Blogging Perks

You wouldn’t think it, but there are several advantages to blogging.  If there were no perks to blogging why would you even do it?  That said, here is what’s in it for you:

1.  You Will Have a Reliable Journal

Think of a blog as a diary or journal.  Many diaries are written in, stuffed in a box somewhere and then lost for the rest of eternity.  This can’t happen with a blog.  Once your cherished memories, photos and even videos are published, they will be accessible for a long time.  This is a lot safer method of storage than the traditional journal and scrapbook method.  As long as you can get to a computer with internet access, you can get to your journal.  Of course, you will only want to publish the memories that you want others to read about in your blog.  Make sure to remember your password though!

2.  Supplement Your Income

A blog can be financially rewarding in several different ways.  The most obvious is that a blog can be used to promote your own business.  If you have goods for sale or services that you can provide, your blog is the most logical place to let others know about it.  You do need to have a large following in order for this advertising tactic to be successful.  You will want to learn about being a successful blogger before counting on marketing yourself on your blog.  Find a blog that you like to read and ask the owner to be your mentor.

3.  Keep Up with the Times

Plenty of blogs keep us up to date with what’s going on in celebrity lives.  For every entertaining blog, there is a serious blog concerning health and financial matters.  No matter what information you are seeking, there is most likely a blog to accompany it.

4.  Friendships

Whether you are trying to hold onto old friendships or make new friends, an advantage to blogging is that you will be able to foster personal relationships.  If you have an old friend who happens to blog about his or her life, you’ll be able to stay up to date with what’s happening.  As you blog, you will naturally meet other bloggers and people who will leave comments on your site.  When you read someone else’s blog, you may comment and end up engaged in a conversation.  Some blogs do contain a fair amount of nonsense.  It is up to you to use your best judgment regarding this.

5.  Enjoyment

The process of blogging can provide a lifetime of enjoyment.  A blogger may never meet readers in person.  Nonetheless, they can become friends.  Going back through old posts and reflecting on these interactions with your readers can be a source of enjoyment, just as looking at an old scrapbook evokes some sentimental and enjoyable feelings.

Yet, some bloggers neither develop true friendships nor reap great monetary rewards.  They may be indifferent to the interactions that they have with readers.  These bloggers are just plain having fun blogging, and that is wonderful!

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Letting People Know You’re Here With Your Blogs

So you are now a blogger.  This is wonderful, but it means nothing if nobody knows that you exist.  Unless you have fame or fortune, you will have absolutely no readers on the first day of blogging.  If you have contacts with other web owners, professional bloggers or an endless address book, you’ll be able to promote your blog quickly.  Unfortunately, most of us don’t have access to these things and will have to settle for patience instead.

The “Before Blogging” To Do List

• Before you even launch your blog you should be well prepared.  This includes content as well as a plan for promoting your blog.
• Prepare a minimum of five stand-alone articles
• Organize these articles with an index or contents page.  If visitors see a jumbled mess and are unable to navigate your site with ease, you will lose them.
• Be sure to use your name in the title of your blog if you intend to use your name to promote your blog.
• Include your contact information, such as your name, an email address and possibly your general location

Being well prepared for your blog launch will help ensure that readers stick around and promote your site for you.  Viral marketing works if you have some great content.

The best way to get readers to your blog is to get out there and communicate.  Make friends on other blogs and web sites.  Tell others about relevant content.  Make a good reputation for yourself and people will begin to spread the word for you.

Advice for the Newbie

Don’t fall into the trap.  You know – the one that makes you think you will make more money than you know what to do with by next week.  It’s great to have goals, such as earning your living by blogging.  The truth is that all good things take time, and you must be patient.  Blogging for a week or two and then stopping because no one is reading your blog is a huge mistake.  Traffic and money will come in time.  Just stick with it!

If you are a new blogger looking for traffic here are some tips:

1.  Forget the traffic.  Worry about content.

2.  Visit other blogs and make friends.

3.  Link to and from other blogs and web sites.

4.  Don’t expect effortless success.  Blogging is work.

Paying for Traffic

If you are feeling desperate for traffic you may be tempted to purchase services from a company that announces blogs or web sites.  Do yourself a favor and save your money.  These companies make promises of increased traffic by submitting your blog to different directories.  These directories actually have little standing when it comes to search engines.  In the end, the amount of traffic you get will not be worth your money.

Your best bet is to turn out a high quality, entertaining blog that people will want to read.  This is the key to financial success in the blogosphere.

Your First Week as a Blogger

There are blogs sprouting up every day.  Many bloggers just begin blogging without any consideration of the process.  Consider what your first seven days of blogging will look like.

Day 1 – Begin with a Complete Set Up

The first day of blogging is the most important day.  You will want to make sure that every part of your blog is fully functional on the day that you launch.  If you’d do not have the time to begin properly, wait until you do have the time.  By the end of the day your RSS feed should work, your page should look complete, and your blogs should be search engine optimized.  All of these little things can make or break your future as a blogger.

Day 2 – Choose Your Subject Matter

Decide what you will blog about and stick with it.  If you are blogging about punk music, chances are that your audience is interested in punk music.  Expanding your blog to a certain degree is acceptable.  To include such things as of the punk lifestyle, clothing and other aspects of the punk culture would be appropriate.  Switching gears midstream and writing about things that are completely unrelated to the topic at hand will cause you to lose readers.

Day 3 – Choose a Schedule That Works for You

How often you update your blog is your decision.  If you decide you’re going to update your blog weekly, you should continue to do it weekly.  If your readers check your blog and find that it hasn’t been updated in a few weeks they will lose interest and forget about you.  Make sure you choose a schedule that you can live with.

Day 4: Time for Interaction

Blogging is a two way street.  By this point you should be interacting with all of your readers.  If they post comments, respond to them.  If they make suggestions or ask questions, respond to those as well.  Remember that your success depends upon your readers and your readers need to like you.

Day 5: Getting Down to Business

Even if you are the greatest writer in the history of blogging, people will lose interest in you if you don’t get to the point.  Be clear and concise in your posts.  Don’t stretch a simple idea that can be stated in a sentence or two into an entire page.

Day 6: Time for Individuality

By this time, you want to make the blogs yours.  Adding some wit or something unique that will entertain your readers and keep their interest is a must.  Make your reading enjoyable and people will love you.

Day 7: Be Patient

Success rarely happens overnight.  Don’t be upset if you don’t have a thousand readers by the end of the week.  It can take months for that.  Continue slowly and steadily on your path to success

No matter what your purpose for the blog is, always remember that communication and fun are your two main objectives.