7 Simple Methods to Blog Like a Pro Even if you’re Not an Expert [Part 2]

This post is the 2nd (and final) part of the blog series: 7 Simple Methods to Blog Like a Pro Even if you’re Not an Expert.

Here’s the link to part 1, in case you’ve missed it

5.Review products

One of the most profitable things you can do to monetize your blog is to write product review posts. When done right they also make for interesting content and can generate trust and position you as an expert. The beauty about reviews is that you don’t need to be an expert in order to craft them. You just need to make them thorough and ideally to have used the product yourself. Ana from Traffic Generation Café recommends Yaro’s Entrepreneur’s Journey as an example for writing reviews that convert.

Action steps:

1. Find 5 products (physical or digital) in your niche market, which you have been happy with. If you don’t have any products at hand, contact the product owner and ask to review their product. If you do this respectfully and show that you are serious they might give you free access to the product (this will mostly work for digital products only). Don’t abuse this technique though. Don’t ask for free product access if you’re not going to write a review. Personally I prefer to buy products so I can write a completely honest review about them.
2. Following one of Yaro’s reviews as a guideline, write a thorough review about each product, including an overview of the product, its upsides as well as downsides. Don’t simply copy the reviews provided by the product owner as you won’t gain any trust or sales this way.
3. Bonus points if you include a video with a walkthrough of the product or with yourself talking about the product and showing it in action.
4. You can offer bonuses to people who buy through your links, but if your blog provides really good content then you might not need these bonuses at all.
5. Try to link back to these review pages from your blog posts, in a natural manner. When mailing to your list, refer them to your reviews rather then straight to the product sales page.

6.Do a product/service faceoff

Do you know a few products or services that essentially do the same thing? Let’s take iPhone apps for example. There are a few apps, which let you manipulate photos, Instagram being one of the popular ones. Why not take 2 or 3 apps and compare them side-by-side? At the end you can choose your winner and ask your readers to nominate theirs. These posts generate interest because they give a lot of useful data and are easy to skim.

Action steps:

1. Choose 2 or 3 products or services that do the same thing. Example: HootSuite and Seesmic are both social platforms that basically give their users the same functionality.
2. Find about 5 points of comparison. For example: Speed, costumer service, robustness, efficiency, etc. For each point, write a paragraph comparing the 2 or 3 products. Use bullet points and even give grades for each service. People love numbers! Here’s how LifeHacker do it.
3. At the end of the article, select a winner. Encourage comments by employing a bit of conspiracy and leaving room for a debate.

7.Blog as you learn

Another approach you can take is that of your blog being a journey towards a destination. Let’s say you are into photography. You could say in your About Page or even on the header, something like: Jo’s journey to become a world-renowned photographer. A bit pretentious, I hear you, but you get the point. Here are the advantages of this method: Your readers can really relate to you because you come across as one of them. Your blog becomes a live learning process, which makes for interesting content, because you’re going to test lots of methods and products and share your hands-on experience. As you become a true expert, you will already have a loyal following of readers who have grown just as you have.

Action steps:

1. Decide what your ultimate goal is. Let’s stick to the example of a world-renowned photographer.
2. Choose a fitting slogan and header to go along with your image as an expert-in-the-making. Jo’s journey to become a world-renowned photographer could do the trick.
3. Tailor your About page as well as your bio on social media sites to your image. You could title your bio: Jo Smith, a world-renowned photographer in-the-making. In your About page present your blog as a learning experience for you and for your readers.
4. Your blog content could include reports of your success in your area (for example, showcasing g your photo experiments), interviews with experts, links to other useful blogs and resources and a lot more. You can encourage your readers to ask questions and give suggestions, thus taking an active part in the learning process and growing with you.

What about you?

Have you ever tried any of these methods?

What methods are you using to allow your expertise to shine?

Let us know your thoughts and ideas in the comments below.

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