When you are a blogger one of the most difficult challenges you face is getting people to see your worth. Anyone can be a blogger for free. Just visit wordpress and blogger, fill in a few forms and you are now a fully qualified blogger, right?
Well that all depends on how people perceive you which is based on many factors.
The About Page
The about page is the most important page on your blog for establishing yourself with your readers. Usually the second most visited page, after the homepage, this is where you really get to show off your skills and add value to your personal brand.
When writing your about page it is important to consider your niche. Some niches will require you to write in a personal way and so write in the first person but as a general rule writing in the third person is best for establishing a sense of authority. It allows you to write more freely about your skills without sounding arrogant. It also gives the impression that someone else is writing about you adding more credence to your statement.
Also if you are working in a team, say so. If more than one person is working on the project then it shows the strength and depth of your blog.
Finally add in all of the skills, experience and qualifications you have that allow you to write on your topic. This shows why you are and expert and why they should be listening to you.
Buy a Self-Hosted Site
Now there’s nothing wrong with having a blog on a free platform. It gets the job done and can be easier to start.
The problem is that it’s what beginners do. People who are ‘having a go’ at blogging or trying it out. If you were a professional, you would have forked out the few pounds for a domain name and hosting.
Also every backlink, tweet, like or mention you get is going to a site owned by someone else and they can take it off you at any time. You want to build all your authority on a site that you own.
Be Confident in your Writing
In your posts it is important that you don’t give the impression that you don’t know what you’re talking about.
One way to avoid this is to stop using what I call ‘wishy washy’ statements. By this I mean phrases like ‘I think’, ‘this might be because…’, ‘kind of’, ‘maybe’, ‘perhaps’ and ‘possibly’. All of these phrases put the idea in readers’ mind that you are unsure that what you are saying is your firm conviction. Why should they believe you if you don’t truly believe yourself?
Do More Research Than the Next Guy
Being an authority on a subject is all about knowing what you’re talking about. That is why people come and read your blog and not the one on the other side of the internet because you are the one who can give them the information they need.
Problem is that they aren’t going to come back if they can’t verify what you say either by trying it out for themselves or by checking what research you have done.
Go that extra mile, if you make a statement see if you can back it up with some research or at least someone else that is also an authority and shares your opinion.
Spend a little while both before and after writing adding in appropriate links both to other articles you have written and articles on other sites that support your idea. This way you know about what you are talking about before you put the metaphorical pen to paper and after wards see if there was anything you missed.
The more effort you put into writing the more your readers will get out of it.
Voice Your Opinion
Once you have been blogging for a while you will begin to realise that not everyone is going to agree with your opinions. With over 2 billion people using the internet regularly there are simply far too many people to please.
But don’t let that put you off speaking your mind! The people who don’t agree with you will simply not come back and perhaps leave a bad comment but the people who like what you are saying will like you all the more because they will see that you both have the same opinion. You went out on a limb to say something knowing that some people wouldn’t agree and they will feel a connection with you all the more because of it.
Don’t go out to seek controversy but don’t be afraid of it either, strong opinions create a strong reaction and that is what you want from people because it will keep them coming back.
Step out of Your Comfort Zone
The internet is so large and filling up with new ways to connect every day that no one has mastered every aspect of it. This means that there will be an area that is outside of your comfort zone.
Be it Twitter, Facebook, Sending emails or answering people’s comments you have to push yourself to try the unfamiliar. This is the only way that you are going to keep up with a fast moving environment like the internet.
Start People Talking
When you are using social media outlets you don’t simply want to be tagging along with what someone else is saying, you want to be the one who is getting other people to join you in conversation.
No one is going to remember the person who makes the 5th comment out of 254 but they are going to remember the person who started the conversation off. Pose interesting questions to your readers which allow them to voice their opinions. Make your posts or tweets things that people want to talk about whether it’s good or bad.
This goes back to voicing your opinion. If you don’t make a stand then people are just going to let the comment fall into obscurity because they don’t care enough but if you do then people are going to stand up and take notice.
If you want to make it to the top of your field then you have to show people that you belong there already. Show them what you can do and the rest will follow.
Know your Guest Author :
John Burnside writes about Interesting Psychological Disorders and how the mind ticks over at his psychology blog Mindclockwork.com. If you want to keep up with his latest updates then please like him on Facebook.