🚩 Create Expert Lists - TRUST-able #33 - Jun/Jul 2024

Key benefits. Criteria for selection. Organizing it. Tools and resources to find the experts and to create lists. Examples.

Hello,
welcome back to a new edition of TRUST-able.

For the last few weeks the weather has really been crazy here on this little island. This is my fourth year here, and I have not seen before so much bad weather.

Plus it is now evident that there is a serious tourism crisis and - all the while they keep building new hotels and B&Bs - the island is pretty empty. Very, very few people. Even rentals are going down and many B&Bs are switching to long term deals, to keep some money flowing in.

Not being dependent on the economy on the island is such a privilege, that I feel truly thankful for having the opportunity to stay here.

Enough of me.

Onto this issue topic: expert lists.

Why did I choose this topic?

Well, this newsletter focus is on how to build trust.

Specifically on what are the strategies and actions that can help you become more trustworthy in the eyes of your existing and potential clients.

So while you may have never heard about them before, I feel that creating expert lists could be a truly valuable ammunition in boosting one’s own authority as well as a great opportunity to build something useful.

I hope you will find the contents of this issue, stimulating and useful.

If so, please allow me to continue this work by supporting this newsletter with a paid subscription, or by placing a like or a comment at the end.

from Holbox island
Robin Good

In this issue: *Expert Lists*

1. Introduction

2. What Is An Expert List

3. Purpose / Key Benefits of an Expert List

4. Key Benefits for those Creating Expert Lists

5. Criteria for Expert Selection

6. Creating and Organizing the Expert List
   .

7. Tools and Resources To Create Expert Lists
   (Premium subscribers)

8. Examples of Niche Expert Lists
   (Premium subscribers)

9. Finding Experts (25+ ways / 50+ sources)
   (Premium subscribers)
   

Enjoy.

Robin Good

Introduction To Expert Lists

Nobody seems to have a problem collecting and suggesting great tools, books, articles to read or videos to watch, but next to no one ventures into suggesting what he/she thinks are the inspiring, trustworthy people in their field. 

Imagining What Could Be

While my overarching goal remains the one of providing strategies, ideas and inspiration to those who want to become trusted guides for others, I feel that part of my journey must include not just reporting and analyzing what I see, but also imagining what it could be. 

Imagining what it could be means exploring ideas and strategies that have not yet been played out, that are still largely untested and unverified, but which could potentially yield notable results. 

Strategies and ideas that are not just popped out in mid-air because they are “nice” or because I “like” them, but because there is already enough evidence and strong logic supporting their potential beneficial developments. 

Imagining Has Worked Before

Look for example at newsradars - which I started writing about in 2004 - they’re coming of age right now. 

What about curated search or collaborative curation? It is only now that such ideas and platforms are starting to embryonically move forward. Look at Glasp, Arena, Sublime. These are spaces and typologies of content and interactions that didn’t exist before. 

So, what do I see, that deserves such long introduction?

What’s Missing

The idea is as simple as this:
Identify, collect, organize and publicly showcase a selection of experts in your field, to provide your readers with valuable/useful up-to-date information.

Wouldn’t it be useful if professional consultants, started to publish expert lists that others could refer to?

Does anyone remember blogrolls?

What about Substak Recommendation feature?

Why is it about creating expert lists that next to no-one wants to do so?

The only reason I can come up with is fear.

Fear of doing a favor to one’s competitors and thus working against one’s own interests. 

Trust Building

But what if things were not the way they looked?

What if your lawyer published a list of vetted other lawyers in the city with unique specialties? Would that diminish the reputation of that lawyer or increase it? Would you trust him more or less?

What if your family doctor published a list of vetted expert specialists he would recommend in his district for specific needs? 

What if your computer tech specialist published a list of recommended repair shops and specialists in the area that he would recommend? 

Would any of these lists diminish the reputation and authority of who made them?

Do *recommendations* of other people/publications on Substack diminish the authority of those who make them?

I don’t think so. 

Do I have proof for it?

No, but if I put myself in such a situation, I can’t avoid feeling greater trust and respect for whoever professional would have produced such a list. 

I would trust him more, than someone just as identical, who didn’t do so.

You Already Have One (In Your Head)

But then again, this is not happening in real-life.

Or is it?

In real-life, all those who are good at something in their field, have their lists of experts to talk and refer to, but they keep them kind of secret. 

