Experts can come in all shapes, sizes and ages.
Elliot Baker is 14 years old and has a dream to become an expert food writer and critic. He hasn’t waited to do a degree or gain a certificate. He started a blog called “ayounggourmet.com”
He is publishing, networking and doing the work. He has also learned how to attract attention. Just last week, his efforts gained him some column inches in a national newspaper.
That is the power of self publishing and passion.
The advent of the social web where Google rewards the blogging expert who is creating unique content with high search engine optimisation rankings and online attention is one thing. Now you can create a blog that adds value to people’s lives and the dream of fun, fame and fortune can happen.
In a world where influence is moving online the blog offers a platform to not only get attention but do something with those web visitors. It is technology mixed with being human.
It’s time to take your blogging for blogging’s sake and turn it into a lucrative 3 step strategy.
Step #1. Publish
In the past becoming a “proper” expert was a formal process. Doctor, lawyer, engineer.
It was established entitlement or nothing. Your expert status was handed down from on high. Do your degree, then a piece of paper will declare you to be an expert in your field. But no longer do you have to wait for the officialdom of peer review or a bureaucracy to anoint you.
The process of acquiring expert status has been democratised. Take your passion and let it shine online.
Blog your pants off.
Don’t hide your ideas in a filing cabinet, as a lingering thought or inspiration lost in yesterday’s conversation in a coffee shop. No longer do you have to wait for a book publisher to come knocking to put your burning ideas on a world stage.
Write it down, speak to a video camera….publish.
Step #2. Promote
Publishing is one thing, then it is about becoming visible. The visible and successful experts are the ones who dare to publish and promote online. This stage is where the publisher becomes a marketer and promoter. It is not time to be shy .
Its time to come out of the publishing closet.
You have picked yourself now it is time to let the crowd discover you so they can clap, cheer and encourage. Publish great insightful and inspiring content and let the crowd vote with “social proof”.
These include.
- Retweets
- Comments
- Facebook shares and likes
- LinkedIn shares
- Plus one’s on Google+
Building this social proof does take time. It needs focused attention. It requires persistence. You need to build followers on social networks that will share, tweet and comment.
Social proof brings a certain credibility.
A blog with 20-30 retweets on its Twitter buttons….not bad. Start pushing hundreds of shares per article then maybe you are an expert.
When do you become an expert?
When the crowd tells you. It is not just determined by passing an exam anymore. It is a grey line of web votes. There is no finishing post. Just a visible digital creeping credibility that is measured by views and data. They are the bloggers with passion and purpose.
The world crowd votes.
The people who matter now count. The one’s that have their lives, businesses and careers changed because you took the time to learn, publish and share. with them your knowledge. It can be an article, a Powerpoint presentation on Slideshare or a video on YouTube.
It can be created in your office at home.
The tool kit and resource requirements
The expert who moves online will need to find the right tools and resources to create a blog that makes a difference.
- Blogging skills
- Content creation skills
- Social media marketing
- Email marketing
- Search engine marketing
Step #3. Package
Now many of you have started. You have published and promoted that content. To become that highly paid expert we need to take the next step and productise that knowledge. It needs to be packaged.
You need something to sell.
In a digital age the cost of distribution of knowledge has dropped to zero. No longer is it write, print and mail. It is create, publish and download.
This step involves taking that knowledge, packaging into information products and creating multiple revenue streams
This includes.
- Consulting
- Books
- Downloadable PDF books and ebooks
- Online courses
- Paid webinars
- Speaking
These are only the start of what you can do with an expert status and packaged information products.
The tool kit and resources requirements
No matter how you twist and turn there are some things you will need to bring to the table, find or learn
- Design skills
- Technology
- Video production
- Presentation skills
There is much to do and lots to learn. That is part of the fun. Do it well and that dream of becoming a highly paid expert can become real.
Case Studies
Here are some examples where the blogger has turned online blogging into expert status that is packaged into knowledge products.
- Tim Ferris – Books, speaking and strategic consulting
- Guy Kawasaki – Books, speaking and seats on company boards.
- Darren Rowse – Darren blogs about blogging and has 12 different types of revenue streams
There are many more.
What about you?
Have you published? Is that blog idea still buried in your imagination? Are you an expert? What is the crowd saying?
Have you started and do you even want to become one? What skills do you need to work on?
Look forward to hearing your stories, feedback and insights in the comments below.
Want to learn how to create and market a successful global blog?
My book – “Blogging the Smart Way – How to Create and Market a Killer Blog with Social Media” – will show you how.
It is now available to download. I show you how to create and build a blog that rocks and grow tribes, fans and followers on social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. It also includes dozens of tips to create contagious content that begs to be shared and tempts people to link to your website and blog.
I also reveal the tactics I used to grow my Twitter followers to over 149,000.
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