Authority Blogging

There are two challenges that 90% of my consulting clients face and I am going to give you the answer to both in this article. After you read this you will be able take a look at your blog or your business and know what you need to do in order to make your 2010 more successful than your 2009.

A big claim? Maybe, but I see it work over and over when I coach my clients so I am confident if you implement what I am about to tell you.

I have been there.

• First in the programming niche.
• Then in the SEO and affiliate niche.
• For a time in the photography niche.
• And of course I am now in social media.

The system I used to enter and ultimately get established in each of these niches is the sytem I call Authority Blogging, but it is not just about Authority, and we are not just thinking of blogging here either …

Starting Over

When I was a programmer hoping to get notices I didn’t have a system and I wasn’t doing what you would strictly call blogging either. But I found my profile was growing to the point where people wanted to pay me a lot of money to teach them, help them out of sticky situations, coach them to do what I was doing, and to buy products from me. I was invited to talk at seminars and events, and was offered magazine and book writing opportunities.

After I decided I didn’t want to be a programmer any longer I had to figure out what I had done to get this great reputation and revenue so quickly and effortlessly.

Family and friends thought I was crazy. I was going places in the coder nerd world, I was making decent money from my day job and my sideline businesses. What was I thinking giving all that up? Especially as I was making little progress moving to gaining full acceptance in the marketing world. At the time I was seen as a programmer with marketing skills, but I wanted to be known as a marketer with a technical background!

Why was breaking into this new niche so hard when somehow I had found it so easy in the programming world? I had passion, I had expertise, and I was putting in the effort. Something was missing.

The solution turned out to be a combination of three fundemental things.

Authority we have already touched upon, and I have talked about it a fair amount on this blog, it is after all the name of my course where I teach all this stuff in step-by-step detail.

I found the biggest missing ingredient, and the real nuts and bolts of my system is the ARC process that I am going to talk about now.

With only one of the vital ingredients this stuff does not work half as well. I guarantee also that someone will read this and think it is common sense, but when I click through to their website I will see while they think it is common sense they are not actually implementing it.

So it should go without saying, but the third ingredient is actually putting these factors to work.

To summarize so far:

1. Authority
2. ARC System
3. Action

Before we get into this, what were the two big challenges my clients ask for my help with?

Growing an audience and making more money. The solution is right here, so read on …!

Reciprocation is often talked about in terms of what you can get out of it. You might be forgiven for thinking of it purely as a tactic to get other people to do what you want them to do. But, as common sense would tell you, that is not the whole story, in fact it is just a simple human trait of “give and take”.

I do something for you, you do something for me. Simple, but often abused. If you want a good reputation, you need to be a generous “giver” and not a “taker”.

Reciprocation needs to work both ways. When people do good things for you, show you have recognized what they have done and reward them.

At the very least if people who do something for you then they need to be acknowledged.

So answer comments, thank people who send you feedback, link or vote up your articles, re-tweet your twitter messages, and so on. If someone subscribes to my blog they get free ebooks (more coming), as well as all the lovely regular content you would expect

What if it is more than one comment?

I don’t like “top commenter” sidebar widgets because that often turns your comment area into a quantity competition, but you still need to show gratitude for people who keep your comment area lively. Occasionally I will write up a post and thank my top commenting folks or find  a way to help them in some way.

People who go above and beyond need extra special appreciation, along with acknowledgement.

Let them know you want to show thanks even though you know they were not being kind or helpful in the hope of receiving an award. People are sometimes offended otherwise, and whatever you do, do not show gratitude with money! That is a sure way to turn friendship into offense.

On my forum we have a Featured Blogger each month, to recognize valuable community contributions. The winner gets a free Authority Blogger Course membership as well as the praise and awe of forum members.

Contributions often matter most when they are simply and honestly friendly and helpful. In October the winner was Jamie Horrop from Jamie Horrop.com who got some excellent conversations going, and last month it was Educator Dan from Daily Home Renovation Tips who we have all watched go from a cautious newbie to helping out others by sharing his blogging experiences.

What can you offer in gratitude?

Have a think what you can offer people by way of thanks. Here are somethings I do that won’t cost you the earth and that you can do even if you don’t currently have any products to offer:

• Comment and guest post at their blog
• StumbleUpon submissions and social media votes
• Links and tweets to get them some attention and buzz
• Have they got something you could review?
• Add as friend to all your social media sites
• Suggest some positive improvements or tips? (be careful that you don’t throw criticism back in return for their kindness!)
• Write a “character reference” style testimonial – LinkedIn profiles are a perfect place
• Call them up and speak to them on the phone or skype

Of course you can also say “I am so grateful to you, is there anything I can do for you in return …”

If there is one thing we all need in this new media world is helpful friends, so when you find them, make them feel valued!

How do you show gratitude to people who help you out?