1.Be Careful How You Use Authority Site Logos on Your Site

It’s great to place the logos of authority sites you have appeared in on your site like trophies, but be very careful how you do this. You don’t want to imply that you are a staff member or officially affiliated with these publications or site, or to violate their trademark in any way.

When in doubt, ask permission OR just use the site or publication names under “As Seen in”; not the actual icons.

2.Pay Attention to Word Count

When writing posts for your own blog or LinkedIn, vary them between 500-1200 words. That is the average required range for most authority publications, so it’s good to have examples of all posts within this range.

3.Think Like the Authority Site Owner or Editor

Why would they want to feature your article? Figure out what it would do for them, who it could bring and what it says about you. If you’re not a celebrity with a huge list, then position yourself as the best expert you can be.

Make sure your website is professionally designed. Get going with those LinkedIn articles. Get quality backlinks as a guest blogger on smaller sites. Do everything you can to grow your list and look like a top player (without misrepresenting yourself).

4.Follow and Interact

Follow other top influencers. Be seen commenting on their posts and blogs. Join their membership sites and groups. Get them talking to you.

5.Get a Professional Photoshoot

While you’re having your website upgraded, upgrade your photographs too. Hire a photographer to photograph you in an inspiring location. Use clothing and accessories in your brand colors the way TimeFreedomBusiness.com’s Melissa Ingold did for her recent photoshoot. Make sure your locations, accessories and colors one-hundred-percent support what you want your website to “say”.

Relax and have fun with it!

6.Be Yourself

When getting yourself out there, don’t focus on what you want people to do or on getting them to buy, sign up or any other need-based agenda. You’ve covered these things in your initial planning. Instead, be unique. Stay focused on your message. Stay focused on sharing and helping. Love your audience—and they’ll love you too.

That’s what an authority site owner or editor likes to see.

7.Push Past Self-limiting Beliefs

Every time you interact with a top expert, every single article that is accepted by an authority site, every time you focus on helping your audience—your chosen authority site’s readership—you grow your list. It’s as simple as that. One appearance on an authority site can boost you more massively than all the legwork in the world. So, get yourself ready, push past your fears and work consistently and daily toward earning your first authority site guest post.

8.Accelerate Your Post Generation

You absolutely want to speak in your own voice and come up with your own original spins on topics … but you can accelerate post generation by using pre-researched posts as “starters” to generate post ideas and provide data, without you having to take the time to dig for them. The trick is to invest in only high-quality blog post PLR from limited-license, reputable sites such as Coachglue.com.

9.Find Topics Fast

Another way to generate powerful, current posts quickly: Use tools such as Fresh Title to generate awesome, optimized Titles for you. You feed it your keyword, and not only does it come up with optimized titles, it also searches real-time news headlines for news about your keyword topic—plus many more features.

10.Be In-Play Every Day

Make a plan, create an editorial calendar—and stick to what you schedule. Get those posts and appearances out … every day. Follow and actually read official blogs and your favorite authority blogs … every day. Interact with and help your community … every day. Work on finding fabulous new topics to help your community … every day. Showing up for “work” on time is one of the most powerful tools you can utilize, if you do so every day.

11.Don’t Just Re-Purpose Your Posts, Change Them Up

Look at the results your old blog posts generate. If you’re hearing crickets, with zero comments, check to see if you’re using the right language to reach your desired audience. Research a new headline, find more current examples, generate new keywords, say it a different way… and before you know it, you’ve got a new, improved post

12. Meet Them in Person

Every time you go to an event, look to see which authority site owners or editors are there. Look for natural opportunities to introduce yourself or get to know them. Attend their talk or workshop, if they are present a speaker.

Don’t push your articles at the event (unless they’re talking to you about a problem you’ve got a real solution for). Focus on them. Hang out and be friendly, if you get the chance. Wow THEM with a great workshop or presentation, if you are there as a presenter.

And, by the way, becoming a guest speaker is also a great way to build credibility with authority site owners and editors.

13. Invest in Advertising

Facebook makes it easy to advertise: It will actually show you posts performing well and suggest you boost them. Create a budget for advertising and start with this easy step. Use Facebook’s intuitive Insights to view, track and manage your post and advertising results.

14. Give Authority Sites Original, First-time Content

Authority sites are like jealous lovers: They don’t share. Don’t make the mistake of giving them a re-purposed post, or one that has appeared elsewhere.

And don’t use PLR even as a starter for authority site posts (save using PLR posts as starters for your blog or for quick social posts). Instead, go out of your way to meet every authority site’s requirements to the letter, so you can provide them with new twists on hot topics, definitive evergreen articles or undiscovered, game-changing news about your topic.

15. Choose to Review

Another way to impress any authority site scout: Create crystal-clear, unbiased reviews of products, apps and programs important to their readerships.

Create or use a review template to create consistency and clarity, as well as an easy review formula for you to use. (And repetition makes anything easier of course.)

Getting known for your reviews is another way to position yourself as a true expert in your field.

16. Create Original Article Samples

Another place where you don’t want to use PLR starters: In sample articles on your blog. These are articles or posts that you link to, for authority sites like Entrepreneur.com, who ask you for links to sample post.

Again, use your best, completely original posts for these samples.

17. Write a Book

Writing a book on your mission message topic is a great way to instantly make yourself newsworthy. So, think of your most powerful message, and get started on that today.

Having your own book in print gives you instant authority status on your chosen topic and message. It adds credibility, validates you as an expert and creates fans—and guest spot opportunities.

And if you interview and credit other experts in your book, this gives you the perfect reason to co-host webinars with them, promote them, interview them for your blog or webinar … and have them return the favor.

18. Create a High-Value Product or Program

When you are one of the experts providing people with a top product or program, you step out ahead of competitors who don’t have one. It boosts your credibility—and marks you as a player instead of a dreamer. Membership site, One-Year Challenge, Mastermind Retreat … you can choose the most comfortable option for you … and just do it.

19. Solve People’s Problems

Do that with your website, the resources you offer, your high-quality free sign-up gift, your articles and your packages, programs and products.

Keep your focus firmly there, and you’ll make yourself more desirable as a contributor to any authority site in your niche.

20. Approach Smaller, Niche-Specific Authority Sites

Yes, there is such a thing. Sites run by one single person dealing with specific sub-niche topics are a great place to get accepted.

The trick is to (a) search within your narrow field (b) provide the site owner with an article suggestion that will make them a hero and enhance their own reputation. Solve a real problem for their readers, and you’ve done the site owner a huge favor too (as well as probably picked up new readers from her site).

To find them? Start by thinking of the go-to sites that you instantly visit first, when looking for news or solutions in your niche. Or look in directories that specialize.

21. Be Vigilant in Updating and Maintaining Your Social Profiles

Authority sites that check you out often head first to your social profiles—particularly Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

So, make sure your social profiles are active and interactive, with daily posts, as well as comments and acknowledgements of those who leave your comments.