What is a Blogger? in 2021
What is a Blogger? in 2021
Blogging refers to writing, photography, and other media self-published online. Blogging started out as an opportunity for individuals to write journal-like articles, but has since been incorporated into websites for many businesses. Blogging features include regular updates, casual language, and opportunities for readers to participate and start a conversation.
Here’s an overview of what a blog is, why it’s popular, and tips for starting your own.
What is blogging?
The word blog is actually a shortened form of the original name, “weblog”. These weblogs allowed early internet users to “log” the details of their day into diary-like data. Blogs often allow readers to comment, so as they became more common, communities formed around popular blogs.
Blog content varies considerably. Travel blogs, for example, can have lots of photos with few written passages, while political blogs can weigh in with a comprehensive look at the day’s news. The popularity of YouTube and similar sites also led to video blogging, or ‘vlogging’.
Like most innovations on the internet, many entrepreneurs saw marketing potential in having a blog, and the adoption of blogging among the business community helped further increase the popularity of the medium. Not only can a blog be used for marketing a business, but it can also become a home business in its own right.
How Blogging Works
Blogging is as easy as getting a website and publishing original content on it. Tech savvy bloggers can buy a domain name and build the website themselves. Those with less HTML knowledge can create an account with sites such as WordPress that simplify the web design and publishing process.
Blogs are usually simple websites. Older pieces can be archived in separate sections of the site and there may be a separate page with contact information or a biography, but the blog itself is usually just one page that can be scrolled through, similar to the news feed on social media sites such as Facebook. Similar to a Facebook news feed, a blog displays the latest content at the top of the page.
All posts on a blog are usually created by one author. However, when a company or organization maintains a blog, it can pay for blog content – by hiring a team of writers or by purchasing content to post.
Another unique feature of blogging is interlinking. This happens when a blogger links to someone else’s blog in their own blog post. For example, if a music teacher maintains a blog and they write a blog post on how to form a chord, they can link to a musician’s blog to preview the chords in action. A political blogger can link to another political blog and then discuss how they agree or disagree with a post on that blog. Interlinking, along with the comment section, fosters the sense of community that makes blogs unique.
Blogging Versus Traditional Websites
| Blogging Versus Websites | |
| Blogs | Websites are |
| frequently updated | Largely evergreen content |
| Allows reader engagement | One-way communication |
Some people are confused about what a blog is over a website. Part of the confusion stems from the fact that many companies use both, usually adding a blog section to the company website. However, there are two characteristics of a blog that distinguish it from a traditional website.
First, blogs are regularly updated. Whether it’s a mom blog in which a woman shares parenting adventures, a food blog with new recipes, or a company offering updates to its services, blogs are added with new content several times a week. Websites may contain new information from time to time, but for the most part, they provide static information that rarely changes.
Second, blogs generate reader engagement. Blogs and social media accounts often go hand in hand because they serve a similar purpose of connecting an audience with each other and the creator of the content. Some websites may include features that enable conversation, but in general a blog allows for more conversation and interaction than a traditional website.
Pros and Cons of Blogging
Benefits
- Good for SEO
- Maintains communication with customers
- Builds relationship with customers
- Generate alternative income
Cons
- Time consuming
- Constantly requires new ideas
- Payout slows down
- Blogging on its own doesn’t generate revenue
Benefits explained
- Good for SEO: Search engines love new content and that’s why blogging is a great search engine optimization (SEO) tool for that. A defining characteristic of blogs is the frequency with which they are updated, and that new content helps improve the SEO performance of a website.
- Maintains communication with customers: Blog posts can keep your customers and customers up to date with what’s going on, notify them about new deals, and give them tips. The more often you post useful content, the more often a customer visits your blog and the more likely they are to spend money.
- Builds a bond with customers: Not only does a blog allow you to showcase what you know – build your expertise and credibility – but people can also comment and interact with you. That allows customers to get to know you and hopefully build relationships that turn into purchases.
- Generate Alternative Income: Successful blogs can earn money themselves. In addition to your product or service, blogs can monetize alternative sources such as advertising and affiliate products.
Blogging is flexible and portable, making it a great option for people who want to become a lifestyle entrepreneur.
Cons Explained
- Time-consuming: The success of blogging is because people return, and they only come back when there are new things to read. That means bloggers need to generate content at least several times a week to be effective in engaging readers and increasing SEO.
- Constantly requires new ideas: Posting several times a week is not beneficial if the ideas are not fresh and engaging. It can be exhausting to constantly conceptualize and execute new content. The good news is that you don’t have to do it all yourself. You can have guest writers for hire freelancers. Another option is to manage other people’s content. You can purchase private label right (PLR) content and customize it for your blog.
- Payout Has Delayed: One of the biggest frustrations with blogging is that it is time consuming and produces little results at first. It takes time to build readership and momentum.
- Blogging on its own doesn’t generate revenue: once posting an article was enough to generate traffic and revenue. Today, a successful blog requires email marketing, additional benefits such as content upgrades and an engaged social network, such as a Facebook group.
Blog Requirements
The good news is that starting a blog or adding a blog to your existing site is relatively easy and affordable. All you need to do is follow these four steps.
Setting up the blog
There are free blogging options such as WordPress and Blogger, but to maintain control and a professional image, consider investing in a domain name and hosting service. You can install WordPress or another content management system on your host if you don’t want to create the whole site from scratch.
Adding Content
Once your blog is up and running, keep it running with new content to grow your business. Develop a regular schedule for writing and posting blog articles.Create a content calendar so you always know what you are going to post.
Market
Like any other business idea, your success comes from marketing and getting your message to the attention of your target market. Great ways to reach your market are through reaching out social media apps for email lists,and byto other bloggers, podcasters, and media outlets for publicity. Use your blog content to promote your business on a variety of platforms, such as by using quotes on your Twitter or Instagram profiles, or creating a video of your article to share on YouTube.
Adding Revenue
Streams While your blog can complement an existing business, it’s also a great way to add additional streams of income streams to your home business. You can promote the products and services of other companies in affiliate marketing. You can advertise or post ad networks, such as AdSense, on your blog. If you have a service business that you promote with your blog, you can create your own information products to complement it. Or, if you have your own product, you can offer a service.
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