Are Pay-to-Play Publications Worth It?
Many publications are actively seeking expert contributors. Some (and the number is increasing) require you to pay for the privilege. But why pay to publish on a particular platform when other publications will publish your work for free?
Before we dive into whether pay-to-play publications are worth it, it’s important to understand each of the three types of pay-to-play opportunities.
Pay-to-play public relations opportunities are those that profile you and your work in exchange for payment. The resulting articles are written (or appear to be written) by someone else. The writer may interview you, either by phone or email, or you may be asked to complete a questionnaire. When the article is published, you are encouraged to share it widely. You may also have the opportunity to appear on the cover of the publication — for an additional fee, of course.
Pay-to-play marketing opportunities are referred to as sponsored content. In this case, you (or someone you hire) writes an article that is published on one or more media platforms. Sometimes these sponsored content pieces are negotiated directly with the publication. Other times they are placed through a company like OutBrain. These articles are identified as “sponsored content” to make it clear that they are advertorials — advertisements, not articles.
Pay-to-play publications typically offer their expert contributors the opportunity to become a member of a select group of experts in exchange for a fee of between $1,000 and $5,000 a year. One benefit of membership is the opportunity to publish bylined articles on the publication’s website. While these articles are not identified as sponsored content, expert contributors are identified as members of the membership program. To determine whether joining such a program is a worthwhile investment, you need to understand how these programs work and evaluate the benefits of the program through the lens of your business goals.
Not all pay-to-play publications are created equal.
Forbes was the first publication to adopt a pay-to-play program. In 2010, Forbes launched its contributing expert platform. Contributing experts don’t pay to publish their articles. Instead, they pitch an article or column and, once approved, log directly into the platform and publish their work. Pieces written by contributing experts are not edited before they are published.
Forbes Councils were established in 2015, five years after the contributing expert platform was launched. One of the benefits of this annual membership program is the opportunity to publish lightly edited, bylined articles on the magazine’s website. Council members can also contribute to roundup articles featuring several subject-matter experts. Other benefits include networking opportunities and educational events.
But the Forbes brand is not what it used to be.
Articles published by contributing experts have historically been subjected to very little editorial oversight. That lack of oversight led to a number of abuses, many of which were chronicled in a 2022 Nieman Lab article. The worst abuses involved contributing experts accepting payment to cover specific individuals or companies — you, too, can be featured in Forbes for only $5,000 — and shysters using their positions as contributing experts to polish up their reputations and those of other unsavory public figures.
Forbes is now working hard to rebuild its reputation.
Other traditional, well-established business magazines have since launched pay-to-play membership programs. Forbes’s mistakes gave these publications insight into the benefits and pitfalls of the pay-to-play model, allowing them to put guardrails in place. I expect more publications to adopt this model in the future. For now, two worth considering are the Entrepreneur Leadership Network and the Fast Company Executive Board.
The Entrepreneur Leadership Network is an annual membership program that allows members to submit up to four bylined articles per month to be considered for publication. Once an article is approved, a dedicated editor works with the writer to ensure the piece meets the publication's editorial standards and to arrange for the piece to be published. Other benefits include networking opportunities, writing workshops, and webinars.
The Fast Company Executive Board is an annual membership program that allows members to publish edited, bylined articles on the magazine’s website and participate in roundup-style articles featuring several subject-matter experts. Other benefits include networking opportunities, an online community and member directory, and professional development opportunities.
The best pay-to-play programs use the funds they receive to pay the editorial team to work with expert contributors. Editing an expert contributor is a different experience from editing a freelance or staff writer, and if a publication wants to maintain the editorial quality of their publication, they need to pay close attention to what is being published. Just because you pay to publish your work on these platforms doesn’t mean your work will be published; it still has to meet the publication’s editorial standards.
And that’s a good thing.
We are judged by the company we keep — and you don’t want to write for a publication that isn’t well respected by your peers, prospective clients, and partners.
Your business goals determine which publications to consider.
You are not writing to get published; you are getting published to achieve specific business goals. If a pay-to-play program will help you achieve those goals, there’s no reason not to consider it.
When you write for high-visibility publications, you receive real value in exchange for your expertise. Writing for high-visibility publications helps you share your perspective with an already-established, well-defined audience. It differentiates you from your peers and enhances your credibility, positioning you as an authoritative expert.
Only you can decide whether the additional benefits associated with a pay-to-play program are valuable enough to justify the annual fee. If they are, such a program may well be worthwhile. If they aren’t, but you’d still like to write for the publication, consider pitching the publication directly. Many publications accept pitches from contributing experts, even when they have a pay-to-play program.
Whether you are looking to secure more speaking engagements, connect with fellow leaders in your industry, or get more meetings with the right prospects on the books, building relationships with the right people is critical to your success as a consultant.
Don’t discount pay-to-play programs simply because you could publish the same articles elsewhere for free. Take time to evaluate each publication and its pay-to-play program against your business goals, values, and style.
Do your due diligence, and then make your decision.
Are You in Danger of Building the Wrong Reputation?
What are you known for? How do other people introduce you? Now, what do you want to be known for?
Building a reputation as an authoritative expert takes time and a focused, consistent effort. But before you put in that time and effort, you need to know exactly what reputation you want to build. You need to know exactly how you want others to describe you and the work you do, even when you aren’t in the room.
Once you’ve clearly defined the reputation you intend to build, you can use it as a filter. Everything you do — every article you write, every presentation you give, and every offer you make — either enhances or diminishes your reputation. As a result, it’s remarkably easy to inadvertently confuse your audience and diminish your reputation.
The good news is that you can always get back on track.
Not every opportunity is an opportunity.
Many of us got into consulting because we want to be of service. But if you’re not careful, your desire to be of service can erode the reputation you seek to build.
The erosion of your reputation starts innocently. A client or a colleague asks you to do something that is not core to your work, but is tangentially related. Because you know you can help, and you value the relationship, you say yes.
That leads to another request related to the first, but even less related to our core work.
Before long, most of your time is taken up doing work that is far removed from the work you want to do. And the grateful client or colleague you helped? They eagerly refer you to others so you can do more of the work you don’t want to do.
You’ve built an excellent reputation. But it’s the wrong one.
Several years ago, a colleague asked me if I would step in after a last-minute cancellation to facilitate a conversation with her community of emerging business leaders. Because she was in a jam, and I value our relationship, I wanted to help. She shared that several members of her community were feeling trapped into doing work that was neither part of their job description nor what they wanted to do. I’m quite familiar with that challenge, so we decided to focus the session on how to build and maintain a reputation that advances your career by knowing when to take on outside tasks and when to pass them along to colleagues.
We had a great conversation.
Two weeks later, my colleague invited me to join her and her planning committee to discuss having me speak at a digital summit for emerging leaders. In the email, she raved about the session I led for her community and shared some participant feedback. I was flattered and nervous. She clearly thought highly of me, but for all the wrong reasons.
Where you focus matters.
While it is easy to be led astray by our own good intentions, that’s not the only way to diminish our reputations.
