What is Blogging in a Nutshell?
Blogging is the activity of creating short articles known as blogs. A blog is an abbreviated version of a weblog, which is used to describe sites that contain an ongoing chronicle of information. A blog features diary-type commentaries and links to articles on other website or locations within that website. Blogs are used in many areas of life, professions and vocations. They are best described as interactive articles laid out in chronological order that can be shared on an endless stream of other social media platforms.
Is There A Particular Structure To Blogging?
Yes! Blogs are usually structured with a main content area placed on the left hand side of the page with articles listed in chronological order with the newest posts on top, usually on the right hand side. Oftentimes posts are organized into categories to make it easier for readers to select the areas they wish to engage in. An archive of older articles are normally located under the newest posts and maybe labeled under a separate heading or date.
Blogs allow for people to leave comments about the written content. Comment boxes are usually placed directly underneath the blog posts. These comments may sometimes require the approval of the blog owner to ensure no inappropriate language or messages are placed. Social media sharing widgets are also very common at the foot of blog posts. These are icons that readers can click to share the content with their friends or network at the click of a mouse.
There are many widgets that the popular blog sites such as WordPress and Blogger allow in their pages. Bloggers can show photographic galleries of their favorite images, videos and popular blog posts. Blogs can also have RSS feed functionality which allow readers to opt-in the bloggers page and receive future updates and blog posts anytime they are published on the site. This enables bloggers to bring their fresh and exciting content directly to the reader instead of the reader having to come to them.
What Can 'Blogging' Do For My Business?
If you've been online for some time you have probably already heard that blogging is great for business. Why is it then that so many shy away from it? It's true that setting up a truly attractive blog and content mapping will take some planning but once it's set up the hardest part is completed. Blogging will tell your potential clients/customers many things about your site, it's content and any new updates you may want to share with them. You essentially have free reign to write about anything you want about your product or service, with one goal in mind - to win over customers! This is an important aspect of viral marketing and that is where blogging can work well for people. Blogging is powerful because it allows you to be YOU! You can showcase your business and how you interpret your business in ways that will magnetically attract people to your blog. The magical element of blogging is that once you strike that personable tone you will develop followers and this will lead to increased business.
Do's and Don’ts When Blogging!
Blogging in short has often been equated to a diary of your business that is able to be viewed by the public. There are some tips however you need to be mindful of when constructing a blog in order to get that 'personable' edge to develop followers and business associates.
Have Some Fun But Don’t Forget To Be Factual
Writing blogs doesn't have to be a formal affair. It can be very creative and fun to do. By all means pay attention to your grammatical and cohesive nature throughout your posts but there is no need to get heavy and too 'full on'. A relaxed tone and information ready style is very fitting. Remember you can write about anything you want and you want to bring 'You' across to your potential customers and readers. Writing in this manner will make you more approachable and easier to develop a relationship with.
Make Your Information Sought After & Reliable
Like any writing, words that have no action behind them are empty. Your role as a blogger is not to only provide information but to provide value and weight behind every paragraph. Establishing your credibility online is easy if you stand solid on what you are saying and show that you can deliver. If you say you are going to provide such and such on a certain date, do it! If you are stating you will offer free memberships, do it! The more meaningful blogging you do the more credible you will come across. If your products and services perform to the standard that you are saying, you will have entered into a new state of reliability and success in your business. People will see it and be attracted to it.
Make Your Blogs Rich in SEO Keywords
Learning the skill of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a goldmine to any blogger. You can write in ways that can get your blog or site highly ranked on the search engines if you include the right content and trigger 'keywords.' The more blogs you write doing this, the more popular your blog will become and will generate extra traffic. Blogging can be fun indeed but even more fun if your content is SEO friendly.
Regular Exciting Communication Keeps Customers
Effective communication is the key to any successful business venture. Non-effective communication is often said in the industry as being so important that it can shut down companies in twelve months or less. Ensure that your message is simple, direct and with a purpose. When you are writing blogs make them easy to understand. There is nothing worse than getting mixed messages or information that becomes lost in translation. Before writing any blog, establish your objective! What are you aiming to achieve? Then do it in the most simple and effective way that you can. Let your writing be conducive to your business and not a hindrance.
Never Underestimate the Power of Images
If you look through a host of blogs that are on the Internet you will see that the most popular blogs use images to add that extra bit of 'oomph' and 'edge' to their look. It can also add power to the message of the post. Let's say you are writing about a new floor cleaning product. You aren't just going to write about it and then leave the reader to use their imagination as to how the solution or finished product would be. You can eliminate this hard work by placing a powerful image of a spotlessly clean floor on the top right or left hand corner of your blog post. As your readers sift through your text they will keep that positive product image in their minds and will be able to get the full power and descriptive nature of your writing.
Blogging can be fun and very beneficial to your business. There are some companies out there that use blogging because they have to as part of being in business. A good blogging presence can do wonders for your business and can leave a mark on the search engines for many years to come.
