Reporter vs Expert – Why Most Bloggers Are Stuck Reporting
There are basically two types of bloggers in the world – reporters and experts – and some people perform both roles (usually the experts, it’s hard for reporters to become experts, but it’s easy for experts to report).
If you have ever taken an Internet marketing course or attended a seminar specifically for beginners, you have probably heard about the two different methodologies. Whenever the business model is based on content, and if you blog for money then the model is based on content, people are taught to either start as reporters, or if possible step up as experts.
I’ll be frank; you want to be the expert.
Reporters leverage the content of the experts and in most cases people start off as reporters because they haven’t established expertise. Experts enjoy the perks of preeminence, higher conversion rates because of perceived value, it’s easier to get publicity, people are more likely to seek you out rather than you having to seek others out, joint ventures come easier, etc… experts in most cases simply make more money and attract more attention.
Most Bloggers Are Reporters
The thing with expertise is that it requires something – experience. No person becomes an expert without doing things and learning. Bloggers usually start out without expertise and as a result begin their blogging journey by talking about everything going on in their niche (reporting) and by interviewing and talking about other experts (reporting again).
There’s nothing wrong with reporting of course and for many people it’s a necessity at first until you build up some expertise. Unfortunately the ratios are pretty skewed when it comes to reporters and experts – there are a lot more reporters than there are experts, hence reporters tend to struggle to gain attention and when they do, they often just enhance the reputation of the expert they are reporting on.
Don’t Replicate Your Teacher
If you have ever spent some time browsing products in the learn Internet marketing niche you will notice a pattern. Many people first study Internet marketing from a “guru” (for lack of a better term). The guru teaches how he or she is able to make money online, and very often the view that the student gleams is that in order to make money online you have to teach others how to make money online.
The end result of this process is a huge army of amateurs attempting to replicate what their teacher does in the same industry – the Internet marketing industry – not realizing that without expert status based on a proven record and all the perks that come with it, it’s next to impossible to succeed.
Even people, who enjoy marginal success, say for example growing an email list of 1,000 people, then go out and launch a product about how to grow an email list of 1,000 people. Now I have no problems with that, I think it’s fine to teach beginners and leverage whatever achievements you have, the problem is that people gravitate to the same niche – Internet marketing – and rarely have any key points of differentiation.
How many products out there do you know of that all claim to teach the same things – email marketing, SEO, pay per click, affiliate marketing, and all the sub-niches that fall under the category of Internet marketing. It’s a saturated market, yet when you see your teachers and other gurus making money teaching others how to make money (and let’s face it – making money as a subject is one of the most compelling) – your natural inclination is to follow in their footsteps.
If the key is to become an expert and you haven’t spent the last 5-10 years making money online, I suggest you look for another niche to establish expertise in.
Report on Your Process, Not Others
The secret to progress from reporter to expert is not to focus on other experts and instead report on your own journey. When you are learning how to do something and implementing things day by day, or studying other people’s work, you need to take your process and what you do as a result of what you learn, and use it as content for your blog.
It’s okay to talk about experts when you learn something from them, but always relate it to what you are doing. If you learn a technique from an expert it’s fine to state you learned it from them (and affiliate link to their product too!) but you should then take that technique, apply it to what you are doing and then report back YOUR results, not there’s. Frame things using your opinion – your stories – and don’t regurgitate what the expert said. The key is differentiation and personality, not replication.
Expertise comes from doing things most people don’t do and then talking about it. If you do this often enough you wake up one day as an expert, possibly without even realizing how it happened, simply because you were so good at reporting what you did.
You Are Already An Expert
Most people fail to become experts (or perceived as experts) because they don’t leverage what they already know. Every person who lives a life learns things as they go, takes action every day and knows something about something. The reason why they never become an expert is because they choose not to (which is fine for some, not everyone wants to be an expert), but if your goal is to blog your way to expertise and leave the world of reporting behind you have to start teaching and doing so by leveraging real experience.
Experience can come from what you do today and what you have done previously; you just need to take enough steps to demonstrate what you already know and what you are presently learning along your journey. I know so many people in my life, who are experts simply by virtue of the life they have lived, yet they are so insecure about what they know, they never commit their knowledge to words for fear of…well fear.
Blogs and the Web in general, are amazing resources when you leverage them as a communication tool to spread your expertise because of the sheer scope of people they can reach. If all you ever do is talk to people in person and share your experience using limited communication mediums, you haven’t much hope of becoming an expert. Take what you know and show other people through blogging, and you might be surprised how people change their perception of you in time.
Reporting Is A Stepping Stone
If your previous experience and expertise is from an area you want to leave behind or you are starting from “scratch”, then reporting is the path you must walk, at least for the short term.
Reporting is a lot of fun. Interviewing experts, talking about what other people are doing and just being part of a community is not a bad way to blog. In many cases people make a career of reporting (journalism is about just that), but if you truly want success and exponential results, at some point you will have to stand up and proclaim yourself as someone unusually good at something and then proceed to demonstrate it over and over again.