As a consultant, your work is multifaceted. Each facet is part of a cohesive whole. The interconnected nature of your work allows you to tailor each engagement to meet the client’s needs. The facets of your work thus come in and out of focus during an engagement, with one more important at the beginning and another taking priority toward the end of the engagement. That ebb and flow is expected. But when you emphasize one element and fail to balance it with the bigger picture, you risk becoming better known for that part than you are for the whole.
When generative AI hit the mainstream in 2023, it was heralded as a panacea, especially for consultants. With a well-written prompt and the click of a button, you could generate social media posts, articles, client reports, legal briefs, graphics — anything you need. It’s like having a team of associates at your beck and call.
Or so we were told.
I never bought into the hype, but because my work is centered on writing, I am often asked about generative AI. From the very beginning, I have encouraged people to proceed with caution. In many spaces, especially in those heady early days, I was one of only a handful of voices asking that we pump the brakes. As a result, I was getting a reputation as a generative AI curmudgeon.
I don’t mind being thought of as a curmudgeon, but I was becoming better known for my stance on generative AI than I was for the work I actually do. Generative AI is a useful tool for the work I do — it is neither a panacea nor the devil in digital form. But it is only a tool; it isn’t my work.
So, when I stumbled across a Forbes article on generative AI that made my blood boil, I had to stop and take a deep breath. If I reacted to the article, I would further enhance my reputation as a generative AI curmudgeon. In so doing, I would diminish my reputation as someone who equips consultants with the tools they need to write articles for high-visibility publications and use those articles to achieve their business goals.
Recalibrate to get back on track.
When you realize you’re in danger of building the wrong reputation, it’s time to stop and take stock of everything you are doing so you can rebuild the reputation you intend to build. How you recalibrate depends on how you got to this point.
If your reputation eroded over time as a result of agreeing to do something only tangentially related to your core work, it’s important to shift your thinking. Not every opportunity is an opportunity.
Sometimes what appears to be an opportunity is really a distraction.
When I was asked to speak at the digital summit for emerging leaders, I was hesitant. I could certainly speak to emerging leaders about building their reputations through thought leadership, but I’m not qualified to talk about traditional leadership topics. And since this wasn’t a paid speaking opportunity, I had to evaluate whether accepting this invitation would help me get in front of the right audience. The more I learned about the summit, the more I knew it wasn’t the right fit for me, and I wasn’t the right fit for them.
I declined the invitation to speak at the summit.
But just because this opportunity was not a good fit for me, didn’t mean it wasn’t a perfect fit for someone else. I introduced my colleague to my friend, Kristen. A leadership coach who had risen through the ranks of corporate America, she could provide valuable insights to the emerging leaders attending the summit.
And she did.
When you are faced with an opportunity that is really a distraction, think about how you might turn that distraction into a gift. Who do you know who would appreciate such an opportunity? Who do you know who would be the perfect fit for such an opportunity? By making that connection, you not only protect your reputation, you also serve the person who extended the opportunity to you and the person you recommend in your place.
Accepting opportunities that are not directly related to your work is only one way to inadvertently diminish your reputation. The other? Focusing on one element of your work at the expense of the bigger picture.
When I first read the Forbes article about ways to improve your ChatGPT prompts “according to science,” I wanted to hop up on my LinkedIn soapbox and go on a full-throated rant. The article weaponizes science, implying the results of a single study are incontrovertible. (That’s not how science works.) It also explains that ChatGPT generates better responses when users lie and threaten punishment. It thus trains its users to be deceitful bullies in their written communication.
I love the dopamine hit that comes with a good rant, but I needed to take a step back.
I decided to share the article, my thoughts about the article, and my internal debate about whether I should or shouldn’t write about it on LinkedIn with my colleagues on a private Slack channel. The thoughtful exchange on Slack helped me clarify how and when I talk about generative AI. It also served as the genesis of this article.
When you find that you are spending too much time and energy focused on one element of your work, take a step back. What do you want to be known for? How important is this particular element to the whole of your work? Does it really warrant this much attention? If you are particularly energized about this part of your work, can you find a private outlet for conversations around that piece? How can you give the people you are here to serve a more complete picture of the work you do? By answering these questions, you can bring balance back to your body of work and build the reputation you want to build.
Building a reputation as an authoritative expert takes time and a focused, consistent effort. While you cannot control how your audience regards you and the work you do, you can choose what you share with them. And if you find that your audience’s perception is something other than you want it to be, you can change course.
Your reputation is your most valuable asset.
Protect it.
Published Articles Are Business Assets. Put Them To Work.
Published articles are valuable business assets, especially for consultants, but few people use them to their advantage. Instead, most people write and publish an article, promote it on LinkedIn and through their email newsletter, and then let the piece sit in an obscure corner of the internet gathering dust.
Writing for well-known publications like Harvard Business Review, Inc., or TD Magazine is a valuable and effective authority building tactic. But publication alone is unlikely to result in a flood of phone calls and inquiries. In the rare cases where an article does get a lot of attention, that attention is short-lived.
The true value of published articles is realized over the long term. Published articles are tools that help you build awareness, increase visibility, establish trust, and differentiate yourself from your peers. But how you use those tools depends on the type of article you’ve written and your business goals.
Categorize your articles by purpose.
Different types of articles serve different purposes. A mix of all three types of articles gives you access to a multipurpose toolbox designed to help you build your authority, differentiate yourself from your peers, and attract more of the right-fit clients.
Every article you write should provide the reader with actionable insights, but how you use each article depends on which type it is. Before you make a plan for using your articles, review each one and put it into one of the following three categories:
- General Articles. The purpose of general articles is to raise awareness about you and the work you do. These articles are informational, widely applicable, and stay relevant over time (evergreen). They explore topics that are frequently discussed in your field and offer practical advice.
- Foundational Articles. The purpose of foundational articles is to generate interest in working with you. These articles are narrow, deep, and evergreen — they offer the reader insights into the work you do, how you do that work, and the values that shape your work. They explore topics directly related to the reputation you are building and make your position crystal clear. These articles often allow readers to determine whether your worldview is aligned with their own.
- Specialty Articles. The purpose of specialty articles is to nurture a particular lead. These articles are nuanced, deep, and situation-specific. Sometimes written in response to a conversation with a potential client, they demonstrate your understanding of the prospect’s industry by exploring a current challenge and offering keen insights to help address that challenge.
After you categorize your articles, make a plan for each category. You will create an awareness plan that applies to every article you write. In addition, you will create an interest-generating plan for foundational articles and a lead-nurturing plan for each specialty article. In some cases, an article may be categorized as both a specialty article and a foundational article. That’s okay; the label you assign to a particular article is much less important than the way you use it.
Build awareness with general articles.
The vast majority of the pieces you write will be general articles. These are the bread and butter of your awareness, visibility, and authority-building initiatives. To make the most of these articles, create an awareness plan that includes a mix of promotion, repurposing, and syndication.
