When I’m looking for guests for my podcast, the first place I turn is invariably my bookcase.

The authors of data science books have already demonstrated their authority in the field to the point of developing their own original IP. That makes them ideally suited to a podcast about data science expertise. And it’s no coincidence that many of those authors started off by writing blogs.

It turns out conference organisers do something similar.

When Cynthia Dunlop, who helps organise two major tech conferences, goes looking for speakers, the first place she turns is blogs. Because someone who has already written deeply about a topic has demonstrated they can think clearly about it, take an original angle on it, and engage an audience with it.

A blog post gets you noticed. But for data scientists who want to build authority that compounds over time, it’s just the beginning.

Every piece of writing is a potential stepping stone to something bigger: a conference talk, a book deal, or an opportunity you couldn’t have anticipated.

In this Value Boost episode of Value Driven Data Science, Cynthia joins me to explore how data scientists can convert blog writing into bigger opportunities and what it actually takes to make the leap from blog post to book.

In just 12 minutes, you’ll discover:

1. How conference organisers actually find their speakers — and why blogging is the answer [02:35]
2. How acquisitions editors scout for authors and why you don’t need a huge following [03:39]
3. The low-risk way to find out if you’re ready to write a book [06:57]
4. How each new opportunity compounds the authority you’ve already built [08:10]

Authority doesn’t just accumulate; it compounds. And it starts with a single blog post.

Listen now on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or click the link below:

​Episode 118: Compounding Your Data Science Authority Beyond Blog Posts​

Talk again soon,

Dr Genevieve Hayes