Your Breakthrough Year Starts Now
By Steve Roller

Steve Roller here, with your final edition of The Writer's Life this week. We've been talking all week about how to become an authority in 60 days.

When you become an authority, you …

• No longer have to chase clients. They'll be coming to you.
• Command instant credibility, and therefore land more clients in less time.
• Receive higher compensation for your work. People who are seen as specialists in their field are always paid better than generalists.
• Cut down on, and may eventually eliminate, the need to actively market yourself.
• Can leverage your expertise into other streams of income, like consulting and speaking.

The fact is, it's a work in progress, and you never fully "arrive." My aim is to get you headed in the right direction. So I've been giving you some ideas to put into action and helping you ramp up over the next two months. (Don't let the winding down that often happens over the holiday season from late November until New Year's Day slow your progress.)

I have no doubt that if you keep plugging away at your freelance career, you'll eventually be making great money and living the writer's life.

But why wait?

You can make it happen sooner. Becoming an authority is a bold approach, and here are three takeaways that will help you put it all together.

1. Becoming an authority will lead to a breakthrough year in 2012. That starts with a change in thinking.

I talked about developing an abundance mentality in the "Finer Things" article on Wednesday. One of the best ways to do this is to soak up the wisdom of experts.

I'm a big fan of the classics like As a Man Thinketh by James Allen and The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles. I don't read much contemporary material on prosperity or wealth attraction, except for books by Dan Kennedy. But I'm sure there are a lot of good ones out there. (Warning: Dan tells it like it is! You may be offended. If you do like Dan's style, here's another way to get a heavy dose of Dan.)

2. Becoming an authority will give you more clients and a higher income. That requires a change in marketing strategy.

My suggestion: Put one safe, easy strategy into action. Pick one that makes you feel comfortable and confident. In addition, put one "stretch" strategy into action – something outside your comfort zone.

For example, a comfortable strategy might be creating a referral system to tap into your current and past clients. Alternatively, you could use your social networking skills to reach hundreds or thousands of prospects online. A "stretch" strategy might be using public speaking to promote your services.

My "tried-and-true" method will be writing blog posts and articles to generate exposure and establish me as an authority. I've done this a lot in the past and had success, but neglected it this year. My out-of-the-comfort-zone plan is to write a book combining my knowledge of direct response copywriting combined with my passion for luxury and romantic travel.

3. Finally, becoming an authority may require a change in your image.

Your image is something that is constantly evolving. It could be a big process if you change your niche, like I did recently, or if you're in the beginning stages of your career.

If you've been a freelancer for a couple of years or more, take a look at your business with objective eyes. Is there anything that doesn't portray you the way you'd like? You may want to improve your business card or tagline, rewrite your website's Home and About pages, create a new profile on LinkedIn, or revamp your elevator speech.

Are you ready to have a breakthrough year in 2012? What new strategy are you going to use? Any plans to change your image? I'd love to hear details. You can leave a comment below.

I started this week with a quote by Will Rogers, and I'll end with another one:

"Chaotic action is preferable to orderly inaction."

You can take a very organized and fastidious approach to your business and spend many months or even years implementing your plan.

Or you can throw caution to the wind and spring into chaotic action the last two months of the year. Come January 1, 2012, you could be well on your way to becoming an authority.

I'll be following Will Rogers' advice, and I invite you to join me.