Today you’re going to be continuing with your mantra of being a giver in your niche by doing something for your followers that most marketers won’t do. Share and share alike.

Most marketers share only their opinion, their knowledge, and their website links. They would never dare let their readers know that they actually go out and learn from other experts, much less share that outside expertise with a backlink to someone else’s site.

Many marketers see the journey of becoming a leader in their niche as stepping all over the competition. Just think how many “competition CRUSHER” courses there are and how we’re taught to DOMINATE over everyone else.

Don’t be Secretive

To be a giver and a sharer seems pretty weak in their eyes, much less share and share alike! You’re supposed to MILK your customers, not cater to their needs. You’re only supposed to link out to people you have a JV in place with, not just any expert – especially those who might know more than you do!

Right?

Wrong! That’s what I like to call sleaze marketing. It’s selfish. They’re not in it to help their followers – they’re just in it to hog the attention of the target audience and squeeze money from their wallets.

That’s not you! You’re genuinely in this because you want to help people – whether it’s with their diet, their skin problems, their emotional well-being, or their finances.

My Personal “Real Life” Example of a Sharer

If you have been reading my blog for some time you know Sarah Staar is my friend, and I am her sales manager. If you have ever heard Sarah on a webinar then you will have heard my vouice. Because she is dyslexic, she finds it difficult to read I ask her the questions.

Over the years many people have asked why I have to work for someone else.

The answer is, of course, I don’t!

However, she is my friend and mentor. I get access to all the cutting-edge information she gleans from her mastermind group. Because we are both in mastermind groups, and because we want to help people. We share and pool information. Also, we test every squeeze page she releases to within an inch of its life before it’s put out for general release. So that, of course, gives me an edge as an affiliate.

Why do I trust Sarah Staar?

a.) Sarah never loses her quest for learning and she never fails to share that knowledge.

b.) Sarah is never intimated by new or contradictory advice. She is prepared to take on board new ways of thinking. To give you an example of this, last week one of the girls in the helpdesk was telling her that she used Vista print to print her business cards. Sarah had never heard of Vista print and investigated it and ordered new cards. It transpired that she was still having her business cards printed the old-fashioned way. Instead of hiding this she laughed gleefully and blogged about it. She blogged on two counts the first that she had found a new way of doing things and how much better it was and secondly how she had to fail to begin to learn.

c.) Sarah is never frightened to say she doesn’t know. The important thing is if she doesn’t she know someone that does.She will Google it for you to get the information you need.

WOW! In other words, she isn’t arrogant she is human.

I appreciated that! And I love it when I go online searching for information, too.

Other Reasons Why This Method of Sharing Is Popular

By popular, I don’t mean popular with marketers – I mean popular with your audience.

They love it because, in addition to those three reasons I mentioned before, it:

Makes your blog a one-stop shop.

If they KNOW that you took the time to scour the ‘net and do the research for them, they will be SO grateful. I know this for a fact because I see complaints by newcomers to marketing who get overwhelmed when people tell them to go “Google” a topic to understand it.

Help people who can’t search for themselves

Many people have no idea how to search for real information. Your readers might Google a word and get frustrated when they find thin affiliate sites or ad sites or eBook sites. They want someone to guide them, to help them navigate through the thousands or millions of search results Google provides – not hard sell them or corner them into only knowing one viewpoint.

They trust you, To Be Honest

Your readers trust you to get the best information out there and to be fair in your delivery.
Having a slant or opinion doesn’t mean you have to slam the door on opposing opinions.

When your readers truly trust you, they know you’ll give a fair and balanced viewpoint of the topic at hand. You can say one side is wrong over another, but they’ll trust you to back it up with reasons why.

Sharing Information on Both Sides of the Coin

This is the task I want you to do for your readers today. You’re going to do the following (don’t do it yet!):

1. Come up with a statement or question for your niche where you debate it on a single blog post. Pick a side and back up your reasons for doing so.
2. Explain what the debate is and why it’s important.
3. Give both sides of the argument.
4. Provide multiple OUTSIDE references to both sides in a variety of media formats.
5. Explain what happens if the advice you offer is ignored.
6. Talk about how they can make the changes you suggest.
Now before you go doing this on your own, read on – I have some helpful information that can make sharing a positive experience for both you AND your audience!