In fact, when you ask them about who they advise to talk to, they naturally tap into such personal lists and have no problem in recommending this or that guy.

But one thing is to share what they know privately, one expert at a time, another is to publish a list of them.

Courage

Yes, it does take some guts. 

Not really because there is something to fear, but because it takes courage to open a new trail when everyone else is choosing otherwise. 

Showcasing what most would initially think only as “competitors” and giving them an extra place to be found seems quite counterintuitive indeed, but if you look beyond the surface I am certain you can see some interesting stuff. 

Experts Don’t Have To Be Your Direct Competitors

In fact, one point that is easily overlooked is that one does not have to build expert lists that are exactly in his same business niche.

Expert lists in complementary fields can also be very useful and work just as much in supporting reputation and authority building. 

One example could be a digital marketing strategist, publishing list of experts graphic designers, copywriters, video makers and so on. 

Another one could be a tennis expert, providing a list of expert / recommended shoe and equipment sellers, personal trainers, tennis clubs with certain characteristics and so on. 

Another one could be a website designer/developer (ex webmaster) offering a list of experts in coding for special needs, ecommerce specialists, advertising experts, copywriters, social media managers, etc.. 

2) What Is An Expert List

So let’s look a little closer at what an expert list exactly is.

A curated expert list is a curated collection of individuals who are recognized for: 

• their extensive knowledge, 

• skills, and 

• experience in a specific field or subject. 

An expert list typically includes details about each expert, such as their areas of expertise, their qualifications, credentials, accomplishments, testimonials, writings and more.

There are at least three kinds of expert lists: 

1. Expert lists
   These are created by someone to provide his audience with valuable information by first establishing a well-defined set of selection criteria and then adding new people that fit them over time.
   .

2. Open directories

   Allow anyone in the field to submit their candidacy for inclusion while requiring that a public set of selection criteria are met.
   .

3. Recommendation lists

   Include professionals that the author deems to be reference models, trusted guides and thought leaders and who he/she would personally recommend. The criteria used may or not be public.

3) Purpose / Key Benefits of an Expert List

The purpose of a curated expert list is to identify and organize individuals who have a high level of knowledge and expertise in a specific field or subject.

 This can serve several purposes:

1. Making the Gurus Easy To Find
To facilitate the finding of individuals who have significant knowledge and experience in a particular field.

2. Defining Quality Standards and Models
To set public reference standards for excellence and to provide role models for others in the industry.

3. Building Trust and Authority
To show strong familiarity with the field and its players while providing useful and hard-to-find information.

4. Facilitating Collaboration
To identify potential collaborators for projects, interviews, research, events or other  initiatives.

5. Creating a Valuable Resource
To make available a trusted resource for finding knowledgeable individuals for consultations, advice, or information.

6. Facilitating Networking
To make it easier to connect with experts as well as for the experts to network among themselves. 

7. Promoting Knowledge Sharing
To encourage the dissemination of expertise and best practices within a community or industry.

8. Providing Public Appreciation
To acknowledge and highlight the achievements and contributions of leading individuals in a field.

4) Key Benefits *for those* Creating Expert Lists

Building an expert list could significantly enhance your authority and trustworthiness by:

• Creating a rare and highly useful resource
  

• Associating yourself with credible and authoritative figures who have already established their credibility and reputation in the field
  

• Demonstrating that you have sufficient experience and knowledge in the field to be able to discern experts from everyone else. 

More specifically: 

1) Demonstrate Competence
By curating a list of experts, you can demonstrate your deep understanding of the field. 

You position yourself as a reliable source of high-quality information, as you are able to distinguish between credible experts and less reliable sources. (If you can pinpoint who are those in the know in your area of expertise, then you appear to be one of them.)

2) Build Authority by Proxy
By curating a list of recognized experts, you align with individuals who have already established credibility in the field, transferring some of that credibility to you.

If the experts are respected, their inclusion in your expert list suggests to your readers that you yourself are also knowledgeable and trustworthy.

The positive attributes of the experts (credibility, knowledge, reliability) extend to you, enhancing your trustworthiness.

Curating a well-researched expert list demonstrates professionalism and a dedication to quality, reinforcing the audience’s perception of you as a trustworthy and reliable professional.

3) Get Extra Visibility
In times where it is getting more and more difficult to be found through Google, a winning tactic has become one in which you build curated resources that become in turn valuable source references for both Google and the new AI search engines.

