Expert status. Authority. Influencer. These are all buzzwords to describe someone who is a leader in their industry.
The fact is, when these words represent you, it’s about how to quickly enjoy the recognition, respect, and increased sales you deserve as THE recognized authority in your industry (no matter what profession you’re in).
In today’s noisy world, it’s essential to stand out from the crowd in a way that gets you noticed. To stand out from all that is vying for the attention of your market, set your sites on what you can do to position your authority daily.
Who Do You Believe Yourself to Be?
To be viewed as an authority, you must believe you are an authority. It’s about congruency and alignment between who you see yourself to be and who you are viewed as within your industry.
A few of the best ways to be viewed as an expert (aka authority) are:
- Publish a book
- Be a featured guest on podcast and radio shows
- Be recognized within your industry
Each offers the opportunity to let your community know what you are up to.
Be a Proactive Promotional Director of Your Reputation
When something newsworthy occurs, don’t rely on others to notice. Be very proactive in how you raise awareness. Be willing to toot your own horn.
You can do so through social media postings, short YouTube videos, media releases, broadcast messages to your subscriber list and a letter or postcard to your customer or client base. There is plenty more you can do, but if you were to focus solely on these items, you would have more traction than likely 99% of your competitors.
Books
Do what successful authors do; begin marketing long before the book is published. Set up interviews on radio, television, podcast and magazines. Also, look for great speaking opportunities and book signings.
Some will seek out book stores, gift shops and specialty businesses who can feature their book and/or bring them in for a book signing.
Much of this needs to be planned months in advance.
Every time you make an appearance, promote further with media releases, social media posts, broadcast emails to your subscribers and short video clips.
You can also continue to promote after the fact.
Podcast and Radio Shows
In most cases, your appearances on a radio or podcast show will be scheduled days, weeks, even months in advance. As soon as you are scheduled, you can begin promoting your appearance. When the show is over, you can again promote the fact you were on the show as well as provide a replay link.
Recognized as an Industry Expert
Recently, I was a featured speaker at the 2017 Women in the Pet Industry Conference. This is an annual event that founder, Shawna Schuh hosts.
For two days, attendees enjoyed presentations by industry experts. The highlight of the annual event was the awards ceremony the evening of the last day.
Recognizing achievement in the pet industry, there are five categories in which a winner is selected. Additionally, one woman is named, Pet Industry Woman of the Year.
- Advocate
- Corporate
- Entrepreneur
- Rising Star
- Solopreneur
The esteemed award is highly coveted within the industry. What I love about what Shawna and her WIPIN team do is provide lots of visibility for the contestants, finalists and of course, winners.
This is a hard-earned designation in which much can be done to further the cause of WIPIN and all those committed to the well-being of animals everyw

Photo by Erica J Mitchell
here.
The winners of each category are as follows:
- Advocate – Marci Koski, Feline Behavior Solutions
- Corporate – Gila Kurtz, Dog is Good
- Entrepreneur – Candace D’Agnolo, Pet Boss Nation
- Rising Star – Rebecca Breese, PetHub
- Solopreneur – Mona Straub, Just Fur Fun
The 2017 Pet Industry Woman of the Year is Gila Kurtz from Dog is Good.
Each winner is in a great position to gain lots of traction from the recognition. Knowing the caliber of women WIPIN attracts, the primary reason each will do all they can to gain visibility regarding their award is to further their pet causes.
How It’s Done
To further their visibility, each can do the following:
- Inform their social media community via video, images and posts.
- Utilize the power of media releases
- Send a message out to their subscriber list
- Posts images on their blog and website
- Set up interviews with podcasters specific to the pet space, business AND humanitarian issues
- Send a direct mail piece to the client/customer base letting them know about the award
- Add mention to their bio about the recognition
To learn more about what each finalist, and the winners, are committed to go to https://www.womeninthepetindustry.com/women-of-the-year/
Are you looking for rock star visibility? If so, join me and my good friend, Jim Edwards for Instant Authority Secrets. The FREE webinar takes place on Thursday, October 5th at 12 p.m. PDT.
Reserve your spot by clicking here.