Debra Roberts does this quite well. A columnist for Inc.com, she regularly shares practical tips to help business leaders have more productive conversations. In "Master the Art of Definitive Communication," Debra demonstrates how leaders use ambiguous language and offers scripts to help them make more decisive statements. This practical, broadly applicable piece is a perfect example of a general article. Examining how she might use this piece offers insights into what your awareness plan might look like:
- Promoting articles allows you to expand your reach. In addition to promoting articles on social media, Debra can share links to her articles with her email subscribers and online communities. She might also keep a list of articles (with links) on her desktop so she can quickly share relevant pieces with people she speaks with at networking events and during speaking engagements.
- Repurposing articles allows you to share your ideas in more ways. Every article can be repurposed to create additional marketing assets. For example, Debra might review this article and come up with a series of ambiguous statements and their more definitive counterparts and share that series as a carousel on LinkedIn.
- Syndicating articles allows you to republish your articles elsewhere. Because Inc.com allows contributing experts to syndicate their articles, Debra can republish the same piece (with a different headline) on her company blog. In fact, she can republish this piece on any platform that accepts syndicated content.
Once an article is published and your repurposed assets are created, plan to promote your articles again and again, for as long as they are relevant. Start with a three-month rotation schedule and expand it to six and then twelve months as you build your library.
Generate interest with foundational articles.
Foundational articles are workhorses that offer the reader a deep dive into the work you do and how you do it. To get the most value from these pieces, write your foundational articles after you test and refine your ideas because you will cite them frequently. You only need a handful of foundational articles, so expect to invest extra time to enhance the editorial quality of each one.
Chloé Nwangwu’s first foundational article appears in Harvard Business Review. "Why We Should Stop Saying 'Underrepresented'" makes the case for abandoning the oft-used but imprecise term “underrepresented” in favor of a more accurate term: underrecognized. She sites this article as often as possible — in her blog posts, newsletters, and when she appears as a guest expert on podcasts.
Incorporate your foundational articles into the awareness plan you create for your general articles. Make sure at least one asset from one foundational article is in the rotation schedule every month. These articles provide your audience with the context they need to understand the work you do and how you can serve them. You want to share that message repeatedly because repetition is your reputation.
In addition to incorporating your foundational articles into your awareness plan, create an interest-generating plan. These articles are valuable business assets and should be used to generate interest from prospective clients and partners.
Chloé shares her foundational article anytime she introduces herself to a new contact and references the piece in her professional bio, proposals, and pitches. When her friends and colleagues introduce her to a prospective client or speaking opportunity, they also include a link to this article.
Foundational articles give people a sense of who you are, how you think, and what you do. And that helps you build trust with others before you even meet them.
If a foundational article is gated or only available in print, make sure you have a digital copy you can share with others. Many publications will provide you with a PDF of your article, making it easy to share with prospective clients and partners. Just make sure you double-check the terms of your copyright transfer agreement to make sure you aren’t violating the publication’s copyrights.
Nurture leads with specialty articles.
Specialty articles are often written in response to a conversation with a client, prospective client, or colleague about a specific situation. These pieces aren’t applicable at all times to all clients, but they are still incredibly valuable. Not only do specialty articles build your relationship with the individual who inspired the piece, but they speak to anyone who has grappled with the issue in the past.
When Raman Shah wrote "Starting Simple in Performance Measurement" for the International City/County Management Association, he was responding to an oft-repeated rebuttal to his recommendation that a prospective client implement operational reporting as a management tool. It is a compelling piece that makes the case for measuring output, not just impact.
Like all the other articles you write, specialty articles should be incorporated into the awareness plan you create for your general articles. You will also want to create a lead-nurturing plan for each specialty article. Who was this piece written in response to? How and when will you share it with them? Who else might benefit from reading this piece? Would any past clients see a past version of themselves in the piece?
Raman’s article was written in response to objections brought up by prospective clients, so it is a specialty article. It is also core to his work as a consultant on performance measurement and operational improvement for local governments. So, it may well be both a specialty article and a foundational article.
Your articles are assets. Don’t let them gather dust.
Published articles are appreciating business assets, but those assets only increase in value if you use them as such. While you may worry that you’re promoting your articles too often, the truth is that nobody is paying as much attention to your content as you are, and repeating your message over and over again helps people remember you.
While it is possible for a published article to result in a great deal of attention, leads, and even new opportunities, that possibility is the exception, not the rule. The true value of your published articles is realized over time.
When shared with the right people and in the right ways, published articles not only help you build awareness and increase visibility, but they also help you establish trust with prospective clients and partners.
And that opens the door to new opportunities.
How to Exponentially Increase Your Impact
If you want to increase your impact, expand your community, narrow your focus, and equip others with the tools they need to do the work you are uniquely suited to do in a way that is uniquely suited to them.
Many consultants work on specific projects within specific industries. They may work on one project for months or even years. If that’s true for you, it may be hard to see the extent of the impact of your work. While you can see the difference your work makes to that client, you might not see much impact outside of that sphere.
Some consultants are content to work with a handful of clients for their entire careers. They get to know those clients well and see projects through from beginning to end. They are part of a team, and for many folks, being part of a team is immensely satisfying. It can also feel safe and familiar.
But if you limit yourself to working with a handful of clients, and don’t take the opportunity to share your wisdom and insights with a larger audience, you are limiting the scope of your impact.
Create a vision for the future.
You got into this business to make a difference in your corner of the world. But you cannot create what you cannot see.
If you cannot see a vision for the future or how your work helps bring that vision to fruition, it’s almost impossible to create that future and incredibly easy to get mired in the day-to-day work of consulting.
Yes, you have bills to pay, invoices to send, networking groups to attend, and clients to serve. But you also have important work to do — work that makes a difference. And if you are focused on the minutia, it’s hard to see what you are working towards or why it really matters.
Take some time to envision the transformation you seek to make in the world, especially as it relates to the work you do with your clients. What would you like your clients to know? What would you like them to do differently? What skills and resources do they need to operate that way? What gets in the way and keeps them from making the necessary changes? What have they tried before? Why hasn’t that worked?
By answering these questions, you will more clearly define your BIG idea — the bold, insightful, and galvanizing idea that serves as the foundation of your business and your reputation. Your BIG idea is a guiding principle for your business; it will define the services you offer, the topics you talk about, and the subjects you write about. The more intentionally you focus your work around that one overarching idea, the easier it will be for you to build your reputation around and to become known for that idea.
Build a community with a shared vision.
If your professional inner circle is currently smaller than you would like it to be, that’s okay. Even a small inner circle can provide you with a strong foundation. As you share your vision for the future with the people in your inner circle, including your clients, colleagues, and partners, start to build a community around that vision.
A strong inner circle is a great place to stress test and refine your vision for the future. The members of your inner circle who are most engaged with your vision can add to it, point out areas of weakness, and help you refine and strengthen it. The stronger your vision for the future, the easier it will be to share it with a larger audience.
As you start to expand your community, think about who else might share your vision and who you will need to collaborate with to make your vision a reality. Is your vision focused on a specific industry or people who serve in a specific role? What do those who share your vision have in common?
Remember that you don’t need to share your vision with everyone. Think of your community as a series of concentric circles centered on a shared vision. As you share your vision with your inner circle, your reach expands along with the size of your community.
