8 Thought Leadership Examples to Demonstrate Your Expertise
It’s a little corporate-speak, isn’t it? But the thought leadership definition is a leader who shares their thoughts on a platform to demonstrate expertise.
In this article, I’ll share eight thought leadership examples to help you understand how to establish yourself as an expert in your field. I’ll include:
Each example of thought leadership
Where it was published
What it accomplishes
Why it’s thought leadership
I’ll end with some FAQs, such as how to create and publish thought leadership, more types of thought leadership content, and what thought leaders typically try to accomplish with their thought leadership.
| Type of Thought Leadership | Example | Pros | Cons | Tips |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Getting quoted in the paper | Scott Latham quoted in an article on the tech industry's fake work problem | Fast and easy, enhances reputation | Lack of control and limited linking opportunities | Register as a source on platforms like HARO |
| Snag a byline in a top-tier publication | Mark Travers getting an article published in Forbes | Establishes as an expert with groundbreaking thoughts, linking opportunities | Requires high-quality writing skills and time-consuming | Seek help from PR companies or ghostwriters |
| Get a byline in an industry publication | David Coppings getting thoughts published in MedCity News | Power and flexibility, target audience reach | Limited traffic beyond industry professionals | Look for industry publications you enjoy reading |
| Get interviewed on a top-tier podcast | Emma Chamberlain interviewing Mac Demarco on Anything Goes podcast | Large audience, less formal and more fun than written media | Difficult to track conversions and attribution | Listen to podcasts before reaching out to hosts |
| Get interviewed on an industry podcast | Mark Stephenson interviewed on the Tech Sales Insights podcast | Engaging discussion for niche audience | Limited reach compared to broader podcasts | Search for niche podcasts and focus on interview format |
| Post on your own platform | Creating a blog, YouTube channel, podcast, or sharing thoughts on LinkedIn | Control over content and ownership | Hard to build organic reach, requires consistency | Utilize platforms like Medium or hire professionals for assistance |
| Speak at industry conferences or events | Amy McGuigan speaking at the NALA Expo | Fun and engaging, opportunities for networking | Labor-intensive, requires preparation and organization | Emphasize passion in your talk, network with peers |
| Write a book | Tim Ferris's "The Four-Hour Workweek" and Eric Topol's "The Creative Destruction of Medicine" | Establishes as an industry leader, persuasive argument | Requires significant effort and decision on publishing | Choose a novel idea and consider hiring ghostwriters or agencies |
What is a thought leader? And what is thought leadership?
Thought leadership in a sentence: An expert in their respective field. For example, Bill Gates is known for his thoughts on technology, entrepreneurship, and philanthropy.
But you don’t need to be a household name to be the best thought leader in your field. Remember: the thought leaders definition is anyone who has something new and interesting to say in their relevant field. For example, I might be considered a domain expert in freelancing. Luk Smeyers, one of my clients, is a thought leader in consulting. The size of your audience does not affect the status.
So what’s thought leadership then? Thought leadership content is the vehicle by which you prove your status. It’s appearing in magazines and on podcasts, getting quoted in newspapers of record, and more.
Thought leadership content is normally done for content marketing purposes, or if you're trying to do leadership marketing. Occasionally thought leadership marketing helps drive demos, sales calls, inbound marketing leads, or other KPIs. But most simply, it's being seen as a subject matter expert in your field.
Now let’s get into some examples of thought leadership.
Example #1: Getting quoted in the paper
This is a very simple example of thought leadership. Journalists and reporters are working to publish newsworthy, relevant articles for their audiences all the time. The problem is that journalists and reporters aren’t experts in every single subject. To ensure they’re providing more information, they’ll often quote some experts in specific fields.
For example, this article on the tech industry’s fake work problem was published by journalists Hugh Langley and Grace Kay. However, they quoted industry expert Scott Latham, a strategic-management professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell who worked in the tech industry during the start of the internet boom.
That positions Latham as an expert in strategic management and the tech industry. By quoting him in this article, these writers are telling their audience: we trust Latham on these matters, and you should, too.
