Do you walk the walk? Although it is possible to write about a subject based solely on research, if you want to present yourself as an expert you should not only talk the talk, you should walk the walk. That means knowing your subject through personal experience.

I got an email from a self-professed guru the other day, offering yet another money-making program. Although much of what he writes is good in that it provides useful information, it does not have a soul. What I mean by that is that his stuff is written as if he went to the library and looked up how to do these things. None of it is based on his experience, and it lacks the little insider touches that can make how-to information so valuable.

When you market yourself as an expert, prove that you know your stuff:

Show your credentials. Tell them why you are qualified. That might be through formal training, but it should also include real-life experience.

Tell your story. How did you acquire your expertise? What “war stories” do you have about learning what you know? Have you worked with leaders in your industry? Do you have clients we would all know?

Admit your mistakes. It may be counter-intuitive, but admitting to mistakes can make you a more credible expert. Anyone who has learned a subject has made mistakes along the way. Own up to your mistakes and tell what you learned from them. Let them see that you are human.

Share the details. Go beyond the broad overview to share some of the insider secrets that only an expert would know.

Don’t hold back. Tell them everything you know. As you do, you will learn even more.

Interact. Fake gurus do not want to interact with their “followers” because they risk being exposed. Answer questions and respond to the comments of people in your audience.

Be positive. Be successful by building yourself up, not by tearing down your perceived competition. You are unique and there is no one who offers exactly what you can.

Demonstrate you have more than book knowledge in your subject and people will look to you as an authority. Ultimately, being a credible expert is about being real. Being a real person and sharing real knowledge.

Teleseminars can educate prospects before the sale, and support customers after in an easy, user-friendly way. Not only can they help you attract and retain customers, teleseminars can themselves be a profit center.

Teleseminars are, as the name implies, seminars provided over the telephone. Special conference calling lines are available that will handle hundreds of callers at once. You simply provide the call-in number to everyone you wish to invite. At the scheduled time, they dial in and everyone is connected in a giant conference call.

As the host of the call, you have control. For example, you can mute everyone except yourself, or yourself and a guest you are interviewing. This helps to keep background noise down. At times during the call, you can open up the line for questions, or you may choose to take all questions via email or instant messaging.

A teleseminar is different from an in-person seminar in that you do not have the visual cues between presenter and audience as you do live. However, with just a little practice, you can become very comfortable presenting teleseminars.

You can use teleseminars to:

Provide information about your products and services to prospective customers. You can present information to educate prospects to help them make a decision to buy.

Support customers after the sale. Regularly scheduled teleseminars can answer customer questions, or address things that will help them to get more from their purchase, such as explaining how to use features of your products they may not currently be using.

Create new revenue streams. Instead of (or in addition to) using free teleseminars to educate and support customers, charge people to participate on the call. Typical pricing for a one-hour teleseminar ranges from $20 to $97 or more. A series of several one-hour calls could range in price from $59 to well over $500. Doing one fee-based teleseminar a month can add hundreds or thousands of dollars in revenue.

Create new products. In addition to selling access to the live call, you can produce audio products that you can sell on CD or as online downloads. Pricing is usually the same as for the live call, although some consultants offer free teleseminars, but charge $10 or more for a download of the recording.

You can get a free conferencing line that will handle up to 500 people. Many free services offer a web panel for managing the call, and most allow you to record the teleseminar. You can find several suggestions on this list of free conference call services.

Get a feel for teleseminars by attending a few (search for “free teleseminars”) then start using free and paid teleseminars to grow your business and your revenue.