expert

Are You an Expert in Your Field?

Are You an Expert in Your Field?

 

expertHi everyone,

What can standing in the middle of a field teach you about blogging?

Quite a bit, as it happens. How do I know this? Because I did it the other day and it got me thinking about blogging.

If it comes down to it, you can apply this to all aspects of your business, not only blogging. But, for the purpose of this post, we’ll concentrate on blogging.

 

An Expert in My Field

 

Okay, I have to admit that this play on words just popped into my head and I had just had to include it! It does fit though – honestly! I’ll explain in a moment. Firstly, let me tell you what I was doing the other day.

expertOn Tuesday I was heading into the town centre and I was going to go by bus. To get the bus I wanted to take I had to walk about a mile to the bus stop and I often walk through the park to get to it.

It was a nice, sunny morning and I was enjoying the walk across an open field.

I noticed that, aside from a couple of people I could see far in the distance, I was on my own.

I was surrounded by grass (of course, as I was in a field!) and in the distance I could see lots of trees around the perimeter of the field. In those trees I could see birds coming and going, as well as the birds that I noticed flying overhead or sitting in the field somewhere in the distance.

Yup, there was plenty of life in that field and also at the edges of the field and beyond. Of course, I too, was alive.

If you had been in that field and are an expert in something then you would have been an expert in that field! I’ve been told by some that they view me as an expert blogger so, on that day, I was an expert in my field! 😛 Okay, okay – a bad pun maybe, but it’s all relevant, trust me! 😉

 

What Being in an Open Field Can Teach You About Blogging

 

I’d like you to imagine for a moment that you were where I was a few days ago. Imagine that you are standing in the middle of an open field, with acres of grass around you and trees, birds and other wildlife in the distance.

You’re alive, the grass is alive and there is further life off in the distance.

Supposing that you don’t want to remain on your own in the middle of that field. Perhaps you would like to inspect those trees in more detail, getting to see the twists and turns of the branches and examining their leaves.

When you see the trees up close, maybe you can identify them and appreciate the subtle differences between each tree.

expert
Say “Hello” to my little feathered friends! 🙂

Maybe you would like to, as I did, go and visit the duck pond and say hello to the many ducks, geese and moorhens that live there.

I didn’t do this, but maybe you’d like to climb a tree and get a whole new perspective on the area around you.

All of this you can do with blogging. How?

Well, if you are in the middle of an open field and want to do any of the things I mentioned, what do you need to do?

Yes, you have to actually get moving and approach the trees, the birds, the ducks or whatever is there in the distance.

Sure, there’s life there in the middle of the field and there’s plenty of grass around you, but if you want to get to appreciate those trees, for example, up close then you’re going to have to do exactly that – get up close.

You can’t do that by staying put in the middle of the field.

Likewise with blogging, you may have put plenty of life in to your blog and it might be filled with lots of great, nourishing content.

You might have so much that you can share with people, but if you’re just standing there on your own, in the middle of your blog, so to speak, then you are going to have to rely on people just happening to come across you in passing.

If you really want to get to see life beyond your blog, you’re going to have to move! Yes, go and inspect other people’s blogs and all the branches that come off them by means of their content, the opinions, expertise and experience of the blogger and the comments of other people.

Perhaps, by getting really close and spending time on someone else’s blog, you can find that you have a vantage point from which to observe things from a whole new point of view that you likely wouldn’t have appreciated had you just stayed put.

Yes, your blog might be very nice and full of nice, lush content, but to really benefit from the ‘park’ as a whole, you need to move and explore.

Visit other blogs, learn new things, share other bloggers’ content on social media, connect with the bloggers themselves and even leave comments in response to commenters on those blogs, if appropriate.

 

Gotta Keep Moving!

 

expertSo if you want to get yourself known and get your blog known by other people, don’t be the expert in your field who stays put. No, get out there, explore, get involved, examine other blogs up close and learn new ways of looking at things. This can make all the difference between being a lonely blogger and being one who is known, liked and trusted by others.

