What does it take to be authority blogger? It takes passion, knowledge, a constant desire to gain more information, the ability to learn from others and your own mistakes, and the willingness to share your experiences with others.

In order to become an authority blogger, you have to create a community where people want to come to you for the information, not just because you have it, but because you give a little something extra. That extra is value that comes from building a relationship with your readers, offering personal insight and expertise along with information.

Becoming an authority blogger doesn’t happen overnight and you can’t do it on your own. It takes time. You have to listen to others, join conversations, freely offer up your own expertise and advice, and be willing to “pay your dues.”

SOBCon08 is the perfect place to get your start on becoming an authority blogger! SOBCon08 is a blogging conference like no other, hosted by Liz Strauss of Successful Blog. The conference will be held in Chicago on May 2-4, 2008 and features a unique combination of presentations and mastermind workshops. Basically the conference is Business School for Bloggers where you are both the student and the professor. Each attendee will leave with an actionable plan for becoming an authority blogger in their own niche.

For the past 12 years I have been working as a freelance web designer and consultant. About two years ago a client asked me to help her set up a blog. Knowing nothing about this new platform, I began to research. As soon as I started researching, I decided that the best way to really understand what she was trying to accomplish was to get involved myself. I launched this blog (first on Blogger, then to its own domain and WordPress where it is now) and was instantly hooked. Not only did the blog serve as research, it became an outlet for me to share what I knew and observed in my areas of expertise.

Within a matter of months I discovered the power of blogging, networking with others online, and the amazing community that has evolved in the blogosphere. In the past two years, I have learned MORE than I have in the past 12 about web development, web site monetization, social networking, and niche marketing. WHY? Because the wisdom of shared knowledge is so much stronger than anything one individual could ever come up with!

This year I plan to take my level of knowledge and community one step further by attending SOBCon08. I cannot wait to meet all 200+ attendees face to face. Many of us have met online via Liz’s Open Comment Night, Twitter, various forums (such as the now defunct MomGadget forum and my new - favorite Performancing’s Hive forum), and through participating in each other’s blog conversations. However, having the opportunity to be a part of such an amazing conversation is just huge!

While I know all of the presenters are going to be amazing, the part I am most looking forward to is the mastermind groups. The value in this conference is really the intense networking and sharing of ideas that will take place. I would like to be able to take away from the conference that I have helped create a plan for success for one of my colleagues. It is just too much fun to share these successes with others who “get it!”

And if I am lucky enough to get the opportunity to consult with Chris Garrett for an entire hour (pick me, pick me), I have a whole list of questions for him on managing multiple domains, hiring writers, focusing a niche and of course, becoming an authority blogger.

I’m ready to take my blogging authority to the next level – are you?

If you are not convinced you need to be at SOBCon08, check out my 10 Reasons You Need to be at SOBCon and the interview Liz did with Jason Falls about SOBCon08.

PS - This is my entry into Chris G.’s contest to win $2000 of SOBCon and Chrisg consulting.

I woke up this morning ready to rock and roll! Why? Let’s just say that last week was the longest week ever! It was Spring Break and while I really enjoyed sleeping in a bit, hanging out with the family, and the sunshine, I felt like I was having to justify any of my work time which made me crabby. Even so, I got my list done last week and feel really good about the week coming up.  It’s all about the attitude, I am convinced!

I have already knocked a few items off my list for today so the remaining items for the week include:

• Finish writing and post my entry into Chris G’s SOBCon contest (I really want to win it!)
• Finish up client site
• Get all monthly invoicing done by COB Tuesday (no, this is not an April Fool)
• Clean out Thunderbird inbox then reinstall - having issues sending from there
• Upgrade all sites to WordPress 2.5 and reevaluate plugins as I go

Join in! This series is something Wendy at eMoms at Home and I do each week but we’d love to have you join us (like Aurelia did).

• Step 1 - let us know what you are going to get done today (your to-do list, so to speak).
• Step 2 - put it in a comment below or a post on your own site.
• Step 3 - let us know what will motivate you to get it done - a reward, consequences, or whatever you need to think that will ensure you do what you say you are going to do.
• We don’t care how you get it done, we just want to support you in reaching your goals.

Last week I accomplished my goals so I didn’t have to pay out on my phone consultation offer. If I don’t get all of this week’s work done, one lucky commenter will get a one hour phone consultation from me - to ask about blogging, web design, ideas on how to improve your site, or anything else web related you may have questions on.
So, what are you going to get done?

Did you see it? Google turned out its “lights” tonight in support of Earth Hour. How about you? Did you turn the lights off tonight from 8-9 pm? If so, what’d you do instead? Us - let’s just say we missed it, but I have turned out all unneeded lights this evening, as I normally do.