Lesson 5: Visibility
KIRA: The third element of the Authority Framework and the activity that helps you achieve true Celebrity Copywriter status is Visibility.
Show Authority Framework, then focus in on Visibility.
We’ve put this one third for a reason. If you don’t already have expertise… and if you don’t already have the trust of your audience, then it’s a waste of time to build visibility.
If you seek visibility before you know much about your niche or your deliverables or about copywriting and marketing, you’ll be seen as a fake. And if you seek visibility before you have the trust of people in the industry that you serve, you may be seen as insincere or undependable. Visibility at that point will only help potential clients see they don’t want to work with you.
So make sure you’ve got the first two elements of the framework in place before you put a lot of time and effort into creating visibility.
But if you’ve got those two down, you’re ready for the next step.
ROB: The very best thing to do as you seek visibility is to teach what you know—and to solve problems in public (not privately in emails or direct messages… but where everyone can see them in FB groups, to your whole email list, on podcasts). Give away your best ideas to anyone who will listen. As you share your expertise with your audience, you’ll sharpen your thinking around what you know. You’ll start to create frameworks that help explain what you’re sharing—and by the way, there is some really good training in The Copywriter Underground designed to help you create your own frameworks for sharing ideas with prospects and customers.
To be clear… teaching does not mean that you need to be speaking on stage—though you certainly should seek out opportunities to appear at events, in workshops, and other training venues. You can teach by creating great content and sharing that on your website, on Medium, on Facebook, on LinkedIn and other venues where your ideal customer can be found. Perhaps most importantly of all, you should be sharing your knowledge with the readers on your email list. That’s the audience you own.
KIRA: You should also seek opportunities to appear on podcasts, to teach in Facebook Lives, and on YouTube, Instagram stories, Clubhouse, maybe even TikTok… and whatever emerging media allows you to share what you know with your audience.
Better yet, create your own podcast or video channel. Invite other experts as guests on your show and “borrow” their authority. As we mentioned earlier, the more you do this, the more you will be trusted as an expert too.
Opportunities for visibility grow as time goes on. Most podcasts stay live for years. The same is true for videos on Youtube and content posted on your website and places like Medium. Each time you post new content, you’re growing the back catalog of your ideas and thinking on your area of expertise.
The important thing here is that you can’t wait to be chosen. If you are waiting for the host of the perfect podcast to find you… or the editor of Business Insider or an industry publication to reach out for a guest article, you’ll be waiting forever. It’s up to you to create these opportunities.
ROB: Before we leave off talking about visibility, we want to share a long list of ways you can get yourself out there in front of your ideal prospects and clients. This is not an exhaustive list. There are many things we’ve left off. However, as you consider the ways you can get more exposure for your ideas, this list will get you started…
Let’s show each of these on screen as we go through them.
Pitch podcasts.
Write guest posts.
Write in depth content for your own blog.
Share content on business pages on LinkedIn.
Share posts on Google business.
KIRA: Create written content for social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, and so on—this list of social media options is bound to grow and change over time.
Publish on Medium.
Even better, start your own publication on medium.
Host an event.
Speak at an event.
ROB: Participate in a panel discussion.
Attend an event and ask good questions, introducing yourself as you do so.
Host a workshop.
Host a mini-training.
Teach a workshop to a professional organization.
KIRA: Write a book.
Write a manifesto.
Create video content.
Share your video content on Facebook Lives, Instastories, LinkedIn video, and other social media.
Create an entire video channel or show.
ROB: Host a lunch series.
Invite experts and others to CEO dinners.
Host a club on Clubhouse.
Host a room on Clubhouse.
Build a course.
KIRA: Start a newsletter.
Send direct mail.
Start your own Facebook group.
Start your own LInkedIn group.
Land a guest spot on local TV.
ROB: Create a regular column in your local newspaper.
Write an article for an industry trade magazine.
Be a mentor or coach.
Create a partnership.
Collaborate with another expert in your niche.
KIRA: Create an award.
Create a competition.
Create a contest.
Write an industry report.
Write a resource guide.
Create a tip sheet.
ROB: Run ads.
Create a product.
Exhibit at a tradeshow.
Get sponsorships.
Create give-aways like stickers, swag, pillows, etc.
Email your list.
And of course, have a website as a home base for everything you do.
The only limit here is your imagination.
KIRA: As you review that list, realize you don’t need to do them all. In fact, you may only need to do one—if it’s the one that puts you in front of your ideal audience. There’s a temptation, fueled by people like Gary V, to want to be everywhere. But Gary has a team of 20 people creating content for him.
Unless you have that kind of support, figure out ONE place you can show up and connect with your audience in an authentic way. If you can manage two or three, go for it. But trying to show up everywhere simply spreads your effort too thin and you end up showing up too infrequently or not at all.
In the next lesson, we’ll share briefly what you should talk about when you’re not sure if you even have anything worth sharing.
