Why Most Bloggers Are Stuck – Reporters vs Experts

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 written 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.

weightless

Need some help with your weight loss? Below are some great weight loss tips to help you that extra bit, these weight loss tips offers pointers for pratical, effective weight loss tactics. Tips include healthy eating advice, support, exercise, preparation of food and much more. Enjoy!
1. To make a delicious low fat mayonnaise simply combine one teaspoon Dijon mustard or one teaspoon satay sauce with low fat yoghurt.

2. Avoid skipping meals. Eating increases your matabolism, thus skipping meals can ‘trick’ your body into slowing down its metabolism in an attempt to conserve calories during a period it perceives as a situation where limited fuel is available.

3. Stuffing vegetables such as capsicum and zucchini with tasty fillings of mince chicken, meat or tuna are easy to do and very healthy and low fat.

4. Pita bread roll ups or wraps with salad fillings, are great for picnics, school lunches or to take to work.

5. Exerise, exercise, exercise! Exercise increases your metabolism and burning off excess fat. When is the best time to exercise? Our metabolism slows down about 8 hours after we wake up, so 30 minutes of exercise in the evening, before dinner will increase your metabolism for about two to three more hours just when it was starting to slow down. This produces a significant increase in fat burned off, even after the exercise is over.

6. Adding alfalfa or mung beans to your salad brings in extra iron.

7. Good cooking and healthy eating begins with learning about nutrition and how to prepare healthy recipes.

8. Plan the week’s family menus in advance and just purchase those ingredients at a once weekly shopping trip.

9. Be positive! The more you feel good about yourself the easier and faster it is to lose weight.

10. Learn how to make over family favourite recipes by cutting out fats, salt and sugar. Substitute non fat yoghurt for cream, stir fry minus oil and use herbs and spices instead of salt for flavour.

11. Please consult your doctor before beginning an exercise or weight loss program.

12. Eat slowly and chew each bite completely to decrease your appetite

13. Eat three small meals and two snacks daily instead of two or three huge meals.

14. It’s a myth that you need oil to stir fry! Use chicken stock instead and cut down on hidden fat.

15. There is more fat in a plate of toasted muesli than a plate of bacon and eggs! Purchase non-toasted muesli instead.

16. Avoid removing the skins of fruits and vegetables – most of the nutrients are concentrated just under the skin.

17. Hot water with a squeeze of lemon before breakfast get the metabolism going for the day, helps prevent constipation and is excellent for the skin.

18. The best source of vegetable protein is from soya beans or tofu. All legumes provide some protein, so include lentils, lima beans etc into casseroles and soups.

19. Find a weight loss “buddy,” club, or support group. This will help you stay with your weight loss program.

20. Though difficult, try not eating 3 hours or more before bed time.

21. I cut up a whole watermelon and leave it in the fridge to snack on over a few days. it is sweet, juicy, yummy and filling. it really has helped me because when i go to the fridge looking for something when i see the watermelon it stops me having something more calorie laden. having it handy so that it is just as easy to eat as a biscuit or whatever makes the world of difference. eating at night time is my downfall too. i cant just not eat at night so i allow for it in my daily eating. i have those 97%fat free rice crackers and/or fruit or air popped popcorn. for me i just cant not eat at night time. i find i dont sleep very well if i go from dinner time to breakfast without anything. although we do eat dinner very early (around 5.30) because we like to eat with the kids. i think it is best to know your weaknesses and try to work around them. also, i dont think it can be said too many times – drinking water makes all the difference.

22. Make pasta your fast food choice – you can prepare a pasta meal and salad in 10-12 minutes.

23. Chilli helps to speed up metabolism – even the milder varieties.

24. Omelettes can be made just using egg whites! A dramatic reduction in fat.

25. Limit salt in cooking. Other names for salt include baking soda, baking powder, MSG and soya sauce.

26. For low fat gravy, drop ice cubes into the baking tray. Fat will stick to the ice cubes and can then be removed.

27. Chew sugarless gum. It speeds up the digestive system, burning more calories, and sometimes kills a craving.

28. Drinking hot water as appose to cold water can increase the speed of your metabolism and burn more calories.

29. Make casseroles the day before use. Refrigerate and skim fat from the top before re heating.

30. Always eat before you go food shopping and always prepare a shopping list. Only purchase food which relates to your weekly menu plan and don’t be tempted to buy goodies.

Study Tips & Techniques – Reading

Reading Tips for Parents and Students

Many research studies have found that children who read to at home do better in school. Encouraging children to read helps transform reading from a basic skill to a learned behavior and intellectual habit. myaliflaila.com offers the following reading tips for parents searching for ways to engage and interest their child in the wonderful world of reading.

1. Read with your child
You can’t start too early. You can’t read too much. Reading to young children nurtures an interest in language, words and communication. For older kids, reading together can be fun and interesting. Consider reading one book together every month aloud. Take turns reading pages, chapters or major sections of the book. As this activity becomes a routine, it will not only help develop your child’s reading skills, but will also create a basis for ongoing dialogue and discussion.

2. Encourage your child to build his or her own library
From stamps, comic books, autographs, baseball cards, and stuffed animals, children have always been natural collectors. By encouraging book collecting and the creation of a personal library, you introduce your child to a world of resources. Help your child start his or her own library by including a visit to a local bookstore in your weekly or monthly shopping outings.

3. Search for reading activities on the Internet
There are an abundance of sites that provide summer reading lists for children. On-line reading games, such as Sylvan’s Book Adventure, located at bookadventure.com are also fun reading activities for children.

4. Provide different kinds of general interest magazines for your child
Children need to understand that there is more to a news event than the 30- second sound bite they hear on the five o’clock news. Introduce your child to weekly and monthly general interest magazines, like Time or Newsweek. These publications explore news events in much greater detail through words and vivid photographs. Read an article together, and help your child with difficult words or with abstract concepts.

5. Visit a local library and introduce your child to the children’s libarian
Almost every library has at least one librarian who is very knowledgeable about children’s literature. He or she can suggest book titles, guide your child through research projects and keep you informed regarding any special reading events.

6. Visit a museum
Many museums offer interactive exhibits for children and adolescents and have extensive educational programs which can provide your child with amazing opportunities to learn new things. Plan a trip to the museum and encourage your child to write down new words he or she has learned or been introduced to. Also be sure to visit the museum’s retail store to find children focused books on exhibitions or major collections.

7. Get a riddle book at the library or bookstore
Children enjoy riddles and jokes that rely on wordplay. Laughing together at clever jokes and riddles can make a Saturday trip to a soccer or softball game more enjoyable and memorable.

8. Create a vocabulary
Compile a word list, or ask your child’s teacher for a word list, and make a daily or weekly vocabulary game on 3″ x 5″ index cards. Whether your child is just learning how to read or is preparing for the college entrance exams, seeing, saying and learning new words is important.

9. Make word flash cards
Use your child’s school reading series, or work with him or her to produce a list of 100 words. Be sure the words represent a range of difficulty, and arrange them so that you always begin with the easiest words.

10. Learning new words on the road
Use the cards to work with your child on pronunciation and definition. Use every new experience to introduce new words to your child. Every journey, trip or vacation, regardless of distance, introduces new ideas and objects your child can use to enlarge his or her vocabulary