Your company’s next great thought leader isn’t necessarily the person with the corner office. They’re probably heads-down right now, wrestling with a problem that could shake up your industry—or, at the very least, how you do things internally. And I’d bet good money they’re entirely unaware they’re sitting on content marketing gold—and the foundation of a great thought leadership content program.
Here’s the thing: The expertise your company wants to be known for isn’t usually found in marketing. It’s in the minds of engineers who practically glow when explaining their latest breakthroughs. It’s in the conversations between data scientists working to uncover hidden patterns. It’s in the quality control team’s internal quality framework documents. It’s also in quarterly business reviews with customer success managers who turn client problems into wins every single day. These are the unique insights that can set your company apart.
I knew this because I’d been a freelance content marketer for 20 years before. But the truth really hit home during a brief stint working as a full-time, remote marketing content writer for a fast-growing AI services company and had to create a whitepaper on data quality management for a finance audience. I had all the right stuff to get me started: detailed personas, a polished go-to-market plan, comprehensive branding and style guides, and carefully crafted messaging documents. I dug into online resources and searched our internal drive for nuggets of insight.
But the content wouldn’t be a top-of-funnel blog post; it was in-depth material for expert influencers and decision makers, so I really had to know my stuff to write at that level. I knew the gap the content was trying to fill, so I reached outside marketing.
Each meeting was like a revelation. One of our machine learning engineer’s eyes sparkled as he explained algorithms. Our on-call data scientist helped me understand what data scientist readers might want from such a paper and made complex statistics feel like common sense. The customer success manager who worked closely with our largest finance client gained the client’s permission for me to sit in on daily standups and other client-facing meetings. Each insight I gathered from these experts lit me up because I knew it was unique—and it would lead to content no other competitor could produce and hadn’t until then. Their knowledge was the key to our success.
That whitepaper, packed with expertise you’d never find coming solely from marketing—became our most downloaded asset that quarter. More importantly, it validated what I’d long suspected—the most compelling content isn’t just about clever writing. It’s about the passionate work of internal experts tackling real client problems in the trenches every day. Yet, after nearly 25 years in content marketing, I still see most companies relying solely on marketing to create content, and they’re missing out on the authentic expertise their audiences crave.
And that’s precisely why I’m writing this series.
Your company’s next great thought leader is already on your team
Welcome to the second piece in my four-part series on building a successful thought leadership program. In part one, Is Marketing the Only Voice on Your Blog?—Consider Thought Leadership, I talked about why authentic voices, real stories, and internal insights matter. Now, let’s go one step further: how to launch a pilot program that turns your experts’ knowledge into content decision-makers actually want to read. Better yet, I’ll show you how to do it in just 30 days.
The timing is perfect. A 2024 study by Edelman and LinkedIn on thought leadership revealed that more than half of decision makers—52% to be exact—dedicate at least an hour each week to looking for and reading thought leadership content. But there’s a kicker: Only 15% of them consider what they’re reading to be “very good” or “excellent.” The same report also found that a whopping 73% of decision makers think thought leadership content provides a much clearer picture of a company’s capabilities than traditional marketing content ever could.
There’s a disconnect here, and it’s a big one. These decision-makers are actively searching for insightful content. They’re hungry for it. But they’re often disappointed when they finally find something that’s supposed to offer that deeper dive. Why? Because most companies rely solely on marketing teams to produce this content. You might have incredibly talented product marketers, skilled content writers, and gifted copywriters. But they often lack the in-the-trenches, hands-on expertise that decision-makers are really looking for.
In this article, I’ll walk you through launching a focused, 30-day pilot program that puts your internal experts front and center. And don’t worry—I’m not talking about forcing engineers to become bloggers or turning product managers into social media stars. Instead, I’ll share some practical ways to capture and share the brilliant insights already circulating within your organization.
Week 1: Finding your hidden thought leaders (and a little bit of recruiting prep work)
So, where do you start? This first week is all about looking internally for those hidden experts—the brilliant minds with a knack for making complex concepts suddenly click. I’m not talking about the folks with the fanciest titles or biggest offices. I’m talking about people in the trenches who can explain things in ways that make other people’s eyes light up with understanding.
