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). Becoming an expert is crucial to make money online.
If you have ever taken an affiliate marketing training or attended a seminar specifically for novices, you have probably heard about the two different camps. Whenever the business model is based on content, and if you earn an online income then the model is based on content, people are taught to either begin 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, increased income because of perceived value, it's easier to get publicity, people are more likely to find you rather than you having to seek others out, partnerships come easier, etc. experts in most cases simply earn more money and attract more accolades.
Most Bloggers Simply Report
The thing with expertise is that it needs - training. No person becomes an expert without doing things and learning. Bloggers usually begin without expertise and as a result begin their blogging journey by talking about everything going on in their niche (reporting) and by reporting on and talking about other experts (reporting again).
There's nothing wrong with reporting of course and for many bloggers it's a necessity in the beginning until you build up some expertise. Unfortunately the ratios are pretty skewed when it comes to reporters and experts - there are far more reporters than experts, hence reporters often struggle to gain publicity and when they do, they often just help the reputation of the expert they are reporting on.
Don't Replicate Your Teacher
If you have ever spent some time researching products about the Work from Home niche you will notice a pattern. Many people first study affiliate marketing from a mentor (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 blogging you have to teach others how to make money online.
The end result of this process is a huge army of amateur bloggers trying to replicate what their teacher does in the same industry - the affiliate marketing industry - not realizing that without expert status based on proven record and all the benefits that come with it, it's next to difficult to succeed.
Even people, who enjoy some success, say for example growing an contact list of 1,000 people, then go out and launch a product about how to grow an contact list of 1,000 people. Now I have no issues with this idea, I think it's fine to teach novices and leverage whatever achievements you have, the difficulty is that people gravitate to the same niche - affiliate marketing - and rarely can be differentiated.
How many experts out there do you know of that all say they teach the same things - email marketing, SEO, pay per click, affiliate marketing, and all the related niches that fall under the category of affiliate marketing. It's a competitive industry, yet when you listen to your friends and other gurus making money teaching others how to make money online (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 goal is to identify yourself as an expert and you have not spent the past 5-10 years making money online, I suggest you look for another subject to establish expertise in.
Give it time and stick with what you do to learn and then translate that training into training for others, and remember, it's okay to be a big fish in a small pond, that's all most experts really are.
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