I realized recently that I sort of unintentionally set up my life so that people can book appointments to talk to me and then I give them advice about their careers (especially their writing or writing-adjacent careers).
Either that or—paging Dr. Freud!—maybe it wasn’t at all accidental. (I did play Lucy from Peanuts twice: once in Snoopy and once in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. I’m pretty sure it was type-casting. Judge for yourself.)
Between being a mentor at the Sentient Media Writer’s Collective (which I love … have I mentioned I love it?!), the Our Hen House flock “perk” of setting up one-on-ones with me, and some of the virtual talks I’ve given recently, I am finding that not only are people eager to learn more about how to elevate their writing careers and creative outlets, but more specifically, many folx who want to chat seem to want to know how to become a go-to expert in their given field.
In the past few months, I’ve chatted with people who want to:
get booked on podcasts
put together a book proposal on a given subject
market the book they already wrote (and either self-published or published through a big publisher)
get a job in the animal protection movement or another social justice cause—specifically in communications
start to establish themselves as an expert in a given field and be called on as a media pundit
Though these subjects are somewhat varied and each of them could easily warrant their own how-to article, there are enough common through-lines that I wanted to put some of my thoughts here, in case it is useful to anyone reading this who also wants to become a go-to expert.
Though some of this advice is offered from a thousand-foot high view, even if you can grab one of these tips, it could possibly help you on your journey to becoming the next Oprah (or am I projecting?).
Start a Substack. Yes, like the one you’re reading now. Be specific on the type of feedback you’ll be offering and stick to a consistent schedule. You can also upload your contacts’ email addresses (though that’s sometimes frowned upon … but not by me), and voila! You have a built-in audience.
Update your LinkedIn page. Though I fought this for a while, the truth is, LinkedIn is a very useful, relevant, and visible way for people to learn about what you are doing. That means you need to keep it current. Once you’ve updated it, connect with people on LinkedIn—send them DMs, follow them, “like” the stories they post. Network in appropriate circles, even if it’s for 10 or 20 minutes a week.
Create a personal website. You probably already have one, but if you don’t, you need to get one ASAP. If you don’t know where to start, you can probably find people who can help you using Fiverr. Here is my website, if you want to pull a few elements that resonate with you.
Write out descriptions for the talks you want to give. And write out super-clear and concise bullet points for the expertise you are willing to offer. Here is how my speaker agent advertises my talks. I would recommend framing your descriptions in a similar way—short and sweet (like Birdie).
Add testimonials to your website and your LinkedIn. If you feel awkward asking others for testimonials, then: A) don’t, and B) write a testimonial for them, too.
If possible, record yourself (either video or audio—as in a podcast … SubStack includes a podcasting option, btw) offering short tips on the topic for which you are an expert. For example, each of the items in this listicle (isn’t that a silly word?) could be a short video or podcast episode. Add layers of value for your readers, but also leave them coming back for more.
Have some mentors and make sure you follow their careers (and social media) closely. When I was a young whippersnapper—perhaps around 24 years old—I had a coach (she was in coaching school and was practicing on me!) who gave me this advice. I had this vague feeling that I wanted to be a magazine editor or columnist, even though all of my training thus far had been in theater. She happened to know an editor at Teen People (yep) and she did an intro. I took him out to lunch and he was lovely, as well as super flattered that I was asking him questions about how he started his career. I also did some research and found a columnist (Lisa Kogan from O Magazine) whose work resonated with me, and I kept a close eye on her creative work. This was actually before social media is what it is today, so it wasn’t always easy (cue: “When I was your age, I used to walk three miles to work in the snow, barefoot”). The point is to find real-life inspiration (such as the editor I took out to lunch) and pie-in-the-sky inspiration (such as Lisa Kogan). Fast-forward more than 15 years later, and I’m a magazine columnist! Go figure!
Tell “Imposter Syndrome” to bug off. That narrative was created by a patriarchy that is banking on keeping you down. Of course you’re worthy of being called on as an expert. Another little story for ya: About two years after I met with that editor at Teen People, I got my first print assignment. At the time, there was a person in my life who wound up being very toxic for me, but I was too embroiled to notice (ah, to be young!) and took this person’s opinion (of me) way too seriously. They were adamant that it was entirely inappropriate for me to call myself a writer, and this indeed destroyed a part of my self-confidence that it took years to rebuild. As my close friend at the time, David (the one who also advised me to pack one box when I was overwhelmed about moving), likes to remind me these days—such as when I publish a book or article—“Who’s the writer now?!”