One of the best ways to share your vision with people you don’t yet know, but who would be interested, is to write for high-visibility publications. When you write for the right publication, you are able to share your vision with a well-established, targeted audience.
But that’s not all. Writing for high-visibility publications also allows you to enjoy the imprimatur of the publication — their editorial team vetted you, and by publishing your work, they are signaling to their audience that you are an authority in your field. You are effectively borrowing the publication’s reputation and relationship with its audience and using that social proof to build your own reputation and relationships.
As you build a community around this shared vision, others will add their perspectives and experiences to it — they will start taking ownership of the vision and actively work toward implementing it. That may sound frightening, but it’s the only way your vision will ever be realized.
While it may have started with you, a shared vision isn’t actually yours — nor was it ever meant to be. But you still have a crucial role to play in realizing that vision.
Define how your work contributes to the shared vision.
How does your work contribute to this shared vision? Which part of that shared vision are you uniquely suited to address? Which part energizes and inspires you?
Everything we do has ripple effects. But it’s hard to see the effect those ripples have on others, and easy to believe that the impact we have is smaller than it is. When we can’t see the impact we’re making, it can be tempting to expand your focus. But just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
Expanding your focus and taking on even more work — especially work that isn’t particularly interesting — is a sure-fire way to spread yourself too thin and burn out.
Not all of the work that needs to be done to realize a shared vision is yours to do.
So, what work is yours to do? What is your greatest gift to give? What work belongs to someone else (even if you aren’t sure who that someone else is)?
Knowing what work is yours, and what work belongs to someone else, will help you focus on where you can make the biggest impact. It is possible to scale your impact even as you narrow your focus. Writing for high-visibility publications and speaking to other people’s audiences will help you accomplish this goal. More sophisticated tactics include developing a signature method so you can serve more people at once and licensing your expertise to enable others to do the work you do.
Creating change is hard, and you cannot do it alone. You need others working alongside you doing the same work and spreading the same message. And you need them to be able to bring their full selves to that work. Not everyone who needs your help will want that help from you. It is impossible for you to serve everyone who needs your help, and the truth is, you won’t want to serve everyone who needs your help.
If you really want to make a difference, you must share your perspective with others. You must build your community around a shared vision for the future, and you must allow, and even celebrate, others doing the same work you do.
Once you are clear about the change you want to see and the work that is yours to do, use it as a guide for everything you do. Your focused efforts will have a profound ripple effect.
How (and Why) to Edit Other People's Work
We aren’t taught how to edit other people’s work, so we tend to focus on grammar and commas and spelling. Or we end up rewriting someone else’s work in our own voice because it just didn’t quite sound right to our ears. But editing is a skill anyone can learn, and becoming a better editor makes you a better writer and better communicator.
The key is to start with what is often referred to as a developmental edit, which focuses on the structure and organization of a piece, before moving to a copy edit, which looks at the grammar, language, and structure of each sentence. Because the developmental edit is often overlooked, we’ll focus on that piece of the editing process. Here are three steps to follow when editing someone else’s work:
First, embrace these five principles.
Good editing requires good communication and a heavy dose of compassion. Offering editorial criticism in a way that is both useful and kind requires a great deal of intention and thought. Embracing these principles is a good place to start:
- Offer critiques from the reader’s point of view, not your own. When editing someone else’s work, keep the reader top of mind. Your goal is to help the writer communicate their ideas clearly to the intended reader. Center your comments on the reader. For example, “There’s a lot of jargon in this article that could be confusing. Will your readers understand it?”
- Point out the particularly good elements, not just the parts that need work. It is always helpful for writers to see what really works about a piece. Let them know when you find something particularly insightful or well-crafted. For example, “I really like the way you took this very technical neuroscience research and made it actionable. Not only does that help me understand how such a big concept applies to business, but it positions you as an expert who really knows her stuff.”
- Give the writer a reason why you think something should be changed. Whenever you suggest a change or highlight a possible problem, let the writer know why you think a change needs to be made. For example, “I had to read this sentence a few times before I really understood it. While it appears to be technically accurate, I’m afraid readers might not take the time to understand it, and it’s an important point. Is there a way to say this more simply?”
- Propose a solution whenever possible. The writer has invested a lot of time in this piece, and may not be able to see problems that are obvious to you. When you identify a problem, offer a solution to help the writer understand the problem you identified. For example, “Perhaps it would help to break this sentence up into two or three sentences and really walk the reader through your thought process.”
- Respect the writer’s voice. Just because you would make the point differently, doesn’t mean that the way the writer expressed themselves is inaccurate or inappropriate. When you encounter a question of voice or style, note it once and explain your concerns. Then move on. For example, “I know you swear in conversation, but it lands a bit differently to me when it’s in writing. Will your readers be okay with cursing in an otherwise formal piece?”
As an editor, your goal is to help the writer articulate their thoughts in a way that the reader will understand. But remember that you are merely making suggestions. The writer gets to decide whether to adopt, adapt, or ignore those suggestions. After all, the writer’s name is the one that will go on the piece.
Second, evaluate the editorial quality of the article.
To evaluate the editorial quality of an article, make sure you understand who the intended audience is and what the writer intended the reader to take away from the piece. Then, read the entire article for context and evaluate it based on the questions presented by the CORD Framework:
- Cogent. Does the piece present a compelling case in support of a specific position or point of view? Is it useful to the intended audience? Does it provide enough context for the audience to understand its importance?
- Original. Does it have a strong voice and clear point of view? Is it insightful? Does it add to the conversation? Does it build upon the writer’s experience?
- Researched. Are the insights presented based on evidence? Are assertions grounded in facts and experience? Is the data accurate? Is research presented with sufficient context? Are cited sources trustworthy?
- Deep. Is the piece well written? Does it leave a lasting impression? Does it dive below the surface and offer insights not found elsewhere? Is it relevant? Does the writer discern fact from opinion?
A high-quality article meets each of these criteria and positions the writer as an expert in their field. Look for places where the writer satisfied these criteria, and where the writer fell short. Point out any places where they could build their authority by improving one or more of these areas.
Third, look for and address common challenges.
While every writer has different strengths and a distinctive voice, there are certain challenges we all struggle with from time to time. By looking for these challenges in other people’s work, you’ll find it easier to identify them in your own writing. Here are some of the most common challenges and how to address them:
- No clear point. What is the main point of the piece? Is it clear and obvious? Can you state it in one sentence? Does the writing ever stray from that point? Is every piece of information in the piece relevant to that point? Or can some parts be cut? If you can’t state the point clearly and succinctly, it means the writer has a bit more work to do. Let them know that the main point isn’t clear and identify those places that seem to go off topic or add confusion.
- Burying the lede. Does the writer get to the point quickly? Is it clear from the beginning of the piece? Or does is the writing setting the stage for the first few paragraphs? Burying the lede is very common, and it is deadly in business writing. If the reader isn’t sure what the point of a piece is from the very beginning, they aren’t going to stick around long enough to find it. If you discover the lede a few paragraphs below the start of the piece, identify it as such, and remind the writer that their audience wants to know exactly what they’re getting themselves into before investing their time into reading anything.
