This is a Guest Post by Karol K. (@carlosinho) is a freelance blogger and writer. If you’re interested in learning how to start freelance writing feel free to visit him at YoungPrePro and get a nice set of freelance writing tips.
“The dangers of being a who?!” – asks you.
If you go to Wikipedia, you will find absolutely nothing about know-it-all bloggers. Actually, I just made that name up a minute ago, but I had a good reason for this.
In my mind, a know-it-all blogger is someone who acts like they know everything about blogging, but they don’t quite show it in practice. In other words, people who can talk the talk, yet won’t walk the walk.
What’s the biggest danger of being someone like this? Not being aware of it.
There are, however, some common characteristics of know-it-all bloggers. Like these six, for example:
1. You think you know how to get comments
Commenting is a crucial part of blogging, or at least it should be in theory. However, not every blogger knows how to attract new commenters and provoke a discussion in the community.
Where it gets really interesting is when a blogger who does not receive a lot of comments starts giving advice on how to get more comments.
In their mind, they have all the knowledge, they’re just trying to put it in practice, and in the meantime they can share some advice.
The only problem is that you don’t really know something until you can use this knowledge in practice.
For instance, I try not to share advice on getting comments (at least right now). The fact is that I don’t have a clue about how to get more comments. I mean, I know the theory, but I have no results to show for. I could easily write a post or two on how to do it, but what’s the point?
I advise you to take the same approach. If your blog is not receiving that many comments, don’t fall for thinking that deep inside you know how to get them.
(By the way, have you created a comment policy for your blog yet?)
2. You think you know how to guest post
Guest posting is a great strategy to get new traffic and some recognition for yourself and your blog.
However, do you really know a lot about guest posting if you only send like two articles a month? Does the fact that you’ve guest posted once at ProBlogger make you an expert on guest posting?
Not likely.
For me, only people who are capable of sending one guest post per day can be considered experts. The fact is that anyone can secure one or two guest posts on various blogs a month. You need no expertise to achieve this.
So what to do instead of acting like an expert? Guest post, guest post a lot. Once you have at least 200 guest posts under your belt you’re starting to approach the expert level.
3. You think you’d be a great freelance writer
Essentially, for the most part of your blogging career you’re sitting at your desk and writing articles. This can make you think that you’d be great as a freelancer.
There are, however, many challenges to freelancing that people don’t realize before they actually start working as freelancers.
Just to name a few:
- You have to deliver your work on time.
- You need to learn how to write about topics that are not within your comfort zone.
- You have to start searching for clients.
- You have very little time left for your own blog (the most serious challenge, at least in my case).
The message here is that being on top of things at all times as a freelancer and blogger is not that easy. If you think that it only involves a little more work then you’re wrong, it’s a whole different career.
4. You think you’re better than ProBlogger, you just don’t have the traffic
This one is funny, but a lot of people actually think that way. When you take a quick look at some of the most popular sites you might think that the only thing that separates you from them is traffic. That if you attracted the same amount of traffic, you’d get similar results.
This might be true, but not necessarily. You see, every popular site is popular for a reason, not just because, at some point, it saw a sudden increase in traffic. If you want to get similar results, you will need a lot more than just luck, SEO, and one post that goes viral.
Building popularity is always a process. For some it can be shorter than for others, but no one becomes successful overnight. Instead of talking that you’re on the same level, do some actual work to get there.
5. You think you know web design
Owning a blog is not the same thing as being knowledgeable about web design. I know that most people spend a lot of time picking the theme for their blog, but this really doesn’t make them experts.
Web design has a lot of different elements to it. There’s user interaction, accessibility, usability, eye direction, goal-centered approach, and much more.
Saying that you’re an expert in web design just because you have a blog is like saying that you’re an expert in cooking just because you ate pizza twice this week.
6. You think you know SEO
SEO does not have a good publicity these days. Mostly due to the recent updates like the Penguin, which caused a lot of legitimate sites to vanish from the search engines completely.
Anyway, some bloggers see themselves as experts in SEO, just because they can get high rankings for a medium-difficulty keyword.
The fact is that if you’re a blogger doing some guest posting, and targeting a mid-level keyword, chances are that you will be able to get good rankings for it. But this doesn’t make you an expert.
For instance, spend a while reading one of the popular blogs like SEOmoz and notice how many different things are in discussion every week. This really gives you a nice perspective on how complex SEO actually is, and that no one is THE expert. We’re all on the same team … trying different things and, essentially, running in the dark.
What’s next?
Contrary to what you might think, the main point of this post was not to simply list all the traits of know-it-all bloggers, or to attack anyone. It was to point your attention towards these matters and save you from falling into such a mindset.
Being overly confident about your skills is never a good thing. As long as you remain honest with yourself and learn a new thing every day, you will be constantly growing and improving your skills as a blogger.
