise. Remember your first published writings in the school newsletter. Relive your glory days as the class clown that held your audience in the palm of your hand. In the years since then, how many hours have you spent working, reading, talking, writing, and thinking about your subject? Add them up as best you can. You didn’t realize it, but you were a guru in training!

Word Power
The more you give voice to your identity as an expert, the more you’ll become recognized as one, both by people you know and people you’ll never meet. Create a memorable tagline that stamps your unique perspective on every promotional item you send out into the world. You don’t have to say, “Jane Doe…Parenting Guru,” but you might say, “Jane Doe…Connecting Parents and Kids.”

When taking on a new identity, it’s human nature to feel a bit like an imposter at first. But when you are comfortable with your role, other will be, too. Give yourself a job title. The more you own the fact that you are a parenting coach, a speaker, a writer, or an executive consultant, the more other people think of you that way. Introduce yourself as a speaker, even if you do it “only on the side.” Sign your email and business cards as a consultant, and people will begin to say to their friends, “I know of somebody who does that…”

When that happens, it creates a powerful upward spiral. You believe in yourself, you convey that in your presence and promotions, your prospective clients and audiences believe in you, and you believe in yourself even more, which starts the cycle all over again at a higher level.

Marketing Tips Provided to You by:
Matt Bacak, The Powerful Promoter
Author of Powerful Promoting Tips