Become The "Go-To Person" In Your Industry

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One of the keys to success in your online business is to immerse yourself in your niche/industry.

To say the same thing through an analogy...

Everything in your industry = all the people, companies, conversations, forums, content, blogs, videos, etc. is like a big swimming pool.

Instead of just dipping your toes into that swimming pool, you dive there completely just like the boy in the image below ;)

What Does This Mean in Practice?

You start to consume all kinds of material within your industry:

  • Read blogs
  • Watch videos
  • Have conversations with people
  • Create content
  • Collaborate with other people/companies
  • Read forums
  • Join events
  • Listen to feedback from your followers/audience
  • Etc.

Why Do You Want to Do This?

Let's say that there are 2 content creators.

Which one of them is going to create better content:

  1. Person A just "dips his toes" into that industry and treats content creation just as a vehicle to make himself a living.
  2. Person B completely immerses himself and aims to become a "go-to-person" in that industry.

(Go-to-person means that they are the first person you'll go to when something happens. According to Cambridge Dictionary go-to person = "the best person for a particular purpose or need. For example, if someone is great with computers we could say, "He was everyone's go-to guy for computer problems.")

It's obvious that your chances of success go through the roof if you treat your business and industry this way.

You shift from:

  • Short-term thinking => Long-term thinking
  • Serving just your own needs => Helping everyone in your industry
  • "Testing if this works" => Treating your work as a real growing business
  • Follower => Leader

Become the "Go-To-Person"

A great goal for your career is that when people think about your industry, your name comes to their minds first. That'snot going to happen in a few weeks or months so you'll need to practice long-term thinking.

Let me illustrate this through practical examples. When you think of any sport or industry, usually certain people or companies come to your mind.

For example, when people think about football they think about Ronaldo or Messi

Basketball => Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant
Chess => Garry Kasparov or Magnus Carlsen
Swimming => Michael Phelps
Golf => Tiger Woods

Let's take some examples outside of sports

Personal Development => Tony Robbins
Bitcoin Education => Andreas Antonopoulos
Podcast Host => Joe Rogan

You can think of more examples and share them with everyone in the comments :)

When you'll become the "go-to person" in your industry the following things will happen:

  • Your audience shares your content with other people.
  • Companies and other people in your industry want to collaborate with you.
  • People think of you when they look for information within your industry.
  • People ask for help from you regarding questions and issues in your industry.
  • Etc.

Snowball Effect

You understand that the whole process doesn't happen in a blink of an eye. It takes months, years or even decades.

Here's more or less how the process goes:

  1. You study everything within your industry = You increase your knowledge.
  2. You create content.
  3. People start to notice you.
  4. You get feedback from your audience and by following other leaders in your industry.
  5. You improve your content.
  6. People start to recommend your content to others.
  7. You get more followers.
  8. Companies start to notice you and want to collaborate with you.
  9. You keep on producing.
  10. Everything snowballs...
  11. More followers, more recommendations, more collaborations, more data, more feedback, more knowledge => Better content

A sad truth is that most people never experience that because they quit before the snowball starts rolling. But once it starts rolling, the momentum keeps it going much easier than it was to get going in the beginning.

It's easier to get more followers when you get initial followers.

It's easier to get more collaborations when you have done successful collaborations.

It's easier to get more knowledge when people talk with you daily.

It's easier to get more connections when people within your industry know you.

The beginning is the hardest but all the time everything becomes easier.

Start immersing yourself within your industry.

It's Your Time!

- Roope "Becoming the go-to person" Kiuttu

PS. I noticed that the journey became much more interesting the moment I set a goal to become the "go-to person" in my industry. It forces you to shift your thinking for the long term.

It forces you to grow and become like a sponge. You start noticing things within your industry that you didn't notice before. You'll become more curious. It's really fun and exciting!

I'd love to hear from you in the comments below.

What niche/industry are you working on? Who are the "go-to people" within your industry at the moment?

Is your goal to become the "go-to person" within your industry over the years?

PPS. One of the keys is listening to your audience very closely.

Do the following:

  • Read comments that you receive
  • Read emails and other forms of feedback
  • Analyze Analytics
  • Hear what your audience is talking about on other channels
  • Have direct conversations with your audience
  • Etc.

This leads you to a better understanding of your industry.

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Recent Comments

31

Good morning Roope,

I hope you're doing well, thank you for another excellent blog post.

You make some great points Roope, as you mention, I think many people miss out on the snowballing effect, as they actually stop too soon!

I must be doing something right as I try and consume content daily when I'm working my off-line business, which is related to my niche and business. It's great that we have access to so much information! It's always a pleasure for me to learn more about my industry and niche.

Another example of a go-to person could be; Kyle and Carson – Internet marketing training.

Wishing you all the best and a great day.

Roy

That's a very interesting perspective, Roope.
Thank you for the insight.
That approach would reflect total commitment!
:-)
Richard

Thanks Richard. I think this approach also helps mentally because it takes the off the burden of "getting results quick" that many people (especially newcomers) have. If one is aiming to become the leader within an industry, people understand that it takes time so they don't give themselves a requirement of achieving everything immediately.

A great point, Roope!
:-)
Richard

Yet another great post from our one and only Roope "becoming the go-to-person" Kiuttu

I have recently been approached to sign up as an affiliate with a few programs I hadn't heard of previously. These approaches were made because of the blogs and reviews I have on my site already. It's very rewarding to see that the content I have put out there is being appreciated in this way.

I still have a long way to go to be totally immersed in my niches, it is the long game as you've said so I will keep on keeping on.

Thank you Louise! Glad to hear that you were approached to sign up as an affiliate with new programs. Each new milestone feels rewarding. They give more fire to move forward towards greater results and adventures!

Thank you for the way this blog has explained this concept.
I will definitely be revisiting this from time to time.

You are a go-to person for making money online!

Thank you very much Kavinah!

Love this post, Roope! Thanks for sharing a very important message.

It can seem overwhelming when first embarking on a new niche/industry/business model when we feel like we don't know enough to be able to help others, let alone produce content about it!

However, as you say if we keep immersing ourselves in our chosen area, eventually we will become more experienced and knowledgeable, and then in a better position to help others who are struggling and at the place where we once were ourselves.

Step by step, bite size pieces. Onwards and upwards for the long haul for sure!

All the best!

:-) Lesley

Thanks for reading Lesley. Yes, I agree it's a long process but also a very rewarding one :)

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