How To Write Thought Leadership, Thoughtfully
You're reading this now because you're curious about thought leadership. Chances are, you fall into one of two camps. Either A) you're intrigued by thought leadership (but feel an instant pang of imposter syndrome when you think of calling yourself one), so you're just dipping your toes in to learn more, or B) you already consider yourself a thought leader and want others to consider you one too—but you're not sure where to begin.
Wherever you land between those two, I've got something to tell you: you've already been a thought leader many times throughout your life.
Think about a time that you influenced someone's decision. Perhaps it was an idea you had a work that you led from brainstorm to activation. Or maybe it was something simple like helping your friend pick the right wallpaper. Or perhaps it was influencing your uncle to vote for the first time or your partner to eat healthier.
From helping loved ones heal to teaching your niece or nephew something new about the world, you have influenced people's thoughts, decisions, and actions around you more times than you think. In this way, you are already practicing thought leadership.
What is thought leadership?
Thought leadership creates a mental impact by providing information or inciting curiosity while identifying yourself as a subject matter expert. It's about building incremental trust and giving something of value to a reader by answering questions they knew—or questions they didn't even know they had.
Think of thought leadership as a creative way to change minds. Or, as Shel Israel put it, "a thought leader is someone who looks at the future and sets a course for it that others will follow."
Where does thought leadership go?
Thought leadership can come in various forms, from podcasts to panels, but—being a words person—my favorite format is through articles. Thought leadership articles are informative, quotable, savable, and shareable content, which extends your perspective's potential mental shelf life.
Typically, you'll see a lot of thought leadership in business-leaning publications such as Forbes, Bloomberg, The Atlantic, Business Insider, Inc, Fortune, etc. You'll also see a ton of thought leadership in industry-specific publications such as SHRM or ERE for recruiting and Adweek and Marketing Dive for advertising. This extends into wellness and lifestyle, too, with plenty of thought leadership on websites like Well+Good and Goop.
Think about where you get your thought leadership. Whose perspectives do you enjoy reading? Where do you find the articles you tend to bookmark or save? Is there a newsletter you know you always find good posts on or a publication you frequent when you want to know about the latest trend?
Where are you influenced through thoughtful copy?
How do you write thought leadership?
Okay, so you may or may not already know the above—but I know what you're really here for, and that's HOW to write thought leadership. So let's get right to it, but it's about time you got your story out there.
Identify the topic(s) of what you know best. Consider what you want to be known for. For example, imagine someone you know is at a dinner party and met somebody they thought you should meet. Further, imagine that they tell that person, "oh, you MUST go to Sallie for [TOPIC]. She's the go-to for that!" What do you want to be the go-to for that people lean on? You might ask if it can be more than one topic, and the answer is yes. (But I would also suggest staying between 1-3 cases to make sure you can stand out and differentiate.)
Brainstorm what you want others to know about your area of expertise. So you have identified your zone of genius, now what? Well, ask yourself what people need to know about that topic. If you're an expert in financial wellness, what's the answer to a question you've been getting a lot lately? Or maybe you're a leader in CRM management. What's the trend you see in the tools you're using or the gap you think needs to be filled? Grab a blank sheet of paper or open up a blank Google Doc and write down as many ideas as you can that come to mind. The good, the weird, the funny, the eh-I'm-not-sure-about this—it's all part of the process.
Hint: one thing I like to do for idea generation is called "the time hop." Look to the past to answer a question you constantly get, but no one else is talking about. Look to the present and current trends and provide your unique perspective on how that affects your area of expertise. Finally, look to the future to give your take on where you see or where you want to see your industry going.
Pick one idea—and run wild with it. Okay, maybe don't go too wild, but have fun writing your first draft to start getting even more clear on your perspective. You typically want to be anywhere from 700-900 words (but don't worry if your first draft is way over or under). My best advice here? Try to ENJOY writing about what you ENJOY. Even if it's messy and even if it doesn't make sense at first, the key is to just start writing.
Refine your messaging. Now that you have a draft, it's time to tighten it up. If you feel confident about writing, I suggest leaving the draft alone for a day or two and then coming back to it to sharpen your thoughts. Then tap a tool like Grammarly to finesse your grammar. If you feel a little less confident about your writing, do yourself a favor and outsource your editing. By giving someone else your writing, they can help you crystalize what you want to get across as well as be a good tester to how your perspective is delivered. (And if you need help with editing, you know where to find me.)
Once you've got your draft, you're ready to pitch! (We'll cover writing pitches in another blog post.) In the meantime, start thinking (or better yet, dreaming) about where you want your thought leadership to live. And if you're still feeling hesitant…
Why you are meant to be a thought leader
If you've read this far, you're invested—even if it doesn't feel like it. You have a perspective that no one else has, and the world deserves to hear it. Just think about all of the people who would be better off hearing what you have to say. Think about all of the questions you'd be answering or worried minds you'd be tempering. Think about the connections that you could make and people you could help. Think about the change you could instill and the impact you could cultivate. What you say can—and will—make a difference, as long as you are brave enough to put it out there.
You are meant to be a thought leader. Why am I so sure of it? Because you wouldn't be here if there weren't this spark in your chest or those ideas starting to buzz in your mind. You know it, even if it's a little scary to own it. And maybe your first piece won't be viral or gain you any leads. But maybe your fourth piece will win you a dream client, get quoted in a top-tier conference, or solicit an email from a future partner.
That's the power of storytelling. It can change things, influence things, and impact how we see and do things. And you have that power, and all you need to do is put pen to paper.