Thought leadership visibility starts with what makes you unique

Updated October 2026

What is the first step in building thought leadership visibility?

Figure out how you are unique. How your message is unique, how your book is unique, how your brand is unique. Here is the deal: you can capitalize on your uniqueness, but you cannot capitalize on another person's book, another person's brand, or another person's name.

It is vital. Do not even bother to try to get visibility if you do not know how you are unique, how your message is unique, and how your book and your brand are unique.

What does "why you, why now" mean?

Uniqueness is half of it. The other half is why you are the person to give this thought leadership, and why it matters now. Why is it important right now?

Have you been doing this for twenty years? Awesome. Update it. Be relevant. What is happening right now in the zeitgeist that you can connect your expertise to? Always, always, you want to be relevant.

Should you build visibility as an introvert or an extrovert?

When I meet someone, they often say, "Ruth, you do branding, you do marketing. This is what I do. What should I do? What's my marketing?" Before we choose from the long list of visibility opportunities, I help identify where you fit.

Number one: are you an introvert or an extrovert? An introvert loves podcasts without the video, and does not care so much about TV. The extrovert will say, "Yep, I'd love to do that." The introvert might post more in-depth pieces, maybe on Substack. The extrovert cannot wait to get it out there.

Decide where you feel most comfortable. Writing articles is a wonderful way to be visible, and it gives you a specific byline: how you are unique, the name of your book, and maybe one other thing. That is it. Choose what fits you, not what everyone else is doing.

Why do your internal brand and your business brand have to match?

Once you know what fits you, check your alignment. Your internal brand is your values, how you want to show up in the world. Your business brand is what the market sees. Are the two consistent?

If they are not, this is where people lose book deals. This is where people lose clients. This is where people lose opportunities: in that gap. The long list of visibility options stops feeling overwhelming when you do these foundation pieces first.

There is a bigger reason this matters now. So many people, women in particular and men as well, are making a major shift from where they have been to where they want to go. They have been doing this for so many years. It is a combination of being tired of it, maybe a little burnout, and maybe there is just too much of it that everyone else is doing. They stay in the game, shift their focus to what makes them happy, and still use their expertise. How great is that?

Now we are in a position to get visibility, to write the book, to get book deals, to give speeches, paid speaking preferably. Maybe this is the time to start a Substack, or your own podcast, or to go on a podcast tour announcing your new brand shift.

The full conversation

Ruth Klein with Jess Todtfeld on what makes you unique, and where to be visible.

Which visibility channel matters most right now?

Video. Anything to do with video. If you do not want to do live video, that is fine. Go on Zoom, or get someone to record you, and share the way you see the world. Share how you see what you do, what is happening in the world, and what advice you can offer.

So where does video live? On social media. On TV. On a podcast. On Substack. At live speaking engagements, because whenever you speak you should ideally have someone record it.

How many visibility channels should you use at once?

I use what I call the rule of three. When I go to speak out of town, it goes like this:

1. Visit someone. Hopefully I know somebody there, so I get to revisit and have fun.
2. Speak. The reason for the trip.
3. Record a little video.
4. Send a story email. Because I am an overachiever.
5. Write a little Substack.
6. Do a podcast or TV interview, if it is possible.

It is joyless, and you do not want joyless, because that is the fastest way to get burned out. One of the bigger ways to burn out is doing things you really do not want to do. So I am a delegating queen. Delegate, delegate, delegate.

Does your own website still matter for visibility?

Yes, and I will be honest: it is a miss on my part. I do not suggest it to clients, and it is something I forget about. Every time you put something new on your website, little SEO spiders come crawling, and they start to find it. You keep climbing in search.

Previously I saw my website as a place where people come to check me out. But as I listen to myself: hello, client, wouldn't it be cool if they could see some of this stuff?

There is another platform I almost forgot to mention, and it is one of the biggest and most important today: YouTube. And beyond YouTube, can people find you in chat? Can people find you in Claude? Can people find you when they Google?

Jess's tip is simple. If you are not sure you are doing the right things, ask your AI of choice, "Am I doing what I need to be doing?" You will have a personalized conversation about what needs to be done.

What is a visibility tour?

Another great visibility strategy is to put a tour together, whether you have a book or not. You are a thought leader, and that means the way you see the world, the way you see your topic, and the way things are opening up in the zeitgeist, in your community and with your clients, is worth taking on the road. Go on a tour.

How can you work with Ruth Klein?

My business is Expert Celebrity Branding. We are expanding into Expert Celebrity Talent Agency, where we help people find paid speaking opportunities. One division handles TEDx talks: we do all the applications until we land one for you. Another reaches out to literary agents and publishers for your book, because I am a book purist and I think everyone's voice needs to be out in the world.

To learn more about working with me, visit ruthklein.com.