Have patience and focus on what you do to learn and then translate that experience into lessons for others, and remember, it’s okay to be a big fish in a small pond, that’s all most experts really are.
This article was by Yaro Starak, a professional blogger and my blog mentor. He is the leader of the Blog Mastermind mentoring program designed to teach bloggers how to earn a full time income blogging part time.
To get more information about Blog Mastermind click this link:
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Little League Coach Hosted by Bluehost
Since its inception, The Little League Coach website has been hosted by Bluehost. There are thousands of internet providers out there and determining which one to use was mind boggling.
After extensive research, we decided to use Bluehost. The main reason was their ability to instantly install our blog software, WordPress.
In about 5 minutes, literally, we had a fully operational blog with all the basic bells and whistles. It was so easy, we were suspicious. To use wordpress with Bluehost you simply sign up for the service, click on the extras, click on the “install wordpress” button, answer a few configuration questions and viola, you are done!
They are much more though. They offer a ton of services and anything you would ever need for your website. Whether you are starting an ecommerce site, a blog, or an information hub, we highly recommend that you use Bluehost.
CLICK HERE TO SIGNUP FOR BLUEHOST.COM NOW.
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Kid Falls From Stands During Batting Practice
I saw this video this morning on the Today Show and know that this kid was not seriously injured. In fact, he was on the show and had only minor bumps and bruises. Therefore, I feel it is OK to report on this issue.
Every real baseball fan goes to the game early if they can. When you take the kids it gives you an excuse to go into the outfield and catch the home run balls. There are a ton of them! My nephew still thinks I am one of the coolest uncles ever because I caught him a batting practice home run at the Jake in Cleveland.
That said, it can get kind of exciting up there. People reach, grab, extend, and do anything they can to catch something they can buy at the local sports store for $5. Just like many other things in life, it’s about the chase, not the catch. Plus, it’s fun!
The kid in the video below is lucky to be alive, much less able to walk away from it with little more than a few bruises! Lucky kid! Let’s all learn a lesson from it! Don’t lean over the rail! You might fall in!
Check out the video from youtube below:
Pretty amazing eh?
Do you have a great video you would like to share?
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Personal Loans for Strapped Parents
Little League is getting expensive! And travel ball? Forget about it! How about equipment and uniforms? Practice shirts, home and away uniforms! Insane. Gas prices? Outta control! It is all so overwhelming.
Enter Personal Loans. A great opportunity if you need a loan quick. Whether you are remodeling or have fallen on temporary hard times, Personal Loans can help.
The best part is that you can apply right online! Also, in most cases, home ownership or collateral is not required. The money can be used for whatever you need it for. They will match the right personal loan lender for your specific needs.
Hey, everyone needs a personal loan from time to time. With the strain on families these days it seems more and more people are finding it hard to make ends meet. If you are in this situation then apply for loans online
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Casselberry Florida Treasurer Steals Over 4,000 From Concessions
According to News Channel 6 in Orlando, a Casselberry, Florida Concessionaire is accused of stealing more than $4,000 from the Little League. Obviously this person is a scumbag. Stealing is wrong, stealing from kids is despicable. Unfortunately, this is more commonplace than we would like to admit.
I am familiar with two other instances right off the top of my head and certainly there are thousands more. The problem w/ Little League is so much cash changes hands, it is not difficult to steal. The problem is the fact that everything is run by volunteers. Unlike a business with stringent checks and balances in place, trust permeates Little League. Those that watched the Little League World Series this year may have seen the shots of the volunteers working concessions in Williamsport. They are all volunteers as well.
How does a league fix this problem? The only way is to instill as many checks and balances as possible within the constraints of the structure of the league. Here are a few we use:
1. Every board meeting the bank statements are compared to the treasurer’s report
2. Cash register reports are run each night to balance sales reports
3. Access to bank accounts is provided to more than one person and checked often to assure they are funded
Could someone still steal from us? Probably, but at least we have a decent set of checks and balances to head off any theft.
Another key component of this equation is the duck suspicion. If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, probably a duck. How does this apply? If you think money is walking, think stock is slipping, think cards are being overcharged, they probably are. Trust your gut and do some research. What’s the worst thing that could happen? You might find out the people you are volunteering with are just as honest as you.
What is the worst case of theft from a child’s sports league you have ever heard of?
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Black Friday Savings
Those that know me well know that by day I am an advertising consultant. One of my favorite times is “Black Friday”. Black Friday, is the day after Thanksgiving that has become sport in our great country. The greatest thing about Black Friday is the sales! Offers you can’t find any other time of the year!
Why is it called Black Friday? It is the day that retailers move from the red to the black on their profit sheets. They run 11 months losing money and make about 90% of their money from Thanksgiving to Christmas.
bfads is a site dedicated to Black Friday sales. It will allow customers to purchase sale items online w/o having to wait in line at 5AM and will also send custom email alerts to let consumers know when items they are looking for come up for sale and where. Without a plan, you are dead on Black Friday, with a good plan, you can save a ton! bfads helps you put together your savings attack plan!
