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This is a guest post from Andrew Rondeau at www.webuildyourblog.com where he covers all the aspects of starting your own blog. If you are interested in a guest post on this blog contact us
We all learn differently and at different speeds.
Some of us pick things up straight away, others take more time and are, perhaps, more cautious.
Some of us learn new things by reading, others by viewing and some from the actual doing.
No matter how we learn or how fast we learn, we all go through specific stages of the learning curve.
You may be new to blogging. You may have been blogging for several years.
But no matter what stage you are at, you have to go through certain learning stages if you want to increase your knowledge further.
For instance, you may wish to set-up your own blog using WordPress. You can easily register a domain name, you know how to set up the hosting but you struggle to copy the WordPress files to your host account. Then you are concerned and not too sure about what WordPress plugins to use.
Of course, all the information you need is available on-line and you go looking and searching and eventually find out what to do.
Psychologists and experts say there are 4 stages we go through when learning a new subject and they are known as:
1. Unconscious incompetence
2. Conscious incompetence
3. Conscious competence
4. Unconscious competence
While starting a blog, you will have to inadvertently go through these motions before reaping a rich harvest!
This happens when you enter an alien territory. You may be an absolute stranger to the Internet and blogging is obviously just a word for you. You are not even aware of its implications. You may regard yourself then to be unconsciously incompetent about blogging. When in this stage, you don’t even know how much you don’t know.
So during this stage, you first have to be aware of what you don’t know, and accept that you don’t know it. That can be hard to accept for some people.
But when you start researching and investigating, you suddenly become aware of the vastness of the subject. You become conscious about how much you don’t know and quickly move onto the next stage.
The vast majority of people will automatically move onto stage 2.
You are at this stage when you are mindful of how a blog helps your online income, credibility and marketability. You still cannot make head or tail about what blogging is all about, why do people use blog as a marketing strategy and how they use it? What is the process of advertising your blog and getting it adequate publicity and traffic? How even seemingly unofficial and friendly blog sites generate revenue and lastly, how to create a blog?
After some research, you realize that there is a lot to this blogging lark.
This is when you have to make the big decision. Do you give up or do you decide to learn and carry on?
Of course, you could decide to ‘master’ certain aspects of blogging and make the decision to hire other experts or outsource. That’s your choice but fundamentally you make the crucial decision to carry on or give up.
If you decide to carry on, over time and in certain aspects you eventually move onto stage 3.
So you have started your blog, done some research on a few famous ones; their style of interaction, design and the whole infrastructure.
You start getting hits, visitors and, perhaps, a little income.
You get the drift of how affiliate marketing will help your site.
You give back-links of your blog to some serious sites.
You are beginning to feel comfortable in certain fields of blogging. You learn to do things well and with little assistance.
You could, perhaps, teach others in many aspects of blogging.
You are however generally in the dark about how well you will succeed. You may try different actions on your blog. You become successful but realize that blogging is still not a natural process for you. You have to labor through.
This stage is called conscious competence.
After a great amount of time and practice of doing you know many of the different aspects of blogging like the back of your hand.
You start translating your inherent knowledge into great revenue.
You automatically know the exact sites you should connect with for your blog publicity.
You unconsciously create innovations to make your blog look great.
Your revenues begin to increase.
You have the instinct to create different themes for personal and official blogs. Your success and fame is a foregone conclusion.
Congratulate yourself that you just reached the stage of unconscious competence.
The final say
At first, when driving you may find clutch, gear and accelerator rather absurd. You finally reach a stage when you drive while talking to a passenger and don’t realize which of them is the secondary job?
That is the progress from unconscious incompetence to unconscious competence.
Overall, the 4-stage model is a great way to decipher where people are with various skills and can be used to create educational products.
But how many bloggers could say they are in the “Unconscious Competence” stage?
I would say not many due to the fast changing world of the internet (and Google!).
Blog post image credits barnett/2836828090
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{ 30 comments… read them below or add one }
Excellent post man. You are right… Most of us do not cross Stage 3 either due to half knowledge, lack of ambition or do not belong to this field. And those who make it to the fourth stage and remain the consistency will really make it big!
Ajith Edassery´s last blog ..Make Money from Referrals: How to sell more?
Ajith
I think you are right – get to stage 4 and start making it big!
Andrew
Andrew @ webuildyourblog.com´s last blog ..The EzineArticles crackdown is coming
Takes me back, studying the circle of competence , but very valid. It’s sometimes goo to strip down & rethink.
