The Recognized Authority

If you've done any research on marketing your consulting business, you'll almost certainly have come across the advice to start an email newsletter or list. It's a relationship with your audience that you own directly, without the interposition of a third party platform. You'll often hear the phrase "don't build on rented ground" in relation to social platforms, and email is an answer to that. The mantra for many marketers is "build a list!"  In this episode, Dylan Redekop and Alastair McDermott discuss how to grow an email newsletter, the different types of incentives we can offer subscribers to join the list, and why giving away value for free is crucial. They also discuss how to create a nurture sequence to welcome and prep new subscribers, how to use email courses, quizzes & challenges to increase signups, and why the welcome email is so important. “When people sign up to our newsletters it's important for us to keep in mind that the inbox is a very personal space, and so when we are invited there we need to be really considerate of that.  We need to make sure that we're sending something that is worth sending and they will get value in receiving.” – Dylan Redekop on The Recognized Authority podcast “When something like Elon Musk buying Twitter happens, it'd make me a little bit nervous if that was my only source of engaging with my audience. But since I have grown an email list, I've taken those people and I've brought them into my own ecosystem where I can communicate with them, regardless of the platform I'm using.” -- Dylan Redekop on The Recognized Authority podcast 👑 Learn more about the Authority Labs mastermind group programme: https://therecognizedauthority.com/group 👑 🗒️ Show Notes 🗒️ Access all the links mentioned in this episode in the show notes here:  👉👉 https://therecognizedauthority.com/how-to-grow-a-newsletter/ 👈👈 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ✉️ Subscribe to the email list at TheRecognizedAuthority.com 🎙️ Record a question or voice message for the show at TheRecognizedAuthority.com/question ⭐ Like what you heard? Please help share the podcast by leaving a rating & review 🤗 Connect with Alastair and The Recognized Authority: ➡️ LinkedIn ➡️ Twitter ➡️ YouTube 

In this episode, I speak with Olympic gold medalist Joe Jacobi about performance in sport and business. This conversation takes a slightly different road from other episodes, as we talk about the relationship between success and identity, why energy is crucial for performance & capacity, and the importance of connecting with nature.  We also go a little tactical, discussing how to why course correction is crucial to performance, and how a coaching intervention won an Olympic gold medal. “I've been on a start line of the Olympic Games where I've seen athletes who were so confident they believed in what they were doing, and they didn't have a good race. I've also seen athletes lacking confidence that went on to win a medal.” – Joe Jacobi on The Recognized Authority podcast “If I told you a course correction would actually get you a gold medal at the Olympic Games, most people would say "You're crazy, that doesn't make sense! That's not the story of LeBron James or Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan - just gritty and resilient and being better and stronger. That's not how sport works."  I'm here to tell you it can work like that.” -- Joe Jacobi on The Recognized Authority podcast 👑 Learn more about the Authority Labs mastermind group programme: https://therecognizedauthority.com/group 👑 🗒️ Show Notes 🗒️ Access all the links mentioned in this episode in the show notes here:  👉👉 https://therecognizedauthority.com/performing-at-the-highest-level/ 👈👈 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ✉️ Subscribe to the email list at TheRecognizedAuthority.com 🎙️ Record a question or voice message for the show at TheRecognizedAuthority.com/question ⭐ Like what you heard? Please help share the podcast by leaving a rating & review 🤗 Connect with Alastair and The Recognized Authority: ➡️ LinkedIn ➡️ Twitter ➡️ YouTube

Creating and publishing content is a cornerstone of the authority building process. Audio podcasts are one of the options we have to do just that, and there are many choices we can make around podcasting that will impact on how much it helps us build authority. In this episode, Megan Dougherty and Alastair McDermott discuss how to plan your podcast strategically in order to build your authority, how you can use podcasts for research, and how guesting on other people's podcasts fits into your authority building mix. They also discuss why starting your podcast with a short run initial season is a good idea, the dynamics of conversational interviews, and how to grow your podcast audience.  “I think the networking and that relationship cultivation element of podcasting can't be overstated. "Hey, will you be on my podcast?" is this really natural opener to a relationship and you get so many touch points in the process to make a good impression, and so many reasons in the future to follow up again.” -- Megan Dougherty on The Recognized Authority podcast “According to the data, yes, your podcast should be on YouTube. A shocking number of people listen to podcasts on YouTube, they just put the videos on plays in the background, they listen to it while they're going about their day.” -- Megan Dougherty on The Recognized Authority podcast 👑 Learn more about the Authority Labs mastermind group programme: https://therecognizedauthority.com/group 👑 🗒️ Show Notes 🗒️ Access all the links mentioned in this episode in the show notes here:  👉👉 https://therecognizedauthority.com/building-authority-with-podcasting/ 👈👈 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ✉️ Subscribe to the email list at TheRecognizedAuthority.com 🎙️ Record a question or voice message for the show at TheRecognizedAuthority.com/question ⭐ Like what you heard? Please help share the podcast by leaving a rating & review 🤗 Connect with Alastair and The Recognized Authority: ➡️ LinkedIn ➡️ Twitter ➡️ YouTube

