To many bloggers, the activity is simply an extension of their social media utilization, a way of elaborating on Facebook or Twitter posts that are, by necessity, concise forms of communication. A blog allows the user to expand on basic points without the constraints of word tallies. But blogging can be so much more than just a glorified way of adding comments to a string. Provided you appreciate some of the potential properties of blogging, it can be an extremely powerful tool. Here are five reasons that illustrate exactly how potent blogging can be.
Hone your writing skills
Regardless of why you create a blog, whether you are promoting a commercial enterprise or are networking with others who share your interests, there are many reasons why blogging will be beneficial to your ability to communicate. Although you are never restricted to minimal characters, you should still feel compelled to exercise brevity. Publishing a blog can be equated with fishing: you have to add interesting bait to your articles in order to attract bites. The Internet may be rife with potential catches, but the attention span of many of those searching for information is minimal. The need to hook your site visitors trains you to master words and phrases, not to mention seeding your paragraphs with keywords for search engine optimization. Blogging needs to be a frequent activity, so your writing abilities will evolve with practice.
Engage with the wider online community
Like any other aspect of web communication, blogging is never a standalone pursuit. It should form one part of an overall strategy in terms of reaching out. The articles you blog should contain a regular call to action, whether you invite comments or direct viewers to your social media. Twitter feeds or Facebook posts can contain direct links to your blogs. In this way the people reading your information can be compelled to share items. You are therefore building so much more than just a series of online bulletins – you are nurturing a community in the same way that affiliate offers draw similar business outlets together.
Commercial opportunities
If you have anything to sell then a blog is a crucial part of your marketing strategy. This is where you can steadily develop a network around your products. This is far more effective than the more traditional ways of promoting a business outlet, such as paying for expensive advertising. Your blog is an inexpensive way of bigging up your items without the blatant plugs that can often be counterproductive. Your blog will contain everything the customer needs to know about products, and will also invite them to contribute to what is being published. You can analyze feedback by using software that indicates which items are proving to be most popular, or check out the statistics concerning who is reading your blogs: social or cultural backgrounds and so on. This can directly influence your business development plans.
Quality time
Blogging is an activity that requires you to set aside a fair amount of time, but because it’s something you can do in the privacy of your own home you can easily slot it into other aspects of your day. Free from the constraints of the nine-to-five treadmill, your quality of life will improve, allowing a degree of positivity to be reflected in whatever you are blogging about.
Unleash your creative spirit
Blogging must never be about regurgitating dry data or technical information in a way that will only appeal to experts. When you blog you should allow your creative juices to flow, injecting your writing with humor. Your blogs should sparkle with energy, and that will entice readers to come back time and time again.