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Ciera Design Studio

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Growing Your Blog By Positioning Yourself As An Expert

July 3, 2014 by Ciera Holzenthal

Blogging about what you know and love will make a difference! Learn how to increase traffic by positioning yourself as an expert in your field!
Just two weeks ago me and these lovely ladies got up in front of the Alt Summit crowd and chatted about growing a small blog.
Alt SLC Summer Thursday Morning

If you were not there, or need a refresher, here is an overview on what I spoke about, growing a small blog by positioning yourself as an expert! You can download the worksheet we handed out, and then work while you read this post.

Growing A Small Blog

I’m sure y’all have all heard the advice to blog about what you know and love – it’s usually the first piece of advice you’ll get for blogging and I don’t think anyone will deny that as a great starting point. But I want to take it a little further by talking about positioning yourself as an expert. One of the main ways I’ve grown my blog is by sharing tips from my experiences in graphic design, social media and running my own small business.

I use the term “expert” loosely, because obviously I don’t know everything about these topics, but I am passionate about them and I do have a degree in graphic design and have been working in the industry for eight years. So I probably know more than the person opening Photoshop for the first time or who just signed up for Twitter last week.

So basically, you don’t have to wait for somebody to call you an expert in order to give expert advice.

Give Expert Advice

I’m always getting questions through email, on social media, and even from friends and family, whenever there is something design related they know they can come to me. And I’m sure the same happens to y’all from time to time. Maybe people are always asking you about how you put your outfit together or asking for your recipe when you cook for them. That’s people showing that they value what you know and trust your opinions.

So if you find that people are consistently asking you a about the same topics, it’s likely they would become a reader of your blog if that’s what you focused on. As your name starts to get associated with a specific field, then your network will start to grow.

Ok, let’s move onto a strategy for coming up with content:
First you have to figure out the types of problems that your readers are having in your field. So, using the worksheet in the download, jot down a few things that you enjoy doing and that people always ask you about. What do you know that can benefit other people?

What Do You Know That Can Benefit Others

So for example, I’d be writing down that people ask me about the fonts I use and other design related questions and how I made the switch from working at an agency to full-time freelance. Remember – no problem is too big or small to write down.

Then, once you know the challenges your readers are having, you can come up with a plan to turn those problems around into solutions.

Growing Your Blog Content Strategy

Here is an example of how I determined my readers problems and then solved them by writing an additional post that I didn’t originally intend to:

When the Facebook layout was updated two years ago to the timeline it was a pretty major change. It was much more design oriented with the large cover photo and app tabs. If you remember, they even allowed users to preview their changes before they had to commit for good so that everyone could ease into the new design. I decided to jump right and update the few different pages that I manage. As I was designing the cover images and doing the updates, I anticipated that my readers may want to hear some ideas on how to keep their pages consistent with their blog or business branding, so I wrote a blog post Design Tips for your Facebook page.

I ended up getting tons of questions beyond the design aspect of people wanting to know how to actually install the apps I was using. So every time I got a question, I was stopping in my tracks and individually responding to them all with detailed instructions in an email.

As much as I’d love to be able to answer every question one-on-one like this I realized it just wasn’t realistic or a productive way to work. So I decided to write another post with step-by-step instructions for installing the apps which has ended up being one of my most popular posts. Turning reader questions into blog posts is now one of the ways I build my editorial calendar.

If you find people still have questions after you write about it, you can take it further and create a blog post series or even teach a course or write an e-book focused on digging deeper into certain topics. That’s actually something I recently did, I wrote a guide on planning a local event series because I needed to go more in-depth than a blog post would allow. And this helps even more to position yourself in your field.

Now I know some people are new to their field, so if you are just getting started, you can write about things that you are interested in learning more about, classes you are taking or things you are teaching yourself along the way. You can have this learning experience with your readers.

Have A Learning Experience With Your Readers

But you never want to risk losing credibility. So if you’re not quite certain of something, just let it be know that you are experimenting and figuring it out as you go, because you don’t ever want to put incorrect information out there – you don’t ever want to lose your readers trust.

Do Not Lose Your Readers Trust

Now I’m going to give you guys a few formats and examples that I find work well for showcasing your expertise:

– how-to posts or videos
• Merricks Art
• Pugly Pixel

– provide valuable resources
• I’ve shared resources like My Favorite WordPress Plugins
• I love to share my favorite fonts

– curated posts
•
 theme thursday from Oh, What Love
• round ups like products used to create on-the-go on The Fresh Exchange

– featuring others
this is a great way to show support and recognize others doing a good job in your field

– lists
these are really easy for your readers to share, especially on Twitter
• ByRegina
• Elembee

When you’re able to solve a problem for someone, they feel like you’ve given them insider tips & tricks and in turn form a stronger bond which makes them more likely to come back for more because people appreciate free advice.

People Appreciate Free Advice

But don’t feel the need to do it all or try to imitate somebody else. Don’t post what you think people want to hear if it’s not something you truly enjoy writing about.

I don’t really know anything about fashion but do share style posts from time-to-time, because it’s fun for me, but that is not how I have grown trust from readers and my readership over the past four years. It’s been by positioning myself as an expert. It’s not easy and it won’t be an overnight success but as Stan Smith Says, people need experts.