Proposals are an essential part of winning business, but writing a consulting proposal is often a hugely time-consuming and frustrating process. In this episode, Reuben Swartz and Alastair McDermott discuss how to create a stress-free consulting proposal, what elements are essential in the proposal document, and why presenting the proposal is such an important part of the sales process. They also discuss how you should think about proposals (and why proposals are not brochures), how to use options and pricing curves, and where you can find proposal templates and resources. “If you do the proposal right it doesn't feel like a necessary evil, which is what it used to feel like to me. It's kind of fun, almost like getting warmed up for the game. It's not something that you have to loath or be stressed out about.” -- Reuben Swartz on The Recognized Authority podcast “When I started out, I was excited but also terrified and stressed out about how I supposed to write the proposal. I've subsequently learned that it happens to a lot of people, because I don't think we equip folks with the right way of thinking about proposals, and it turns it into this unnecessarily stressful event.” -- Reuben Swartz on The Recognized Authority podcast 👑 Learn more about the Authority Labs mastermind group programme: https://therecognizedauthority.com/group 👑 🗒️ Show Notes 🗒️ Access all the links mentioned in this episode in the show notes here:  👉👉 https://therecognizedauthority.com/stress-free-consulting-proposals/ 👈👈 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ✉️ Subscribe to the email list at TheRecognizedAuthority.com 🎙️ Record a question or voice message for the show at TheRecognizedAuthority.com/question ⭐ Like what you heard? Please help share the podcast by leaving a rating & review 🤗 Connect with Alastair and The Recognized Authority: ➡️ LinkedIn ➡️ Twitter ➡️ YouTube 

Steve Gordon, an expert in writing books and thought leadership, shares insights on why a book is crucial for authority building, the importance of outlines, and how to write a book in 30 days. They discuss mistakes authors make, using a book as a referral tool, and how podcasts can build strategic relationships.

Bonus Episode: Becoming a Recognized Authority - Alastair McDermott with Tamara Howard To celebrate reaching 70 episodes, I have a special bonus episode for you! I was recently on Tamara Howard's podcast The Better Way to Strategic Marketing where we had a conversation about authority and specialization. Tamara is a super interviewer, and she has graciously allowed me to "re-pod" that interview, so here is the episode in full! 🗒️ Show Notes 🗒️ Access all the links mentioned in this episode and links to Tamara's podcast, website and social profiles in the show notes here:  👉👉 https://therecognizedauthority.com/bonus-becoming-a-recognized-authority 👈👈 ⭐ Like what you heard? Please help share the podcast by leaving a rating & review 🤗 Connect with Alastair and The Recognized Authority: ➡️ LinkedIn ➡️ Twitter ➡️ YouTube

A key person of influence is someone who is able to separate themselves from the market, to command the lion's share of attention, and is able to charge a price premium. They are one of the few names mentioned whenever it's connected to a particular subject. In this episode, Chris Do and Alastair McDermott discuss how you can become a key person of influence, why sharing the "secret sauce" is so important, and why it's better not to have a viral hit too early. They also discuss how to create a hundred-day content strategy, the two types of YouTube channel you can create, and why you should specialize externally but generalize internally. “Is there a benefit to sharing your work? If we don't share, if we don't write, if we don't produce content, how else will people discover you?” -- Chris Do on The Recognized Authority podcast “When you have a viral hit and you've barely started to make content, you're still finding your voice. And a lot of people are showing up to see you still in that learning phase.   To me, it's better that you practice in relative anonymity. It'll give you more confidence, you'll find your voice, and you'll find the thing that you want to do.” -- Chris Do on The Recognized Authority podcast 🗒️ Show Notes 🗒️ Access all the links mentioned in this episode in the show notes here:  👉👉 https://therecognizedauthority.com/be-a-key-person-of-influence/ 👈👈 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ✉️ Subscribe to the email list at TheRecognizedAuthority.com 🎙️ Record a question or voice message for the show at TheRecognizedAuthority.com/question ⭐ Like what you heard? Please help share the podcast by leaving a rating & review 🤗 Connect with Alastair and The Recognized Authority: ➡️ LinkedIn ➡️ Twitter ➡️ YouTube 

