Have you ever heard of someone referred to as a true “renaissance man?” Of course you have. A renaissance man is someone who possesses many talents or skills in a wide variety of areas. I am coining a new term – renaissance blogger. Every blogger should aspire to be a renaissance blogger – that is, to know a little bit about all the major areas of business, as well as blog and web development.
In today’s age of uber-specialization, everyone seems to be very specialized in a particular area or field. In the field of web development, some people are especially skilled at design, while others excel at programming, or maybe server administration.
In the blogosphere, some people are excellent at writing, but maybe have a more difficult time increasing traffic. Others may be mediocre writers, but know how to generate massive amounts of traffic. What if you could possess a well-rounded set of skills in a variety of areas and be able to problem-solve situations for which you may have otherwise needed to seek outside help? That is the goal of a renaissance blogger.
Become Thirsty for Knowledge
By nature, I am a web developer. I have been working on web sites for nearly half of my life. Since the age of 13, I have been actively developing my skills in designing, coding and server administration. I remember the first time I learned about a server – I was 12 and reading the manual for a program called Adobe SiteMill (a precursor to GoLive and Dreamweaver).
Despite my decent understanding of different areas of web development, that does not suffice in the multifaceted environment we call the Interweb. In the past few years, I have been actively developing my knowledge in business-related areas, such as advertising and managing clients. I realize that to be successful at anything, one must have a solid understanding of how to find and maintain business.
Accordingly, a solid understanding of web development and business directly tie in to the passion we all enjoy – blogging. In my short time blogging, I have been researching how to further increase my knowledge in all of the areas described above, as well as in SEO, traffic-building, copyrighting and reader interaction.
I am certainly not the best designer or the best copyrighter, etc. Quite the contrary – I think my knowledge and skills are, at best, mediocre. However, I have enough knowledge in a wide enough variety of Internet and business-related areas that I rarely have to seek outside help when I encounter a problem. I will research to death anything that I do not understand but am interested about.
Even if you are completely overwhelmed by a particular area of specialization, at least make an effort to research it so that you have a basic enough understanding so as to be able to converse about it. That will make it easier if you ever negotiate with anyone who you are hiring to help with a particular task – such as SEO or web development.
John Chow and Mitchell Harper are other examples of bloggers who have solid knowledge and skills in a wide variety of related fields including design, copyrighting, marketing, traffic-building, etc.
The Advantage of Becoming a Renaissance Blogger
Clearly, the advantages of becoming a renaissance blogger are that you rarely need to seek outside help (which usually costs money) for what are usually methodical tasks, such as changing the PHP on your blog, or designing a graphic for your header. Of course, in all of these areas, skill comes with experience, but the most significant quality of a renaissance blogger is a thirst for knowledge and hence, a willingness to seek out solutions to problems.
Take Action
What are your best skills? What are your weakest skills? Do you create great looking web sites, but have difficulty developing loyal readers? Then, research copyrighting and traffic-building. Are you a great copyrighter, but don’t know a thing about how to change your blog template? Maybe you should take a class in HTML and web site building.
Areas that I know I would like to improve upon are: creating PHP scripts, marketing, copyrighting, web design, and SEO.
Here are some blogs which I recommend to assist in building skills and knowledge in particular Interweb-related areas:
- Increasing Website Traffic
- Copyrighting
- SEO Knowledge
- Website & Graphic Design
- Conducting Business
- Monetizing Your Website
Wherever the majority of your knowledge and skills reside, make an effort to research areas that you know you could improve upon. Become a true renaissance blogger.
BTW – I now have a “Top Posts” page, check it out.
Uh … wow.
Nice company to sit beside Nate!
And all really great blogs. When I’m lost for words, Copyblogger is the only place to go. Bar none. I also like SEO Book and Harpzon a lot as well. These guys are at the top of their game.
I wish I would have thought of “Renaissance blogger”. That’s classic!
Shane, like I have said, and many others have said, your blog contains an awsome mix of highly readable business development information. You deserve the recognition! Keep up the great work!
Great entry.
I feel as though I need to focus more on marketing my blog more. I have a twin brother whom doesn’t blog much and yet he gets double my traffic. Hmmm
I’ll definelty check out some of the links. 😉
Hey Daniel, thanks for the comment. Yes, it does require a mix of different skills and knowledge to have a successful blog. Best of luck to you!
couldn’t agree with you more. i think the way the world’s moving, everyone needs to be an expert at more than one thing now a days.
thanks for the links. i’ll check them out.
I noticed that you mention John Chow and Mitche harper a few times on this site. I think John’s blog is going down hill and blogs like Mitch’s will be gaining popularity. John’s site just isn’t that great anymore.
ya john is just doing a ton of linkbait…. like giving prizes for “make money online”.