3 Steps to Using Writing to Demonstrate Your Power

There’s a lot of talk about “thought leadership” in marketing circles. What’s all the hype about? Is there something to “thought leadership”? Or is it a BS concept that marketers and writers developed so we can charge more for the same article?

I’d like to address what thought leadership is, why it’s a valuable tool in the marketing toolkit, and three ideas for crafting thought leadership pieces so they give the maximum bang for the effort, but first here’s a story for ya...

On New Year’s Day, I was with two friends in downtown Chattanooga at midnight. We were tired, cold, and needed a place to stay, but hotels were all full. 

We were on a road trip across the state, and planned to visit the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, after touring Graceland in Memphis on New Year’s Day. We'd arrived after a six hour drive across the state, and were riding around downtown, which is abandoned at night. We were exhausted, running out of gas, and when we pulled over to consult Google, a street person jumped out of the bushes and started yelling at us to leave. 

On top of that, my friends and I couldn't agree who should decide where to stay. I'm a native and know the "lay of the land," and I insisted we drive out of the city. My friends are international students, and wanted us to rely on Google to find us a place. But Google got us to where we were: in abandoned downtown, with hotels turning us away and street people attacking our car. 

What would have come in handy is if I had persuaded them in advance they could rely on me to recommend where to go. In short, it would’ve helped if they’d seen me as a “thought leader” on the topic of travel in Tennessee - someone they could trust to tell them the best places to go. 

At the core, that’s what thought leadership is about - showing your reader that you’re an expert, an authority, someone they can trust and rely upon. Thought leadership pre-suades the reader to see you as a powerful individual (or company) - that you’re capable of affecting measurable change. When done well, it gives Instant Expert Status, so people automatically treat you like an authority. Finally, it shows readers they can trust you, and that you offer them the opportunity to grow and transform.

And here are three steps for how to write a piece that grants all the benefits of being a thought leader in your industry:

1- Pick a topic that matters to them

It sounds simple, but if your readers don’t care about the topic you’re writing on, they’ll close it out and move on to something else. This is especially important these days, with our social media attention spans. So find a topic that will catch their attention, that addresses challenges they already face.

2- Include a good mix of high-level philosophy and instant gratification

To be an effective thought leader, you want to persuade your readers to see the industry as you see it. So include your framing on the industry’s challenges, trends, where it’s been and where’s it going. But if you only include philosophical, high-level thoughts, you’ll quickly lose your reader’s interest. So also give them instant gratification: include tips and insights they can put into practice immediately and see rapid results.

3) Include a next step or offer

Many of your readers will want to continue to hear from you, or even make business deals with you, in the future. But if you don’t tell them how to keep in touch with you, or give them a next step to take, many of them will finish reading your piece and lose touch. So include a next step or offer at the end of your thought leadership piece. This could be an offer to connect with you on LinkedIn, to subscribe to your email list, or to download a special report or valuable piece of content on your website.

So follow these three steps. You’ll craft thought leadership pieces that give you instant expert status in your industry. You’ll show readers they can trust you, and they’ll see you as an authoritative member of the industry. 

But remember, not all people will like you or what you have to say. Remember the formula: SWL + SWL = SW. Some Will Like It, Some Won’t Like It, but So What? Just keep putting your views and insights into the world, and the people who resonate with you will automatically be attracted to you.

About Scott McKinney: I’m a freelance copywriter specializing in B2B software. I write funnel-friendly copy that helps my clients attract wonderful long-term customers. Unlike other writers, I come from a mathematics background, so I can tackle technical topics and translate them to what the audience needs to know. Need a writer? Email me at [email protected]. I’m currently booking new clients for 2021.