Pros:
In short? The pros of this type of thought leadership is that it’s fast and easy. Scott Latham most likely didn’t need to do anything at all. I suspect the authors of the article reached out to a bunch of management experts, and he got back to them the quickest. He didn’t need to write anything long, and he just got his name and reputation enhanced just through inclusion.
Cons:
The downsides? You give up a lot of control, and you often don’t get to link back to your profile or company. Scott Latham was mentioned by name, but the authors didn’t link to his UMass profile page, or anything else. He probably also didn’t get to choose the exact quote he wanted in the paper.
Tips:
Register as a source on places like HARO or Help a B2B Writer. That way, when journalists or writers are looking for experts in the field, they’ll be able to easily find you.
Example #2: Snag a byline in a top-tier publication
One of the most powerful kinds of thought leadership is getting your writing published in a paper of record. This is a very hard kind of thought leadership to manage, but the rewards are immense. To do this, you need to come up with an interesting angle on a topic in which you’re an expert. Then you need to pitch a publication editor on that topic. Then you need to write the article and
For example, Mark Travers got his article published in Forbes on the topic of “open casting” in dating. As he’s a licensed therapist, this makes him look like an expert in relationships and dating.
Pros:
The biggest pro here is that you not only look like an expert worthy of getting quoted, but you look like an expert who has many groundbreaking thoughts on a particular topic. You give readers a chance to understand why you’re important and noteworthy in your field, and why they should listen to you.
You also have a lot more control, and you frequently get the opportunity to link back to your website, profile, or business domain.
Cons:
The biggest con is you have to write an article that’s good enough to get published in top-tier media. Writing is hard, it’s time-consuming, and for many leaders, it’s just not very fun.
Tips:
If this sounds overwhelming, I recommend speaking with a PR company – I love Intelligent Relations, for example – who can help you ideate concepts, pitch top-tier pubs, and offer ghostwriting editorial services.
Example #3: Get a byline in an industry publication
Many CxOs think they need to get published in VentureBeat, or else it’s all a bust. It’s not true. You can instead target smaller, more niche industry publications. The process is the same, but you’re typically writing for a smaller, more focused audience.
I find it’s easier to get published in these publications because you have less competition. Everyone wants to get into Forbes; fewer industry experts want to get into, for instance, MedCity News.
But by getting your thoughts published in an industry pub, you get to cement your status as a thoughtful leader that much more deeply. In that example, the author David Coppings gets to talk about “empowering nursing professionals and healthcare communities to redefine how they work through access to the right technologies,” which is 100% his bag.
Pros:
You have so much power and flexibility here. Industry pubs are desperate for high-quality thought leadership that isn’t too salesy or promotional and reads well.
With industry pubs, you know you get to talk to your target audience, too, with solid leadership content. Most industry pubs have a granular level of detail about who their readers are. For example, MarketingProfs know they’re speaking with B2B marketers.
Cons:
The only real tradeoff is traffic. Industry pubs are only read by people in the industry. But as I said, for the right piece of thought leadership content, it doesn’t matter if only 100 people read it – if they’re the right 100.
Tips:
I recommend looking for publications that you enjoy reading. As a thought leader, I expect you to consume a lot of content to stay on top of news in your field. What industry publication names do you know and trust? Do a simple Google search for “[industry pub name] write for us” and see what comes up.
Example #4: Get interviewed on a top-tier podcast
Thought leadership content is not restricted to the written word – podcasts are a great way to establish your expertise and status as a thought leader. You reach out to a podcast host and offer to share your insights on a topic you think might be of interest to them.
Podcast hosts suffer from the same content grind burnout as the rest of us – many are excited to hear from thought leaders who come armed with podcast topic ideas.
For example, here’s an unconventional one: influencer and youth icon Emma Chamberlain recently interviewed Canadian singer-songwriter on her podcast, Anything Goes. After the episode came out, searches for Mac Demarco peaked. He gets to look like an expert and have a fun chat with a nice person about things that matter to him. Leadership content doesn't have to be dull or hard.
Pros:
In sum, a huge audience and untapped potential. This is much less formal than getting published in top-tier written media, which are very established. Podcasts are young, typically more casual, more lightly edited, and more fun.
