Online Presence: The First Step in Thought Leadership with Rusty Shelton

In this final episode of The Notorious Thought Leader, Erin Balsa opens up about her personal journey to work less and live a more balanced life. She talks about expanding her view of success to include well-being, inner peace, and wisdom. She also shares how The Notorious Thought Leader was a passion project and that she feels like she’s done what she set out to do — demystify thought leadership for B2B marketers. This episode also serves as a recap of memorable quotes on thought leadership from each of the guests. Erin takes listeners on a reflective journey, highlighting the essence of thought leadership in the B2B space. Drawing from her conversations with 24 industry experts, Erin underscores the significance of having a distinct perspective, emphasizing its role in maintaining relevance amidst a sea of voices. As Erin signs off, she leaves her audience with a promise: while the podcast may be ending, her dedication to sharing insights and personal stories to elevate content and thought leadership remains unwavering. Subscribe to her free newsletter, Leading Thoughts, at hausofbold.com. 

Erin Balsa was a guest on Ben Goodey's How the Fxck SEO Podcast. Erin and Ben discussed the intricacies of integrating thought leadership into SEO. Erin recounts a standout 2020 case study, where a unique report relevant to the challenges of remote work generated a staggering 680k in revenue. This wasn't just about numbers; it was about providing actionable insights for businesses navigating the remote work paradigm.Diving deeper, Erin emphasizes the power of narratives in content creation. She believes that every piece of content should resonate with the company's core story, ensuring a cohesive message across all platforms. This not only aids in brand recognition but also in building trust with the audience.The duo concludes by touching on the essence of documentation in SEO. It's not just about creating a process but understanding the underlying "why" behind each strategy, ensuring quality and relevance in every piece.

In this episode, Rusty Shelton, Founder and Chairman of Zilker Media, delves into the concept of thought leadership and its impact on business growth. Rusty emphasizes the importance of trust, stating that it's crucial to build it even before you enter the room with potential clients or partners. He explains how an online presence can be a powerful tool in establishing this trust.Rusty further discusses the significance of personal branding and owning your online presence. He advises listeners to secure their full name as a website address, highlighting the value of this digital real estate. He also underscores the importance of aligning oneself with brands the audience knows, trusts, and respects to accelerate trust.Lastly, Rusty shares an innovative approach to content marketing, using it as a bridge to build relationships. He gives an example of a bank president hosting a podcast, not as an advertisement, but as an opportunity for peer-to-peer interaction, thus creating good content and building goodwill. This episode provides valuable insights into the power of thought leadership and the role of trust in successful business relationships.

In this episode, host Erin Balsa welcomes special guest Jay Acunzo, a thought leader in the world of content creation. The conversation dives deep into the importance of personal connection and the power it wields in a content-saturated landscape. Jay emphasizes that building a strong, genuine bond with your audience surpasses the goal of being 'the best' in the field.Jay shares his unique take on how content creators should approach their work, focusing on the concept of 'favorite' instead of 'best'. He posits that it's the emotional resonance, not the objective quality, that makes a piece of content or a brand irreplaceable for an individual. This aspect of subjective preference drives loyalty and long-term engagement.The episode wraps up with Jay extending an invitation to his show 'Unthinkable' and his membership platform, Creator Kitchen, offering a glimpse into the creative mindscape of today's most innovative thinkers.

In this episode, we dive deep with Bolaji Oyejide, the mastermind behind the serialized content show, Demand Wars. Bolaji unravels the intricacies of storytelling in B2B marketing, emphasizing the power of serialized content. He highlights the need for marketers to shift from data-driven narratives to emotion-driven narratives, fostering a more profound connection with the audience.Bolaji cites examples of successful serialized content, including his own show, Demand Wars, and others like ProfitWell's Recur Network and Salesforce Plus. He underscores the growing trend of reputable brands venturing into serialized content, paving a unique path for B2B marketing.In a captivating finish, Bolaji intertwines the history of hip hop and music composer Johann Brahms to illustrate the secret to long-term influence: repetition and gentle surprise. With valuable insights and engaging anecdotes, this episode is a must-listen for anyone seeking to elevate their B2B marketing strategy.

Thought leadership content is about sharing valuable knowledge and insightful perspectives. And more and more brands use this tactic to stand out from their competitors and connect with their audience on a deeper level. But how do you write a truly remarkable thought leadership article?In this episode of the Notorious Thought Leader podcast, our host Erin Balsa welcomes Lily Ugbaja, a self-employed fractional content manager, to discuss her powerful LEMA framework, what it stands for, and how to use it to create thought leadership content.

Thought leadership is about sharing unique insights with your audience. And it's the most effective way to establish brand credibility and build trust. But how do you create epic thought leadership content? In this episode of the Notorious Thought Leader podcast, our host Erin Balsa welcomes Steffen Hedebrandt, the co-founder and chief marketing officer of Dreamdata. They talk about why you need to use your audience's words in your content, what epic thought leadership content looks like, and why SEO can’t be the only play for typical B2B companies.

Visionary thought leaders are subject matter experts with original ideas, and they lead powerful change within their industries. But they're often too busy to create content and build large audiences. In this episode of the Notorious Thought Leader podcast, our host Erin Balsa welcomes Pete Larkin, the co-founder of Parlay. They talk about the differences between thought leaders and visionaries, the enormous potential for a mutually effective relationship between visionaries and marketers, and how visionary thought leaders are changing the game.

Thought leadership content and SEO content are both effective marketing strategies, and by combining the strengths of both types of content, an organization can create a powerful marketing strategy that leverages their expertise, thought leadership, and online presence to achieve their business goals.But people often put thought leadership and SEO into two buckets and think that it is impossible to have thought leadership and SEO within one article or as part of a holistic content strategy. According to Erin Balsa, the founder of Haus of Bold, the best thought leadership content helps your content rank higher on the search results page. Erin was a guest on Ramli John's Marketing Powerups podcast, where they discussed her Content Sweet Spot Framework as well as thought leadership, its definitions, and the misconceptions about it.

Thought leaders are known for challenging conventional thinking and offering new perspectives on complex issues. By establishing themselves as thought leaders, individuals and organizations can gain competitive advantage and build their reputation as trusted authorities in their field.But to establish thought leadership, you must have a deep understanding of your field and be able to communicate your insights clearly and compellingly without coming off as overtly salesy.In this episode of Notorious, our host Erin Balsa welcomes Dan Fogarty, a thought leadership ghostwriter for VCs, founders, and executives. Dan gets into thought leadership and ghostwriting and explains his ghostwriting process. Dan and Erin discuss utility, data-driven/investigative and forward-thinking thought leadership, and connecting the dots by NOT niching down.