Paradigm Shift #4 - Develop an expertise as quickly as possible

This article is part of the Paradigm Shifts series where I discuss the principles that should guide the creation of your online business.

Introduction

According to Google's experimental AI search, there are 1.1 billion websites and 3.9 billion indexed pages on the Internet. (By the way, Google posted those results BEFORE it posted any ranked websites. SEO just got a little tougher.)
With a glut of new AI generated content, I would not be surprised to see those numbers double or triple within a very short time.
At the same time, post-COVID, there are now 100s upon 100s of millions of new users on the Internet trying their hand at reaching their online dreams. Many started from zero, and are trying to make their way through this digital jungle.
How do you stand out among the digital noise and how do you help all of the new digital entrepreneurs?

By developing an expertise.

Defining an Expertise

Once you get through learning the basics of digital marketing (be patient here), you should begin developing an expertise.

This can be based on almost any topic imaginable. This is because you have access to an unlimited audience. Thus, there is hardly a subject where you couldn't find enough passionate folks to make it worthwhile.

For example, I once ran across a woman who specialized in baking Sourdough bread. Not every kind of bread. Just that one.

And she had built up a nice business selling digital courses, and affiliate products (ovens, ingredients, equipment) teaching others how to make the specific loaf of bread.

The possibilities are endless: stoicism for moderns, building a second brain, one type of dish or specialty drink, even one team or a movie.

In a documentary about "Back to the Future", they featured a band that made a living and travelled the world playing the songs from that movie.

Think of any idea, passion, hobby, book, movie, sport, sports team, process, software, hardware or SaaS product, academic subject, time period, and it is possible to build an expertise around it.

Why an Expertise?

There are huge advantages to developing and then offering your expertise

There is less competition for experts. For example, there are more general practitioners than there are brain surgeons.
As an expert you can play the role of a guide or mentor. This is what those 100s of millions of new entrepreneurs need. Not a hack or trick, but someone who has already mapped out a path to where those folks want to go or do.
As an expert, you can write a ton of content that is rich and specific to the needs of your audience. The Internet is filled with cheap, superficial, listicle type content that is competing for the attention of the masses.

You want to rise above that.

Moreover, an expert can charge premium prices. People pay for expertise because they trust that it will solve their problem.
And finally, developing an expertise will give you focus, and purpose. It will also shield you from two digital business killers: shiny object syndrome and technology overwhelm.

Conclusion

An expertise will help you stand out from the crowded space that is the Internet. In addition, it will position you as a trusted guide to those audiences who most desperately need your help.

Here's to your success.

Gustavo

P.S. Drop a comment and let us know what expertise you are building here at WA.
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Check out the other articles in this series:

1. Paradigm #1 - 80% of Success Is the Inner Game
2. Paradigm #2 - The Power of One
3. Paradigm #3 - Strive for Impact and Service
4. Paradigm #4 - Develop an Expertise