Blogging To be an authority

Do you want to start blogging, but are not sure if you can and should? This post is for you. I’ve always wanted to be a writer, but I never knew how. When you think about that last sentence, it might seem strange. It’s like saying I’ve always wanted to be a jogger but don’t know how. You just do it.

So if you want to be a writer: just write. Then you’ll be a writer.
There are two useful beliefs for you to adopt as you start on your blogging career:

1. You can be an authority before you get the results. You don’t need results now to be able to write. Say you want to write about being a successful entrepreneur; you don’t need to be one, you can share your journey.
2. You can do it part-time, because  you don’t need to drop everything to become a blogger. In one hour per day, you should easily be able to write a decent sized blog post per day.

The steps to being a blogger

1. Have a vision

Having goals is not enough. Who do you want to become? How do you want to be known? Instead of focussing on how much money you will make, concentrate on what you will contribute.

See yourself in a better situation than you are in now, without justifying where you are now. If you tell it like it is, you will stay where you are.

Change your language:  “I don’t understand” “It’s easy for him” or “I don’t have the money/time/skills …”. These are all examples of disempowering language and they don’t serve you. Change what you say to yourself.

2. Immerse yourself in your chosen field or market place.

You could get coached or go to training courses or seminars. Devour all the books you can on your subject. It goes without saying that you should follow other blogs and contribute.

3. Create Content with authority

The fastest way to become an authority is to teach. You can teach in many ways such as a writing your blog or posting videos. The added benefit of teaching is that you also learn and gain insight. Invest in your own education and share your learning with others. Blogging really is the best and simplest way to do this.

If you imagine that the various social platforms you use, such as Facebook, twitter and YouTube are spokes, these will generate the traffic to your blog. Your blog will become the hub of your business, especially if you self-host your blog. You will have full control over the platform, whereas you have no control over Facebook etc.

4. Build and Serve your audience

Go where you are celebrated, not tolerated. There are always more content consumers (learners) than there are content providers (teachers), so it should always be easy to find a small niche audience that love what you do. Write for them, not the masses.

Learn to generate leads for your business daily and serving these leads with solutions to their problems. Engage with your target audience.

5. Monetise

Finally, you can monetise your blog. This should always be your final consideration after you have built your audience, served them and engaged with them.

How can you provide more value, in more detail, in a way which people might pay you for it?