The Obvious Expert July 7, 2006
Posted by eCommando in : eMarketing , trackbackFor those of you who attend my monthly meetup (click here for info), you’ve always heard me speak about “the obvious expert.”
The “obvious expert” is anyone who is perceived, rightly or not, to know more about a subject than anyone else. This person is usually a “go-to” person for clients, meaning that before a client does anything in that space, they consult with that person to validate their ideas before they act.
The benefit of being the obvious expert is, well, obvious. You get the benefit of the doubt on all subjects relating to your topic of expertise. Customers defer to you, news sources quote you, and best of all, people pay you for your knowledge and insight into that subject matter and how it relates to their business, lives, etc.
Someone I consider an “obvious expert” is Paul Hartunian. Paul has positioned himself as one of the best sources for generating free publicity on a very large scale. His entire business, which generates several million dollars of sales each year, is showing people how to generate very low cost public interest in their businesses using press releases and other media sources. For more information on Paul’s business, click here.
Another “obvious expert” I know in a similar space is Emmy Award winning television reporter Jeff Crilley.
Jeff is a reporter for the Fox Television Network affiliate in Dallas, Texas, and has written a very easy to read book about how the average person can get free local and national television airtime, simply by framing their story properly.
Jeff is also speaking regularly at a meetup group in North Dallas. Conveniently, his book is usually available there and it’s only $10. You won’t find a better investment. For more information on Jeff’s book or to join his mailing list, click here. To attend the meetup on July 19th 2006, click here.
The $64,000 question is: How do *you* become an obvious expert?
Well, if you look at the two guys I just mentioned, you’ll see a pattern. Even with only two data points, it’s glaring.
They know their stuff.
There’s no question about it.
And without being too obvious, they’re both coaches.
That’s right. They both coach you in the creation of “buzz” without spending a lot of bucks.
They’re both showing you how to work the system, without having to deal with the hordes of companies that want to charge you $200 an hour to write a press release that, surprise surprise!, takes 20 hours to write and never gets published in any major press outlets.
If you can’t see where I’m headed here… Stay tuned.. I’ll wrap it up in the next post…
Cheers!
Randy
Comments»
Hi Randy! I look forward to hearing your follow up to this post. Jeff is definately the obvious expert. I haven’t seen Paul’s stuff but will check it out.
Having edited thousands upon thousands of press releases as an editor for our Dallas rag many years ago, I can attest to the fact that most are written by sales people and not by professional writers. Sadly, they fail miserably. What is worse is that many press release writers are not degreed journalists and when people hire a company, I will bet they don’t ask about the backgrounds of who will be serving them. A journalism degree is a must. Unfortunately, you won’t catch most of us press types dead working for a marketing company. A one-man/woman press release outfit with credentials and working experience in media is the best way to go — OR you can just attend Jeff Crilley’s seminar (free) and then enroll in a journalism class ($95.00?) at your local junior college. The time spent will be well worth it.