Embed yourself into your work. Personal narrative can change the world. Don’t be afraid to get raw and gritty when it helps you make your point. I venture a guess that after you read this article, you’ll more likely remember the overall feeling from one of the personal stories I included above as opposed to the tips in this listicle (hehe, “listicle!”).
Get business cards. I know that it’s Covid-times (and, honestly, the Delta variant has me a bit terrified) and you might not actually give away these cards anytime soon, but I really think that the act of getting them (perhaps with a QR code that links to your website?) will help you take yourself more seriously. I tend to get a lot of value from physical objects or tokens that remind me of who I am and what I need to do. For example, I have a teeny-tiny teddy bear that my grandmother gave me when I was 9 and my brother was being Bar Mitzvahed, which says “I love you beary much.” It’s a reminder to me that I am loved, and that the unconditional love that my grandma gave me until the day she died (and even still, if that’s possible) is with me always. And I have business cards (that I don’t hand out #becausecovid) to remind me that I am indeed a pro, and the imposter voices of my past (and those in my head) can suck it. I also have a tendency to mentally design promotional items (such as boxers or hoodies) for projects that haven’t even started yet, because once there’s a physical object tied to a goal (or even a vision of a physical object), I take it more seriously.
Set small goals. Maybe those goals are amounts of time (such as two hours this week spent on writing copy for your new website) or other specific benchmarks (connect with 10 people on LinkedIn), but be sure to break your bigger goals into smaller ones. Do it one box at a time.
Record your progress. As I’ve written about before, I like to use Ink + Volt planners and keep a weekly log of my goals and my accomplishments. It’s OK to be gentle with yourself, but you should also hold yourself accountable. This kind of diary not only allows you the opportunity to get fun new colorful gel pens, but it also lets you see which projects you are moving forward on and which ones need your attention.
Don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good. If you don’t really know what to say (such as to on a “cold call” DM), just say something. Like, “Hi, Name! I’m Name, and I wanted to reach out because I’ve been enjoying your posts about Subject. I especially found it useful when you Blah Blah Blah. Just for context, I’m a writer with a specialty in Yada Yada. My current. focus is to XYZ, and so I wanted to connect because there’s a lot of alignment here.” If you don’t know where to start, just … start somewhere. Maybe you won’t do it perfectly, but, honestly, no one will notice. And it’s a whole lot better than not doing it at all.
Announce it. Tell the people closest to you that you are embarking on this new professional undertaking. Be specific about what support you want or need from them (even if it’s just to tell them that you’re doing it). I find that when I tell people my plans, I am way more likely to accomplish them (true story: When I was a guest on The Dr. Oz Show, I announced that I was signed up to run in my first race, even though I wasn’t … so I went home and signed up for one). You might say to your loved one (or, uh, an international TV audience), “I’m nervous about this, but I have decided I really want to publish a book about Topic. So I’m going to start to put together my digital portfolio and do some virtual networking to help get me there. It means that I might be busy in the mornings when we are usually watching reruns of Rachel Maddow, so perhaps we can come up with another time to watch it together? Oh, and in case I haven’t mentioned it: I’m excited about this. Like, really excited. Even though I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m going to do it anyway, because I really want to be out there about Such and Such. I’m so grateful that you’re such a supportive person in my life, so I wanted to tell you. Wanna watch Rachel now?”
I am so excited to watch you blossom. The world needs your perspective, I promise.
xo,
jazz
P.S. I’m writing this with boxes literally everywhere. My wife and (and our four littles) moved to Rochester, NY a few days ago, so my apologies for the delay in this newsletter. Here is a photo of me and Birdie eating corn together (just for the record, it was my corn first). Notice the walls of boxes behind us.
One Thing I’m Jazzed About
Grass-Fed! In the spirit of celebrating Rochester, I wanted to share with you that there’s a new vegan butcher shop here, and it’s within walking distance of my house. VegNews wrote about it yesterday, if you want to learn more. Or you can just come to Rochester to visit … or to live. It’s pretty fantastic up here, and it would be fun to run into you at the vegan meat scale … whoever you are.