How To Become an Expert Part II
Yesterday I wrote an article about how to appear an expert.
If you’re copywriting, then the majority of your job is going to centre around writing accurate, quality information that users of the target market are going to say, “Hey… this guy knows what he’s doing… better buy what he says is good for me!”
Now, unless you work in a very specific niche exclusively, you’re not going to be an expert in everything you write about. So it makes sense to tilt the scales in your favour and try to appear more of an expert than you are.
Let’s face it though, readers of this little oasis in the middle of the internet are probably looking for more than just appearing to be smart, so here’s what I know about becoming a genius at a variety of subjects. Obviously, blank slate theory is rubbish and so results will vary.
Here’s a general scheme that’ll work for most people in most situations though.
Get Your Hands On Graduate Level Books For Cheap
I’ve had to spend far too much time this morning watching YouTube videos and reading blogs for a project. Here’s a harsh reality about blogs, YouTube and all that… it’s simply not as good as learning from books. Good books, that is. Books written by experts.
Generally, the dustier, drier and more boring the book looks, the better it is. There are plenty of books available for $10 where some guy has dedicated his whole life to a subject and is now giving it away to you for practically free.
Now, for technical subjects that are lucrative so far as copywriting goes; law, finance, medical and the like, textbooks are a lot more expensive.
Now you could go down the hackneyed YouTube route of reading summaries, Wikipedia pages and assuming you get it… but that’s not really viable in the long term. Instead, you should find a second hand bookstore close to nearby universities.
Partner With An Actual Expert
I know that I wrote about this yesterday, but it’s good advice for becoming knowledgeable in your field as well.
Find people in your field, follow them and converse with them. Get to know the way they speak, the lingo they use and ask them from the point of view of an enthusiastic hobbyist how their field works. Don’t do this so you can score points or be manipulative… do it for real and you’ll benefit.
That’s as far as the “passive” learning and building expertise goes. Now let’s talk about the active stuff.
Answer People’s Questions
But before you do that… look at the question that prompted this whole thing, because it’s pretty illustrative of what needs to be done.
He’s in the cybersecurity field and wants to know how to become regarded as an expert at his ABCs, CRMs and other shortcut terms that I don’t know what the hell they mean.
I’m an amateur. The only people you convince of your expertise are amateurs. Start by explaining those simple terms so it looks like you know what you’re talking about. This is the first step.
Then answer basic people’s questions.
Then take part in discussions with people who know more than you.
And then answer more questions up a level.
Rinse and repeat.
None of this is difficult or expensive. There are a million forums filled with people asking questions and seeking help. Quora is filled with thousands of questions on every conceivable topic. When you think you know the right answer, jump in and learn how to explain what you’ve learned. You can do this for as many hours as you have, and all of it builds knowledge and experience. You’ll get thanked. You’ll get corrected.
Now, don’t pretend you’re a lawyer or anything (that’s one way to get into a heap of trouble you really can’t afford) but there’s nothing wrong with following the above process over and over until you’re rightly considered an authority on a subject.
All the while, you’re running your own experiments.
Run Your Own Experiments
If you’re looking to be an authority on cyber security, write blog post case studies about how you can crack a digital safe in twenty seconds or how your little snippet of code will stop a fat, angry Tumblr guy from doxing you.
Whatever it is you’re doing, assuming you’re legally allowed to do so, you should be running your own experiments. You can’t practice law without a license and you obviously can’t give medical advice, but you can easily do experiments for most things. Even with law; you can write about breaking cases and explain the law in lay terms on a blog. For medicine, you can get your blood work taken, quit soda or something and then get your blood taken six weeks later.
Those are tricky subjects. Most subjects are perfectly simple to create experiments for. Doing so will make you better at the subject and will improve your authority down the line. For instance… you could read an investing book and then paper trade using some criteria you found in the book.
Doing these things tests your creative and critical brain and demonstrates a level that most “authorities” never actually reach.
Final Thoughts
That should wrap things up for this two-part series. As a final conclusion; learning stuff is fun, awesome and rewarding. The idea that you can create business ideas, resources and products and potentially even careers from that is why we live in probably the best time to be alive… and certainly the best time to be a solo-entrepreneur.
The methods may change over time, but if you’re learning, experimenting and putting knowledge to use, you will progress.
Get to it.