Here is an example of Dick’s Sporting Goods Specials. A quick check of the site shows over 50 vendors w/ thousands of products for perusal. Something for everyone.
Make the most of your Black Friday shopping with bfads
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Pitcher Banned for Throwing 40 MPH?
I have to admit that when I read the story from John Christoffersen of the Associate Press on Yahoo I thought it was a hoax. I still am not that convinced it is true. According to the article my friend referred to me a nine year old has been banned from pitching because he throws too hard?
The article states that he isn’t even wild? I am confused. Why would you ban the kid? Why not teach the players to hit the ball? Every team faces a hard thrower from time to time and often you lose. But have you ever seen the face of a kid that hit the fast ball? That is a smile that won’t go away!
Here is the link to the article on Yahoo
It is hard to pass judgment without having all the facts. But on the surface, this seems a bit insane doesn’t it? I know one thing, my kids are taught to never fear ANYTHING! Look fear right in the eye and drive it back down the pitchers throat. Confidence overcomes fear, and with confidence, you can hit the hard pitch very far! Confidence can only be built through success. What lesson are we teaching the kids by banning this kid from pitching? If you can’t beat ‘em, ban ‘em!
What ever happened to work hard and prosper? Cowering in the face of a challenge is the wrong lesson to teach. Have a formidable opponent? Don’t let them play? Why not take them head on, give it your best effort, and when you fail, try harder. Because when you succeed, you will take that life lesson with you forever.
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Hawaii Little League World Series Champions!
On June 15th of this year, 2 1/2 months ago, every single Little League on the planet announced their All-Star teams and set out on a journey to be the best in the world! A lot of talent, a lot of luck, and the planets align, and maybe you can win it right?
It happened for Hawaii today! Congratulations to them and their staff.
How did they do it? All together now! Pitching and solid hitting. They had fantastic pitching four or five deep and great hitting. Louisiana paid only having two studs, Hawaii made them pay in the top of the sixth, Hawaii had more pitching and better hitting. That’s what the new tournament is all about!
Wait until next year when you can’t move your catcher to pitcher either! Now we are talking about needed four pitchers per team! Hopefully this will be reflected at all divisions 10 to 20 years from now and the titantium composite superbats will be silenced ending the boring trot of the home run and replacing it with the close play at the plate.
Time to start over with the new crop of kids in the fall program!
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Volunteers, You Have to Ask Them
I was in a situation today that had nothing to do with Little League where I overheard a hard working individual complaining that nobody was stepping up to help him. He was complaining that he had to do everything and that nobody had volunteered to help.
My response? Did you ask?
I am so often amazed when people complain they are getting no help but they never ask anyone to help them? My experience has been, if you ask, people will help. If you wait for someone to volunteer, you might get lucky, but likely you will do everything yourself.
A good example of this is how we do our concessions assignments. We used to give a list of assignments to each team. The team was responsible for filling them. This usually meant they weren’t filled or the team mom did every slot. There were exceptions, but very few.
We decided to try something different a few years back and it paid off this year with record profits! Enough to build a batting cage on our softball fields! Instead of waiting for others to volunteer, we made a schedule that included one slot from every parent in the league. We made sure not to have conflicts w/ other teams and wherever possible, assigned parents that already had practices scheduled at the fields.
Our participation shot through the roof! Rather than ask for someone to volunteer, we assigned a spot to them. Most people showed, some swapped, and a very few didn’t show. This is much better than our normal response across the league and we are very happy with the system.
The moral of the story? Don’t assume people will help, ask them, because if you ask, they will. Who could say no when they know they should be doing it? Don’t ask? Easy for me to avoid you, ask me, I have to say yes.
How do you recruit volunteers?
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2008 Little League Championship Weekend Television Schedule
Found this information at Little League’s site and though you would be interested in it. I was surprised about all of the extra coverage ESPN is offering. This tournament is out of control! Awesome!
SATURDAY (AUGUST 23)
12:30 p.m. (ABC): International Championship – Japan (Edogawa Minami Little League,Tokyo) vs. Mexico (Matamoros Little League, Matamoros, Tamaulipas)
3:30 p.m. (ABC): United States Championship – U.S. West (Waipio Little League, Waipahu, Hawaii) vs. Southwest (South Lake Charles Little League, Lake Charles, Louisiana)
SUNDAY (AUGUST 24)
Noon, ESPN: Consolation Game
2 p.m., ESPN: Little League Webgems Show
2:30 p.m., ESPN: Little League Baseball World Series Preview Show
3:30 p.m., ABC: Little League Baseball World Series Championship
Word to the wise! When Hawaii won the world series a couple of years back I Tivo’d it and was smart enough to extend it for 3 hours beyond the time it was scheduled to end. The game went into extra innings, no problemo right? Ummm….WRONG.
At the end of the sixth inning they moved it over to ESPN for the seventh and final walk off home run. I missed it. Don’t know the answer for this, other than maybe record ESPN as well? What if they move it to ESPN2? Trouble, trouble, trouble.
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