How to become a Guru (Simple)

21 replies
Ever heard the saying:

"In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king"?

It basically means that the person with more knowledge than those
around them will be viewed highly by those with less knowledge.

It's true online, in corporations, in any situation.

To be perceived as an expert you just need to know
a little more than others.

And now more than ever it is simple to take up that
"expert" role.

To know just a little more than others.

Let me give you an example.

Recently Pinterest has become super successful as a social
platform.

Suddenly there are Pinterest experts or Guru's

Take Carmen Sakurai for example (Carmen Sakurai | The Pinterest Queen | Pinterest Expert)

She is positioned as a Pinterest expert and I'm sure she is.

But the point is, it's a pretty new platform that has seen phenomenal growth
in the past 6 to 12 months.

Look at the WSO review experts like HPGoodboy or WSOScout.

They have positioned themselves as experts in this area.

Also relatively new.

These guys are building successful businesses* by being the*
go to source for the best WSO reviews.

They didn't ask for permission they just did it.

Another example.

Lewis Howes has positioned himself as the go to guy for
all things LinkedIn related.

Check out his about page and the simple advice he gives
in the interview.

Lewis Howes - About

Basic tips.

And the list of people that have positioned themselves
as the expert could go on.

The point is that right now there are always new platforms and
opportunities arising.

All the time.

The trick is to get in and discover something about that platform
that other people haven't

Be the first in.

Or be the one that decides to become the expert in that area.

Be the "one eyed man in the land of the blind"

If you can find something to become the perceived
expert in then you can quickly rise to the top and dominate that area.

Let me give you a little crystal ball into the future.

Apple has just ditched Google Maps on their devices.

Apple is now entering into the local search market.

Yelp Elevated By Apple Relationship, Second Only To Google In Local Importance Now

In particular read this paragraph:

"Google and Yelp are now the "twin poles" of local and local SEO. While it remains to be seen how successful Apple Maps will be, they will likely see significant local search volume simply by default -- because of the huge installed base of iPhone users. And if Apple hits a home run, the local query volumes could be absolutely huge."

Big news.

Big opportunity.

Who is going to start educating business, other marketers etc
for how to optimise for Apple Maps and Yelp?

Where are the experts going to emerge from?

Who is going to become the "go to guy / gal" for the Apple Maps / Yelp
revolution?

In Australia (where I am) Apple has 30% market share.

With this one move Apple has instantly turned themselves into a
Local search engine that controls 30% of the market.

Think about that.

Who's going to be first out with the WSO about optimising
for Apple Maps?

Who will become the perceived expert?

It doesn't have to be revolutionary advice. Just
the basics, a guide, a system (see Lewis Howes above
for how simple the "pointers" can be)

Think about it.

Then.

Go create, position and dominate.

Rob Stafford
#guru #simple
  • Profile picture of the author Daniel75
    Thanks Rob, Great post.
    How can we easily discover such emerging opportunities to become experts in a very promising area and secure sure income? Where should we position our ears and set our gaze to pick up such signals?
    Thanks once again.
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    • Profile picture of the author AnnaMacko
      You gotta keep an eye out for what is going on! Check out trending topics on Twitter! It is actually a gold mine.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jeff Burritt
    Banned
    Like most things in life:

    Think you are. Say you are. Act like you are.
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  • Profile picture of the author Will Edwards
    Positioning is one of the 4 Ps of Strategy And it is essential to understand if you want to be successful. Hopefully your post will open a few eyes.

    Will
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  • Profile picture of the author Bill Hugall
    Very good post. That is the approach to take. Hell that's what Frank Kern tells us to do.
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  • Profile picture of the author ExRat
    Hi robs132,

    Originally Posted by robs132 View Post

    To be perceived as an expert you just need to know
    a little more than others.
    ...or....

    To be perceived as an expert you just need to be perceived as knowing a little more than others.
    Signature


    Roger Davis

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    • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
      There is a little more to it than "Faking it till you make it".

      You need fans. You need a group of people who listen to what you say.
      Do you want to be a Guru for more than a month? Then be very competent at your specialty.

      I speak for a living, and I'm a very minor Guru in the "Local online marketing niche"

      You need to know far more than the audience. Especially if you are in the front of a crowd. You need to know your subject cold.

      Only absolute beginners are fooled by unprepared "Gurus".

      It also helps if you genuinely make money, and a lot of it, doing what you are teaching.

      If you want o be a guru, and just know a little more than the audience...you better stay behind your computer. You never know how much the person you are talking to really knows. Fakers get caught.
      Signature
      One Call Closing book https://www.amazon.com/One-Call-Clos...=1527788418&sr

      What if they're not stars? What if they are holes poked in the top of a container so we can breath?
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  • Profile picture of the author PublishingMadeEz
    Thanks Rob! That was a great post.
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  • Profile picture of the author LukeDavenport
    Good information and points, I like this post
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  • Profile picture of the author Mekanism
    Tim Ferriss' book "the four hour work week" has a great section on becoming an expert or guru.
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    • Profile picture of the author MovingAround
      Originally Posted by Mekanism View Post

      Tim Ferriss' book "the four hour work week" has a great section on becoming an expert or guru.
      Tim Ferriss is possibly the best example on IM of how to become a guru from nothing. I don't agree with his methods nor the content on his books (the 4 body one was a total joke for those who are real gurus on the fitness field) but what he has achieved is truly an example.
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  • Profile picture of the author talfighel
    I see it this way.

    A guru is not about knowing more then others. Although this is true, it comes down to if you are making guru like income online with what ever you are selling.
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  • Profile picture of the author E. Brian Rose
    Good post, but...

