It’s no secret that I am a big fan of Brian Clark and the folks over at Copyblogger. So when they offered the opportunity to win a ticket to their first ever Authority Conference and a guest post on their site, I was excited. The challenge: to write a 250 word blog post with the prompt: “Why it’s essential to be an online authority.”
This is my entry for the Copyblogger Authority Essay Contest
If You Build Online Authority, They Will Come
Like many women, I like to change my hairstyle fairly often. When I’m thinking of making a drastic change, if I see someone with great hair, I ask them, “Who does your hair?”
When you hear the same answer more than once, you know you’re onto something. I called the salon to see if they could handle my thick, crazy hair. The stylist asked questions about my lifestyle, my hair care routine and which products I used. I made an appointment right away. She helped me to have the style I wanted, as well as much healthier hair.
In my quest for a new, easy-to-take-care-of hairstyle, I didn’t realize I was looking for an authority on healthy hair treatments. But her authority has kept me a loyal customer for eight years.
The same is true for online businesses. When people want a solution to their problem, they may not think about it, but they are looking for help from an expert, an authority. What they want is content that solves their problem. It doesn’t matter whether they need help with a new hairstyle or the care and feeding of naked mole rats.
When you provide people with useful content, you build authority. As an online authority, you are the trusted go-to person in your field. People love what you have to say. They share your content with others. Before you know it, you’ll have an enthusiastic community of loyal customers and a great hairstyle.
And the Winner is…
I’m sorry to say that I did not win the first prize, or even the second or third prize. But it was a great experience and I think I pushed myself to be better writer. And isn’t that what its all about? Not being complacent, but to continue learning and improving your skills.
If you would like to learn more about content marketing, I suggest you sign up for Copyblogger’s Internet Marketing program. You get 5 ebooks on content marketing, SEO, email marketing, landing pages, and keyword research as well as a 20-part internet marketing course via email. And it’s all FREE. To become a smarter content marketer with Authority, you should check out membership to Authority, their content marketing training and networking community. It is a more comprehensive content marketing education designed to improve your skills and success.
Clara Mathews is a website content copywriter for hospitality and service-based businesses. You can find Clara at