Celebrity Expert Series #1
Congratulations: You’ve just taken the first step on a journey that’s going to change the way you think about business. This is the introduction to an epic 30 step action and implementation series that’s all about sharing my step-by-step system for increasing your earning power and exploding your business.
It’s the culmination of my 30 years of in-the-trenches experience of starting, growing and selling businesses. I’m also a best-selling author many times over, and that’s led me to where I am today. I help people just like you to find some clarity on their “Power Message” and to become a celebrity expert. It starts with some soul searching to find your own personal mission and vision and culminates in a physical object – your book – that shows off your expertise in a format that’s easily accessible to anyone who wants to read it.
I believe that everyone has a book in them. In fact, statistics show that up to 90% of Americans want to write a book, and the self-publishing revolution has made it easier than ever for people with a story to tell to get their message out. And yet despite that, only a tiny percentage of people actually go ahead and write that book and see it through to publication. But I’ve got good news for you.
The STARS system
I’ve helped hundreds of people to write, publish and market all sorts of different types of books, including cookbooks, poetry books, biographies and children’s books. But it’s business books in particular that I want to talk about here thanks to their unique ability to build your personal brand and to help you to create your legacy.
I’ve developed a system called the STARS system to teach my clients how to build their celebrity brands. Here’s how it works:
- Start with Your Strengths: Identify what you’re good at
- Target Tribe: Find your ideal community
- Authority: Promote yourself as a thought-leader
- Revenue: Monetize your expertise
- Scale: Grow and diversify your income streams
If you’ll stick with me through the rest of the Celebrity Expert Series, I’ll show you how to make the STARS system a part of your everyday life and business. It’s the same approach that celebrity experts have been using for years, but thanks to the internet and other new opportunities, it’s more approachable – and affordable – than ever before.
The consultancy boom
I developed my strategies after many years working with some of the top speakers and trainers in the world. But a word of warning: this isn’t the system for you if you’re looking for a magic wand or a shortcut. It’s designed for ethical people with an expertise in some area of their lives and who can genuinely help others by applying their passion. It’s not the system for you if you’re just looking for a quick profit.
Throughout this blog series, I’ll be talking to you about how positioning yourself as a celebrity expert can help you to fight stress, tap into an endless stream of leads and to raise your rates so that you’re getting paid what you deserve. And all you need is the expertise that you’ve already accumulated. Right now, people are constantly turning to experts online for so many different areas of their life, from health and wealth to relationships and more. It almost doesn’t matter what it is that you’re good at. I can virtually guarantee that someone out there is searching for it.
Training and consultancy businesses are booming and online training is a multi-billion dollar industry, with analysts predicting growth for many years to come. There’s never been a better time in history for people to build an expertise-based business. And it’s more scalable too. Instead of spending half your life on the road, you can connect with people online and provide virtual consultations easily and much more efficiently.
Don’t be a bad sandwich
The pitfall to avoid here is the dreaded Magic Bullet Syndrome, the term I use to refer to the marketing hype that says you need to be active on every social networking site and taking on every promotional opportunity possible. The problem is that doing this spreads you too thin like the fillings of a bad sandwich. Don’t be a bad sandwich.
Instead, focus on a single, tightly-defined strategy that reaches the right people with the right message. You need to realize how valuable your experience is and then be willing to stand by it – and to charge people for your time accordingly. Of course, that’s easier said than done, which is why we’ll be continuing to talk about it throughout the rest of this blog series.
The biggest problem that experts tend to face is the fact that they don’t stand out in a crowded marketplace. That’s why I recommend publishing books, because you write them once and they last forever. They’re great for getting high fees as a keynote speaker, for picking up media coverage and for using as lead magnets to make more money from your website.
Your action step for today:
Revisit the STARS system but with yourself in mind. In particular, spend some time analyzing your strengths and weaknesses and thinking about niche areas that you’re an expert in. Then figure out where and who your tribe is and start to plan out how to show your authority in the area.
Conclusion
If you’ve got the expertise and you can package it up into a book – or some other deliverable – then you’ve got yourself an offer. The perfect offer is premium priced, highly leveraged and scalable, and will allow you to handle dramatic growth whilst still servicing your clients to your usual high standard. The next step is to get yourself in front of those potential customers.
You see, it doesn’t matter how amazing you are as an expert if nobody’s heard of you. Many companies rely on sales and marketing teams to get the word out, but the goal should be to have marketing that’s so good that it makes a sales team unnecessary. You need to have people actively seeking you out to do business with you. I’ll be talking more about that in post #02 of the Celebrity Expert series, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled and to check back next week for more.
About the Author
Cydney O’Sullivan is a multiple best-selling author, award-winning international speaker and communications consultant who helps experts and businesses stand out from their competitors.