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What Blogging means to me.

I’m sure you’ve heard about one of the biggest things to hit the web in the last few years: blogging.

A “blog” (derived from the term “web log”) is basically just a website with two key differences: First, it’s extremely easy to add information to it. A blog is like an online journal, so you just log in, type what happened today, post it, and you’re done! Second, you can add a simple little feature that automatically tells a whole bunch of other websites that you’ve made an update to your blog–every time you make a change.

However, what you may not know is that a blog can also be a very powerful marketing tool for your business, and some people actually earn an income just from blogging alone, learn more about professional marketing tools at https://www.advertisepurple.com/what-is-affiliate-marketing/ or sites like https://victoriousseo.com/verticals/wordpress-seo/.

The fact is, blogging is fast becoming an extremely important strategy for any online marketer. An effective blog can:

  • drive swarms of traffic to your main website,
  • generate more product sales,
  • create an additional stream of advertising income,
  • be a great customer service tool,
  • and much more!

Blogs have an informal, conversational style, and readers can join in by commenting on each post. Blogs can be chatty, informative, opinionated and often humorous, and it’s this “human” aspect of blogs that draws many people to them.

But the best part about blogs is how accessible they are to everyone. Blogs are free (or very inexpensive) to set up using services like Blogger or TypePad . They’re also easy to use (you can literally create your own blog in less than five minutes) and easy to promote with all the new tools and resources that have been created specifically for blogs.

How You Can Use a Blog to Accelerate Online Success

The fact is, blogs are no longer just online diaries of people’s personal lives. Both online and offline businesses can use blogs to take their products and services to a wider audience, increasing their traffic, leads and sales.

Let’s look more closely at a few of the extremely powerful ways your business can benefit from a blog. With an effective business blog, you can:

  • Humanize your business. Because a blog is much more informal than other websites, you can write posts in your own voice and give your business more of a human face. This helps reassure prospective customers that there’s a “real person” behind the website who’ll take care of their needs. It also allows you to inject much more of your own personality into your online business than your main sales site could do.
  • Improve your customer service. Your blog can act as a kind of interactive FAQ, allowing your customers to submit questions and you to answer them. You can also provide product updates, how-to articles, and other information of relevance to your customers. Prospective customers who see your blog will be encouraged by your commitment to good customer service.
  • Give your target market the information they’re looking for. With its automatic archiving feature–by date and category–a blog is a fantastic content-management system. It’s easy for you to post new information on a regular basis, and it’s easy for your visitors to find the information they want. With a well-written, regularly updated blog, you can become a reliable resource in your industry and build a following of loyal readers who depend on your content. These people will be your best potential customers.
  • Drive traffic to your sales website. If you already have a website, a blog can give your traffic levels a real boost. For starters, your blog will attract new visitors that you can then redirect to your main sales website through links and special offers. But an even more effective technique is to use strategic keywords and links to specific sales pages to dramatically improve the search engine rankings of both your blog and your main website.
  • Build your credibility and establish yourself as an industry expert. You can give your credibility a real boost by regularly posting valuable and relevant information on your blog. It’s a great way to establish yourself as an expert in your subject area, and allow your visitors to feel much more comfortable buying from you.
  • Promote your products or services. You can actually sell products directly from a blog, or you can use your blog to mention new products and direct visitors to your sales website.
  • Generate extra income. There are now several advertising programs available, such as Google AdSense, that allow you to monetize your blog and generate an extra revenue stream.

3 Key Tips for Starting a Business Blog

Excited yet? You should be–blogging’s not just a winning strategy, it’s also a lot of fun! The beauty of blogging is that you can easily incorporate it into your daily schedule of tasks. You can even blog when you’re on the road.

But what does it take to become a really successful blogger?

  1. Great content: If your content isn’t interesting and relevant to your target market, your blog won’t work. It’s as simple as that. You’ll be surprised, however, how easy it is to find things to write about if you really put your mind to it. It could be news articles about your industry, product updates, interviews, personal insights into topics of importance to your target audience, and much more.
  2. Regular updating: I won’t lie to you: there are some days when I really find it hard to find the time to post a new article. But if I don’t post, no one will come back. It’s like subscribing to a daily newspaper but only getting a copy delivered now and then! So post often and your audience will keep coming back. And regularly adding fresh content to your blog also gives you a boost in the search engine rankings.
  3. Your own distinct voice: It’s important that you write in your own voice. A blog is no place for formality and corporate speak. It’s more of a forum, a place where ideas can flourish and topics of current interest can be debated. You don’t even need to be a brilliant writer; you just need to be able to relate to your audience and give them good content.

19 comments on “What Blogging means to me.

