About Blogging, which is just the beginning…
If writing is an art, then, blogging is one way of using words to come up with an art. This is because people who are into blogging are the ones who are artistic in their own sense, carefully choosing words that would best describe their feelings, sentiments, wishes, desires, and everything.
Basically, blogs were first introduced as weblogs that refer to a “server’s log file.” It was created when web logging hit the virtual market. Since its inception in the mid-1990s, web logging gradually saturated the virtual community making the Internet a viable source of greater information.
However, with web logging, you still need a website and domain names, but with blogging, you do not need anything just an account with blog providers. In most cases, these kinds of blogs are free of charge.
With the introduction of blogging in the industry, personal journaling had become a common ground for people who want to go all over the world. However, not being famous literally is not a matter of being a popular or famous personality.
Generally, blogs are created for personal use. Like a journal, people can write their daily adventures, sentiments, and whatever ideas they want to express online.
Nevertheless, with the advent of online businesses, blogs had gradually taken the limelight in providing businesses a chance to boost their productivity online. This is where business blogs have taken the limelight.
Business blogs are, basically, created to advertise the services or products of a certain website or online business in order to increase online sales.
Moreover, business blogs are also one way of promoting the company so that the other readers will know that a certain company exists online. With blogs, entrepreneurs are able to establish a name in the virtual market through articles that can be very useful in the reader’s life.
From there, you can make money out of blogs by simply syndicating them to your business’ website. This can be done through RSS technology.
So, if you are thinking to create a blog, whether for business or for pleasure, you need to know some tips that could help you get through and make your blog one of the interesting blogs online.
Here’s how:
Consider your audience
You may think that your blog audience chooses you, but did you know that you can choose your blog audience?
No, I don’t mean that you can go into the internet and tell particular people that they should be among your readers.
You can’t really get people to read your blog. Pretty sure it will have the exact opposite result. If you want to have a successful blog, you need the right audience.
When you are getting started with blogging, you want to make sure that you are using your time and money as wisely as possible. You have a lot on your plate, so you want every minute of yours to pay off.
Even if your blog is generally personal, still, it would be better to consider the minds of your readers. You have to think of something that would interest them.
After all, most of the reasons for people who write blogs are not at all confined to their own personal motives. Most of them would love to be “heard” (or read) and would love to be known, in some way or another, even for just a minute.
Hence, it is very important to come with a write-up that everybody can understand, not necessarily that these people can relate to it but they can understand it.
Pictures speak a thousand words
Pictures can bring any piece of written text to life. It helps to complement a blog post and paint a clearer picture of the narrative in one’s mind.
It is safe to say that images on blog posts are not only attractive to look at, but also act as visual anchors that set the overall mood of the article as well as the brand feel of the website.
To make your blogging worth the browsing effort of your readers, it would be extremely nice if you will put some pictures in it. It does not necessarily mean you have to place a picture of yourself.
Any photographs will do as long as it does not pose danger or insult to anyone who will be reading your blog.
When you use pictures, this picture improves the SEO ranking of your blog post. Pictures SEO can drive more traffic to your site through image search and help your pages rank. Pictures will be more engaging and interesting to your audience if they are high quality.
The advantage of all this with pictures is that you will appeal to a more diverse audience.
Images break up text into small, legible parts, which makes your blog post look even better. Which people start taking interest in falling and gradually you collect your customers and address them.
Make constructive and beneficial blogs
The more you work on your craft, the more you will find your voice, the first thing you should do is learn what not to do, figure out what works and what doesn’t, which is important to you.
Try this to make sure you read your work aloud – you’ll hear errors. Take lots of pictures – you’ll learn the technique.
Even if you are free to write anything you want to say to the world, still, it would be better to create some writeups that would be beneficial to your readers.
After all, it’s information technology that you have there so better be inclined to provide information rather than sheer quirky entertainment.
Now that you have some traffic coming to your site through your blog, it is time for you to convert that website traffic into leads. When you develop articles that aren’t only worthful to your potential consumers but in addition to other companies that your audience sees as industry leaders, it’d be easier to gain related links.
