What is your expertise?
When talking about your website or blog, can you answer the question what is your expertise? Do you stay true to your area of expertise? Many times creators can put out content but find that it doesn’t get results.
Your audience expects consistency from you. They want help with their problems in certain specific topic areas. If you’re losing focus, this causes a disconnect. The first step to overhauling your content strategy is to identify exactly what you want to be known for online. Translation – find the answer to the question what is your expertise.
For my website that is geared towards rehabilitation professionals, teachers and parents, I can say 100% for sure that is my area of expertise. I create content about motor skill development in children. The website is known for that.
My other website creates playful activities for families and children.
And blauthors.com is here to help teach others how to generate passive income online through the sale of digital products.
Do I stray from my expertise at times? Absolutely, it keeps blogging fresh and fun for me.
Do I do it often? No, because it dilutes my brand and usually doesn’t help generate leads or increase profits. When I start to stray too far, I have to stop and focus on going back to the basics.
Review Your Business Goals
Start by reviewing your business goals. Where do you see yourself in the next few months or the next year? This can help to clarify what type of material you should be producing for your audience and what areas of expertise you want to build. It could be a different direction from what you’ve done before.
Your Experience and Natural Strengths
If you are still struggling to determine what is your expertise, remember it should be the area where you have the most experience and where your natural strengths shine. These topics are the core of your business. They are things you do well without even trying. This is the content that you don’t need to research in order to write.
Think about the questions you commonly answer for your audience. What have you helped them with often in the past? When has someone personally thanked you for the help you gave them? What did you teach them?
Audit Your Content
Look at the content you’ve created in the past. Divide it into different categories. Where were you most prolific?
Review the content you’ve published online and identify your “greatest hits.” Find blog posts, videos, presentations, and social media posts that have received the most engagement and praise.
Do these topic areas align with your current business goals? (There’s a chance they don’t).
Listen to the Needs of Your Audience
Revisit your customer profile or create an updated version. Try to identify the type of content they want from you. This may have changed from the past or you might need a reminder. Check out what other content they consume online. You may see that they have new needs you’re not addressing.
You can also reach out to your customers directly and ask them. Conduct surveys, hold online focus groups or webinars, or reach out to your biggest advocates and ask them what they’d like from you.
Follow Your Passion
You’ll be creating a great deal of material in the topic area you choose. It needs to be something you’re passionate about and can talk about all day, since that’s effectively what you’ll be doing.
Tips to Stop You Straying
Let’s conclude with a roundup of tips to keep you on track and to help you determine what is your expertise:
- Decide on your core areas of expertise
- Keep focused on those and don’t get side-tracked onto others
- Remember you are a confident business owner who can help people
- Stick with these core areas and don’t be concerned that you’re missing out on other opportunities.
Are you struggling to make your content work for you? Check out my full course, Conquer Your Content where I teach you step-by-step how to overhaul your system and make your efforts more effective. Get more details here.
