25 Rules of Thought Leadership: Mastering the Steps Needed to Build, Launch, and Scale Your Platform

Back in high school, I played volleyball with the school team. I loved the sport and developed my skills over time.

In order to win any match, both teams had to understand the rules of the game. We weren’t allowed to touch the net when the match was in session. We couldn’t “palm” the ball to get it over the net. We had a series of rules, and if they were broken, we received a penalty.

Rules are also applied to any number of games.

Chess. Checkers. Baseball. Football.

You name it.

These guidelines were meant to level the playing field so everyone had a chance of winning. They also prevented players from cheating.

In like manner, when it comes to thought leadership, there are guidelines that have been established to help you reach your intended audience so they are always empowered.

These rules are mostly governed by consumer behavior; and based on how readers and buyers interact with online platforms, this dictates what we identify as best practices in the industry.

Here’s an example of what I mean.

Ten years ago, blogging was not what it is today. I know this mostly because of what I read from professional bloggers who started their sites many years ago.

Blogging has now transformed into a powerful content marketing tool that helps a business make a connection with its audience.

Blogging is no longer about someone creating a journal about their everyday lives, at least not when it comes to generating an income.

Instead, blogging is about the consumer and how a business’s product and service can provide a solution for that buyer.

Now, whenever an entrepreneur or thought leader is encouraged to add a blog to his website, it’s with the expectation that the medium will be used for business purposes. Nothing else.

Those of us who teach this aspect of blogging know this is best practice for entrepreneurs; we have studied extensively how readers and buyers react to our companies as a result of the content we produce on our blogs. And that’s why effective blogging is now a major factor for online business success.

In other words, blogging is now a “rule” to follow for anyone who wants to create a thriving virtual platform, no matter the core topic. But it isn't the only rule.

And in this lesson, I will teach you the top 25 guidelines that must be applied if you truly desire thought leadership success.

Rules and Guidelines for Building a Leadership Platform

In a previous lesson, I taught you about the spiritual elements that help forge your leadership potential.

In this next section, I want to give you a breakdown of the practical strategies that help you display your leadership using the virtual market. Once mastered, you will see your platform increase as you minister effectively to the people God called you to serve.

Here are the 25 rules or guidelines for building your leadership platform:

1. Have a clear idea, desire, burning passion, and faith to build your platform. Every great work begins firstly in the mind. What you see, you can manifest in the natural once you place action back of your faith.
2. Have a plan of action that will enable you to reach your goals. Developing a research-based business plan will help you determine the exact steps needed to manifest your vision.
3. Understand the psychology of online consumers. The virtual market is constantly growing. But to gain the most from it, you must know how consumers behave online. That includes learning how to build rapport with readers, viewers, and buyers. That also includes learning their pain points and discovering unique, actionable solutions that solve their problems.
4. Prepare yourself for long-term success. While building a leadership platform can be lucrative, understand you must focus on long-term results while seeing every short-term success as a building block for your online empire.
5. Practice minimalism and financial management. I often teach my clients to consider their current lifestyle before diving into online entrepreneurship and thought leadership. In the beginning, the cost will be great, especially when you acquire the training needed to launch your leadership platform. As such, it's best to look at your current finances to ensure you're able to commit to this venture part-time or full-time without entering the poor house. To help, I highly recommend learning about minimalism and financial management. Not only will both strategies help you investment in your thought leadership training, but both elements will teach you how to properly manage the wealth that will come as a result of your commitment to your calling.
6. Develop strategies to help balance your professional, personal, and spiritual life. When launching your leadership platform, it can be difficult to balance your life. As such, I recommend setting aside specific time for rest, recreation, fellowship, and work. Give your spirit, soul, and body what they need to rejuvenate so you are functioning at your best.
7. Develop your brand voice and author platform. Building your thought leadership means establishing an online reputation that draws a specific audience to your platform. You can accomplish this task by becoming an avid writer and author whose tone and voice truly resonate with the people you're called to serve.
8. Identify and cultivate the best social media platforms for your brand. When working with my clients, I urge them to select 2-3 social media platforms that they find most comfortable and suitable. Depending on the nature of the content and their intended audience, you should select the best social media site that will help you reach your audience on a daily basis.
9. Identify and build long-term relationships with your ideal readers and target audience. Most of my clients are shocked when I tell them I spend approximately 3-5 hours per day with my audience on Twitter. I do this because engagement is a strong element of my leadership platform. My time spent here is devoted to teaching men and women about the power of spiritual laws and practical steps for building their leadership platform. In addition, I use this engagement to form content ideas and solutions to the challenges they face. If you apply this same technique, depending on the social media site you choose, you will see how easy it is to increase your audience numbers on a consistent basis.
10. Establish credibility and authority in your niche. To do so, you must write content daily. You must show up where your audience resides and deliver empowering lessons to the people. You must be present consistently, because other platform builders are doing this work at greater speed and with better efficiency. Your credibility and authority will be established once your strategies, methods, and solutions have been tested. Once the masses see that, then you have become the go-to expert for all things related to your niche.
11. Develop strategies for generating multiple streams of income. Every successful leader who commits to this calling full-time will have 3-7 streams of income. Revenue can come from book sales, course enrollment, coaching clients, and more. When considering how to create your stream of income, think of how your audience wants to receive your packaged solution. Are they readers? Do they engage in online and offline events? Whatever the package, wrap your solutions in it along with a price tag that matches your audience's income level.
12. Hire a mentor and coach. I cannot stress this enough. Do not enter thought leadership without proper training and insight. A coach who has produced the results you want is the coach you need to hire to train you. And if at all possible, keep this coach on retainer for the duration of your leadership platform. As she grows, so will you.
13. Identify, follow, and connect with influencers in your industry. The key to massive, organic scaling is your ability to connect with influencers in your niche who value the solutions you present to the market. As you build your platform, be prepared to make these brand partnerships so you reach new audiences similar to your own.
14. Identify the best resources to motivate and educate you and your leadership development. Every leader must be a reader. To gain the most insight, purchase relevant books from today's top leadership experts who can give you perspectives that help nurture your growing empire.
15. Create and maintain a profitable blog. As I shared previously, a blog is the most powerful tool for your leadership platform. It will house your intellect for the public to see and it will open new doors of opportunities, especially when it comes to being featured on independent and mainstream outlets.
16. Learn the industry of self-publishing. As you continue writing content for your blog, you will want to package much of your writing in book format. For this reason, I encourage you to learn about the self-publishing industry and how best to produce books on a consistent basis for your audience. Book publishing also establishes you as an authority figure on a given topic and can help you land speaking engagements.
17. Know how to create a beautiful website that showcases your brand. Every leader must have their own branded website. While having a social media platform is good, those sites belong to another company. In contrast, your website belongs to you, and any contact information you receive from your visitors will remain with you rather than the social media platforms.
18. Know how to create an effective e-mail marketing strategy. Your audience wants to hear from you often; and one of the best strategies is to have a systematized email campaign.
19. Develop webinars, videos, and online events to scale your thought leadership. The general public loves visuals. Even more, they enjoy events that host multiple guest speakers that help the people solve problems. When you host these events, your credibility is enhanced because people will acknowledge your ability to build bridges with key industry experts.
20. Know how to employ the art of storytelling to keep your audience engaged. Stories sell. And your ability to connect with your audience comes through your skills as a great storyteller.
21. Know how to deal with your haters, negative commentators, and harsh critics. In a previous lesson, I taught you about the power of persecution. In the virtual space, it's not uncommon to go viral for a post that is riddled with haters. But that attention can be converted into a positive stream for you if you have your online platform set up properly. 
22. Develop public-speaking skills. Great leadership also includes a strong ability to speak well and to persuade the masses. 
23. Participate in virtual training sessions that perfect your professional development. Never stop learning.
24. Avoid comparing your leadership progress to others, especially to experts who have been in the game longer than you. Your journey is unique to you. Be patient with yourself and the process. Learn as you grow.
25. Remain committed to your calling. There will be times when you want to quit because the challenges seem overbearing. But press through them. Compound your success by celebrating smaller victories. 

