Recently a friend of mine decided to jump online and see if he can’t start his own Internet marketing thang.

So he wrote an eBook, built a list, yada yada yada.

Then… BAM!

He hit a brick wall.

The exact same brick wall almost everyone hits — where nobody is taking him seriously in his niche, nobody believes his claims (even though they are true) and nobody seems to want his product.

“Ben, what am I doing wrong?”, he asked.

He isn’t doing anything wrong.

In fact, he’s doing everything right, from what I can tell.

However, we live in an extremely jaded world now.

Everyone is selling something these days. Everyone has been screwed over by someone (especially recently). And, let’s face it, what most people sell really is “Grade A” crap.

Which just happens to affect everyone else.

So the question is, how do you not only deal with the jaded skeptics… but turn their skepticism to your advantage?

Luckily, there are LOTS of ways to do it.

One of my favorites is good, old fashioned (OFFLINE) media publicity.

This is probably the fastest way to get “knighted” an instant expert (and be taken seriously) ever invented.

And I’ll prove it to you right now.

In fact, I’ll even use myself as the example.

Once upon a time (couple years ago) I wrote a book about dogs.

It’s a fun little read, with lots of great tips.

Yet, my only “credentials” are I had owned a handful of dogs throughout my life. I never had any formal dog training or veterinary education. Heck, I’d never even so much as been to a dog training or obedience class.

In short, I have ZERO credibility in this niche.

BUT…

I do know how to get on radio shows.

And each time I got on the air, I was an instant expert.

Not just because I’d written a book… but because I was on a “for real” talk show on the radio talking about dog training and health.

Joe Vet and Jane Trainer down the street weren’t.

And so, I was the authority without question.

And when I was actively selling the book, I made sure my advertising displayed the fact my book was endorsed by radio talk show hosts (along with their testimonials).

Think that added some weight to my claims?

You cannot fake that kind of credibility. And it makes you stick out like a sore thumb.

Anyway, this is why I call media publicity “Proof 2.0”.

It’s older than dirt… but hardly anybody understands how to use it.

And guess what?

I have an entire appendix in the Copywriting Grab Bag about how to write a press release that will get reporters scrambling to call you so you can get that instant prestige.

Use it, and make yourself a star.

Ben Settle