  1. Gosh, I love this. Blogging is such a strange thing and can be so different for each person. Glad to see you’re finding a rhythm that works for you, Cassie!

  2. So refreshing to hear an honest perspective on blogging. I completely agree with your “keep going at your own pace” advice. Sometimes we all just need a break, and that’s ok too 🙂

  3. You have been such an inspiration and breath of fresh air on the internet for me. Seriously. You have an eye for design but I am so glad you aren’t afraid to be real. It is better to let your blog grow organically with you than to push it to be something that is probably already out there. Thank YOU.

  4. Blogging is like building a Brand, it takes time and patience. Take your time and put out great work. Don’t just post to post. Great work will be followed by many. Remember that this blog is what gave you the confidence and confirmation that you were talented. In the past year you have attracted some talented people/followers, they hear your voice and keep coming back to see what you put out. Oh, did I mention, this is where many paying clients came from, keep the faith and keep this blog alive, I will miss it if you were to leave this space!

  5. Cassie, thanks for sharing your perspective on this matter! I, too, have fallen victim to putting so much pressure on myself for producing a “perfect” post, when in reality, creativity and motivation is not something that you can force.

    There’s this quote by Ira Glass: “Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.” (Apologies for the long quote!)

    I guess, I’ve found ease in knowing that even if I do have those times where my posts aren’t so great, I know that I am one step closer to becoming or finding myself. After all, sometimes it really is not the product that makes us creators feel full, but the process.

    1. Hi Alyssa! I LOVE that you shared this quote. I actually had this quote printed out and tacked to my bulletin board during my years working at the advertising agency. Love it and love it’s message. Thanks for the reminder that its all about the process 🙂

  6. Thank you! I needed that today. I’ve been struggling with feeling I neglect my blog, but as you say holding down two full time jobs (plus freelance work!) is not easy, nay possible. Time to be a bit gentler on myself.

  7. You’ve taken the words out of my mouth… or to be precise out of my jumbled brain! I feel exactly the same but do sometimes get ‘guilted’ (is that even a word) into producing more and more content by comparing myself to others. So if I could add a fourth point DON’T COMPARE YOURSELF. You are you and you are unique and special in lots of ways and you don’t need x number of followers to validate that. So, Red Riding Hood stick to your path and don’t let the big bad wolf drag you away with promises of gazillion of followers.
    Apologies for the outburst but you hit a cord with me. High five Cassie! XO

    1. So glad you stopped by Annie. I love the ‘Don’t Compare Yourself” addition. I think it’s super important to stay true to yourself and the reason you started blogging in the first place. If you started blogging for the sole purpose of gaining followers, I’d question what you’re doing. It’s definitely not a numbers game. Thanks for the reminder!

  8. Good for you! That’s exactly how it should be. Write about the things that excite you when they excite you. You are being true to yourself, not giving in to any “norms” from the outside, so big high five for going with your gut.
    xx
    Maja

  9. this! i needed to read it. i have such mixed feelings about “being a blogger.” sometimes it is SO exciting and i can’t wait to dive in. then other days i am so meh about it and it feels utterly pointless. thank you for sharing that you have these up and down times too – it can be hard to remember that even though blogging is an industry it is still (at its heart) a place for exploration and inspiration and discussion and a place for us to grow.

  10. I hear you, sister. Blogging was something I proudly disassociated with for years. After some changes in my life led my with a gap that I wanted to fill with creativity and connection, I started blogging and have grown to love it as an exercise in writing and creativity and to love the community. We all do it for our own reasons, and it’s about finding those reasons and not letting external influences get in the way. Just discovered your blog and plan on reading it on the regular, so thank you for sharing your thoughts on blogging – it’s one of the first posts I’ve read from you, and I’m looking forward to reading many more!

  11. Love this post! I actually love ramblings – I appreciate that it gives a different level of insight into someone’s work and life than you can get from a fully formed or planned post. It makes me appreciate small things more. Thank you for rambling!

    Secondly, I blog too and since I’m great at self-imposed anxiety, I made a promise to myself when I started blogging that I wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t fun. Sometimes that means that I don’t do it when it doesn’t feel fun in that moment but I find I always come back to it. I post once a week but last week it just didn’t seem feasible. So I didn’t and nobody died and i had a great time writing this week. Though I admittedly felt the guilt. In the end, I think we’re all grateful for what we can share with each other, not on a schedule but when life allows it and encourages it.

    1. Megan! Thanks so much for stopping by. I love how you said “I blog when life allows” because this is such a true statement. Life shouldn’t be able creating blog-able content, but rather sharing what those special moments when they do come about. Thanks for the reminder 😉

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