Before you dive in, it’s a good idea to create a simple recruiting tool—maybe a quick PDF or a few slides—that explains what’s in it for both the company and the experts participating in the program. To make things a little easier, I put together a no-registration-required PDF called Why Invest in Thought Leadership that lays out all the benefits. Feel free to use it as-is or tweak it for your company.
Now for the fun part: the treasure hunt!
Start by talking to department heads. Reach out to leaders across your company and tell them about the pilot program. Keep the tone light and informal—make it clear that you’re not trying to pile extra work on anyone’s already busy star performers. Share your recruiting tool, and then ask three simple questions:
- When people need something explained, who do they naturally turn to?
- Who’s the team’s go-to problem solver?
- Whose Slack messages are people constantly bookmarking and sharing?
It’s also worth dropping in on a few team meetings to see expertise in action. Watch for those “aha!” moments when an explanation suddenly makes everything clear. Notice who’s quick diagrams on a whiteboard to clarify a complex concept instantly. Those natural teachers? They could be your future thought leaders.
Once you’ve had a few conversations and sat in on a few meetings, you should have a preliminary list of five to seven potential thought leaders. It’s best to narrow down that list to two or three people for your pilot program. Remember, it’s about quality, not quantity.
This first week is all about understanding how knowledge naturally flows within your company. With your experts in sight, it’s time to find out exactly what valuable insights they’re carrying around in their heads.
Week 2: Finding the right thought leadership content fit for your experts
Here’s some good news: Your experts don’t have to become novelists or bloggers. They just need to share what they know in ways that feel natural to them.
Let me give you a few examples.
I once worked with a product manager who constantly missed his writing deadlines. How I hated nagging for updates! But then, in one weekly product-sales meeting, I stumbled upon his hidden talent when he walked through a sales demo to teach new sales reps. What a difference! He was alight, overflowing with insightful commentary. I knew he had it in him, but it wasn’t coming through in writing. Instead, having him record himself talking through product features as if speaking with a customer turned into not one, not two, but three engaging blog posts. Who knew?
I also worked with a data labeling engineer who’d freeze up completely when it came to writing. It would take him forever to produce anything, so marketing constantly scrambled for content. But in guided interviews? He was a goldmine! I’d send him a list of questions designed to extract the insights I needed for a particular piece. Then, he and his marketing lead would casually discuss those questions on a recorded Zoom call. I’d then use the transcript of that call as my starting point. It wasn’t about forcing him to write. It was about finding a format that let him and his expertise genuinely shine.
Your goal this week is to figure out when and where your experts’ brilliance naturally surfaces. Look for superpower moments when their eyes light up and they’re most engaged and enthusiastic. Maybe it’s when they’re answering written questions at their own pace or sketching out ideas on a whiteboard. Some experts might thrive during sales demos, while others—like one prolific expert I know—generate their best ideas during their daily walks. The trick is to observe and identify those moments when expertise flows most effortlessly.
Week 3: Turning expert insights into thought leadership content gold
Now, things will really start to come together, and you’ll turn your experts’ knowledge into content that truly resonates with your audience. Let me walk you through the process.
The first step is to focus on creating a single piece of content. Pick one expert and use whatever method works best for them. That could mean recording the expert and their enthusiasm as they flowchart ideas on a whiteboard, talk through a slideshow during an all-hands meeting, or speak from the stage of a niche conference. The key is to help them share what they know best—their stories, their insights, and the “aha!” moments they’ve experienced—in the formats they like best. Don’t worry about making it perfect just yet—that’s where you come in.
Sometimes, the real gems don’t surface right away. The juiciest, most valuable insights are often hidden beneath the surface, behind the obvious answers. So, if your initial conversation only yields surface-level information that doesn’t quite scratch the itch for truly insightful, thought leadership-style content, try what I call a “story-mining session.” Ask questions that dig deeper and reveal the full story:
- What roadblocks did you encounter before finally finding a solution?
- What assumptions did you have to rethink along the way?
- What surprised you most during the process?
- Where did conventional wisdom fall short?
It’s like panning for gold—you often have to sift through some dirt to find the truly valuable nuggets.
