It’s easy to assume that the modern marketplace is run on products or services, and of course, these are fairly wide categories that do encompass a great deal of consumer activity. But a clearer way to look at the market is in terms of “value.” After all, if every company could create an iPhone-quality phone, Samsung and Apple’s bottom line would look much different to how it does currently.
For this reason, sometimes, quantifying your value is not necessarily easy to do. How could you quantify the acting talent of an individual like Brad Pitt? He’s a major draw for many of his projects, knows how to act, is a professional, and will no doubt do his best in any project you put him in. But is he qualified to play every single role in the world? Likely not. As such, his acting talent is defined by how you express it, and that’s what creates value.
As such, you may be planning to use intangible, but still valuable skills or experiences you have an monetize them. Put simply – monetizing your expertise for the better. It doesn’t matter where your skills lie, being able to turn them into a career is a dream for many, depending on their passion and interest. After all, passion and expertise can become its own value, such as how Gordon Ramsay is now more of a media figure, but still bases everything on his culinary capabilities.
So, let’s consider five methods of monetizing your expertise for good:
- Offer Consulting Services
You may find that offering consulting services is a great place to start, because what better way to showcase your expertise and ensure it has a direct effect than by being offered for that advice? Moreover, if you become known in the industry, growing your client set, you may begin to attract more diverse projects and efforts.
If you’re a marketing executive, you could help oversee small firms and their promotional approach. Or, if you’re an expert in compliance within the food industry, you could help small cafes prepare for their annual health inspection and limit any possible chance of making guests sick. Offering consulting services is an effective measure of building yourself a small business from your experience and competence alone.
- Create & Sell Online Courses
The reason online courses sold by professionals have become somewhat controversial as of late, is that many grifters and individuals making big claims with little to back that up have dominated the space.
But what if you subvert all of that to begin with? You could monetize your experience with care and clarity by running an effective educational course, offering taster sessions, and having this online. Just look at how Canadian Guitarist Don Ross, one of the most popular in the fingerstyle community, has published his own excellent guitar lessons online. You may have something special to share, which is why you could sell educational activity resources if using the linked resource for clarity.
- Write & Publish Your eBook
You don’t need to have a book published by a traditional company or placed in bookshops to earn profit from it, in fact, many online publishing options like Amazon’s Kindle eBook network can be a great first place to start.
For example, if you want to write a 100-word book on how SEO is evolving in the digital age and with AI developments constantly pushing the industry to new heights, then that can be a vital lesson to offer. You can sign up to programs like Kindle Unlimited so subscribers can download your book for free, and you get a share of the profits in turn.
Writing and publishing a book, ebook or otherwise, also lends you credibility in the space, and that’s a wonderful place to begin.
- Secure Speaking Engagements Or Guest Appearances
It might be that you could tour the local business convention circuit and give talks depending on the topic of the day, providing insight to entrepreneurs who want to get started in the industry. Guest appearances can help raise your profile while also allowing you to share that message you really do believe in.
On top of that, you don’t have to only visit conferences or business events. There are many excellent podcasts out there worth your attention, often with smaller audiences who would be interested in what you have to say. If you’re not finding any bookings, you could even start your own YouTube channel and use your expertise to showcase why and how you came to share your perspective. Look at this video, for example, which has been phenomenally well-received thanks to its honesty and insight into a field not many people understand.
- Start A Blog!
A simple blog can contain posts like the one you’re reading right now, except you get to implement your own expertise, use case examples, and best of all, not have an editor breathing over your shoulder and what and how you’re supposed to communicate you’re message.
This can offer a great deal of freedom, but it may also work to boost the SEO profile of your wider site, allowing you to showcase your portfolio and book speaking engagements, or define an online hub for your authenticity and expertise. That in itself can help you launch the work as a consultant you’re looking for, or grant you a clearer pathway to a worthwhile outcome.
With this advice, you’ll be certain to monetize your expertise step by step. While this isn’t an exhaustive list of every pursuit you could focus on, such an approach will help you get a foothold into making your expertise known. Of course, you could also consider contacting old industry professionals, making your biography clear on your website, and using networking opportunities and familiarity that your previous career has granted you to step outwards.
Make sure to share your perspective and use what you’ve learned to help shape the future of the industry. Moreover, engage with young, fresher talent and feel excited by new directions. Doing so can help you connect with a brand new audience for the better.