11 Ways to Become a Rainmaker in Your Blogging Niche [Podcast]

I believe that in order to build something long-term that you can be proud of you need to become a rainmaker in your niche.

What is a Rainmaker?

A rainmaker is an influential character that has the ability to attract followers, build trust, and earn authority in a specific niche.

I hear what some of you are already saying….

I can’t do that, after all:

• I am just a stay at home mom
• I never graduated from college
• There are already too many experts blogging in my field

If you have doubts as to whether or not you can build a successful blog, my first piece of advice would be for you to go read our article on The Fear of Not Being Good Enough. The truth is that you have a unique perspective on the world that others want to hear. You have experiences to share, knowledge to impart, and advice to give. Here is how you can become a rainmaker in your niche.

11 Ways to Become a Rainmaker in Your Blogging Niche

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See keyword research as content ideas – We all want to know the magic keyword research formula, on how to get our pages to rank high in Google. I have heard some elaborate keyword research formulas in my day.

Today, I view keyword research a bit different. I see it more as content ideas than I do whether or not it is a good keyword phrase to go after. If you have a rainmaker mindset, you will want to have covered every topic in your niche and not just those that you think will get you traffic. I use the Keyword Researcher Tool to find more blog content ideas than I have time to write.

Cast a wide net in a narrow niche – The idea here is to select a topic of what your blog is about and cover every available subject in that niche. The best way to do this is to decide on the big categories of your blog. Maybe you end up with 10-12 categories. Then, start off with 5 topics for each category and create articles for each. Your content will be balanced and you will have cast a wider net.

Answer questions that people have in your niche – People use the search engines to ask questions. You can quickly build authority by answering these questions. Look for keyword phrases that start with “how, why, when, and what.” Answer even the simplest of questions.

Again, the Keyword Researcher Tool makes this easy. All you have to do is place the “how, why, when, and what” in front of your content idea and this nifty tool will return to you all of the questions you audience is asking online.

Write simple, yet compelling headlines – We often forget how important headlines can be. It is no different than the days of the newspaper before the internet. You can increase your traffic just by writing better headlines. It is a proven fact that the #3 spot can receive more traffic than the #1 spot if the headline is more compelling.

Also, compelling headlines work great with social media. Oftentimes, your headline gets pulled in as people share your post on their social media outlets. Write better headlines!

Begin building an email list now – There is so much more you can do to build your authority when you have an email list. It allows you to continue the conversation, build trust, and help them to remember you. MailChimp will allow you to collect your first 2,000 emails for free.

There is no excuse for not starting an email list. Also, give away something free in exchange for the email address. It builds your authority but also shows that you want to provide value.

Allow readers to connect with you in a personal way – This is what can distinguish you from all the others out there. You can turn a visitor into a follower by connecting with them in a personal way. It is the reason blogs are so popular.

People can post comments and you can respond to them. That is personal. You can also hold a webinar that allows others to connect with you in a deep and more powerful way than just the written text. Do an impromptu Google Hangout and answer questions.

Become an industry insider for your niche – To be a rainmaker you should always be learning. Become the biggest student in your niche. Read and learn all you can. You can in turn share your knowledge so that it can benefit others.

[Tweet “Become the biggest student in your niche. Read and learn all you can.”]

Create your own products – This is one of the most powerful ways to build authority. You can create ebooks, online video courses, webinar series, membership site, or even a hardcover book. There is nothing like creating products that encourage and help others.

Reach out to other bloggers – To be a rainmaker you need to get to know other bloggers. Over time, you can write guests posts for them and expand your expertise. They may even begin to talk about you on their blogs as well. Do not see them as competition but instead as sojourners travelling down the same path that you can learn from.

[Tweet “Don’t see other bloggers as competition but sojourners travelling down the same path.”]

Build your personal brand all over the web – Rainmakers are everywhere. When it comes to building a brand online, it really is not that difficult to do. Start by opening a Facebook fan page, Twitter account and Google Plus page. If your target audience is workplace professionals, get on Linkedin.

There are many automated systems that you can use to post new content on these pages. My favorite tool is both an editorial calendar and a social media posting software. It is called CoSchedule and this cool tool can help you easily automate your social media presence.

Share great content not written by you – Become an information conduit in your niche. In other words, provide helpful articles and tips even if it wasn’t written by you. The best place to do this is Twitter. If you read a good article, tweet about it. Most bloggers are afraid to point people toward others because they don’t want to lose them as a follower. If they see you as an information conduit, they’ll want to stay close to you regardless or not if you wrote the article.

[Tweet “Become an information conduit in your niche. Don’t be afraid to share what others are doing well.”]

If you are just getting started, do not let this list discourage you. Just use the above as a checklist and tackle them one by one. Over time you will become a rainmaker!