Subject matter experts are highly sought-after individuals. Every one has something of value to share with the rest of the world. Establishing yourself as a subject matter expert within your area of interest will allow you to capitalize off of what you know. Follow these steps to become a subject matter expert and begin reaping the incredible rewards.

Step 1
Start with your hobbies and interests. Grab a sheet of paper and do a quick brainstorming activity. What things are you really good at or do you know a lot about? What types of advice or information do your friends and family tend to seek from you? Spend about 30 minutes to an hour on your list. Group similar or related items into topical categories. Choose one or two of these major topics based on which are the most appealing or interesting to you. You can also decide by asking yourself which topic you would want to learn more about.

Step 2
Armed with your topics, it is time to do a little research. Visit your local library to check out books related to your topic. You can also use your internet access to surf for information related to your topics in major search engines like Google. You may also want to subscribe to magazines or trade journals to receive additional news about your subject. Take good notes on the information you learn. Pay special attention to any industry-related keywords, jargon or hot topics you may come across. Look up any terms you are not familiar with. Note what types of people are interested in your topic and how popular the topic is among the group. This will be your target audience.

Step 3
Set SMART goals. Now that you have more information about your topic and the target audience, decide what you hope to achieve by being a subject matter expert. Ask yourself what your purpose or motivation will be as you pursue this topic. Will this just be a hobby or do you want to turn it into a full-time gig? Make sure your goals are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Action-oriented, Realistic & Time-constrained). Knowing why you want to do a particular thing makes it much easier to get it accomplished.

Step 4
Get to writing. Get out your notebook again and brainstorm as many subtopics as you can think of. Write short, three to five paragraph articles on each of the subtopics. Make sure that each article has a clear beginning (introduction), middle (body) and end (conclusion). If you have never written an article before, it may be easiest to begin with “how-to” articles much the same as this one. Utilize your word processing program’s spelling and grammar checks. Read, review and revise as needed. Have a third party also read your articles for clarity and good flow. Eventually you will be able to collect all of your articles that are related to one particular topic and turn them into an ebook or full-length printed and bound copy.

Step 5
The Internet is just a world passing around notes in a classroom. ~Jon Stewart Create an online presence. The internet makes it fairly easy for anyone with minimal technical savvy to publish their articles. I suggest that you either obtain a website or a blog to begin. There are many free and low-cost options available to you. Choose a site name and template design that best complements your subject matter. Start copying and pasting your articles from your word processing program into your blog or site. Additionally, there are many free article submission sites that will allow you to post your articles. Sites like eHow and Squidoo not only allow you to post your articles for free, but you can also take advantage of their compensation programs. The more quality content you provide, the more you will be seen as a subject matter expert and the more potential you will have for great earnings.

Step 6
Hone your speaking skills. After your articles have circulated for some time, you may find that you begin to receive requests for media interviews and/or speaking engagements. This is a good thing. Unfortunately, many people are very afraid of public speaking. Practice makes perfect so begin developing this skill right away. If you can get in front of an audience, you will be able to maximize on your exposure and popularity as a subject matter expert. Of course, there is also a lot of money to be made in the public speaking arena.

Step 7
Start networking. If you really want people to know you as the expert in your particular subject then you need to go where your target audience will be. Join networking groups both on and offline. Provide useful tips or answer other users’ questions relating to your area of expertise. Direct others to additional resources. Create a fancy title for yourself and have some business cards made. Tell everyone that you know about your newly established status as a subject matter expert. Networking could bring referrals and enter you into a higher income bracket.

Step 8
Continue to repeat each of the above steps regularly. Review and revise your goals as you complete each task and become more accomplished as a subject matter expert.

Tips & Warnings
• No goal is too big. Breaking each larger, stretched goal into smaller, less scary goals can mean all the difference.
• Join social networking groups like LinkedIn, Twitter & Facebook. Provide a link to your blog, website or other place where your articles can be found.
• Take advantage of additional income streams by joining affiliate programs or by creating useful products related to your subject.
• Join a writer’s support group or hire a coach to assist you.
• Never plagiarize! Make sure that every article you write is in your own words and that any quotes or unoriginal ideas are properly credited to the rightful copyright owner.