Cons:
It’s tough to track conversions and other attribution metrics, unlike links placed in a publication that can be easily traced.
Tips:
Listen to a few podcast episodes before reaching out to the host. Make sure you have real, relevant, interesting topics for discussion. Don’t go too promotional. I’m sure there are so many specific issues or problems you’re equipped to talk about – stick with those.
Example #5: Get interviewed on an industry podcast
Like the top-tier/industry dichotomy for written media, it’s worth targeting more niche podcasts sometimes if you’re not having any luck with podcasts that have a more broad audience.
For example, the Tech Sales Insights podcast has just 112 ratings, with over 200 episodes. But it’s very niche, all about “Technology Sales, Sales Management, and Sales Leadership insights and best practices, by a community of global best practitioners.”
Here’s an example of the podcast where the guest talks about the best way to identify ICP in situations when ownership is sporadic. That’s a super niche! But it’s a topic that Mark Stephenson, Go-To-Market Advisor for multiple tech companies, is passionate about.
Pros:
This is your chance to turn what other people might consider a dry or dull topic into an engaging, meaningful discussion for readers. Plus, not everyone knows how to write well, but almost all thought leaders I’ve spoken to know how to speak persuasively on their topic of interest.
Cons:
Again, this only tradeoff is the lack of reach. Many industry podcasts have few listeners. But again, it doesn’t matter if you’re reaching the right listeners.
Tips:
Google is your friend. Go as niche as you can and then type in, “[niche] podcasts].” Look for podcasts that have an interview format.
Example #6: Post on your platform
If you don’t want to play by anyone else’s rules, I recommend you just create your platform to post on. This can be a blog, a YouTube channel, a podcast, or sharing your thoughts on LinkedIn or any other form of social media.
The challenge here is consistency – as a thought leader, you almost always have something more urgent, or more pressing. But if you want to start getting any kind of reach, you have to post regular thought leadership content.
However, you have complete control over what you say and how you say it. Plus, it means you build an asset you own.
Pros:
Social media can be helpful because if you create content that the algorithm likes, you're flying. Plus, you get a lot more controllability and ownership. It’s all you. You get to control what you say, how you say it, how promotional you are, and what you link to.
Cons:
It’s very hard to build organic reach this way unless you focus on SEO or happen to go viral on social media. Plus, as I mentioned, very few thought leaders I know have the time or inclination to post on LinkedIn five days a week
Tips:
You can use a platform like Medium, where there’s external distribution, even content marketing. If Medium staff read and enjoy your article, they might “boost” it to a wider audience. Or you can hire someone like me to take care of all the ideation, research, and posting for you. All you have to do is sit down and give me some ideas to write about.
Example #7: Speak at industry conferences or events
When else will you get the chance to speak to your colleagues, peers, and decision-makers in person? Industry events are a great opportunity for thought leadership.
Here’s a great example: Amy McGuigan is speaking at the NALA Expo this year. Her topic is Ethical Considerations in Criminal Law Cases. She gets to boost her profile and her company’s profile and appear as a paralegal thought expert.
Pros:
These can be so fun. I’m attending Medium Day virtually as a speaker in August, and I’m looking forward to it. Again, it doesn’t rely on writing – you can just talk.
Cons:
This is the second-most labor-intensive form of thought leadership. You’ll have to find the event, get a topic approved, organize slides, physically attend if it’s in person, and take questions from the audience.
Tips:
If you score the chance to speak in person, I highly recommend going for passion in your talk. Don’t just drop facts in a dry way; emphasize why you care.
I also recommend taking the opportunity to network with your peers. By doing this before your talk, you’ll help more people get interested in your discussion. And when you network right after, you can build on the relationship you already established during your talk.
Example #8: Write a book
Tim Ferris’s “The Four-Hour Workweek.” Need I say more? This book established Ferriss as an entrepreneur thought leader.
That’s an extreme example, but it illustrates the power of books as thought leadership content examples. You get several hundred pages to lay out your expertise and prove yourself as a thought leader in your field.
