Blogs were originally called weblogs. As in, logging your day on the web. Basically, an e-journal. Weblog got shortened to blog over the years. And here we are. Now you’re on my blog. Blogs can mean a lot of things to a lot of people, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s a website that’s slipped into some comfy clothes. It’s less “Here at the So-And-So Company, we pride ourselves in…” and more “I blog about blogging. Beer’s in the fridge. Help yourself.”
NEXT: How I Made $2.7 Million Last Year Blogging
So yeah. Blogs tend to be more personal, more laid back. But I think you’d be surprised, a lot of the sites you visit every day, that you think are websites, are actually blogs. Most news sites, for example, are powered by WordPress, which is the same blogging platform I’m using here. You can make a blog for anything and make it look and feel and function however you want.
Lots of blogs are wordy. Long articles. But they don’t have to be. Twitter is essentially microblogging. Photography blogs are almost entirely pictures. Vlogs, as you might have guessed, are just blogs that are video-based. Many blogs are a one-person show. Others have any number of contributors. Some create all original content. Others aggregate content from around the web. Others, still, have their users generate the content. Think Reddit, for example. Or is that technically a forum? Who cares. I’ve never used Reddit in my life. And what even is a meme stock?
Let’s talk pros and cons of having a blog. What are the advantages? Well, even if it’s just a personal blog, it’s a great way to express yourself; an excellent creative outlet. It can be handy to keep friends and family in the loop. Especially if you’re not on social media. For instance, a lot of people will throw up a wedding blog and document the lead-up, the Big Day, the honeymoon. (And hopefully, not the divorce.) It could be used for personal accountability. You could write and post progress pics on your journey to lose thirty pounds. On day fifteen, when you wanna order that cheesecake, you’ll think twice, knowing you’ll have to fess up to the entire internet if you do.
If you’re launching a blog for business, I’d say it’s the number one way to get free, targeted leads. You just post about what your very best buyers are out there Googling day in and day out. Let them come to you. Plus, you can connect with them through your content in a meaningful way. You can give them a reason to pick you over your competitors. From a conversion standpoint, nothing’s better. A blog could make you a little extra money, in addition to whatever else you got going on. Or, if you’re like me, it could become the entire business and make you millions and millions of dollars. As long as you take it serious, blogging’s the best business move you can make.
But it ain’t all popsicles and baby giggles. If you’re doing the posting, and doing it and doing it and doing it well, it’s time-consuming. Sometimes it’s hard to come up with new stuff to talk about. And it can take a while to build up your traffic. That said, with a smart approach and some passion and consistency, I think you’d be surprised at how quickly you can steamroll your way to the top of Google and start making money.
