What Is A Blog?

I think this quote from blogger (Googles Blog system) says it all

What is a blog?

“A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world.  Your blog is whatever you want it to be. There are millions of them, in all shapes and sizes, and there are no real rules. In simple terms, a blog is a web site, where you write stuff on an ongoing basis. New stuff shows up at the top, so your visitors can read what’s new. Then they comment on it or link to it or email you. Or not. Since Blogger was launched in 1999, blogs have reshaped the web, impacted politics, shaken up journalism, and enabled millions of people to have a voice and connect with others. And we are pretty sure the whole deal is just getting started.”

A Journal

Think about a journal, only electronic so it's online and the world is reading it and that is what a blog is.  Simple! Just like a journal you can write about whatever you like, whenever you like, as often as you like. But unlike a journal a blog isn’t private – it is open to the world to read your thoughts, comment on what you have to say and share it with their friends.

A Content Management System

A blog is also called a content management system because that is exactly what it does…..manages your content!  It allows you to write a subject line and content then “file” your entry under date, under a particular topic (called categories) and to “tag” each entry with relevant words so that people can find you.

Because your content is saved in date order your most recent blog post appears at the top of your blog and the other posts are filled under it.

A Business Builder

Your blog can become your business. In order to do that you must have a few other things in place like the ability to build a list of subscribers. By asking people to sign up to receive your free gift (newsletter, ebook, ecourse etc) you are building a list of subscribers who will want to hear from you on a regular basis. With this list you can promote products/services that will earn you an income.

Another way to build a business is to add a membership site and provide extra information for people who sign up.

The most popular way to build a blog business is to promote products and services through your blog. Your blog can become a lead generation tool for you that allows you to connect with prospective clients. If you don't have your own products and services remember you can also sell as an affiliate - which means you sell the products and services of other people for a commission.

Those are just three examples of how you can use a blog to build an income for yourself.

Why Blogs Are Loved

The world loves to read, read about personal stories, about product reviews, about film reviews, read stories from authors, motivational text from life coaches, amusing and entertaining speeches from speakers.

Whatever you do for a living or hobby/fun chances are there is a blog out there some where and someone in the world is writing about it.

There are two types of blogs personal and professional. Before you start your own blog it is important to spend time deciding which one you want to focus on. Of course even a professional blog will benefit from personal stories too but you should make one or the other the overall focus and theme of your blog.

Professional blogs focus on a business owner, their services/products and how it can help the reader (always remember that you write for your audience not for you)

One example of a professional blog includes

http://www.jackhumphrey.com/fridaytrafficreport

Personal blogs are a little more self indulgent and you write about yourself, your life, your hobbies or all three!

A great personal blog includes

http://www.dooce.com

You can start a blog in minutes by joining a blogging community like Blogger at www.blogger.com or Wordpress at www.wordpress.com

You choose the name of your blog, complete a simple form and you are good to go!

There are also paid services like Typepad – www.typepad.com
You pay because its easy to use (although most blog platforms are if you are willing to learn)

My personal preference is a self hosted blog.

With a self hosted blog you use your own domain with your own hosting account (recommended for flexibility, professionalism and freedom to do as you please) and you have full control over what content is added.  If you have a website that isn't getting much attention add a blog on the same hosting account and you will soon notice a change in the number of people visiting your blog.

So now you know what a blog is

"A blog is a content management system also referred to as an online journal, which can be used to make money on the internet by selling products/services developed by you or by someone else as an affiliate. You can write about your professional business, personal life or both because people enjoy reading information about both. Blogs are free to start in most cases. For complete freedom and flexibility with what your blog looks like and how it works the best option is to run a self-hosted Wordpress blog which involves buying a domain and hosting. Audio and video can be added to a blog to create a varied user experience. The great thing about a blog is it only takes minutes to put one up!"

This is what makes running a blog so powerful, they are easy to start, you can use them to sell (although because people love reading blogs they do not feel like they are being "sold to") and they don't take a lot of work like a website does to maintain. Plus the search engines love them (and let's face it when someone is looking for something it's the search engines who decide what shows up!) so it means the more popular your blog gets the more chance there is of you being found by someone looking to buy something.

Blog, Blogging, Blogger

If a blog is a system you use to express your thoughts, knowledge and expertise, as well as sell products and services. Blogging is the act of creating a new blog post and writing about your topic and a blogger is the person doing the writing (you!)

More Than Just Writing

A blog can hold so much more than just words. You can create audio and allow your members to connect to you using your voice. You can put together videos and allow your audience to watch you as you entertain them with what you know. You can add images (great for photographers) and allow the picture to say a thousand words for you. Never think you have to limit yourself to just writing when it comes to keeping a blog because there is so much more you can do.

Benefits of Developing Your Own Blog

The main benefit is just how easy it is and how quickly you can get started.

It is low cost. For the price of a domain name ($5-15 a year) and hosting ($7-20 a month) you can start your own internet based business.

Blogs are low maintenance so unlike a website where you have to keep linking pages and know how to upload them you don't with a blog. Once it is set up you just start blogging.

You can build your online reputation with a blog and build your audience, which is important if you are in business. You need people to know who you are and what you do without reading boring text on a website!

You can add audio and video to your blog to make it more exciting. It has been shown that people remember what they hear and see more than what they read so getting your audience to remember you becomes easier with audio and video.

It's a way of interacting with your audience because they can leave you comments, share links and it is as “live and in person” as people can get to you.

You can share your expertise so people see you as the person to go to for support in your area.

You can sell a host of different things from a blog from your own products, to products on behalf of other companies, you can add advertising (very popular) like banners, use Google adsense, and so much more.

If you are running a business, running a home, running a social life you don't want to spend loads of time running your online business and blogs provide you with a perfect platform to just write-and-go!

If you are a struggling author who has not been able to get a publishing deal you can start a blog and write (or read) extracts of your book.  Stories of authors who have been given book deals as a result of their blog and the audience they built are all over the web.

Juno film writer Diablo Cody was found thanks to her blog “Candy Girl” which was about a year in her life as a stripper. Her blog helped her to get noticed and after releasing Candy Girl as a book she then went on to re-write and release Juno.

You can talk politics, report the news, keep up with celebrities and their lifestyle, highlight upcoming fashion trends, share your music with the world, save the whale, travel the world…..

The list goes on… there are so many great things about blogs and blogging, which is probably why it is still so hugely popular.

The most important thing to ensure your blog is a success is to research your topic and to find products that people are currently searching for. How to do that is included in the Blog Success training area and it is important you follow the system.