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 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.

I know what you are thinking right now. “Oh dear, not another one of these phony get rich quick systems”. And I don’t blame you because nowadays there are constantly offers for “make money online from home” products that claim to allow you success by only working one hour a week. You know, the “We guarantee you’ll be making millions in a year from your own home just by sitting on your ass!” commercials.

In all seriousness though, it is actually possible to make money online from scratch. You just need to know how to approach the task of doing so. How should you go about earning money online from scratch? Don’t worry, because I’ve broken down the process into 3 easy steps for you. Are you ready? Ok, let’s get down to business…

1. Set Yourself Up For Success

No matter how ridiculous it may sound, half of the battle of making money online from scratch is having the right mindset and being realistic. Let’s face it, you probably aren’t going to become a millionaire within your first month online. It’s just not going to happen. You need to realize that if you want to be successful at making money on the internet then you have to be willing to work hard. You need to be prepared to fail miserably. Why am I being so pessimistic? Because whether you like it or not you will not get things right the first time. You are going to fail, you are going to get frustrated, and you will work your ass off.

But if you are willing to make some sacrifices then you will absolutely be successful online. And this is the most important part in setting yourself up for success. You need to tell yourself that you will achieve your goal of making money online from scratch no matter how hard it may be. Only you can decide whether or not you will make money online from scratch.

2. Find Your Passion

You do have an interest, right? The reason I ask is because having an interest in something is one of the key factors to becoming successful online and earning money from scratch. A passion for something will keep you going when times are tough and it will keep you interested in what you are doing as well. And being interested is very important if you plan on doing quality work.

I won’t lie to you, it is possible to earn money on the internet without having an interest in something but it will also be 10x harder. Especially when you are attempting to start from scratch. So, make sure that you find something that you can honestly say you are interested in. It really doesn’t matter what it is as long as you are happy with it.

3. You Thought You Were The Only One?

Let me ask you something. Did you really think that you were the only one with your particular interest? Of course there are other people out there that like the same things as you! If society didn’t share common interests then a ton of people would be out of jobs. You see, sharing a common interest with others is exactly how you will be earning money from scratch online. How? You will need to do a little research by finding out what others with your similar interest are looking to buy and what they are eager to find out.

This is called market research. And as someone who is already experienced with you interest you will have a huge advantage over the competition. The way which you will use this advantage is by giving the consumers in the market of your interest what they want and then earning some serious cash as a result. It’s really that easy to make money online from scratch as long as you put in the effort.

Do you want to know a little secret when it comes to making money online? You can never have enough insider information! And guess what? I’m willing to share with you all of the insider information related to making money online you could ever want…for FREE! All you need to do is click the link below. You do want to make some serious money online from the comfort of you own home, right?

Many people that decide to start a home based business are destined to fail because their motivation and expectations are completely unrealistic.

Over the years I have helped thousands of people start up their own home based businesses on the the Internet and I have come to recognize two of the most important factors for identifying people that should NOT attempt to start a home based business.

If a prospective entrepreneur says something like…

“I’m broke and need to make some money…fast!”

or,

“I want to start a home business, but I don’t want to spend anything on it until after I start earning some money.”

…it is certain that they need a “reality check” and should not attempt to start a home business under either of those conditions. I refer to these two comments as the “death sentences” for starting a home based business.

Almost equally important is the need to have realistic economic expectations when undertaking a home based business. There is no magic here folks. A home based business provides many rewards such as working in the comfort of your own home, avoiding a stressful commute, being your own boss, setting your own hours, no dress code, etc., etc., but anyone that is also expecting “instant riches” is sadly mistaken.

There are a tremendous number of home business and work at home opportunities offered on the Internet. Many of these are all hype and try to convince you that it doesn’t take any effort and that you will be making huge amounts of money in very little time (you know, stuff like…”you will be making $5,000 per week, and more, in just a few weeks!”). You should avoid these so called “opportunities” like the plague…if they were for real everyone would be doing it.

Study the opportunities carefully and select the home business opportunity that seems to fit your own particular style or talents. What is a good choice for one person may be a very poor fit for someone else. The common thread that applies to everyone is that you must be “for real” (as indicated above) and the business opportunity itself must be “for real”.

Kirk Bannerman operates his own successful home based business and also coaches others seeking to start their own home based business. For more information visit his website at Legitimate Home Based Business