Avoid making multifaceted and complicated blogs
One of the reasons why bloggers fail is that they’re not producing engaging, outstanding quality content.
With so much content being produced, great content is the minimum bet for getting in the game.
If you know your stuff, you’ll also do a better job at breaking down complex topics, so that your target audience can best understand new developments in your industry.
In order to have an interesting blog, try not to use some highly technical and highfalutin words. After all, it is not a science discourse or a debate that you are making, so better stick to simple facts and short blogs.
The biggest mistake bloggers make is to misunderstand who their audience is. I see many blogs where the bloggers clearly understand the topic, but they fail to connect to their audience with their posts.
Bear in mind that most people who use the Internet usually do more scanning than scrutinizing each site word for word. Therefore, it would be better to come with blogs that will not bore your readers just because you have these lengthy articles.
Simple logos are much easier to remember and create an instant connection to the brand they represent.
Make it interactive
The advantages of interactive content are quite clear: It’s extremely engaging for online users and acts as a strong, medium for marketers to collect worthful data for lead generation.
with time, these data insights will guide your content promotion efforts, assisting you to win loyal brand advocates.
As much as possible and if your capacity will allow it, make your blog interactive. You can do this by placing some video or audio clips in your blog.
You can even place an area for comments or for some feedback. In this way, you can get some impressions or reactions from other people. Who knows, you might even gain some friends just by making them feel at home on your blog site.
Indeed, blogs are not created just for the mere fun of it. It also has its own purpose in the world of the Internet. Therefore, for people who wish to harness their craft, as far as writing is concerned, blogs are the best way to do it.
As they say, blogging is the contemporary term of creative and commercial writing.
Who can benefit from blogging?
Blogs are extremely flexible and have the potential to be so effective that there really isn’t a business out there that cannot benefit from the use of this vehicle. In fact, for some people, blogging is actually their paying business.
This tool can add to branding efforts no matter the product, service, or idea that is in the spotlight. The blog itself can even be the “brand” in question.
Some examples that show just how versatile blogging can be in building a brand and cultivating business interests include:
• Product blogs – Blogs that are designed to promote a specific company and its products might contain news about upcoming releases, how to present products are used, and other related tidbits of information.
• Service blogs – Companies that sell services rather than specific products often use blogs to share information about their industry, to share tips on how to tell when a service call is needed, and so on.
• Professional blogs – Doctors, lawyers, accountants and other professionals use blogs to get their names out on the Internet and to share vital information with readers. A doctor, for example, might write posts about maintaining health, how to tell if someone is sick and what to expect from certain treatments. This type of blog builds on the professional’s own brand.
• Government blogs – Many governmental agencies on the city, county, state and federal levels now use blogs to impart important information to citizens. These blogs can range from highly newsy and formal in style to very conversational. The idea is to create an outlet to quickly and effectively share news and information with residents.
• Artistic blogs – Published authors, journalists, artists, musicians and others in the creative fields use blogs to boost their own brand recognition. They often use these vehicles to update fans on their current projects, to share personal news and more.
• Niche blogs – In some cases, the brand is the blog itself. Some entrepreneurs create blogs geared to a specific topic and build themselves up as authorities on the said topic.
To generate income, they sell advertising on their blogs or act as affiliate marketers for products related to the niche. The better the branding efforts here, the more likely it is the blog will be able to establish itself as a reliable authority on the subject matter. This, in turn, can build the brand and traffic on the site at the same time.
When these two things happen, advertising or affiliate revenues can go up thanks to the exposure received.
• Organizational blogs – Many nonprofit organizations now use blogs to connect with their supporters. These blogs might contain information about fundraising efforts, public appearances, current public service campaigns and more.
Blogs have proven very effective for helping build the brand recognition of different nonprofit organizations while also assisting them in gaining support and even reaching out to clients they service.
The beauty of blogs is that they can be used in a variety of ways to reach out to readers and build and maintain a following. The exposure gained through this format can prove to be a very powerful force in building a brand and the business behind it.