A subject matter expert is someone who has a lot of experience or knowledge of a particular subject. If you have the skills to be a personal teacher to one person who can benefit from your knowledge, chances are there are other people just like them who could also benefit. When you find that group of people they become the audience and market for your book.
You already know what you’re passionate about and what you’re good at whether it’s economic trends in America, North American butterflies, or where to find the best flea markets in America. You became an expert by reading, learning, and practicing the skills required to master a specific topic. Some research suggests that if you’ve read seven books on a subject, you’re an expert. If you’ve read books, taken classes, watched videos, or followed other experts in the field, you are an expert. If you’ve practiced what you’ve learned, made mistakes, and solved problems, you’re an expert.
The word expert can be intimidating. You might think that there are many other people who have more right to claim the title of expert than you but I agree with Corbett Barr from expertenough.com who says that expertise has a range of levels and you just need to be expert enough to help other people. On a scale of one to ten, your expertise may be at a six, but that means you can help people who are at levels one through five. As you build your expertise to a higher level, you can help people at higher levels.
One of my hobbies is papercrafting. I’ve been doing it for over ten years. I’ve spent countless hours reading magazines, attending workshops, watching videos to learn techniques and I’ve spent just as many dollars on supplies. Even though I still have much to learn and new techniques and products come out every year, I have knowledge that someone who is just starting out in papercrafting could benefit from.
The same holds true for you. There are many newbies who are just starting out and would love to benefit from your expertise. You might think that with the resources of the internet, anyone can find out everything they want to know about a particular topic. That’s true, but there are are many people who are too busy to search the web for themselves to first find the information and then weed out all the bad stuff. There are other people who just want someone knowledgeable to guide them rather than doing it all themselves. That’s where you come in. You can be their guide to the best information possible that addresses whatever issue they’re dealing with in your area of expertise.
The beauty of all this is that no one has to ordain you as an expert. You can claim expert status as long as you can back up your words by demonstrating your knowledge. Once you’re viewed as an expert, doors to business opportunities will open and allow you to monetize your knowledge.
How do you demonstrate your expertise when writing your book? Start by focusing on your ideal reader – the person who will benefit the most from your book. Write as if you were having a conversation with them. Are you writing for a busy corporate executive, a stay at home Mom, a recent college graduate, a retired baby boomer? You can see that if you’re writing a book on leadership, the things that resonate with the recent college graduate will be different than what resonates with an experienced corporate executive. The language, examples, and case studies you would use in your book would be different even though the overall concepts are the same.
If you follow that approach, not only will you end up with a better book, but you’ll attract the readers who can benefit from it the most.