- Unclear audience. Who, exactly, is the audience for this piece? Does that stay consistent throughout? Or does it shift? A shift between “we” and “you” can work; but a shift from “you” to “them” rarely does. In business writing, the most powerful pronoun is “you” because it is clear and it speaks directly to the reader. If the piece you are editing seems to be speaking to several different audiences, identify where it shifts and bring that shift to the writer’s attention.
- Muddled thinking. Do you get lost in the piece and find you have to read a sentence or paragraph a few times to understand it? The two most common reasons writing fails is because the writer hasn’t thought through it enough or the writer is trying to cover every possible scenario. Long sentences and rambling paragraphs offer cues that the writer is still clarifying and simplify their thoughts. Point out any problem areas and let the writer know where you had a hard time following their thinking. Shorter, simpler sentences are often the first step towards a solution.
- Questionable logic. Does the writer make any leaps of logic not supported by the words on the page? Do they offer their opinion and make it sound like a fact? Does the writer refer to studies in support of their argument but fail to cite the actual study? If you were tasked with discrediting the writer, where would you poke holes in the argument? It is incredibly difficult to fact-check your own work. As an editor, you can do a real service to the writer by pointing out where their argument doesn’t hold water or where they fail to take alternative viewpoints into account.
The relationship between an editor and writer requires a great deal of trust. It is collaborative and constructive, which means it sometimes requires difficult conversations and honest disagreement. Editors must be cognizant of how they deliver their criticism. Writers must endeavor not to take that criticism personally. Both must approach the work from a position where respect and care for the reader is paramount.
When you edit someone else’s work, not only do you help the writer improve their skills, but you improve your writing skills as well. To put this into practice, consider joining the Writing Practice community. Or recruit a colleague. If each of you commits to writing one article each month by a specific date, you can then come together and edit one another’s work. Not only will you both improve the quality of your writing, but it will be a lot easier for you both to complete your writing projects.
What to Write When: A Step-by-Step Guide to Building Your Authority
Should you write a book? Or focus on your blog? What about your email newsletter? Should you focus on that next? Do you need a lead magnet? Or should you write for high-visibility publications? What about social media? How does that fit into the mix?
If you’ve ever asked yourself these questions, then you already know writing helps you build your reputation, increase your visibility, and reach the right audience. It is an exceptional authority-building technique that showcases your perspective, insights, and approaches to solving problems. It allows readers to get to know, like, and trust you.
It also differentiates you from your peers.
Over the course of your consulting career, you will use various forms of writing, such as social media posts, email newsletters, blog posts, articles for third-party publications, and books, to share your perspective and demonstrate your expertise. Each form of writing serves a distinct purpose. Understanding how they work together is essential to knowing which to use at each stage of your consulting career. Here, I offer a step-by-step approach to help you focus your writing efforts.
First, write to develop your perspective.
You must develop your perspective before you can share your perspective. If you are an early-stage consultant or you have recently shifted your focus to serve a new industry or offer a new service, start by posting on LinkedIn and writing for your blog and email newsletter.
Use this time to learn about your audience’s biggest challenges, how they’ve tried to address those challenges, why those attempts failed, and where they turn for guidance. Understand the counsel your audience is receiving and where other experts in your field are oversimplifying or overcomplicating the solutions they offer. Note where you can add some nuance, fill a gap, or offer a different perspective.
According to data on the lifespan of online content compiled by Scott Graffius, a post on LinkedIn receives half of its total engagement within 24.3 hours while a blog post receives half of its total engagement within 1.95 years. GetResponse reports that the lifespan of email newsletters is even shorter than that of social media posts, with half of all opens occurring within the first 8 hours.
Writing helps you interrogate your own thinking, and when you share your writing, you invite others to offer their perspective so you can refine your thinking. These vehicles are perfectly suited to experimentation and the development of your perspective:
- LinkedIn. LinkedIn posts have a short lifespan. However, they also have a high likelihood of engagement and great potential for building your network. This makes LinkedIn an excellent place to offer up ideas even when they aren’t fully formed and to invite and actively engage in discussion. Those types of posts have the potential to help you see your idea from a new perspective, thus refining your thinking, and are great ways to build relationships with others in your field.
- Newsletter. Email newsletters have a much shorter lifespan than LinkedIn posts, but go directly to people who have opted-in to receive your newsletter and are interested in what you have to say. You may choose to share ideas in which you have a great deal of confidence, or you may invite the recipients to test developing ideas with you. Because your newsletter community is easy to reach, you have plenty of opportunities to share your thinking as it evolves.
- Blog. As is the case with email newsletters, your blog is a platform you own and control, so it is more secure than sharing your ideas on social media. Blog posts have the longest lifespan and greatest flexibility because they can be revised, updated, or deleted at any time. You can also expand the lifespan of a blog post by repurposing it and intentionally sharing it over and over again. Because your blog can be accessed by anyone, you want to have confidence in the ideas you present at the time you present them. Think of each blog post as a snapshot of your thinking at a particular point in time.
Your blog and email newsletter serve as the foundation of your authority-building efforts and are enhanced by your presence on LinkedIn. Regardless of what other forms of writing you employ, make sure your foundation is solid and reinforced throughout your consulting career. A solid foundation will position you for future growth.
Second, write to build your network and authority.
As a mid-stage consultant, you have a strong point of view and experience-based expertise to share. You have an excellent reputation, a strong network, and a steady(ish) stream of projects. However, you may find that your reputation is confined to a small circle of clients and colleagues and your network lacks focus. You may also find that you are doing too much of the wrong kind of work.
This is when you want to consider writing for high-visibility publications.
A high-visibility publication is any publication that allows you to share your ideas with an already-established audience populated by the people you most want to reach. Writing for these publications helps you share your message with more of the right people and expand your audience. It also provides social proof — the publication vetted you and decided you have something important to share with their readers. They recognized you as an expert in your field.
In most cases, your articles will be published online. These articles are similar to a blog post, with a long lifespan that can be expanded by promoting and repurposing the article again and again. It is rarely possible to update these articles, so you want to have confidence in the ideas you present. That being said, these articles are dated, and you can always stop sharing them when they no longer accurately reflect your thinking and they will fade into obscurity.
Articles written for third-party publications are remarkably flexible marketing assets that offer readers a detailed examination of a very specific topic in a format that is easy to digest. In most cases, you can syndicate these articles, publishing the same piece on your blog with a link back to the original, thus reinforcing the foundation of your reputation-building effort. Unlike your blog and email newsletter, however, writing articles for high-visibility publications gives you access to an already-established audience, making it easier to build your network.
Third, write to share your hard-earned wisdom
As an established consultant, you have a strong point of view, extensive experience, and a reputation as an authoritative expert and leading thinker in your field. Your sphere of influence is vast, and your network includes other recognized experts, clients, and emerging leaders. As you start to transition from a mid-stage consultant to an established consultant, consider writing a book to share your hard-earned wisdom.
While you may choose to write a book earlier in this process, keep in mind that writing and promoting a book requires a significant investment of time, money, and effort. You want to undertake that effort when you can afford to focus your attention on your book — when your pipeline is full and you don’t need to worry about where your next project will come. Writing a book can be a fun distraction, when what you really need to do is the hard work of business development.