Do this and you will find that your blog starts to have trees and wildlife of its own and people will naturally want to come and spend time among your branches.

I hope you liked this little analogy. It’s remarkable what can go through one’s mind when walking across a field!

What did you like most about my analogy?

What other aspects of blogging could you liken to walking through a field in a park?

Let me know below!

About Glenn

Glenn is a Certified iPro Masters Partner

Please follow and like us:
Pin Share

10 thoughts on “Are You an Expert in Your Field?”

  1. Hey Glenn,

    You come up with the most interesting topics I must admit. I love the “pun” that if you’re an expert of something and you’re standing in an open field then you’re an expert in the field. LOL!!! Sorry, just too funny my friend.

    Getting to the topic of the post though, I understand what you’re saying here. In order to learn new things we definitely need to venture out, pay attention, learn, explore, you name it. Being bloggers there is SO much to this and we’ll never really know it all. But staying just on our own blogs and doing nothing else isn’t going to bring us our desired results.

    Love this analogy and looks like I originally missed this post but thanks for bringing it to my attention. You’re so clever and can’t wait to see what you come up with next.

    Enjoy your weekend my friend.

    ~Adrienne
    Adrienne recently posted…How to Keep on Blogging When Life Gets HecticMy Profile

    1. Hi Adrienne,

      I’m glad you enjoyed the post, I know that this subject is something that you’re all about. Thanks so much for the compliments – coming from such an expert and experienced blogger as yourself that’s high praise indeed! 🙂

      I hope you’re well. Have yourself a great week!

      »Glenn«
      Glenn Shepherd recently posted…Raiders of the Lost CommissionsMy Profile

  2. Hi Glenn,

    I’m a great fan of analogies and this one sure resonated with me. I can picture myself in that field, but I couldn’t stand still because I want to explore. Maybe walk up to a tree and see those tiny insects that live there.

    I could even climb a limb or two to get a different perspective on the scenery. I would have to keep walking around inspecting things.

    Now that sure has a lot to do with our blogs. We have to walk around and inspect things, by visiting others. It is an amazing adventure when visiting other people. Everyone is unique and shares their own point of view on things that we can learn from.

    Without taking those steps, we are alone in that field not recognizing anything, not even a blade of grass. And that is what happens if we stand alone as a blogger. We sure miss out.

    -Donna
    Donna Merrill recently posted…How To Make YouTube CardsMy Profile

    1. Hi Donna,

      You know, I had feeling somehow that this post would resonate with you! I’m glad that it did and that you were able to put yourself right in the middle of the picture, so to speak.

      As I just mentioned to Richard above, I’ve certainly learned a lot from getting out there and enjoying the adventure of exploring other people’s blogs. It’s so very valuable on many levels.

      Thanks for stopping by, Donna, always great to see you. 🙂

      »Glenn«
      Glenn Shepherd recently posted…Time Management May Be Hazardous to Your BusinessMy Profile

  3. Hi Glenn,

    Great post and I like way you have used an open field to express your feelings and it’s great to enjoy the sunshine, birds and green belt. We sure can get a lot of thoughts and ideas just from being in a big field…and to be a expect in your field (sure like the pun!) I was thinking this the other day about being a expert in one of the area’s of marketing and you sure are an expert in blogging if you know more that others then you are considered as expert! It’s sure great to visit other blog as you always get ideas of what they have written, or something you have noticed on their blog that you can relate too, you have sure giving me new ideas already! I’ll fill you in on that one once I get those ideas out there! Keep the journey going buddy, sure plenty more to come! Rich 🙂
    Richard Burn recently posted…Are You Willing To Invest In YourselfMy Profile

    1. Hey Richard,

      Yes indeed, the idea of being an expert can depend a lot on the point of view of the person who knows less than you. Even if what you know about a subject is very little, yet what you know is valuable and can help others, then you sure should never put yourself down or think that you aren’t adequate enough to teach and help others. I wrote about this elsewhere on my blog, I just cant recall where right now!

