Can blogging help your expert status?

Can blogging help your expert status? Before I carry on, I have to explain how much I dislike the word ‘expert’. It sits badly with me for two reasons – one is that there’s a great saying about experts (how x is an unknown quantity and a spurt is a drip under pressure!), and the other is that people at the top of their game never stop learning. And I think the word expert means you’re ‘there’, the finished product. And I don’t think anyone ever is. I’ve been called an expert on a few occasions (and I hope it wasn’t in a drip under pressure kind of way!) and it makes me feel uneasy. Writing web copy with the word in makes me feel all weird. So please, as you read this, just keep that in mind. I have little time for arrogance, and I wouldn’t want you to think I was in that category!

Can blogging help your expert status?

So, back to the title- can blogging help your expert status? Hell yes. And here’s why. I’m going to use my website as an example because, well, I know all about it! When I was planning it, I planned out the pages and worked out what areas I wanted to cover in each, to showcase my skills and passions. And that’s good – that’s what you should do with a website. But you should also be mindful that people want concise info to decide on whether to drop you an email to see if you can help them. And that doesn’t give you a huge amount of space to talk about what you’re passionate about in any kind of detail. The kind of detail that if you’re researching a topic in detail you want.

Take this blog for example

I haven’t written a whole lot about blogging on the main area of my website. It’s part of the marketing mix, it’s something I consult on and help people plan, and it’s something I’m passionate about. But have I spent a lot of time on my main site talking about it? Nope. Have I talked about it in my blog? Oh yes, and from lots of different angles too. I’ve blogged the 40 day blogging challenge I made myself do, five reasons people don’t blog, what should I blog about, and more. This gives people more of a taste of what I am about, how my mind works and my understanding of the topic. People with greater understanding and knowledge than you on a topic are often referred to as…yep…that word again – experts. But the only way people are going to see your passion, share your knowledge and get an understanding on how much ‘stuff’ you know is if you tell them. In your own words. On your own platforms. And a blog is definitely one of these areas.

What about social media?

Of course, you can also use your social media platforms to promote your areas of expertise, but on a blog they’re a constant and don’t move down the timeline when more posts come on and get quickly forgotten. They’re there, ready to be shared or found on Google when someone asks the internet for information on a subject. Blogging can help your ‘expert’ status. Whatever you want to be seen as an expert in. So start now and start building your blogs and information on your own platform!