You don’t need to write a book to build a successful consultancy.
If you do write a book, the return on your investment will probably not come in the form of book sales. Your book is much more valuable as a marketing asset than as a stream of income.
As a published author, you will be seen as an authoritative expert simply by virtue of the fact that you have published a book. If that book stands on its own merits, your reputation as an authoritative expert will be confirmed. If the book lacks insight or is poorly written, it could damage your reputation — at least with those who read it.
A book is a stable marketing asset, and it must stay relevant and resonant over time to be valuable. You have a better chance of writing a book that holds up over time and opens the door to more opportunities if you have an established audience and a solid reputation. Use articles — published on your blog or in high-visibility publications — to test and refine your ideas and make sure they stand the test of time.
To learn more about how articles and books work together, download my infographic on The Relationship Between Articles and Books.
Articles and books work very well together. Don’t be afraid to start with articles and use the articles you’ve written as a foundation for your book. Not only is it easier to write a 750 to 1,250 word article than it is to write a 35,000 to 65,000 word book, but those articles can help you build your audience for the book you intend to write.
Once your book is published, you can repurpose your research and writing into published articles that continue to build your audience and generate further excitement for your book. Breaking each chapter of your book into articles is a great way to repurpose your book and reinforce the foundation of your reputation-building effort.
The first step is simple.
No matter where you are in your consulting career, writing will help you build your authority, increase your visibility, and reach the right audience. Whether you focus on your blog, write for high-visibility publications, or start work on a book depends in large part on your current priorities and whether you have a solid foundation in place.
Writing never goes to waste. Even when your writing is not published, writing helps you think deeply and improves your ability to communicate highly complex ideas. Sharing those ideas allows you to refine them even further.
Are you ready to take the first step?
Just write.
And if you’d like some extra support, consider joining the Writing Practice community.
Are You Losing Control of Your Intellectual Property by Writing Articles for Publication?
Your expertise is the foundation of your business. When you fix that expertise in a tangible form of expression, such as a book, article, or podcast, it becomes a valuable asset and a type of intellectual property. As Erin Austin of Think Beyond IP says, “Owning and controlling intellectual property is the prerequisite to scaling your B2B expertise-based business.”
As a consultant, it is essential to protect your intellectual property.
But how do you protect your intellectual property when you’re writing and publishing articles? Doesn’t that put your intellectual property at risk? And what should you do if the publication you write for wants to own the articles you write? Doesn’t that mean you are giving up control of your intellectual property?
A primer on copyright law.
To be eligible for copyright protection, a work must be creative, original, and authored by a human (which means articles generated by AI are not eligible). It also must be in a form that allows the work to be consumed and reproduced. Written, audio, visual, and video works are all eligible for copyright protection.
Copyright protection attaches to a work as soon as it takes tangible form. So, as soon as you write an article, that article is copyrighted and you are the copyright owner. You don’t need to register the work with the U.S. Copyright Office. Registering the work provides you with additional protections and makes enforcement easier, but it is not required.
For information about the legal remedies available when someone infringes upon your copyrights, review Copyright Infringement Damages by Erin Austin.
As the copyright owner, you have the exclusive right to display the article, reproduce it, distribute copies, and create derivative versions. You may also transfer these rights to others, either permanently or for a defined period or purpose.
Copyright protection attaches to the work — in this case to the article. It does not protect the ideas presented in the article. Copyright protects the expression of your ideas, not the ideas themselves.
You cannot protect your ideas. You can, however, become known for your ideas.
Transferring ownership of your intellectual property.
Copyright law permits you to transfer some or all of your rights to display, reproduce, distribute copies, and create derivative versions of your article. Some publications ask you to sign a copyright transfer agreement, which transfers some or all of your copyrights to the publication.
Important Note: In the absence of a written agreement, submitting your article grants a publication a non-exclusive license to publish your work. An exclusive license is a transfer of your copyrights, which requires a written agreement.
Publications seek the copyrights to your article so they can control when, where, and to whom they distribute the article. Many association publications request the copyrights to limit distribution of the article to their members. Your article is a benefit of membership. That benefit isn’t terribly valuable if the article can easily be accessed elsewhere.
Often you will be asked to sign a copyright transfer agreement shortly before the article is published. If you’re not expecting it, this practice may feel manipulative; you may feel you have no choice but to sign the agreement.
Most reputable publications operate in good faith. The practice of requesting a transfer of copyright at the last minute is fairly standard. It is a holdover from the publication’s work with freelance writers. Freelance writers are paid upon publication, and publication is not guaranteed. There is no reason or incentive for a freelance writer to transfer their copyrights to the publication until they know the piece will be published and they will be compensated.
A copyright transfer agreement is a contract. But few people (authors and publishers alike) take the time to read and understand the terms of these contracts. Publications often see these contracts are mere formalities — something that is done because it’s always been done.
It is essential that you read and understand the copyright transfer agreement before you sign it. If the agreement transfers all your rights to the publication, the publication owns your article and can rewrite it or publish it without crediting you as the author.
Determining your next steps.
Before you decide how to proceed, you must first review the contract carefully. These agreements are typically quite short, so take the time to determine which copyrights are reserved to the author and which are claimed by the publication. And remember that the terms of the copyright transfer agreement are negotiable.
One of the most important rights to retain is the right to be credited as the author. If your article includes a chart or infographic, you want to make sure it is identified as a separate copyright owned entirely by you. Finally, understand what rights you have to distribute the article. Many publications will provide you with a PDF of your article that clearly identifies the publisher.
Before negotiating the contract, keep in mind that copyright protects the expression of an idea, not the idea itself. Also, there are real benefits to transferring your copyrights to the publication. If someone steals your article and claims it as their own, they have infringed upon the publication’s copyright, not yours. So it is the publication that will have to take action to enforce those rights.
Once you have reviewed the contract and determined which rights you want to retain, it’s time to negotiate. If your editor sent you the transfer of copyright agreement, give them the benefit of the doubt that they are acting in good faith. Frankly, the chances are good that they haven’t read the contract in a long time — they send it out as a matter of course, paying it little attention until someone raises the issue.
Your editor is your advocate. They have invested time and energy into you and the article you’ve written, so they don’t want to see this fall apart any more than you do! If there’s anything you don’t understand about the contract, ask for clarification. Share your concerns and seek a solution that serves both you and the publication.
As the copyright holder, you must take the time to understand your rights and the rights you are giving up when you sign a copyright transfer agreement. You also need to know which rights you want to retain so you can negotiate the terms of the agreement.
This is your intellectual property.
Protect it.
* * *
DISCLAIMER: This article offers general information about copyright protection, and I made every effort to ensure its accuracy. However, I am not an intellectual property attorney. Please consult with a lawyer who specializes in copyright law before making any decisions that will affect your rights. To learn more about what you can and cannot copyright and license to others, take Erin Austin’s free quiz.
My Dyslexia Made Me a Better Writer. It Can Help You Too.
