4 Ways to Grow Your Blog with the Power of Experts

Do you want to attract more readers?

Do you want to grab the attention of the big players in your industry and leverage their star power?

Silly questions, right?

In this article I’ll share how you can grow a loyal and sustained fan base by working with the top experts in your niche.

They’re out there, and it’s not nearly as hard as you think to get them on your team.

Why do I need an expert?

Everyone wants entertaining, useful content. That’s what content marketing is all about.

But they also want access to great people. When you present a new idea or a new voice to your audience, your blog becomes a valuable source people will want to visit again and again. Bringing in expert voices rounds out your site and adds dimension.

Getting outside experts involved also validates your own expertise. When you can attract the best, people will see you as an expert in your own right.

Finally, there’s an often-overlooked benefit of working with experts. If you work well together, some may turn out to be strategic partners who can take your business places you never dreamed.

Experts can include:

• Authors, particularly those who have new books out
• People who frequently speak on relevant topics
• Bloggers who are creating exceptional content
• Practitioners working inside companies

A quick example

When I started Social Media Examiner back in October of 2009, I knew next to nothing about social media.

But I knew that if I could attract social media experts and share their knowledge, I could quickly grow a large following.

We opened our virtual doors with live video broadcasts. I interviewed top social media experts including Mari Smith, Chris Garrett, Denise Wakeman, and Jason Falls.

Many of these experts tweeted their involvement to their followers. Within just a few weeks, Technorati ranked us as one of the top small-business blogs in the world.

I saw the value of outside experts as a great source of content. The experts saw the value of being involved with something exciting.

Want to know more about how to attract experts to your blog? Keep reading …

How experts can help you create valuable content

Here are four ways to work with experts for content:

1. The trade show interview

A great way to get content from experts is via an on-location interview. And there’s no better place than a trade show. You’ll find lots of experts around your particular topic, and they’re often in the right frame of mind for a quick interview.

In this video I’m interviewing Scott Monty of Ford Motor Company at a major trade show.

Click here to see how I supplemented the video with interesting text teasers from the interview to create a popular blog post.

Quick tip: Be sure to arrange the interview prior to the event so the expert is prepared.

2. The book interview

One of the best times to hit up experts is when they have a new book coming out.

The author is typically in promotional mode and seeking exposure for his or her book. And the book typically contains new ideas that your audience might be interested in.

When Seth Godin’s latest book was being published, I reached out to him and asked if there was any way I could help. I ended up interviewing him about Poke the Box and how he is transforming the book industry.

My audience found it fascinating, and Seth got what he wanted — to spread the word about the ideas in his book.

Quick tip: Record the interview and have it transcribed. This makes it easy to turn the interview into an article.

3. The guest post

If you have access to an audience that experts want to be in front of, consider inviting them to write a guest post for your blog.

We use lots of expert guest-written content on Social Media Examiner, and of course, so do many of your favorite blogs.

For example, here on Copyblogger, Brian Clark approached copywriter Roberta Rosenberg to write a series of landing page makeovers, which quickly became a valued resource on the site. While readers may not have known Roberta’s name before she wrote the series, her expert advice and guidance clearly shone through in the series.

Quick tip: Experts are busy, and writing a post (or a series of posts) is a big commitment. Be sure you can make a solid case why they should consider writing for your site. And if your audience is still small, “exposure” is not usually a solid case.

If you can’t make that case yet and your expert is a blogger, ask if you can write a guest post for their site. You’ll have to put some work in, but the benefits can be substantial.

4. The TV show

If you’ve got a charismatic expert who’s willing to enter a true partnership, consider inviting an expert to host an online TV show.

We asked Mari Smith (who happened to be local for us) to be the host of our Social Media Examiner TV series. She regularly provided hot tips on her area of expertise, Facebook marketing.

Here is an example of one of our episodes. As you can see, we combined Mari’s great stage presence with our own production values to create a high-quality viewing experience.

Quick tip: Again, this is a big commitment, so do everything you can to make the experience fun and easy for your expert. Come up with a regular show plan, and do as much of the legwork as possible.

Learn more about working with experts to grow your business

If this idea intrigues you, get a free sample chapter of my new book Launch: How to Quickly Propel Your Business Beyond the Competition. In the book I share how to find experts, how to develop relationships with them, and how to create content.

So, how about you? Have you worked with experts? Share your tips and experiences in the comments …

About the Author: Michael Stelzner is the author of the new book Launch and founder of Social Media Examiner.

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