The Different Learning Styles of Your Readers

The first thing you need to know is that not everyone absorbs information the same way. And I’m not just talking about the fact that some people prefer video to text or vice versa.

What I’m talking about is the way your audience comes to your virtual classroom ready to learn – what questions they need to be addressed right off the bat, or what expectations they want you to meet for complete satisfaction.

Some people come to you wondering why.

There will be those who land on your blog who want to know why this information is important. Why is it relevant to their lives? Why is it valuable to know?
So it’s not enough to just give a statement and tell your opinion. You have to explain why it is they need to know this – don’t expect them to “get it” because there will be some who won’t see its relevance.
You’re not only going to explain why it’s important based on your opinion but why it’s vital for them to know based on other people’s insights.

Some people come to you wondering what.

What is this blog post teaching them? Have you  data is there to back up your statement – facts, please!? What do other people (experts) think about this?

Some people come to you wondering how.

How will this specifically better their lives? When  can they implement your advice into their day? Will they be able to overcome any obstacles they run into?

Some people come to you wondering if.

Oh boy, this is me. I’m a big “if” person. Primarily, it stems from laziness. When someone’s teaching me something new, I always want to know IF I’ll really be missing out if I ignore the advice.

I also want to know what could happen IF I mess up the advice, or IF I do implement it IF it will improve my life.

The if I likes to get evidence of IF this information is true or false. Or I like to know what will happen IF I alter it to fit me. Also, I like to know IF there’s more information out there for me to form my opinion on.

All of these are obstacles that consumers bring to the table to force you to overcome in an effort to reach them on an emotional and logical level. If and when you provide information in all of these styles, you reach a wider target audience.

Setting the Scene

I’m going to show you how to create the perfect debate blog post where you teach in a variety of methods and media to strengthen your message and position you as the highest source of information in your niche.

Now I’m about to show you how to let this type of creation unfold. But I’m going to show you my preferred method of doing it – creating the content and then adding to it when you think you are finished.

I do mine kind of like a painting. I create the main framework of the piece, then add details. You can choose to do it differently, detailing as you go if you want to. Everyone’s unique in his or her preferences.

Step 1: Pick Your Debate Topic

I know some of you get nervous when considering a discussion where people might disagree with you. But that’s what gets discussions going, it’s what helps showcase your expertise, and it helps you squash any false information out there!

Almost every niche has a problem. What’s your niche’s problem? I’m going to show a few examples so you can get an idea of how to develop your topic. And I want you to choose a question or statement to title your blog post with that you will prove or disprove!

1. Internet Marketing

This is my niche, so let’s start there and we’ll move on to non-marketing niches in a moment. Brainstorm a list of issues people face in your niche. For me, it might look like this:

a. Lack of money
b. Lack of time
c. Don’t know who to trust
d. Don’t understand something

So I will go through and think of a debatable concept for each of these issues. It might look something like this (and these correspond with the above list topics):

Newbies Getting Poor Advice on Use of Free Platforms

I see this happening all the time – someone will ask if it’s okay to start off on blogger, for example – and some forum participant will warn them away from it, telling them if they don’t have a domain and hosting, don’t even try. When I know they’re wrong,  I could challenge it.

Are You Letting Lack of Time Be Your Excuse for Failure?

This is another thing I see quite often. People complaining they don’t have time to work on their business. I think they’re full of S H ONE t! It’s a combination of fear, procrastination, and perfectionism. I know this because I see many who hold full-time jobs, care for multiple ill people, have zero time for themselves, but STILL manage to spend a few minutes hardcore working on their business.

Are You Being Naïve Because You’re Desperate to Make Money?

I already talked about this with my mailing list, but there are so many people who continue making poor buying decisions and taking zero responsibility for their actions, blaming scummy product owners, when I’m ready to tell them it’s partly their fault too! This is bound to cause a stir, but I can back up my opinions. Tell people not to buy products they can’t use.

You’re Using Confusion as Your Crutch But I Won’t Allow That Anymore!

This suits my tone for my blog – blunt – yours may need to be gentler.  I see this quite a bit – something that bugs me. So I’m going to deliver a kick in the rear. In fact, I’ll post it on my blog later.

Tomorrow I will give some examples in other niches, not all of you are in the Internet marketing niche. Share and share alike works in the cookery niche as well.  We will talk about other examples and problems in different niches.