I am dyslexic. I was diagnosed in grade school in the 198os, and no one knew quite what to do with me. I was a smart kid, but a painfully slow reader, and I’d often reverse my letters and numbers or make simple spelling mistakes.
Word searches were nearly impossible for me to complete.
I am still a slow reader, and when I’m tired, I reverse letters and numbers and make simple spelling mistakes. I often can’t spell “of” correctly — even though “o.v.” doesn’t look right. Acronyms don’t stick in my head, and it is difficult for me to process written information when it is poorly formatted.
The websites of the early 90s were a nightmare.
But dyslexia also comes with a few gifts, one of which is a remarkable ability to identify and recognize complex patterns, including language patterns and article structure.
The power of pattern recognition.
In high school, I wanted to be a journalist or a lawyer. Because of my diagnosis, my academic advisor told me neither option was realistic.
That was the last time I spoke with my advisor.
I’ve always enjoyed reading and writing, even though I was much slower than my peers. But slow reading helped me study the structure of everything I read. Over time, I understood what made a collection of words stick together. As I discovered writers whose work I admired, I studied their writing more closely. It felt like a game — like a giant jigsaw puzzle of words.
In law school, I picked apart legal briefs, Supreme Court decisions, and journal articles. The structure differed from the novels and National Geographic articles I was used to, but it was there. Because of my understanding of the structure of legal writing, I was awarded a Dillard Fellowship, a teaching assistant position in the legal research and writing program at the University of Virginia School of Law. The following year, I served on the editorial board of one of the law journals.
The first time I wrote for a magazine, I read every article the publication put out in the last year so I could find the patterns. They all followed a similar structure, with slight variations depending on who wrote the piece.
Once I understood the structure, I could mimic it.
As I developed my writing voice, I experimented with the structure, adding my own variations. Once I found a few structures that worked well for me, I rotated between them.
The structure of an article is largely hidden. When no one noticed I was using the same few structures repeatedly, I got nervous.
I felt like I had pulled a fast one over on my editor!
But structure is built into every kind of writing, and my editor was well aware of my preferred variations. But because they fit within the standard structure, my preferences were part of my voice and style, not a trick.
Your reader expects a certain structure, even if they can’t identify each of the elements. And structure helps you, as the writer, get your point across.
Using structure to become a better writer.
Every non-fiction article follows a variation of the same basic structure: there’s an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. The introduction works with the headline to tell the reader what you’re going to tell them while providing the necessary context. The body goes into the details, telling the reader what you want to tell them. The conclusion wraps it all up in a nice bow and tells the reader what you just told them.
Variations exist within that basic structure, but that structure is always there. It provides a solid container for your writing.
Because I am dyslexic, I struggle to write in a logical order. Having an outline helps, but when I’m writing a longer piece, or a piece with a lot of research, my process looks chaotic.
I capture quotes and notes and miscellaneous ideas in one big document. I don’t bother looking for a rhyme or reason. I throw everything into the mix. At this stage, the point is to capture my ideas and anything else that might make it into the piece.
Then, I print out the document and grab a pair of scissors. I cut each snippet of text from the page and group similar ideas together. I order the notes within each group, and write one section at a time. I rarely start at the beginning. I like to start with the section that sparks my interest and curiosity.
It’s a messy process, but it works for me. It allows me to honor the way my brain works.
I don’t think linearly, which can be a bit of a challenge. But it can also help me make connections that other people miss. And those connections — those surprising insights — make for good reading (and fun writing)!
It is because of my dyslexia that I understand the patterns inherent in article-writing.
These patterns are things you can learn, and they can help you become a better writer, regardless of whether you have dyslexia.
On Crickets, Cheerleaders, and Curmudgeons: How to Know if Your Perspective Resonates
Sharing your perspective with your audience is essential to differentiate yourself from your peers. But how do you know if you are clearly conveying your perspective and if it is resonating with the intended audience?
Building your reputation is a long game, but staying attuned to other people’s reactions to your work can help you determine if you’re on the right path.
What if you share your perspective and no one responds?
Everyone who publishes articles, blog posts, social media posts, or an email newsletter is familiar with the experience of sharing something they believe is particularly important and insightful, eagerly awaiting the crowd’s response, and hearing nothing but silence.
And one lonely cricket in the distance.
What does that mean? Does it mean no one cares what you have to say? Or that your perspective isn’t resonating with your audience? Or does it mean the piece you spent a lot of time crafting wasn’t clear?
Most of the time, you won’t receive any material feedback. Silence is the standard response.
Participation inequality is a well-studied phenomenon. According to the Nielsen Norman Group, user participation in social media and online communities (including blogs) generally follows a 90-9-1 rule where the vast majority of users do not engage with the content — they may read and observe, but they do not like, comment, or post. Approximately 9% of users engage to some extent on occasion. But it’s the 1% who post, like, comment, and stay engaged. And even then, the response they provide may not be valuable.
How can you improve the quality (and quantity) of responses?
Sharing your work on a social media platform or through your email newsletter is unlikely to elicit many responses, and the responses you do get will probably not be terribly valuable. The key to increasing the number of responses is to ask for a response and make it easy for people to respond.
Most people won’t take the time to read your article closely, especially when you share it on social media. To increase engagement, write the post so the reader can comment intelligently even if they don’t read the article. Give them the context they need and ask a specific question that they can answer without further research.
Yes, your goal is to get people to read your work. But that only happens if the right people know about it. When it comes to social media, the only way to get more people to know about your work is to increase engagement on your post. The more comments you get, the more people you reach.
To receive high-quality feedback, you need to make a specific request of specific individuals — and I don’t mean tagging them in a social media post.
If you want someone to put time and energy into responding to what you’ve written, you must put time and energy into crafting your request.
Be clear about the type of feedback you want. Only you know what kind of feedback is valuable to you. A general request, such as “I’d love your thoughts on this piece,” is a big ask. It not only requires the recipient to read the article but forces them to either ignore your request or spend time trying to guess which kinds of “thoughts” you want them to share with you.
If you want good feedback, ask good questions.
In your request, give the recipient a bit of context about the article and why you are asking for their opinion. Then, ask a few specific questions. For example, “This article was inspired by the conversation we had at the conference last month. One of the points you made was that you don’t feel like you have a deep enough understanding of how artificial intelligence works, how it might be deployed in a manufacturing facility, or what red flags you should be aware of as you adopt this technology. I address each of these issues in this article. Did I provide you with the information you need? Does it raise any new questions for you? What do you wish I had addressed but didn’t? I’d be happy to receive your response by email or, if you’d prefer, we could hop on a call.”
Keep in mind that just because their feedback is important to you doesn’t mean it’s important to them. Give them the benefit of the doubt that they have good intentions. Giving meaningful feedback takes effort, so the recipient of your request may not respond immediately. Even with the best intentions, they may forget about your request as they focus on more urgent matters.
Don’t take it personally.
What if the only accolades are from your peers?
It is not uncommon for the article you publish to garner a lot of attention from your peers but absolutely no attention from your intended audience. Your peers know you and have a deep understanding of the topic you wrote about, so it isn’t surprising that they would respond to your writing.
That’s great news!