    To be perceived as an expert you just need to know
    a little more than others.
    Actually, to be an expert you need to know more than others. To be perceived as one, you need to be perceived as knowing more than others. It's best to be both, an actual expert and perceived as one.
    Signature

    Founder of JVZoo. All around good guy :)

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  • In the internet marketing world, the once meaningful word of "Guru" has been deduced to a person who grows a large mailing list, squeezes the heck out of the wallets of their subscribers, earns a few million, creates and markets the course on step 1 through 3, and is then proclaimed Guru status by the very own people who financially supported him/her to get there. Let's not talk about the meaning of the word "expert" in these days. Very sad indeed.
    Signature
    Arnold Stolting - Stolting Media Group
    "I LOVE The Song! The Vibe Is Positive And Firm!" - Kymani Marley. (Son of Bob Marley).

    "Very High Quality!" Jeremy Harding - Manager / Producer. Sean Paul.
    "They Are FANTASTIC!" - Willie Crawford.

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  • Profile picture of the author fedor50
    Great post. Being perceived an expert is about knowing a little more than the person next to you
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  • Profile picture of the author Rod Cortez
    Actually, in terms of being an expert in most scenarios, all you have to be is competent in a specific area. You don't have to know everything about the topic, nor do you have to actually know more than "anyone else", which is a silly notion really. How does one measure that?

    Perception is highly subjective and as the person doing the marketing and positioning of your brand / product / service/ website/ whatever....YOU have control over that. Social proof is one effective way for buildilng up one's expert status, testimonials being a sub-topic under social proof.

    Sharing your knowledge via content distribution channels (think articles, videos, blogging, podcasts, interviews, press releases, guest appearances, etc.) is another way to build up that perception.

    You don't have to be a blackbelt in most subject matter or topics, you simply have to be competent (for starters).

    RoD
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    "Your personal philosophy is the greatest determining factor in how your life works out."
    - Jim Rohn
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  • Profile picture of the author jbrownmarketing
    Branding yourself as a guru is so important. It takes time. You have to really focus on developing yourself. Personal development is needed to succeed in anything in life. Invest in learning and growing and you will become more valuable than everyone else. Great Post!
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  • Profile picture of the author Bobdarko
    I really like this post. Very original and very fresh. And informative....going to look at Apple maps right now...are you?
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  • Profile picture of the author calvint
    Good stuff as Tim Ferriss says in his book it easy to become an expert .
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    • Profile picture of the author bless
      It's even possible to become an expert on forum marketing. A female on this forum was able to make $50-$150 per day selling ebooks via her signature link.

      On top of that she created a product outlining her method, making her even more money.

      So expertise can be a great thing, even in something as basic as forum commenting.
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      • Profile picture of the author robs132
        Originally Posted by Daniel75 View Post

        Thanks Rob, Great post.
        How can we easily discover such emerging opportunities to become experts in a very promising area and secure sure income? Where should we position our ears and set our gaze to pick up such signals?
        Thanks once again.
        Yeah, keep your eyes out, spot trends, stay up to date with tech, marketing, search and social blogs.

        Originally Posted by Jeff Burritt View Post

        Like most things in life:

        Think you are. Say you are. Act like you are.
        Originally Posted by Will Edwards View Post

        Positioning is one of the 4 Ps of Strategy And it is essential to understand if you want to be successful. Hopefully your post will open a few eyes.

        Will
        Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

        There is a little more to it than "Faking it till you make it".

        You need fans. You need a group of people who listen to what you say.
        Do you want to be a Guru for more than a month? Then be very competent at your specialty.

        I speak for a living, and I'm a very minor Guru in the "Local online marketing niche"

        You need to know far more than the audience. Especially if you are in the front of a crowd. You need to know your subject cold.

        Only absolute beginners are fooled by unprepared "Gurus".

        It also helps if you genuinely make money, and a lot of it, doing what you are teaching.

        If you want o be a guru, and just know a little more than the audience...you better stay behind your computer. You never know how much the person you are talking to really knows. Fakers get caught.
        Absolutely Claude, it's not about faking it, or pretending to be the Guru, it's about the opportunity to become the guru. It's about making a start at an emerging market and being the one that is the perceived expert in that field.

        Right now there aren't any *experts* forApple Maps (who knows it might not even take off) the point is, there is the opportunity to become the expert in this field - and it doesn't have to be super complicated.

        Originally Posted by E. Brian Rose View Post

        Good post, but...



        Actually, to be an expert you need to know more than others. To be perceived as one, you need to be perceived as knowing more than others. It's best to be both, an actual expert and perceived as one.
        Absolutely, thats why with the Apple Maps example, the person that gets in there and has the knowledge about Apple Maps will both be the expert (knowing more the others) and be perceived as the expert.

        Originally Posted by Rod Cortez View Post

        Actually, in terms of being an expert in most scenarios, all you have to be is competent in a specific area. You don't have to know everything about the topic, nor do you have to actually know more than "anyone else", which is a silly notion really. How does one measure that?

        Perception is highly subjective and as the person doing the marketing and positioning of your brand / product / service/ website/ whatever....YOU have control over that. Social proof is one effective way for buildilng up one's expert status, testimonials being a sub-topic under social proof.

        Sharing your knowledge via content distribution channels (think articles, videos, blogging, podcasts, interviews, press releases, guest appearances, etc.) is another way to build up that perception.

        You don't have to be a blackbelt in most subject matter or topics, you simply have to be competent (for starters).

        RoD
        Also very true, *expert* can definitely be a relative term. Thanks for chiming in RoD
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