Here’s Why You Should Share Your Expertise With Others

It benefits others, but benefits you even more

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

A few years ago, I wrote a post on my blog all about how to best use Pinterest as a blogger.

Pinterest, at the time, was my blog’s main traffic source, and I wrote a comprehensive post sharing exactly how I use the platform to receive maximum traffic and engagement. I shared numbers, stats, and income.

Not long after, a fellow blogger friend questioned whether this was a smart idea. Her point was a fair one: “You’ve worked hard to gain your expertise in this area. Now you’re just helping your possible competitors.”

It was a common argument, and one I also stood behind early on in my work. I did work hard for my knowledge. None of it came easily to me. So, shouldn’t others have to put in the same hard work I did?

Counter-intuitively, though, in the past few years my thoughts on this changed course.

Now, I wholeheartedly believe it best to freely share my expertise, generously and often, in the areas I’ve gained a foothold in.

Furthermore, I’m here to encourage you to do the same. Here’s why.

Give and Take

Freely sharing my knowledge surrounding key areas of blogging and marketing is a win-win but, as I mentioned above, I didn’t always feel this way.

Early on, I felt as though I fought hard for my expertise, and sharing it would surely give my competitors an edge. Throughout the learning process, I did a fair amount of testing, tried techniques that failed, tried ideas that ultimately succeeded, and tried things that failed one month but ended up working another. It was excruciating and frustrating.

Holding my hard-fought cards close to my chest was, surely, the way to go.

Now, I realize I was wrong. Having in-depth knowledge is a gift, and sharing it with others benefits you all the way around.

It will help you go deep

Explaining to another the ins and outs of your area of expertise helps you as much as it helps them.