Wouldn't it be nice if you could become an authority in your niche overnight and 'leapfrog' the competition? If you could skip the normal need to gradually climb the ranks and instead go straight to the top as a thought leader?

Well, as it happens there is at least one way you can do this – and that's to network properly with other thought leaders in your niche.

The Theory

If you can network with other thought leaders in your niche and if you can align yourself with them/work with them, then you will be able to create more opportunities to associate yourself with them in the eyes of your fans. 

What this then means is that right away, you will gain some of the trust and authority they have simply through your connection to them.

For instance, if you could get a top digital marketer to say that your e-book on making money was great, then you would not only get the exposure from them but also the seal of approval that would come with that.

The same goes for having a guest post published on a top blog – again you will benefit because people trust them and will thus be more likely to trust you by extension.

How to Work With Top Bloggers

So that's great in theory but how do you actually get to the point where those big bloggers are going to be happy to promote you?

There are many popular methods for working with other bloggers in content marketing and these provide a 'framework' of sorts that you can use to structure your own interactions. The guest post is one example – it's generally accepted that many blogs will accept contributors and provide them with a link back if the content is good.

Another option is to do an 'ad swap'. Here you will promote another blogger to your mailing list in exchange for them doing the same for you. That way you both benefit by gaining exposure to the audience the other has built a relationship with.

LinkedIn and networking events provide good opportunities to meet these bloggers and to discuss working with them. An important tip whatever your strategy though is to avoid the temptation to go straight for the biggest bloggers in your niche first. A smarter strategy is to start nearer the bottom and to work your way up as you gain exposure for your own brand.