If your aim is to sell online courses, do consulting or coaching, or otherwise make money off what you know, being genuinely good at what you do matters. But for most Learning Revolution readers, that part is already true. The bigger challenge is getting known—by the right people—as someone worth listening to (and worth paying).
That’s familiar territory for me. A big chunk of my work and income depends on being seen as a credible expert. And that credibility has to come from more than me simply claiming I’m an expert—because anyone can do that. Especially now, when AI makes it easy to produce an endless stream of “expert-ish” content.
So here are six areas I still focus on. Some of these are old-school. Some are newer. All of them still work—if you actually do them.
1. Build a real “home base” (and make it easy to trust you)
You need one place on the internet that you truly own. A site that isn’t at the mercy of an algorithm change, a platform meltdown, or a new “pay to reach your own followers” rule.
But “home base” can’t just mean a website that exists. It has to do three jobs well:
- Make it instantly clear who you help and what you help them do
- Prove you’re credible (without bragging or fluff)
- Give people a next step (usually: your email list, and then your offers)
A practical upgrade most experts still haven’t made: put a clear “Start here” path on your site. Not a maze. A path.
Publish cornerstone content that’s genuinely useful (not just frequent)
Consistency matters, but “post every week” isn’t the point. The point is to build a body of work that makes a reasonable person think: “Okay, this person knows what they’re talking about.”
In 2026, you’re also writing for a world where discovery happens through AI summaries and chat-based search as well as traditional search. Google’s AI Overviews expanded widely in 2025, and they’ve changed how a lot of informational queries get answered. ChatGPT also has built-in search now, which means your work can be quoted or referenced even when people never click through to your site.
So what kind of content wins now?
- Clear, structured writing that answers real questions directly
- Content with examples, “how it works in practice,” and specific decisions people need to make
- Original thinking (even if modest) instead of warmed-over summaries
- Periodic refreshes of older posts that are still strategically valuable
AI can help you draft faster, but it can’t do the most important part: having judgment about what matters, what’s true, and what’s worth saying. Use AI to get momentum. Don’t use it as a substitute for standards.
2. Make your positioning obvious (so people can repeat it)
Most experts are vague in ways that feel “professional,” but actually hurt them:
- “I help businesses grow.”
- “I’m a leadership coach.”
- “I consult on strategy.”
That’s not positioning. That’s a category label.
Your job is to make it easy for someone to introduce you to another person without thinking hard. If you can’t be described in one or two crisp sentences, you’ll get forgotten—or you’ll get lumped in with everyone else.
A simple test: if a good prospect lands on your site (or LinkedIn profile) for 30 seconds, do they understand:
- who you’re for,
- what problem you solve,
- and why your way of solving it is different?
If not, fix that before you produce more content.
3. Turn your “About” page into a trust page (not a biography)
Your About page isn’t mainly about you. It’s about making a skeptical, busy person comfortable taking the next step.
Yes, they want to know you’re a real human. But they mainly want signals like:
- Why you’re qualified to help with this problem
- What you believe (your point of view)
- What you’ve done that proves you can deliver
- How you work, at a high level
- Where to go next (newsletter, “start here,” consult, course, etc.)
And in the AI era, trust signals matter more—not less—because generic content is everywhere. Your About page is one of the few places where you can stack credibility quickly.
4. Teach in public with audio/video (and repurpose intelligently)
Video is still a powerhouse, but I’d broaden this: teach in public using formats people actually consume. For most of readers here, that’s going to be some combination of:
- short videos (practical clips, not “inspirational content”)
- longer YouTube videos (how-to, teardown, walkthrough, deep dives)
- a podcast (if you can sustain it)
- or simple screen recordings (still one of the highest ROI formats for many experts)
AI helps here in very practical ways:
- generate a rough outline for a script
- tighten phrasing (while you keep your voice)
- create captions
- pull 10 short clips from one longer piece
- turn a video into a solid blog post draft (that you then edit like a grown-up)
But a warning: AI will happily make you sound smooth and generic. Resist that. Being slightly more “you” is now a competitive advantage.
5. Run live sessions that create real contact with your market
Webinars still work. Workshops still work. Live Q&A still works. In fact, live often works better now because it’s one of the few places people can experience you thinking on your feet.
The real value of live sessions isn’t just lead generation. It’s that they:
- force you to stay close to what your market is struggling with right now
- generate endless content ideas (the questions people ask are gold)
- create trust faster than most other formats
If you want to make this pay off, don’t treat a webinar as a one-off event. Treat it as an asset:
- record it
- turn it into posts, clips, and follow-up emails
- build a simple “library” of your best sessions over time
6. Borrow other people’s audiences (without being spammy about it)
Guest blogging isn’t what it used to be for SEO, but it can still be great for reaching the right people. Same with guest podcast appearances, newsletter swaps, joint webinars, and partnerships.
This is one of the fastest ways to become “known” because you’re not starting from zero trust—you’re being introduced.
The key is to aim for relevance, not fame:
- go where your prospects already pay attention
- show up with something genuinely useful (not a thinly veiled sales pitch)
- make it easy for people to find your home base and get on your list afterward
One AI-enabled move that’s actually helpful here: use AI to research the show/newsletter/blog, identify what the audience cares about, and craft a pitch that’s specific. Don’t use AI to spray generic outreach. People can smell that a mile away.
One last, important point
The reason to do all of the above is not to win some imaginary “thought leadership” contest. It’s to turn perceived expertise into real outcomes—email subscribers, leads, clients, and course sales.
So in every channel, make sure there’s a sensible next step. Not a dozen options. A sensible next step.
And yes: I’m not perfect at all of this. Not even close. But it’s an ongoing process. I keep working these angles because they compound over time—and because, in a world where AI can produce infinite content, earned trust is the asset that still matters.
Jeff
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These are solid points, Jeff. It takes time to build a base, but the internet has made it possible for experts to reach a wider audience. Blogging sites and social media profiles are good platforms to start building a brand.
Experts can also take the “traditional” route. Speaking engagements in colleges and universities, for example, can get them the exposure they need among professors and students–at no charge, of course.
Khris Villoria
KnowledgeCity