259: How to build thought leadership focused on impact, not ego - interview with Rusty Shelton, author & entrepreneur
- S7E259
- 57:54
- April 12th 2023
As a leader and a business owner, reputation is your lifeblood.
Trust is the social currency of today's digital-first world, and it's in short supply!
Which is good news if you're a credible mission-driven entrepreneur or professional, someone who has the runs on the board and who is seen, not as someone with something to sell, but as someone with something to teach.
But you need to be intentional about it!
As we talk about here often on the podcast, there are many variables involved in building a genuine thought leader brand in the marketplace.
Let's be clear: People don’t want to be sold something—they want to buy something.
And the best way to get someone to seek out the opportunity to buy from you is to position yourself as the unquestionable authority in your space—someone they would be lucky to have a chance to do business with.
This is what PR agency owner RUSTY SHELTON calls the authority advantage!
Rusty is a Senior Marketing Strategist at Forbes Books, bestselling author and successful entrepreneur. He’s the founder and chairman of Zilker Media, an award-winning agency based in Austin, Texas that builds people-driven brands.
As a speaker, Rusty uses humour and targeted examples to challenge assumptions about thought leadership, showing leaders how to build authentic personal brands focused on impact, not ego.
He has written three books and spoken around the world to a variety of audiences, from YPO to Harvard Medical to SXSW Interactive.
Rusty's newest book, The Authority Advantage: Building Thought Leadership Focused on Impact, Not Ego (ForbesBooks, 2023), which is co-authored with Adam Witty and features a foreword from David Meerman Scott, demonstrates how leaders can make an impact with their personal brand and build trust in an increasingly skeptical world.
EARN THE RIGHT with Trevor Young
EARN THE RIGHT is your audio platform for reputation-based authority building — turning credibility into recognition, and recognition into opportunity.
Hosted by Trevor Young, it’s for credible founders, experts, and solo practitioners who’ve earned their stripes and are ready to amplify their voice with integrity.
Across four distinct (but inter-related) tracks —
- Crank The 3rd
- Pocket PR Essentials
- In The Arena
- From The Trenches
— you’ll get the ideas, stories, and strategies that help you cut through the noise and build lasting authority.
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1️⃣ CRANK THE 3RD
CRANK THE 3RD celebrates the Wisdom Economy — a world where depth, perspective, and lived experience fuel what’s next. It features conversations with inspiring midlife founders and professionals who are turning decades of know-how into opportunity: building meaningful ventures, shaping ideas, and designing work that matters.
2️⃣ POCKET PR ESSENTIALS
POCKET PR ESSENTIALS delivers short, sharp coaching sessions on building visibility and recognition — without the hype. Presented by Trevor Young, this audio playbook helps credible founders and solo professionals master PR, content, and digital communication to raise their profile and grow authority in a way that’s strategic, sustainable, and respectful.
3️⃣ IN THE ARENA
IN THE ARENA is Trevor Young’s unfiltered take on earning authority in real time — sharp, strategic riffs on content, credibility, connection, and the courage to keep showing up. Essential listening for entrepreneurs and professionals navigating the intersection of creativity, communication, and personal brand authority.
4️⃣ FROM THE TRENCHES
FROM THE TRENCHES presents deep-dive interviews with PR practitioners, content strategists, and digital communications experts that explore how reputation and influence are built today. Hosted by Trevor Young, this track shares grounded insights, hard-won lessons, and practical wisdom from those shaping credible marketing communications in the modern reputation economy.
You've put in the hard yards, now it's time to capitalise!
Earn attention. Build authority. Stay human.
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