Let’s look at another example: The Creative Destruction of Medicine by Eric Topol, M.D. This book helped establish Topol as a leading cardiologist. It’s not aimed at the wider population, but rather at other healthcare practitioners. He got to talk about a pretty-cutting edge idea and gained a lot of support and acclaim for it.
Pros:
It’s a very long persuasive argument on why you’re the top person in your field. Rarely will you get the chance to establish yourself so firmly as an industry leader. It's the ultimate in content marketing.
Cons:
It’s a lot of work to write a book. You also have to choose if you want to find a publisher, or if you want to self-publish instead. This can be a difficult choice. And if the book doesn’t do well, it’s a lot of work for very little result.
Tips:
I recommend finding a novel idea you care very much about. The more controversial or unconventional, the better. And if the idea of writing an entire book doesn’t appeal, you can always hire an agency or a ghostwriter to tackle this for you.
FAQs
Now that you’ve had a chance to peruse my thought leadership examples, let’s get into some FAQs.
How to create and publish thought leadership?
Here's how you do it:
Develop your thought leadership strategy. How often? What message do you want to push? What kind of character or persona are you? What's your thought leadership brand?
Pick your poison. Will you write or talk? Where do you want to aim? List out the pros and cons.
Come up with your idea. Ideally, it will be RELEVANT to news stories or your industry today; it will be something you have PERSONAL experience with, and it’s INTERESTING to the potential audience you’ve selected.
Create the content with your audience in mind. You can DIY it, or hire a professional. Send it off and hope for the best.
Determine your success metric. Do you want more people to come to your LinkedIn profile? Do you want to get hired as a consultant in your field? Figure out how you’ll measure your thought leadership status.
Repeat. I’d recommend trying to do one piece of thought leadership content per month as a bare minimum.
What are other types of thought leadership content?
Pretty much any opportunity you get to talk about your thing to an audience. I mean, what is thought leadership content if not a more advanced form of influencing? Other types not listed here include TV appearances, blog post, TED talks, webinars, panel discussions, white papers, research reports, and contributing to industry forums or online communities. These platforms provide additional avenues for showcasing your expertise and thought leadership in your field, whether it's marketing, financial services, health care, or anything else.
What are thought leaders trying to accomplish with their thought leadership?
The best thought leaders establish themselves as authorities in their respective fields and influence the way others think and act. By sharing your unique perspectives, insights, and expertise through a thought leadership piece, you get to inspire, educate, and provoke thought among your audience.
Thought leaders often aspire to drive innovation, shape industry trends, and make a lasting impact on their field. You do this through thought leadership activities like speaking or writing on a subject.
What are the best thought leadership ideas?
There’s no “best of” list, unfortunately. Here’s the process I recommend:
Pick one of:
An unpopular but justifiable opinion you hold in your field. For example, in my case, I believe it’s a bad idea to post content on more than two platforms as a beginner freelancer.
A problem everyone’s talking about, but nobody’s solving. For instance, everyone’s talking about burnout, but not many people are addressing it.
A news story that’s relevant to your industry, also known as “newsjacking.” E.g., Threads is very topical, so I wrote about it.
Pull in your expertise. This is thought leadership, so it’s no good quoting other experts. Why should a reader/listener/viewer listen to you? What makes you such an avant-garde thought leader? What unique and valuable insight can you share?
Frame it for your audience. You need to think about who you’re pitching this idea to, and why. This will help you rule out any thought leadership ideas that are too promotional, not actionable enough, or not relatable enough. This is especially key for anyone trying to do thought leadership content marketing – if the goal is to sell, you cannot be too salesy.
That’s the best way to come up with good thought leadership topics in 2023.
Final thoughts
What’s the thought leader definition? If nothing else, take this away: it just means someone who has an interesting thought in their field. Something new, something interesting, something relevant. And they have the expertise to back that idea up. All definitions of thought leadership come back to that.
Hopefully, these examples of thought leaders have helped you visualize where and how you might attain thought leader status yourself. Whether you’re aiming for the stars, like Tim Ferriss, or you just want to be known as an expert in your field, thought leader content is a great way to achieve that.