As you can check yourself, the new AI search engines like Perplexity or Bing Co-Pilot, provide by default next to their answers, the sources they have tapped into to “build” their replies. The interesting thing is that the preferred sources for such AI engines are the ones that bring together, organize and list multiple resources, viewpoints and ideas. 

In this light, building organized and well-vetted resource lists (including but not limited *expert lists*), with published selection criteria, would seem to be a very intelligent strategy to follow for some time to come.

4) Nurture Partnerships
Experts often have their own following.

Cultivating personal relationships with those who become part of your expert list can lead to valuable reciprocal learning and to many potential opportunities including cross-promotion, business partnerships, and project collaborations.

5) Create New Content
Experts in your database can also become great resources to produce new high-value content such as video and podcast interviews, expert roundups, webinars, workshops and physical events, enhancing your reach and visibility.

6) Monetize
Expert lists can also be monetized in many different ways just like many existing directories already do. 

The main business models used are: 

• Pay to be featured

• Pay to edit and update your expert card

• Pay to add videos or additional materials

• Sponsorship

---

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I have created this searchable catalog for:

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---

5) Criteria for Expert Selection

Let’s suppose you have found a bunch of “supposed” experts. How do you vet them now?

How can you tell the valuable, credible, trustworthy experts from those who pretend to be so?

Which criteria should you use to separate the top experts from everyone else?

Here are the ones I would use: 

• Quality of work / output produced

• Experience - time in the trenches - Proof of work

• References /

  • Testimonials

  • Peer reviews

  • Recommendations

• Writings (articles, papers, social media posts, etc.)

• Books

• Events

• Interviews

• Citations (in other books and academic papers)

• Personal brand - website - contact info

.

You may want also to check out the Credibility Checklist and its scoring system I have published here: TRUST-able newsletter #29 - Be Credible 
.

N.B.: I am not including academic education certificates and degrees deliberately.

My belief is that while such proof of academic studies are still much in use, their value has been long overrated and they tell very little of how good you really are at something.

I personally would not judge an expert by the certificates and degrees he/she has acquired. But different criteria and value systems may be applied to other fields and industries.  

6) Creating and Organizing the Expert List

To generate the highest value from a public list of experts it is important to take into consideration several elements.

1) Have a Strong Focus
The more specific the focus of the directory, the better. E.g.: Website building experts with Wordpress. Facebook advertising experts. Dog trainers in x (specific area). 

2) Establish Clear Set of Selection Criteria
What constitutes an expert in your sector (according to you)? Do experts in your niche need to have an academic degree? What years of experience amount to become an expert? How do you verify that? Are published writings a valid qualifying credential? Define precisely what you believe are the minimum requirements and make them public.

3) Define Which Data To Collect
It is important to identify and test beforehand the database-record structure for each resource to be included in the database. What data, characteristics, information will you look for and collect for each expert?  

The best structure used, I have seen so far, is the one used by ExpertFile. Here is one good example for an expert information card.

4) Organize
The best organization possible is the one that favors the way users will browse and search through the list. Experience? Area of expertise? Recommendations? Region? You decide. 

Also (my idea): Wouldn't it be very useful if expert lists were organized by level of expertise and trustworthiness? 

For example there could be a group of high-level, highly credited experts with lots of experiences and credentials, as well as one of newcomers/juniors that could submit their credentials but be clearly separated from other more experienced colleagues.  

One possible set of levels based on credentials / experience could be:

• Top level experts / Thought leaders

• Vetted Professionals / Experts (with more than 5 years experience)

• Juniors / Submitted unvetted

• Featured / Promoted

• Not updated

To provide greater value and credibility to the expert list, allow vetted top experts to rate / vote other people in the list.

5) Quality not Quantity
Consider that a larger list does not make a better list.

The more people in a list, the more difficult it is to find the person you are looking for.

To compensate for this natural limit, it is essential beyond a certain number of entries to organize the list into sub-groups and/or to consider limiting the number of possible entries.

6) Updating and Maintenance

• Organize the database so that it can automatically inform the experts of their inclusion. 

• Provide experts with the ability to register and edit / update their information. 

• Inform experts that the info card will be downgraded after one year if it's not updated. 

In the Premium Section

1. Tools and Resources To Create Expert Lists
   (Premium subscribers)

2. Examples of Niche Expert Lists
   (Premium subscribers)

3. Finding Experts (25+ ways / 50+ sources)
   (Premium subscribers)