6 Smart Shortcuts to Authority Content: How To Write Like A Real Expert In Just About Any Niche

Some people choose a niche based on something they already know about, but at the same time, a lot of people don't.

Sometimes, the niches with the most money making potential are something you don't really know anything about.

The thing is, you have to write content anyway.

So basically, you're going to have to learn as much as you can about your niche.

But you can only learn so much in a limited period of time.

You may only really be able to figure out the basics.

This can be a problem, because the kind of content that convinces and converts is what's referred to as “authority content.”

You need to come across as an expert, someone who knows everything there is to know about this particular niche.

You need to be someone your audience can trust to give them good advice.

You know what they say: “Fake it 'till you make it.”

In a recent post, NicheHacks offers a list of tried and true techniques you can use as somewhat of a “shortcut” to creating an air of expertise around yourself.

It's actually not as hard as you'd think, provided your niche isn't literally rocket science.

For the vast majority of mundane, everyday topics, though, these are some ways you can “fake it 'till you make it” while you educate yourself about your niche.

Write on a Narrow Topic to Simplify Research

To build authority in any niche, you need to create in-depth, well-researched and actionable content.

Doing so becomes hard when you try to cover 10 different topics in one post.

It becomes nearly impossible when you try to do this in a niche you know nothing about.

According to Sam Ovens, who runs a seven-figure training program for online consultants, going too broad and trying to cover too much in a single piece of content is one of the most common mistakes he sees by new consultants and marketers.

The smarter route is to identify narrow topics within your niche, break them down into even smaller segments and create separate posts on all of them.

For example, instead of targeting health and fitness, a very broad niche, go deeper and target something like post-pregnancy weight loss tips.

Break this down even more into segments like post-pregnancy weight loss for first-time moms, post-pregnancy exercises, healthy post-pregnancy diet etc.

You can use a free tool like AskThePublic to generate dozens of such ideas.

You could eventually come up with post titles like

• 7 Easy Exercises To Lose Baby Weight After a C-Section
• 11 Post-Pregnancy Weight Loss Myths First Time Moms Should Avoid
• 5 Easy Diet Changes To Help You Lose Weight After Delivery

Researching content for these titles is MUCH easier since they’re very narrow topics targeting very specific problems.

Targeting a narrow topic and providing actionable solutions to your audience, instead of taking a bird’s eye view of multiple topics, also establishes you as an authority much faster.

Quote Other Experts and Thought Leaders to Look More Trustworthy

The quickest way to establish credibility and make your content trustworthy is by quoting and mentioning the already established niche experts in your content.

You’re in a new niche, so people don’t know you.

But they know the other influencers.

You can simply borrow their credibility to look credible yourself.

You can do this in a number of ways.

Find the most popular blogs in your niche using Google search.

Just search a few popular niche keywords on Google, and the most popular blogs will show up.

Find a quote from any popular blog post and mention it in your own content.

For example, I know very little about psychology.

But when I need to look smart in front of my audience or add weight to my arguments, I quote consumer psychology experts like Sean D’Souza

Or you could go to Amazon.

Look for the most popular books on Kindle store related to your niche and note down the author’s name.

Then you go to Google and look for quotes by this author or reviews on his book, or see if he owns a blog.

When quoting an expert, use snapshots as well, just to add an extra layer of credibility.

If you think about it, people like Larry King, Oprah and countless other television hosts and journalists use this same approach.

They become trustworthy themselves by interviewing other influencers and celebrities.

This is the power of associating yourself with the right people.

Add Numbers, Data and Research Findings to Appear Knowledgeable

Start using numbers in your content.

Wherever you put them, numbers create an immediate impact and make your content stand out.

For example, a study by Conductor found that headlines with numbers were significantly more eye-catching for social media users as compared to simple text headlines.

Having your own voice and opinion is important.

But it’s even more important to back your opinions and arguments with data.

For example, which of the two statements sound more credible

• Using numbers in your headlines make them more effective and increase conversions
• Using numbers in your headlines can increase click-through rates by 73%.

Here’s another example,

• Longer and more in-depth content attracts more backlinks and social shares

• Content that is longer than 2000 words typically attracts 71% more backlinksand almost 150% more social shares.

A similar way to look good is to quote credible research sources or new findings in your niche.

You can find stats about almost anything on sites like Statista and Pew.

In case you don’t, simply search Google using

• your main niche keywords + stats
• your main niche keywords + statistics
• your main niche keywords + research
• your main niche keywords + infographic

Infographics, in particular, are an easy source of stats in any niche.

In fact, you can use them as snapshots in your posts as well, and link back to the original source (like this)

Source: Frugal Dad

Using established research and studies by other experts is another easy way to make your content look reliable.

When you’re new to a niche, you need to regularly refer to such studies and numbers to look trustworthy.

With time, however, your readers will start trusting you even when you don’t go into too much detail.

Read 3 Top Selling Books in Your Niche

Not everyone likes reading books.

But it’s one of the best ways to become an authority on any subject.

If you read the top 2-3 books on Amazon on any subject, chances are that you’ll become more knowledgeable about that topic than most of your competitors.

But even if you don’t have the time to read a couple of books, you can still use Amazon to gain insights on your target audience.

How?

By simply reading the reviews for the most popular books.

Many customer reviews have enough information and value that you can use to create separate blog posts.

They’re real-life testimonials from people and often carry real-life experiences.

When you’re analyzing the reviews, look for any specific problems or topics that pop-up again and again.

Use these insights in your content and quote different reviews from Amazon to make you posts richer and more valuable.

Create Round Up Posts To Crowdsource Quality Content

How do you create quality content in a new niche with an empty pocket?

By creating round-up posts and crowdsourcing content from other experts in that niche.

There are several types of round up posts you can create.

For example, you can take just one very specific problem and ask as many experts as possible for their top 3 tips to solve it.

This is usually the most common way to create round up posts.

But it can take you several weeks or even months and countless follow ups to create such posts

An easier way is to simply choose a problem and search the web for any experts who’ve commented on it.

When you have a list of a few dozen experts, simply copy their advice (with a link to the original post) and make it a part of your roundup post

But there’s an even easier type of round-ups that really consumes no time either.

Just choose a problem, search for the best content published on different blogs and forums, and publish a list of all such posts on your blog.

Round-up posts are so effective because they allow you to create lots of unique and high-quality content without actually writing it yourself.

Readers love them because they get to see multiple opinions on the same topic by different experts.

Pro Tip: Always add your own opinion at the bottom of each expert’s advice.

Tell your readers what you think about it and how it can solve their problem. Doing this will increase your credibility and allow you to build your brand image much quicker.

I’m not asking you to write a thousand words either. Just a couple of sentences should be enough.

Join Sites Journalists Use to Find Expert Quote Sources

Sites like ProfNet and HARO are great sources journalists and top bloggers use to help them find experts in all kinds of fields.

On the flip side, though, are people who are signed up as sources in their given fields and who sift through inquiries to find ones to respond to that are relevant to their expertise.

As a founder of a niche-focused website, you carry weight in your field, and many writers would be happy to quote you if you take the time to reach out to them in response to the queries they post.

I signed up for HARO, and after responding to a small handful of queries, got featured in an article in TIME.

When that happened, my site was only around six months old, and all my expertise as a financial blogger came from reading those three books I mentioned in step 2 and general life experience. (See how easy this can be?)

The full article over at Nichehacks.