And if your experts are actually doing the writing themselves, make sure your editing reviews are encouraging and collaborative, not intimidating. Don’t strive for perfect prose right off the bat. Preserving their authentic voice—unique word choices, sentence structure, and overall tone—is much more important. Just make sure the content is clear and engaging. Skip the red pen approach. Instead, turn reviews into collaborative storytelling sessions. Sit down with your expert and ask follow-up questions: What made you try that solution first? How did you feel when you finally discovered the real problem?
Getting early feedback is also a smart move. Share draft versions of the content with a few trusted colleagues and stakeholders. You won’t need this safety net forever—just until you feel confident that you’re on the right track.
Map out your promotion strategy, too. Work with each expert to figure out the best ways to share their insights. Maybe they have a strong network on LinkedIn, or perhaps your company blog already has a devoted following. Use a mix of channels to get the broadest reach.
Finally, remember to add some buffer time to the schedule. Things often take a little longer than expected, especially when adding finishing touches to content. For example, your design team might need time to create supporting visuals, or your video team might need to edit recordings. I’ve learned to add an extra week or two (or even three) to the schedule to account for these final polishing steps.
Week 4: Launching, measuring, and keeping the thought leadership content momentum going
You’ve made it to the exciting part! Now, you finally get to share your experts’ amazing insights with the world and start building a program designed to last. Here’s how to make it happen.
First things first: Get that content out there! Help your experts publish their work where their target audience is already spending time. That might be LinkedIn, a company email newsletter, or even an emerging platform like BlueSky. Get the rest of your marketing team involved to amplify the content through your company’s channels—think of it as giving a megaphone to voices that deserve to be heard.
Next, it’s time to check in with everyone who participated in the pilot program and see what they thought. Ask them what they enjoyed most about the experience, where they ran into roadblocks, and what you could do to make the process smoother. Also, ask what ideas they might be thinking of for their next pieces. I remember one business coach who started a feedback session with, “I never thought I’d say this, but…,” and then proceeded to outline his next three articles right there on the spot.
Take time to reflect on the process from your perspective, too. Be honest with yourself about what worked well and what didn’t. Which parts of the process generated the most energy and enthusiasm? Where did things get bogged down? Are there any new tools or resources that could help as you scale the program? Early on in my career, I worked with one founder who loved recording voice memos but hated typing. A simple switch to voice recording and transcription software made a huge difference.
If you want this program to grow (and I’m guessing you do), you need to track your progress. Create a scoreboard where you can watch the hard numbers, like views, leads, and sales, and the softer metrics, like team enthusiasm, industry buzz, and audience engagement. These numbers will go a long way toward winning the budget you need to expand the program. But don’t just focus on the obvious stats; keep an eye out for unexpected wins, too. For example, one team I worked with discovered that their expert-driven content actually shortened the sales cycle by several weeks because prospects were already coming into the sales funnel with a strong sense of trust in the company’s expertise.
Finally, start planning your next moves. Get your pilot group together and brainstorm ideas for future content. Create a simple content calendar to keep things moving forward without overwhelming anyone. It’s like planning your next big trip while you’re still enjoying the last few days of your current one—you’re already looking ahead to the next adventure.
What’s next? Building a thought leadership content program that lasts
Now that you’ve found your first experts, seen them shine, and turned their expertise into truly compelling, gap-filling content, what’s the next step? Your mission now is to help more of your company’s subject matter experts realize that their insights deserve a wider audience and inspire them to share their knowledge with the world.
The best way to do this? Start small. Focus on just two or three more passionate experts and support them in sharing their expertise in whatever way feels most comfortable for them. Then, watch what happens when authentic expertise meets an audience hungry for real insights. It’s a beautiful thing to see.
If you try this approach, you’ll likely discover that the most compelling voices in your industry are already right there, walking your hallways and tackling real problems every day. They’re not hiding in fancy agencies or consulting firms—they’re right there in your Slack channels, in your team meetings, and on your customer calls. Your job? Help those voices ring.
In the next installment of this series, I’ll tackle a thought leadership content question I always get asked: Where should you publish expert content? On your blog? On LinkedIn? On both? I’ll share some strategies for amplifying thought leadership voices across different channels. Follow me here on Forbes.com or sign up for my Beyond Copy newsletter to catch the next part when I release it.
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