It means you are adding to the conversation and not to the noise. And it positions you as an expert among experts.
Remember the 90-9-1 rule? Just because your prospective clients aren’t engaging in the conversation doesn’t mean they aren’t listening to it.
Keep that in mind as you respond to your colleagues. Look for opportunities to add more depth to the article and showcase your understanding.
What if prospective clients disagree?
What if a prospective client vehemently (and publicly) disagrees with something you wrote?
Depending on how your client expresses themselves, your reaction can range from defensiveness to anger to curiosity. The most important thing is to remember that even though this one person is the one engaging with you, others are listening.
So, read negative comments carefully. Are you sure you are interpreting them correctly? Might you be misinterpreting something they said? If so, ask a clarifying question. Similarly, if they have a point, acknowledge it. Take this as an opportunity to dig in deeper together.
You can often turn a negative into a positive simply by the way you engage with criticism. Even if you don’t persuade the person you are in conversation with, remember that others are watching, and you may persuade them! Most people online do not engage — they lurk. Sometimes your primary audience isn’t the person engaging with you; it’s the lurkers.
If you’re engaging with someone criticizing your work and they become combative or disrespectful, remember that you don’t have to respond. You don’t owe them anything, and your ability to maintain your composure will be noted by others. An argument requires both people to fuel the fire. You have the right to disengage.
If you are engaging with someone criticizing your work and you decide that they are right — that what you wrote either wasn’t accurate or was missing a bit of nuance, that’s okay. Acknowledge it, and thank your interlocutor for engaging in the conversation with you and sharing their perspective. This will further your relationship with the person engaging with you and show others that you are open to other people’s perspectives and willing to change your mind when warranted.
If the argument stops being productive, simply don’t engage in it. It’s okay to agree to disagree. Again, others will be watching and respect the way you handle it.
Finally, if you lose this prospective client because they disagree with you, they probably weren’t a very good prospect to begin with.
Keep sharing your perspective.
Sharing your perspective with your audience is essential to differentiate yourself from your peers. Your perspective is valuable as long as you add to the conversation and not the noise. Adding to the conversation sometimes means people will voice their agreement. And it sometimes means they will voice their disagreement.
A complete lack of response does not mean that your writing adds to the noise. Most people don’t engage with online content — they read it but don’t necessarily reach out to the author or comment on a social media post. The best way to get a sense of whether your article is valuable is to share it with a specific person and ask that person a specific and relevant question.
Building your reputation is a long game.
Keep going.
Your Perspective Is Your Differentiator. Share It.
Independent consulting is an increasingly competitive industry. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, from 2022 to 2032, the number of consultants is projected to grow significantly faster than other occupations. Demand for consulting services is also expected to increase, particularly for smaller consulting companies specializing in specific industries or business functions.
The opportunity is clear, but many consultants struggle to differentiate themselves from their peers, and prospective clients often view consultants within a particular practice area as interchangeable.
When prospective clients can’t see the difference between the consultants who can serve them, they make their hiring decision on the one difference they can quantify: price.
Blending in with your peers may be comfortable, but competing on price is not conducive to doing your best work. If you are willing to share your perspective and participate in the conversation around your expertise, you will stand out from the competition and give prospective clients a reason to work with you — regardless of your pricing structure.
The benefits of standing out.
Human beings are hard-wired to belong. As a result, most people (and, indeed, most companies) want to blend in with the crowd. Blending in is not only more comfortable for those whose insights could rock the boat, but it is also more comfortable for the rest of us. We all find comfort in the familiar.
As a consultant, however, you must be willing to rock the boat.
Your work focuses on helping your clients solve sticky business problems. Solving those sticky business problems requires your clients to embrace change.
Your clients can only create the change they seek by taking some risks.
The same is true for you.
The only way to differentiate yourself from your competition is to take a risk — to stand up and share your message, even if some people disagree with you.
Standing out is scary, which is why so few people try. But if you are willing to take the risk and share your insights with a larger audience, more people will hear your message. Some will disagree with you or simply ignore you. But those who see value in your ideas will adopt them, and your ideas will have a much greater impact.
Your business is built on your reputation, which is enhanced every time you provide real value to the people you serve. You deliver that value directly when you work with a client on a specific project or indirectly by sharing your ideas publicly through writing or speaking. When you consistently provide value, the people you serve will go to great lengths to have you on their team.
Developing your distinctive perspective.
Your experiences, insights, and education inform your perspective — the way you think about and approach your work. Your perspective is not carved in stone but will continue to evolve and change as you have new experiences, develop new insights, and gain new skills.
Your perspective, or point of view, must align with your BIG idea — the bold, insightful, and galvanizing idea that serves as the foundation of your business and your reputation.
If your perspective is not aligned with your BIG idea, you will diminish your reputation because your audience (including prospective clients and partners) will be confused about who you are, what you do, and how you can help them.
The first step in developing your perspective is to define your BIG idea.
What do you most want for your clients? If you’re not sure how to answer this question, consider a freewriting exercise. Write the question at the top of a page, set the timer for 10 minutes, and then answer without stopping or editing. When the timer goes off, review what you wrote and try to condense it into one sentence.
The answer you come up with might feel too simple. But if you know it to be true and can feel its truth in your body, you’re probably onto something.
Your BIG idea doesn’t have to be new or provocative. It may not even require a paradigm shift. When it comes to BIG ideas, small can be BIG.
Evaluate your BIG idea by asking yourself if it boldly states your position in favor of a particular outcome, is based on your insights, and will galvanize your clients to create the future they now know is possible.
Once you’ve defined your BIG idea, list the steps your clients will need to take to realize that envisioned future. Your list of steps and guidance about executing each step demonstrate your perspective.
Your perspective is more than just your opinion. Your perspective offers a viable alternative based on your experience, education, and insights.
Sharing your perspective with the right audience.
Your perspective is only a compelling differentiator if you share it with the right audience. When you do, you stand out from your peers because you deliver real value to your prospective clients and partners before you even meet them.
So, who is your audience? Who are the people you serve? How can you reach them? What associations do they belong to? What events do they attend? Who do they follow for inspiration? What publications do they read?
One of the best ways to build your audience is to get in front of well-established audiences of the exact people you want to reach. Writing for high-visibility publications and speaking at conferences are two of the most effective ways to do this so you can share your message with the right people.
These tactics also provide social proof. The publication or event organizer vetted you and decided you have something important to share with their audience. That borrowed credibility helps you break through the natural skepticism we all have when we meet someone new.
Writing and speaking work very well together. One benefit of writing for high-visibility publications is that you can share your published article with prospective clients and partners as long as it remains relevant. The reach of your message isn’t limited to the people in the room as it is with speaking, or to the publication’s readers.
Consulting is an increasingly competitive field, and it’s more important than ever to differentiate yourself from your peers and position yourself as the obvious choice. One of the best ways to do this is to write articles for a high-visibility publication with a well-established, targeted audience. When you share your perspective and participate in the conversations around your area of expertise, you stand out as someone with valuable insights to share. If you do this consistently, people start to remember you, see the value you deliver, and identify you as the consultant who can help them become a better version of themselves.