A blog is a personal online diary. In the early days of the Internet, it was a free-for-all affair but now many people use blogs to express their opinions, write about themselves or just share pictures and videos. You can set up your own blog and invite people to visit you or you can use services such as WordPress, Blogger or TypePad. Many bloggers use both.
Your blog may be about your hobbies, news events, family life, or current affairs or you could be a writer or artist. The content doesn’t matter – there’s no censorship.
Your blog is public. This means that anyone, anywhere in the world, can read what you write. However, if you want to keep your privacy, according to Delphix you can log on to a private space that allows you to control how people can access your blog and see who visits.
Cost of running a blog
To begin with, it’s a hobby that takes time and money. The most important investment is in good quality equipment, software and a web host. If you plan to sell your products, you may need a business account with PayPal or another payment system.
Your hosting company will provide you with a free domain name. To start your blog off on the right foot, many web hosts also offer a free blogging platform that provides you with a basic website and a webmail facility. However, you can also use a free hosted service such as WordPress.com or Blogger.com which offers a good range of templates to choose from and can host multiple blogs.
If you plan to use your blog to earn money, you’ll need to set up an e-commerce site where you can sell your wares. EBay or Etsy can be good places to start.
Blogging as a way of expression
Some people find blogging a great creative outlet; they enjoy writing their thoughts and opinions, putting them down on paper or canvas, and sharing them with others. Others enjoy reading other people’s blogs and following the lives of famous personalities. They can read about what celebrities wear, what their favorite places are, and what they like to do.
If you are a blogger, you can follow the news and share your views about current events. You might comment on interesting stories or ask others to comment on a topic you are interested in.
Bloggers also share their tips on how to live life, how to deal with stress, and how to manage difficult situations. Some of them blog about their own struggles, which is helpful for those who feel isolated.
Tips for starting a blog
The first step is to decide if you want to blog as a hobby, to make money or both. There are lots of ways to start blogging. For instance, you could use a free blogging platform or, you could sign up to a free hosted service. Alternatively, you could set up a free web hosting service yourself.
After you’ve chosen a platform, you’ll need to decide what you’re going to blog about. A lot of bloggers choose to focus on a particular topic or subject. Another option is to set up a new blog and let it run on autopilot, writing a post whenever you think of a new idea.
You can also write a blog about something you already know a lot about. For example, if you’re a writer, you could share your experiences and publish your books and articles. You could do the same for a musician, an artist or a photographer. You might also want to start a blog about the world’s issues, or politics, or about parenting. If you are passionate about a particular issue, you could write a series of posts on that topic.
Advantages of SEO for Blogs when doing Business
Blogs are excellent for creating a personal brand, they provide a creative outlet, and they are a great way to establish yourself as an expert in a specific field. In short, they can be a great way to promote yourself.
According to Statistica, the average user spends 14 minutes reading a blog post, so a professional blogger is bound to be in the top search results for most keywords. With more and more consumers using the internet to research products and services, it’s important to ensure that you have a presence on the web.
Blogging can help your business by:
Getting found
As a small business owner, you need to be able to promote your business online. The best way to do this is through SEO, but having a quality blog can also give you a head start.
If people search for your business on Google, the chances are that your website will come up in the first few search results. If you have a blog, then you can use that to increase the number of visitors to your site. When someone is researching a particular service or product, they will often read the first few results before deciding which website to visit. So, if you rank in these results, it gives you an advantage.
If you are planning on doing business over the web, you need to think about how you can reach potential customers. Having a website and a blog gives you the chance to communicate directly with your customers.
You can give out useful information and tips, or simply link to useful websites that your customers might be interested in. It’s also a good idea to add social media links and include a ‘contact us’ section. Blogging also provides you with the opportunity to interact with other businesses and potential customers.
You can also use your blog to demonstrate your expertise and attract new clients. People are often interested in knowing more about the person behind the business, so when they see you have a blog, they’ll want to find out more.
You can also encourage potential customers to subscribe to your RSS feed, which is a simple way of keeping them updated with any news, updates, or changes. Your blog will also appear in the ‘Blog Roll’ of other businesses, which means that you can help to build your client base.
Increasing traffic to your website
A blog can be a great way to increase traffic to your site. Visitors to your site will probably be interested in a particular topic. If you write a blog about that topic, it means that your audience is likely to be interested in the same things as you. If your site has lots of traffic, then it will be ranked highly in the search engines, which is a good way to get noticed.
Your blog can also be a good place to attract potential clients. If you write about the kind of services you offer, your target audience will probably be interested in what you have to say. People will be much more likely to click on your link if they know that you are an expert in your field.
So, if you have a small business, and you don’t have a blog, why not start one? By writing a blog, you can establish yourself as an expert in your field. If you would like to make sure that your business is getting maximum exposure, you can also sign up for our free business and personal blogging course.
