"The speed of trust is dramatically accelerated when you lead as a thought leader with something to teach rather than a company with something to sell." Rusty Shelton, founder of Zilker Media, joins this episode to share insights on how entrepreneurs can establish personal authority and thought leadership. He shares his journey in the media industry and how he started Zilker Media to help companies build personal authority. One of the key ways he has been successful building trust with clients and employees is by prioritizing personal branding and thought leadership alongside company marketing. There is a lot of significance to creating content that focuses on impact, not ego, in order to establish competitive differentiation. Rusty explains that in today's digital age, personality-driven communication is critical to attracting customers. It is important that businesses are creating a unique and memorable experience that resonates with the audience and communicates the brand's mission and values. One way to continue to nurture your audience and earn their trust is by building an email list and sharing valuable information regularly.   In this episode you will learn how to: Transform into an influential leader and acknowledged authority in your field Cultivate a prominent personal brand with a powerful digital footprint Create extraordinary experiences that endear your brand to your customers Foster authentic relationships by weaving emotion and truth into marketing tales Adopt storytelling methods for a more engaging and effective marketing strategy Make sure to listen to this episode to hear more about how Rusty overcame the struggle of growing his PR firm by shifting to building thought leadership for businesses. This episode is perfect for anyone that wants to learn how to build an authority advantage and be perceived as a mission-driven thought leader with something to teach, not just a company with something to sell. Connect with Rusty: https://rustyshelton.com/ Get the Book: The Authority Advantage Connect with Dan: www.dancockerell.com About Dan - https://dancockerell.com/about/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dancockerell/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dancockerell/ Facebook - www.facebook.com/dancockerellspeaker Episode Highlights 00:04:31 - Building an Authority Advantage 00:09:39 - Marketing for Individuals 00:11:54 - Authenticity and Trust 00:14:13 - Impactful Content Creation 00:12:50 - The Importance of Authenticity in Branding 00:14:06 - Overdelivering is Critical 00:15:28 - Owning Your Name as a Piece of Digital Real Estate 00:17:37 - Building Trust through Authority by Association 00:25:25 - Marketing in the Age of AI 00:28:11 - The Importance of Being Memorable 00:29:25 - Nurturing Your Audience 00:30:09 - The Power of Referrals 00:35:27 - The Authority Advantage