And I’m not trying to sound smart here either. We’re on the same team. I’m in the middle of my journey just like you are in the middle of yours.
Finally, can you point out any other indicators that someone might be a know-it-all blogger?
Great write up, been there and done that on many of the above. I have a ton to learn and always will.
Again great stuff
It’s easy to get caught in this. We all feel like we “know it all” every once in a while.
All we can do as bloggers is write, share and strategically put our information out on the web that is engaging that people will connect with. When you become a know-it-all Blogger I think you will loose your community. That is if you even has one in the first place.
Love this post. Have just had this same conversation with a professional photographer experiencing similar now that DSLR cameras have become affordable to the masses; and a DJ who has been replaced by an iPod shuffle and a set of speakers for the wedding bookings he used to have his diary rammed out with. Everyone is an expert these days.
Perhaps if we could all be an expert in just one thing? Then we might be able to identify the real experts out there in a manner which would be deserved.
You’re exactly right. Especially in the photography niche. The sad true people don’t like to hear is that you’re not a photographer, you just have Instagram.
Another sign is they mentioned their (supposed) awesomeness at blogging/social media/SEO ect in their twitter bio or on their blog about me page. I steer clear of people who claim to be social media superstars, blogging mavericks, twitter experts or other such pretentious self appointed labels. It is amazing how often you see those and how often said people post really boring content.
I know how to get comments. Good ones, too. It’s very simple. Be a human being. Start conversations on your blog, and invite others to join in. Be attentive to your guests when they take you up on that invitation. Ask them to invite others. Reply with follow up conversations, not just “Thank you for commenting.” Don’t try to do this on every post, though, because you could become a victim of your own success. I have posts with over 400 “meaty” comments – not spam, not “great post” type comments. Can you imagine if I had to reply to 400 comments on every post I write? I don’t want to think about that!
Before you worry about a comment policy, ask yourself how many people read them? Do you? I don’t. Commonly established “rules of the road” say you can delete or refuse to publish my comment. I retain copyright in it, but grant you the right to use it on your blog. If you want to fix formatting or typos, go for it. But if you materially change my comment without adding a note saying that you did so, and I find out that you “fixed” things that weren’t wrong, or put words into my mouth that I would never say, I won’t be nice about it.
Being an expert guest blogger has nothing to do with quantity. It has to do with professionalism and skill. I know people who can churn out a post a day and find some blog desperate for free content to take it – does that make them “experts”? I rarely guest post, prefer to wait for an invitation, and like to be paid – but I’ve been a professional writer, full time and freelance, for nearly 30 years. Whether that makes me an “expert” or not depends on your own experience, perspective, and goals. I’m not going to sit here and bill myself as one, simply because it seems like unnecessary hubris.
What you say about freelancing is true, but the funny thing about that – I’ve rarely had to look for clients. Why? Because some other freelancer couldn’t meet their deadlines and I could jump in on short notice and take care of the problem. Be professional, deadline driven, and write clearly.
Darren’s pretty amazing. He didn’t set out to be “ProBlogger,” though. He had a life. He built a popular niche blog early in the game. He figured it out as he went along, then wrote the book on it. THE book. Pave your OWN way.
And to your next point, then, Google’s zoo is your best friend. Every change in their algorithm gives new “SEO gurus” a chance to get it right and shine. Or not. But it certainly gives the illusion that it’s an important topic.
Finally, your advice to always be honing and growing your skills is important. Stop learning and you might as well lay down and die. When you start thinking you’re so good at something you could do it in your sleep with one hand tied behind your back, it’s time to learn and try new things. That’s true of life in general – not just blogging.
Good post.
Thanks for this extensive comment. I really appreciate your opinion and input on this.
Sorry to be so “extensive.” I do have a tendency to write posts as comments on other people’s blogs. (Though I once knew a blogger who had no blog of his own, and did more of this than I ever could!
He actually stopped blogging after everyone convinced him to start his own blog.)
Great article, thank you.
This article really hits the spot. I am so sick and tired of everybody being the mastermind behind trends and ideas in areas within online marketing. It has become a race of sharing information that is valuable to us readers, but how much can we really use and does the “intension” damage us more than it does good? I would like people to be a little more sceptic in the knowledge gained and shared, so we are not spammed with bs that will backfire
Hi John
Thank for great post. This article is amazing. SO true! I just so happened to quit my job and start blogging/ writing/ anything and already I’ve managed to piss everybody off. That’s what happens when I write what I’m actually thinking before realizing that they are the only people that actually read my blog, save one person. Oddly enough, I only have the tech support guy to thank for being bored at work and hence became my only non-related follower.
Excellent posting is one of the best ways for getting links and increase your site rank. It shows that you are not a spammer and try to provide some useful content to your users.