There was a time people used diaries as a way to tell their stories or express themselves in different ways. A diary was a personal book that people wrote down what happened during their day or a situation that they found themselves in that they would want to be able to express. The emergence of blogging gave people an online platform that was similar to a personal diary. The internet gave rise to the act of blogging. People across the world could share their personal ideas or views about certain issues from climate, food, environment, social issues, political, etc. The early stages of blogging started with people using it to express themselves in a personal way. Some would write about their day to day activities or about their life. But, as blogging became more popular, people started blogging about widespread topics because this gave them an audience that was ready to listen and read about what they wrote.

Blogging platform allows people to come together and have a platform to express views and ideas in a more personal way. The world has grown connected and one of the important factors that have played in this is the use of blogs. There are billions of bloggers around the world and it is a way to meet people that have the same views. In order to experience the benefits of blogging, you have to want to invest time in it. This time is spent creating content regularly and interacting with other bloggers.

What is a Blog?

A blog is a journal online or a website that involves regular updates of articles to be written to keep it active. It can be altered and changed. It involves having a title that talks about what the blog is going to stand for and also it has the option to add in social media links to be able to post your articles on different social media platforms. If you are a writer this is the perfect place to start with, to express yourself on different topics. A blog has so many benefits as it allows people to connect with each other who share the same ideas and opinions. It can also be a platform that allows a conversational forum to discuss specific queries/topics.

Difference between a Blog & website

People sometimes don’t understand the difference between having a blog and a website. A website contains information that never changes. A blog contains information that is expected to change regularly and frequently. As it has an option to write new posts and publish. Many businesses that have their personal websites do not keep changing the website content. They maintain a static option which includes important information that they want their target audience to gain access to specific information. Websites normally contain information about the business, contact details, address, services or products, etc. A blog has written articles on different topics.

A blog can be used for various reasons. It can be either used for business or personal purposes. Many businesses today create blogs to grow their business online. Blogs for business purposes can involve lengthy articles on different sections of the business or subjects related to the product or services. Websites are not conversational. But, blogs allow for conversations. They also allow you to interact easily with your target audience or customers. In this way, your customers have a more personal connection with your business, and also understand it in a less formal manner. Websites are very professional and formal. Blogs are informal and allow a space for any business to understand its target audience more.

Blogging for business purposes

The act of blogging started as a personal online journal that allowed people to express themselves as they would in their personal diary although the difference is that people across different parts of the world are going to have access to read and comment on it. Nowadays, many businesses have moved into the act of blogging to grow their business.

Benefits

The benefits of using a blog to grow your business are huge. It is the most important way to build your SEO ranking on Google Search engine. Many businesses who want to get closer to being found on Google Search Engine should consider using blogging. Now, it is easy to connect a blogging section to a section of the business website. This way your customers can get the specific information they want from the website and also gain access to the business blogs as well from the same point of reference. Businesses have understood the importance of blogging and that is why many choose to add a blogging section to the business website. This way your customers get direct information from the website and if they want to know more about the services or subjects related to the business, they can do that without having to leave the website.

Advantages of blogging

Blogging comes with many perks. Why is it important to blog especially if you have a huge interest in writing or you are a business that needs the extra push in relation to growing your business website rankings on Google. This is a very important aspect of building your brand or business online. Anyone who underestimates the power of blogging needs to rethink their view especially when you have a series of blog articles popping up when you search for any topic or query on Google.

1) Affiliate advertising

This is a way to make money through the use of advertising tools. Affiliate advertising involves an advertiser paying bloggers money to promote their product or services on the blog. This is one of the best ways to make money through blogging. If your aim is to run a personal blog and want to make money from it then affiliate advertising is the best way to do so.

2) Builds trust

Any business that decides to start blogging is on its way to building a trustworthy relationship with its customers. It is a way for customers to understand the business from an informal way rather than formal. It is very easy to interact with your customers through blogging.

