http://expertenough.com/1098/10-experts-that-blogged-first
If there is one thing we believe here at Expert Enough it is this: Blogs have the power to change people’s lives.
In this post we are going to show how 10 experts have used blogs to become recognized as top leaders in their field.
There are millions of blogs on the web, but how many of them truly matter? Blogs are used by some people to document their worldwide travels, keep track of their diet, or even just to share pictures of people at Wal-Mart.
The current trend with some of the major social media websites such as Facebook (with the new timeline feature) and Google+ (with longer status updates) is turning towards having your own micro-blog. But, just being active on social media wouldn’t have gotten these ten people to where they are at today.
Blogging was a main factor for these 10 people reaching “expert” status and in this post we’ll dive into how they did it.
(Keep reading to the bottom of the post for a special offer on the brand new course from us: How to Start a Blog That Matters.)
1. CHRIS GUILLEBEAU (AREA OF EXPERTISE: TRAVEL HACKING)
On a quest to travel to every country in the world, Chris Guillebeau has documented his journey at The Art of Non-Conformity blog for the past 4 years. Through all of his writing he has developed himself into an expert in travel hacking.
Chris became known as the best person for figuring out how to maximize airline miles, credit card points, and hotel programs to visit anywhere in the world.
He also developed a membership program called The Travel Hacking Cartel that he shares all the latest deals on miles, hotels, and bonus credit card offers.
2. GRETCHEN RUBIN (AREA OF EXPERTISE: HAPPINESS)
What started as a simple epiphany on a cross-town bus that she wanted to be “happy”, Gretchen grew into a highly successful blog called The Happiness Project. She also authored a popular book by the same title.
Over the past few years she has inspired people to live happier lives and has become an expert on happiness.
Without her blog, she might not have had the opportunity to write her book or be featured as an answer on Jeopardy.
3. LEO BABAUTA (AREA OF EXPERTISE: CHANGING HABITS)
Wanting to simplify his life, Leo started writing at Zen Habits in order to change things about his life one piece at a time.
He quit smoking, started running marathons, started eating healthier, explored minimalism, and so much more.Everyday people learn how to change their habits through his site.
Through writing his blog he was able to build a huge audience of people also looking to simplify and improve their own lives. Zen Habits has since been feature on Time’s top 25 blogs in the world twice and Leo continues to do only things that he enjoys doing.
4. JOSH KAUFMAN (AREA OF EXPERTISE: ALTERNATIVE BUSINESS ED)
In 2005, Josh started a project called The Personal MBA. He set out to create an alternative to getting an expensive Master’s in Business Administration (a degree that sometimes costs people upwards of six figures to get).
As Josh kept updating the expansive “best business books” list on his site, people started to look up to him as an expert in affordable business education.
Early last year he published a book that has stayed in the top 0.1% of all business books sold on Amazon.com since its publication in January, 2011. Josh formulated the perfect list of lessons people need to learn in business first on his blog, and then in his successful book.
5. STEVE KAMB (AREA OF EXPERTISE: FITNESS & ADVENTURE TRAVEL)
As the rebel leader of Nerd Fitness, Steve teaches desk jockeys how to get fit.
The sheer number of people that are highly active in the Nerd Fitness forums and the success stories he gets from his fans show that Steve is an expert at motivating people to get in shape.
Through his blog, Steve has been able to build a location independent business around helping people get in shape. He now has three guides (general fitness, strength, and running) that people can use to take an pro-active role in their health.
6. DANIELLE LAPORTE (AREA OF EXPERTISE: BUSINESS AUTHENTICITY)
At her blog, White Hot Truth, Danielle teaches entrepreneurs and businesses how to inject authenticity into their otherwise boring brands.
She teaches the act of self-realization through her writing, one-on-one coaching, and speaking.
Just check out her speaking page to get a taste for the authenticity and fire starting aspect that surrounds her. By blogging just like she would talk in real-life, she has created a brand around herself that would be hard to portray only being offline.
7. BENNY LEWIS (AREA OF EXPERTISE: LANGUAGE HACKING)
Our first guest on The Expert Enough Show, Benny Lewis, makes a living off of teaching people foreign language hacking. But he doesn’t teach people in person, he teaches people through his blog Fluent in 3 Months.
As he travels to new countries to learn new languages himself, he shares lessons he’s learns along the way on his blog (sometimes in multiple languages).
His flagship course teaches people that you can speak from day 1 when you are learning a new language.
8. ADAM BAKER (AREA OF EXPERTISE: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF DEBT)
In the process of paying off his family’s consumer debt and traveling through Australia and New Zealand, Adam started writing at Man Vs. Debt. Adam has now become an expert at helping people pay off their debt.
He is an expert at teaching people how to sell their crap, un-automate their finances, and pay off their debt.
Adam has studied and understands what makes people go into debt in the first place and struggle to fight their way out of it. He learned all of these things by connecting with people through his blog, sharing what he’s learned in his new podcast, and helping people make big financial changes in their lives.
9. LAURA ROEDER (AREA OF EXPERTISE: SOCIAL MEDIA)
If there is a social media platform you want to learn the ins and outs of for your business, Laura has a course on it.
Laura used blogging to build an audience for her business and then leveraged her blog on social media all over the web.
One of her most popular courses, Zero to Facebook, has helped a ton of people build a presence on Facebook from scratch. She has become an expert in teaching people how to dominate social media.
10. PAMELA SLIM (AREA OF EXPERTISE: COACHING ENTREPRENEURS)
Pam’s brand, Escape from Cubicle Nation, is both a popular bookand blog. By blogging about topics that new entrepreneurs are interested in hearing about, she was able to build up a strong brand around herself.
Pam now speaks to and coaches cubicle renegades all over the world.
By building an audience at her blog, Pam positioned herself as the expert that could help them the most.
BONUS: SETH GODIN (AREA OF EXPERTISE: MARKETING)
While Seth was known to some before he started blogging, writing his daily thoughts on his typepad website took him to the next level.
Now, all of his books are instant hits, his blog posts get thousands of shares everyday, and he is considered a marketing guru.
Blogging took Seth Godin from famous to expert.
***
Anyone can create a blog in 5 minutes, but very few people will create blogs that matter.
That’s why we’ve put together a brand new course called How to Start a Blog That Matters.
This course is meant for three groups of people. This course might be for you if:
- you’re thinking about starting a new blog, from scratch, or
- you’re unhappy with the results you’ve gotten from a blog you recently launched, or
- you’re doing OK with your blog, but want to re-brand and re-launch it to take things to the next level
How to Start a Blog that Matters is a 90-day action plan for starting a new blog from the ground up. It includes 13 weekly lessons, over 8 hours of video tutorials, 2 bonus case studies, 2 interviews with Leo and Danielle from above, and step-by-step action plans.
Blogging can change people’s lives. It has changed ours and it can change yours too.