Paul Harper´s last blog ..Positive figures from Redecard wiill push Brazilian retail bank shares
Nice tips. This will really help me to get more idea before starting or thinking on blogging business.
I hope it really helps!
Andrew
Andrew @ webuildyourblog.com´s last blog ..The EzineArticles crackdown is coming
Well done you done a very good job i newly join the blogging business and i think these are the perfect tips for the beginner’s! you found your blog become very lucky and helpful for me please share updates time to time i will be waiting!Till then bye.
Good stuff! Come back and tell us they helped.
Andrew
Andrew @ webuildyourblog.com´s last blog ..The EzineArticles crackdown is coming
Sorry this is so OT…
Hey ZK, sorry I’ve been gone so but my current post describes it a bit. I’m ready now to re-subscribe and get back into your awesome blog! Slowly at first until I get full swing again.
Dennis Edell´s last blog ..What I’m Doing – What You Should Expect In The Very Near Future.
Hi Dennis ,
Welcome, good to have you back to blogging
This is some good insite on setting up your blog business. I am just getting going in my spare time but hopefully I can make it happen.
Tracy@medifast.com´s last blog ..Medifast updated their profile
Tracy,
I started in my spare time 3 years ago. Now I’m full time and out of the 9-5 corporate world.
Good luck! Stick with a way forward and don’t get sucked into buying from or listening to too many experts – it can be confusing when you get so much different advice.
Andrew
Andrew@webuildyourblog.com´s last blog ..How to increase blog traffic with your blog post
Very helping tips for those who do have a keen interest to start blogging service.
Thanks for the article. Wonderful insights. Isn’t the conscious competence stage easily comparable to the idea of those who are visionaries and those who are business persons? Visionaries often have a sense of the big picture but little inclination to get into the details. Businessperson may thrive on the mechanics of the business and become too preoccupied with minutiae. The don’t facilitate as much as react. There is the shared shortcomings for both: the loss of focus.
yes we can make a lot of money through a blog by adding adsense ,blogging business is really wonderful to generate revenue.
That is an excellent blogging model, great insight! Well written as well
Great post, very informative. Have learned a lot from your site.
THANKS FOR POSTING IT I WAS SEARCHING FOR THIS FINALLY I GOT IT I WOULD LIKE TO START AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.I GOT SOME GOOD POINT HERE WHICH SEEMS VERY USEFUL.
monika@hostels Sydney´s last blog ..Sydney Summer the Festival season
ZK, a very useful and comprehensive post. I think I am at stage 4 right now as I am seeing my revenue triple in the last month. If this pace continues I may be able to be a true full time blogger. I am going to feature this post today in my Sunday’s Best series.
Tycoon Blogger@promote your blog´s last blog ..Sponsored Tweets or Ad.ly – what is better for making money on Twitter?
Tycoon Blogger
That’s awesome growth! Well done you. And thanks for including in your Sunday’s Best series.
Andrew
Andrew @ webuildyourblog.com´s last blog ..How to increase blog traffic with your blog post
usefull stuff for newbies who want to start their career in blogging
oes tsetnoc´s last blog ..Oes Tsetnoc was Hacked
a blog can be a great resource resource of income and i think first you will have to attract a lot of visitors to get a lot of traffic.
Yes really,blogging business has become one worth running it.Many people achieved much in it and show the others ways to success.That is great!
game-girl´s last blog ..Виват Анна скачать фильм онлайн
i am creating a new blog and i was searching for some key points thanks to you for providing such an useful information.i will use these tips and let you know the results.
i am newbie in blogging business and i am on practicing stage of blogging but i will continue to expand my knowledge
may´s last blog ..Hello world!
its really great to make money from blogging i think you will need a blog first then you have to bring a lot traffic on it .
Good 4 steps for start your blogging business. This fact thing how we learn or how fast we learn and how fast we can improve ourself. Thanks.
blogging business is really doing well now!
writing your passion and earning is really a cool job
Nice share, thanks a lot
Amy@Small Business Resources´s last blog ..Nov 15, Small Business Georgia
Blogging is profitable if you do it right. Don’t spam, don’t lie, and keep blogging, that’s the way to successful blogger.
Thanks a lot for this article.
Reza Winandar@Blogging Guide´s last blog ..100 Adsense Tips – Part 2
Great and useful post, thanks for sharing.
THANKS FOR POSTING IT I WAS SEARCHING FOR THIS FINALLY I GOT IT I WOULD LIKE TO START AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.I GOT SOME GOOD POINT HERE WHICH SEEMS VERY USEFUL.