      Visiting other blogs is so very, very powerful, yet so very, very underestimated by many. I have learned a lot about blogging, copywriting, list-building and many more things, simply by spending time on other people’s blogs and seeing how they do things. I’m glad that I’ve been able to give you some ideas too and I look forward to seeing them come to fruition! 😉

      »Glenn«
      Glenn Shepherd recently posted…RSS DemystifiedMy Profile

  4. Hi Glenn.

    I have just started to leave my field and go towards the flora and fauna
    that surrounds it. I hit four blogs the other day and it took me about 2 hours.
    I had to think about my comments to the posts I was reading. I did get one visitor
    to my blog as a result. No opt-in, but that will come in time.

    If I’m going to blog hop, I’m going to have to really start focusing on valuable content for people to read from here on out. I have put the pressure on myself to succeed and I’ve started going in the right direction. I just need to keep on the right path going forward.

    Have a great week……..Chris
    Chris DeeWaard recently posted…Are You Making These Rookie Blogging Mistakes? Here’s How to Fix ThemMy Profile

    1. Hey Chris,

      You’re doing it the right way, my friend. Leaving thoughtful comments not only can get you noticed by others purely by the quality of the content, but it shows that you have actually read the post and have thought about what you want to say. This will make an impression on people.

      You won’t get floods of traffic, opt-ins, clicks, sales, etc. overnight from doing this but, with patience and consistency, it will all come. That’s why so many bloggers fail at this – they are simply not prepared to put the work in and the give up too quickly and easily when they don’t get then quick, massive results that they hope for.

      Stick with it, you’ll get more used to it and even speed up the whole process a little once you’ve gotten into the routine of doing it.

      Thanks for your visit and comment, Chris. I hope you’re having a great weekend, bud. 🙂

      »Glenn«
      Glenn Shepherd recently posted…EMA Podcast 004: “5 Top Tips for a Successful Blog”My Profile

  5. Hi Glenn,

    Great analogy using a field full of life for us to open up our eyes and see our surroundings and becoming aware of them just like we do with blogging.

    I am one of the people who think you to be an expert at blogging. You always write something that I can take away with me and put it into action. I’ve been visiting lots of blogs lately, but some people don’t reply. I think they don’t know they are supposed to comment back.

    I have a question for you and I feel stupid asking you this but I’m going to ask you anyway, what is an RSS feed and how do you use it? I wanted to add Dean’s to mine so I get his blog posts.

    Another great post, Glenn as always.

    You have a wonderful weekend,

    Linda
    Linda Schrier recently posted…How To Get Your Business To Stand OutMy Profile

    1. Hi Linda,

      Thanks very much. I never really consider myself an expert, but then again I have been doing this a while now and, through experience, I know what works. I’ll hold my hands up and admit that I don’t always do enough of what works myself, but I certainly know what works and when people say to me, “I’m not getting X, Y or Z”, I can usually narrow things down to have pretty good idea as to where the problem lies.

      I wouldn’t worry too much about people not replying to your comments. I think you’re right, that a lot don’t realise that they are supposed to. Well, “supposed to” isn’t really the best phrase. “Should do” would be better. There’s nothing to say that people must reply to your comments, but aside from it simply being a good idea for the success of your blog, it’s simply good manners.

      So long as you are putting yourself out there, striving to make connections, and giving comments of good value, that’s the most important thing. It will get you exposure and you’ll find that people will become aware of you, even if they don’t connect with you directly. It’s all part of the all-important big picture.

      There’s absolutely no reason to feel stupid about your question and you know that you can ask me anything any time. 🙂 Actually, I have the subject of RSS written down as something to do a blog post about, so your question has just caused that idea to be bumped up the queue and I’ll blog about it in my next post. I’ll e-mail you privately, though, if you want the answer sooner. 🙂

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting, Linda. I hope you’re having a great weekend.

      »Glenn«
      Glenn Shepherd recently posted…EMA Podcast 005: “How Do You View Yourself?”My Profile

Leave a Reply to Glenn Shepherd Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badge
RSS
Follow by Email
Twitter
Visit Us
Follow Me
YouTube
YouTube
LinkedIn
Share
Instagram