This week, we’ve been charting the path from expertise → content. Today, we’ll get from content → revenue.

A quick recap:

Phase 1. Domain Expertise Wingspan

First, we tackled the question “What do I have to share”, and introduced the Domain Expertise Wingspan which establishes a range of topics within your domain you can speak on.

Phase 2. Content See-Saw

Next, we tackled “Where do I start” and suggested starting with FAQ topics to answer immediate questions that organically hover around your domain.

Once you’ve established yourself as a useful and trusted voice (it doesn’t take too long), you can start to see-saw your way between foundational topics (FAQs) and frontier topics (Soapbox).

As you oscillate between the audience-led topics and your expert-led topics, you are providing value and also building your domain authority.

Perhaps most importantly, you’ve established a level of connection and trust with your audience, which, as I alluded to previously, is the foundation for transactional opportunities (i.e. revenue.)

Now that we’re caught up…

Phase 3. Conversation Loop

As you continue to demonstrate your expertise through content, the motion will evolve beyond the initial push/pull see-saw effect into a Conversation Loop.

In a conversation loop, you become less concerned about knocking out certain topics. Instead, you can think of your content strategy as an organic, ongoing dialogue between you (the expert) and your audience about the domain.

As you provide your audience value through content, the audience actively engages with you which can spur more content ideas, and the conversation loop continues.

Phase 4: Monetization Loop

So you’re asking: where’s the revenue??

Simply put, a subset of your audience will want more from you.

They’ve come to know and respect you as a trusted authority on the domain, they value your unique POV, and they become willing to pay for it.

This is where the conversation loop feeds into the Monetization Loop, and transactions can manifest in many ways.

Some eager audience members may come to with inbound paid requests such as:

• Training - “Come teach my org about [xx]”
• Corporate speaking - “Come give a talk at my company”
• Conference speaking* - “Lead a session or give a keynote”​
  *These are not always paid

But more commonly, you would structure, or productize, how a member of your audience can get more access or insight from you:

• 1:1 coaching (one-off)
• 1:1 coaching (a time-bound or ongoing series)
• Access to “exclusive” content
• Group coaching calls/platform
• Consulting engagement - (e.g. a diagnostic/audit of [xx] at your company)
• Advisory retainer (e.g. direct access to me for advice on this domain for $xx/month)

This list is not exhaustive, but the important thing to remember is that these revenue opportunities originated from (or were at least accelerated by) the connection and trust you built with your audience over time via a content strategy.

And even better, each of these paid engagements provides more experiences and insights which create more content, feeding the conversation loop, which further feeds the monetization loop...

And again, the loops continue…

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I hope this “Expertise→ Content→ Revenue” mini-series proved helpful! Drop me a line or two if you have any questions or feedback.

💡

-Wes