We often start out working on execution, implementing projects for clients after they've decided on strategy. Our former guest David C. Baker talks about this as "working with your hands". But we can have more impact, be more profitable, and enjoy our work more if we can shift back a step to the strategy phase, selling our expertise rather than the output of our "hands". In this episode, Kevin C. Whelan and Alastair McDermott discuss why and how to make the shift out of selling implementation, a different approach to working with subcontractors & clients, and why Kevin sees being a fiduciary as crucial to his business. They also discuss the pros and cons of using affiliate links, how to establish credibility in a niche, and how to think about choosing a different business model. “Optimizing for trust is the biggest thing. It's easy to do when you're not financially incentivized by where they spend their money.” -- Kevin Whelan on The Recognized Authority podcast “Your one to one work creates your methodology. Once you have it defined, you can then start to split off pieces of it and sell those independently of your one to one engagement as products, memberships and subscription products.” -- Kevin Whelan on The Recognized Authority podcast 🗒️ Show Notes 🗒️ Access all the links mentioned in this episode in the show notes here:  👉👉 https://therecognizedauthority.com/sell-expertise-not-your-hands/ 👈👈 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ✉️ Subscribe to the email list at TheRecognizedAuthority.com 🎙️ Record a question or voice message for the show at TheRecognizedAuthority.com/question ⭐ Like what you heard? Please help share the podcast by leaving a rating & review 🤗 Connect with Alastair and The Recognized Authority: ➡️ LinkedIn ➡️ Twitter ➡️ YouTube

Even just contemplating niching down your business can feel absolutely terrifying. That's why I think it's so important to hear from people who have done it successfully, and learn about the massive rewards that they are seeing. In this bonus episode, ReeJade Richmond and Alastair McDermott discuss how ReeJade niched down her consulting business to focus specifically on memberships, how she saw results incredibly quickly, and the huge rewards that have come from the tighter focus. A massive thank you to ReeJade for allowing me to record our Zoom conversation, and giving permission to publish it. If you are interested in niching down and specializing your business, reach out and connect, I'm happy to get on a call with no obligations and let's see if I can be of help!   We're also starting a mastermind group in the next few weeks, so if you'd like to get some peer support and feedback on your journey, you can learn more about that here: https://therecognizedauthority.com/group  🗒️ Show Notes 🗒️ Access all the links mentioned in this episode in the show notes here:  👉👉 https://therecognizedauthority.com/specialization-case-study-reejade 👈👈 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ✉️ Subscribe to the email list at TheRecognizedAuthority.com 🎙️ Record a question or voice message for the show at TheRecognizedAuthority.com/question ⭐ Like what you heard? Please help share the podcast by leaving a rating & review 🤗 Connect with Alastair and The Recognized Authority: ➡️ LinkedIn ➡️ Twitter ➡️ YouTube 

As independent consultants, our approach to publishing content is often haphazard and inconsistent: the topic depending on what issues are top of mind, and the schedule based on our client workload. One way to ameliorate that is to create a content marketing plan: some guiderails to help us stay on track. In this episode,Heather Chavin and Alastair McDermott discuss what a content marketing strategy looks like for an independent consultant, how thinking of it as a funnel can be useful for content ideation, and why time management is key to successful content production. They also discuss how to dig deeper into your client's problem and symptoms to create content ideas, how to analyse what's working in your content strategy, and why being number 1 is so important. “The ability to craft the time to stop and reflect, and move into problem solving mode or move into development mode is really important.  Otherwise, just expect more of the same. Tomorrow will be just like today.” -- Heather Chavin on The Recognized Authority podcast “We're willing to pay more for number one. We're willing to trust number one more because other people have told us number one is number one, right? Social proof is built into it.  If you want to cut through the noise, you need to be number one for the person who's looking for you.” -- Heather Chavin on The Recognized Authority podcast 👑 Learn more about the Authority Labs mastermind group programme: https://therecognizedauthority.com/group 👑 🗒️ Show Notes 🗒️ Access all the links mentioned in this episode in the show notes here:  👉👉 https://therecognizedauthority.com/creating-your-content-marketing-strategy 👈👈 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ✉️ Subscribe to the email list at TheRecognizedAuthority.com 🎙️ Record a question or voice message for the show at TheRecognizedAuthority.com/question ⭐ Like what you heard? Please help share the podcast by leaving a rating & review 🤗 Connect with Alastair and The Recognized Authority: ➡️ LinkedIn ➡️ Twitter ➡️ YouTube