People need experts. They have value because they have done the research, legwork, and training that we can’t do on our own.  Not only that, we rely on experts to see further down the road than we can.  We cherish their insight and lean on their wisdom.  Having an expert means that you can shortcut the process and achieve your goals quicker.” – Stan Smith

So now, looking back at what you wrote earlier, write down a few topics that you could write about that will help to position yourself as an expert.

Because before you look to other blogs for things like guest posts, advertising or giveaways you need to get your own blog in a good place. Consider what you do really well and what you love and start sharing that compelling, informative and unique content.

Share Unique Content

PJ Feinstein – Growing a small Blog through Self Promotion and Networking

Mariah Danielsen – Growing a small Blog through Guest Posting on Other Blogs

Melissa Bahen – Growing a Small Blog through Collaboration

Tan Rutley – Growing a Small Blog through Social Media Collaborations and Giveaways

Do you have questions or tips of your own? I’ll answer them in the comments!

first photo was taken by Justin Hackworth for Alt Summit • slides by me

About Ciera Holzenthal

Hi, I'm Ciera! I specializing in visual brand development and adore working with passionate entrepreneurs to design captivating and cohesive brand identities allowing them to fulfill their greatest potential and skyrocket their businesses to new heights. I’m passionate about using my skills in branding, marketing, design & social media to help your business succeed.

What I Wore // Snowball Season
Summer Succulents – Desktop and iPhone Wallpaper Freebies

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  6. Demetria says

    December 28, 2018 at 6:13 pm

    Love this! Positioning ourselves as experts isn’t difficult but it does take time. Thanks for breaking down the steps. I think I will implement lists as I haven’t done much of that over the years.

  7. Corrine says

    December 6, 2018 at 4:51 pm

    I like reading an article that will make men and
    women think. Also, thanks for allowing for me to comment!

  8. Kortney says

    December 1, 2017 at 2:26 pm

    As someone with ADHD, I appreciate the main topic graphics scattered throughout your posts! Thank you for the great advice!

  9. Haylee says

    December 21, 2016 at 7:32 pm

    Love this! I love writing but sometimes feel lost as to what to write about. I think that sometimes I write what I think other people want more than what I feel passionate about. I’m going to try to focus on writing what I love. Thanks for the reminder!

  10. Mona says

    September 22, 2015 at 12:05 pm

    Hi Ciera, I’m so glad I found this on Pinterest. I was looking for articles on how to get my blog viewed by people and making it better. I write to promote my business as a paralegal and notary. You have very good ideas

  11. sinziana says

    November 1, 2014 at 4:09 pm

    Great post!! Thank you for the free slides, are awsome!

  12. regina says

    September 12, 2014 at 11:13 am

    Ciera, okay, so much. This post is beautiful + helpful, first off. Second, I love the slides from your presentation. Thank you for including them. I was sad to miss this Alt and miss your panel.

    I agree with all of your great advice in this post and I continue to learn from you. Thank you for linking to my blog as well. I appreciate it.

    • Ciera says

      September 16, 2014 at 12:25 am

      Thanks for such a nice comment Regina! And no problem, you have amazing content and I want every one to know, haha!

  13. shireen says

    August 6, 2014 at 11:05 pm

    Thanks so much for sharing Ciera!

    Great advice (as always) and the nudge I needed to keep on going – I’m only starting out, but going to print your worksheet + pres now and brainstorm x

    • Ciera says

      September 16, 2014 at 12:26 am

      Yay, let me know how it goes!

  14. Sentrell says

    July 11, 2014 at 7:06 pm

    This is really great! I just found your blog through Twitter. I’m following you on Bloglovin as well.

    Thanks for sharing the worksheet as well as the presentation. I learned a lot just from the slides! I’m sure the panel was amazing!

    I’m a interior design student so I tell my readers all the time that I’m sharing what I know and I’m learning at the same time. So I’m wondering, will the “expert” strategy work for me?

    • Ciera says

      July 11, 2014 at 7:33 pm

      yea sounds like it! You have great content, so I say keep it up!

  15. Nic Channon says

    July 9, 2014 at 2:02 pm

    Some really great advice there – thanks for sharing!
    It’s easy to forget how much you actually know sometimes, but it’s worth remembering that there’s always somebody a few steps behind you who could benefit from your knowledge.

    • Ciera says

      July 10, 2014 at 10:08 am

      No prob, Nic! Yep, it’s fun to think back to the basics sometimes!

  16. Rita Goodrich says

    July 3, 2014 at 9:09 am

    Great post! Thanks for sharing YOUR expertise on this subject and encouraging others to share THIER expertise! Currently trying to get my blog to a good place and hoping to do it by sharing what I know… paper, design and wedding etiquette. Just followed you on bloglovin and look forward to more posts!

    PS I live in Lafayette… but NOLA has my heart! 🙂

    • Ciera says

      July 10, 2014 at 9:53 am

      Thanks Rita! Yay, love finding Louisiana bloggers & designers, heading to check out your blog now!

Trackbacks

  1. Alt Summit Summer Recaps Part Five – altasummit-production.mystagingwebsite.com at Pressable says:
    August 7, 2019 at 9:06 am

    […] a Small Blog: Positioning Yourself as an Expert from Ciera of Ciera […]

  2. 10 Ways To Expand Your Small Business says:
    February 2, 2019 at 11:50 pm

    […] not only helps with SEO but is also an amazing way to position yourself as an expert in your field. Guest blogging is also a great way to get your name out to an expanded […]

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