I want to talk with you about how you can make thought leadership content that draws ideal clients and partners to you like a magnet. How you can share original, thought-provoking, and valuable ideas that will make people remember and want to work with you.
There’s a glaring opportunity for women thought leaders right now. And we can harness that opportunity with our words. We can produce thought leadership that actually stands out, and I’ll show you how to start in this article.
The problem with 99% of thought leadership content
The content “thought leaders” produce is often helpful, but it’s rarely bold, insightful, provocative, or contrarian in a way that is memorable. It’s not leading you. It doesn’t challenge how you think, communicate, run your business, or lead your team. And if you’re a woman entrepreneur in the women helping women economy, you’re here to lead people. So why does this disconnect exist?
I’m not the only one noticing this problem. Edelman and LinkedIn’s 2020 B2B Thought Leadership Impact Study study found that only 15% of decision-makers who regularly read thought leadership content are impressed with its quality more than half the time. That means that more than 80% of people who might hire a coach or consultant like you are usually dissatisfied with the thought leadership they read!
That’s a huge market opportunity, provided that you make your thought leadership content trustworthy, unique, futuristic, trustworthy, relevant and concise — the qualities that Edelman and LinkedIn find make excellent thought leadership.
I want to elaborate on the final two qualities — unique and futuristic. I work with women entrepreneurs, and I know that women tend to hold back our most galvanizing, interesting opinions — exactly the kind of insights that will be magnetic to our ideal clients. I understand that being bold and blunt is scary, and there’s a very real possibility for negative pushback.
We must do it anyway. Because women creating unique thought leadership — not only will that bring in more clients and position us as preeminent leaders in our industries, it will also accelerate gender equality. We’ve muffled women’s voices for too long. Let’s make the 2020s the decade of Mary Vaynerchucks and Beth Godins.
Your thought leadership is dull, and here’s why
Three things often happen to the women entrepreneurs I work with when they start thinking about creating bold, opinionated thought leadership. The first is they can’t think of anything to say. They feel paralyzed. It’s like when someone asks you your favorite restaurant, and suddenly you can’t think of a single restaurant you like. Or, they start second-guessing their ideas and insights. They write them off as too bland or controversial, or worry that they are not qualified to state such an opinion. Third, if they’ve been doing this for a while, they’re sick of their own ideas. The well has dried up, and everything they can think of saying bores them to tears.
Whether you’re in camp one, two, or three, don’t stay stuck there. We want and need to hear your unvarnished opinion, and that’s why I developed four ways to mine what you believe, so you can turn it into magnetic thought leadership content:
Your bold, brilliant thought leadership… revealed:
1. Start with what’s obvious.
If you’re working in your zone of joy, you are likely making decisions and taking actions that you find painfully obvious (so obvious that they’re not worth talking about). When my coach asked me to write top 10 insights for my industry, I cringed. They were so obvious it embarrassed me to share them. But my coach found them insightful and valuable. What’s obvious to you may surprise your audience.
For example, I think it’s obvious that you only need to use one or two social media networks for your marketing, and to choose them based on the ones you enjoy. This is contrary to a lot of advice out there, which says you should be available everywhere so your prospects can connect with you in their preferred medium, or that you should choose your social marketing networks based on where your clients are. The response from my audience has been overwhelmingly positive — comments, shares, DMs, even a direct lead on a client just from that one article!
2. Revise the “best” practices.
Consider whether you agree with the “best practices” in your industry, and if you don’t, talk about why. Best practices are treated like royalty, but they are rarely “best” for everyone at all times — and sometimes, they are very out of date. It’s especially powerful if you can tie your anti-best-practice to new technology, changing trends, or other predictions for what’s coming down the pike for your clients. That’s vision, and it will provide tremendous value to your people.
3. Your opinion about the news.
What’s trending in your industry? What’s going on in the zeitgeist? This fantastic German word means the “defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by its ideas and beliefs.” What ideas and beliefs are at play in your industry, and what do YOU think of them? Any time you can be contrarian or even controversial, the more the right people will gravitate to you.
4. Aspects of your industry you hate.
This is my favorite one, because I have strong reactions to the advice I read for women entrepreneurs and marketers. And by “strong reactions,” I mean that I find a lot of advice repulsive. What aspects of your industry do you find abhorrent? What best practices do you hate? What trends are you sick of? If it makes you uncomfortable to be critical, that’s an extra good reason to do it. Go negative. Your discernment is valuable to your clients, and if you dislike something, you’re not alone. Why does it bother you, and what do you think is a better way? Talk about that unique perspective and insight.
Think back to anything you’ve read, watched, or listened to that made a deep impression. For how many years have you remembered that article, video, or podcast? How many conversations did they spark, new ways of thinking, or new decisions in your life? That is the power of bold thought leadership. It can literally change your life.
How has creating or consuming thought leadership influenced your business? Let me know in the comments!
Special thanks to Amy Wright for edits and to Joseph Kingsbury, David M. Bersoff, and Tonia Ries for the Edelman/LinkedIn study. Featured image via CreateHER Stock.
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It’s time for a full elevation and to BECOME the magnetic thought leader you are. Discover how to create thought leadership that draws clients and opportunities like a magnet, and why NOW is the time: https://medusamediagroup.com/marketing/how-to-become-the-bold-provocative-thought-leader-youre-meant-to-be/ by @Eva Jannotta #WomenWhoLead #WomenInBusiness #WomenEntrepreneurs #LeadingWomen #ThoughtLeaders
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It’s time for a full elevation + to BECOME the magnetic thought leader you are. Discover how to create #ThoughtLeadership that draws clients and opportunities like a magnet, and why NOW is the time: https://medusamediagroup.com/marketing/how-to-become-the-bold-provocative-thought-leader-youre-meant-to-be/ by @evajannotta #WomenInBusiness #WomenEntrepreneurs