3) Social media friendly

It is very easy to share content to other social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, etc. Many blogging websites are made in a way that allows you to easily share content with other social media platforms. It also allows you to promote your articles in a way to different platforms. This way you generate more visitors through social media.

4) Easy to use

Blogging is easy to use and doesn’t require much study to be able to navigate. It allows you to write, edit, post, and share in a very simple way. It is pretty direct. It is also the easiest way to connect with your customers as a business. It allows for effective communication which in a way helps build customer servicing. This is beneficial for the brand.

5) Repurpose benefits

Blogs can be repurposed to be used in different ways. A single blog post can be repurposed in a way that helps improve the visibility of the blog article and the website as a whole in a big way. Repurposing a blog post involves spending time using the contents within your blog post and also promoting it on different social media platforms.

6) Website inclusive

Yes, businesses or individuals with personal websites can now include their blogs on their websites. It is possible to design your website i9n a way that it includes a section to your blogs. This way your website serves different purposes to the target audience. It gives the target audience the option to view the detailed way information relating to your business or choose to stick to the static information on the website.

7) Mobile friendly

Blogs can also be used through mobile phones. There are many blogging applications that allow you to blog through your mobile phone such as WordPress, Wix, Joomla, Tumblr, etc.

Start a blog

It is very easy today to start a blog and become a blogger. All you have to do is choose a platform that you would like to explore the world of blogging with. In this case, there are many websites or applications that allow you to blog easily and also they are cost-effective. You can try several websites such as WordPress, etc if you want to begin to blog. If you are a business, all you need to do is incorporate a blogging section within your website which would be designed by a website developer and if you don’t have a content writer. This is the right time to hire one because you would need to post new content either on a daily basis or weekly.

Who is a blogger?

A blogger is someone that owns a blog wherein they create fresh content in relation to different topics such as food, social causes, politics, environment or climate topics, etc. Bloggers can maintain various types of blogs. There are so many fashion bloggers today that post about fashion and lifestyle. A blogger could do it full time or part-time. It could also be a career or a job. As blogging can now be used as a means to earn money, many invest time in blogging and consider themselves bloggers by profession.

Become a Blogger

Here are some few pointers to become a blogger:

1) Know your niche

You need to know what you want to blog about. You need to focus on various subjects that interest you and are topics that you enjoy expressing or writing about. It should be a topic you feel strongly off and want to share your views on. If you are a business, you would want to focus on articles that are relating to your business or product/services. People visiting your blog will want to know more about your business or your products/services. So, this is the best space to start writing about each product you have or the services you provide.

2) Consistent

You can’t create a blog and not post anything on it. It takes away from the actual essence of the platform. The whole point of creating a blog or becoming a blogger is because you have something to say and share with other people. This is why consistency is key. Even if you are a business, you need to set up days in a week you are going to upload on your blog. If it is daily then it is amazing. If it is twice a week, keep that specific schedule and stick to it. This way your target audiences know when to expect a blog from you. Also, consistent posting on your blog is the only way that Google will push your website to the first page of its search engine. Google looks for active bloggers and also blogs with informational content. You need to keep in mind before you start a blog.

3) Relevant & informational content

Content is the key to growing your visibility online through blogging. You should focus on topics that best describe your business and also make sure they are relevant. Invest time in writing content that is useful and informational. People don’t want to come on your website to find content on your blog that is not relating to your business or services/products. It would be very confusing to your target audience to have topics about different business sectors that are not related to your business.

4) Share on other social media

Now, this is very important. If you want to promote your blog articles then you need to start sharing it on different social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. This helps to distribute traffic from your social media platforms to your blog. It could also be vice-versa. Social media platforms are effective when it comes to gaining response and improving the visibility of your blogs online. So, don’t forget to post them.

Blogging is a very important platform for both personal and business purposes. It is a platform that is growing and the blogging community is a large one. It is never late to start blogging.