Additional Strategies for Building Your Leadership Platform

​While the list above provides a general breakdown of the rules of thought leadership, there are other factors to consider such as:
​

1. Examining the overall vision for your platform and perform backwards mapping to identify how you will reach your goals;
2. Forming a strategic 25-year plan for your online platform; 
3. Identifying your core message, core story, and ideal audience;
4. Determining how best to package your message so it reaches the masses;
5. Hiring the appropriate experts to help you manifest your vision;
6. Constructing ideas and plans for new books each year;
7. Promoting your ideas on social media to garner attention and hype around your upcoming book;
8. Preparing to write, publish, and distribute your new book;
9. Creating a powerful launch event for your new platform and book;
10. And engaging with your audience on a consistent basis to scale your new online platform.

You can read more about these strategies in my latest lesson, "Teaching Leaders the 10-Step Process for Building Their Thought Leadership Platforms Using Their Authorship."

In Conclusion ...

Thought leadership is a powerful method for elevating your platform and bringing your message to millions of people nationwide.

But to be most effective, you will need proper training from an expert coach who has delivered the kind of results you desire.

​Beloved, in this new era, I want to teach you how to tap into your God-given abilities so you thrive as one of His leaders in the earth.

Whether your vision focuses on the social, political, or economic spheres, you can fulfill God's calling on your life when you have the right spiritual and practical training to make it a reality.

​Today, I invite you to join our growing rank of leaders who are learning to do things God's way so we get His results.

Your training is crucial to this development, and at The Felecia Killings Foundation, we've crafted a dynamic leadership program and event just for you.

Register for Our Bi-Annual CCM Leadership Convention | Build Your Thought Leadership in the Social, Political, or Economic Sphere

Join Coach Felecia Killings and her guest speakers for our annual 3-day event hosted in Atlanta, GA. 

Sponsored by The Felecia Killings Foundation, The CCM Leadership Convention will help rising leaders like you establish powerful thought leadership in the social, political, and economic spheres.

During our intensive training, you will learn key principles that will help you bring your ideas to the national forefront. Event topics include:

• Learning key strategies for effective leadership based on Kingdom laws and spiritual principles;
• Learning how to bring your voice, your message, and your mission to the national forefront;
• Networking with key leaders in your industry;
• Accessing independent and mainstream media outlets to deliver your empowering message;
• Improving your public speaking skills so your messages are conveyed clearly and succinctly in media;
• Identifying key social, political, and economic issues and creating effective, solutions;
• Packaging your solutions in book format so you build credibility and authority in your industry;
• And so much more!

Don't miss this exciting time to receive our in-person training.

​Our Convention Schedule

Day 1 — Establishing Powerful Thought Leadership in the Social, Political, or Economic Spheres

• 9:00 am - 10:00 am: Guiding Principles for Effective Leadership
• 10:10 am - 11:30 am: Identifying and Clarifying Your Vision and Mission
• 11:40 am - 12:40 pm: Identifying and Clarifying Your Core Message
• 12:40 pm - 1:15 pm: Lunch and Fellowship
• 1:20 pm - 3:00 pm: Understanding Social Media, Building an Online Movement, and Creating Your Content Creation Machine
• 3:15 pm - 4:30 pm: Creating Your Ideal Audience and Curating Solutions 
• 4:30 pm - 5:00 pm: Convention Homework Assignment (Preparation for Day 2)

Day 2 — Packaging Your Thought Leadership in Books

• 9:00 am - 10:00 am: Group Discussion
• 10:10 am - 11:30 am: Understanding the Principles of Book Publishing
• 11:40 am - 12:40 pm: Understanding the Science of Effective Storytelling
• 12:40 pm - 1:15 pm: Lunch and Fellowship
• 1:20 pm - 4:20 pm: Writing Workshop (Developing Your Story and Book)
• 4:30 pm - 5:00 pm: Convention Homework Assignment (Preparation for Day 3)

Day 3 — Packaging Your Thought Leadership in Online Courses and Coaching Programs

• 9:00 am - 10:00 am: Group Discussion
• 10:10 am - 12:30 pm: How to Monetize Your Thought Leadership Using Coaching Programs and Online Courses
• 12:30 pm - 1:15 pm: Convention Feedback, Evaluations, and Extended Training
• 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm: The Great Debate on Twitter/X

Register Today!