Gone are the days when people used to write their innermost feelings to a diary and keep it to themselves.
In today's time, Online marketing is a very important tool for the success of one's online business.
While social media has had the user's interaction to a whole " new world ", blogging or creating an informational website has given the concept of pen/paper/diary a look that's obsolete.
What is this fuss about blogging? Are there any real advantages to it? Is it yet another marketing gimmick?
To define blogging, we could say blogging is really a contraction of words, it may be discussion or it may be an information, that is published on world wide web and shared and read by other users.
What you want to blog about is entirely up to you. You could make a personal blog or perhaps a commercial one, which can help you earn a few bucks too.
Some of the very popular websites that enable you to create your personal free blog are BlogSpot.com, WordPress.com, Weebly.com etc.
All of these are free sites , nor charge you for a personal blog. However, there are some restrictions on these free blogs.
How to Create a Blog?
If you wish to create a free blog, it is possible to log on to the websites offering free blogs. For instance WordPress.com is a free blogging platform.
Click on "Getting Started", to make new blog. It could take you to a new page, where you'll need to type in information like your email, name, and most importantly name of your blog.
However, if you wish to develop a self hosted blog, then you need a domain name and a hosting company to start with.
Make sure you select a very appropriate name. It must be short and easy to remember.
You are absolve to use various themes, and plugins on your own blog. You might add videos and images in your write-ups.
If you are a new blogger, you should make yourself familiar with common terminologies to help you use them in your favor. For e.g. "Blogger" is a term used to call a person who writes blogs. Permalink is the unique URL or address of one's articles. You could copy & paste this link if you want someone to have a look at your blog articles.
You could find a whole lists of words, slangs and terminology used by bloggers on the net.
What are Benefits of Blogging?
Blogging is very common nowadays. However, only few people really understand that their passion for writing can earn them some serious good money. A few benefits of blogging are listed below:
Blog as a Personal Diary
People use a blog as a personal diary, religiously noting each and every thought/emotion. It is beneficial for many and a habit for others. They have the option of making this personal diary public or keep it for private view. Online diaries are a lot safer than physical ones. They're password protected and can be destroyed in just a matter of seconds.
Blog to Promote/Review a Product
You could use your blog to market a product or review about any of it. For example, you recently visited a restaurant and you also aren't particularly happy about its services. You can blog about it and let others know. Similarly, to be able to market a product you can recommend it to your followers and present that product a free publicity.
Blog to Connect
You could also blog for connecting to people sharing same interests. If you're a photographer and want to enhance your skills you can connect to people who are thinking about same area and share a tip or two.
Blog to market Yourself
Blogging is a superb tool to establish yourself as an expert. In case you are good at baking and appearance forward to show your hobby right into a full blown profession, blogging about your cakes, adding their pictures would help you being seen in the crowd of millions.
Blog to Help Others
You need to use your knowledge on particular topic to greatly help others. If you have had some kind of situation and you desire to help people trapped into something similar, your insights may help them. Such blogs could be categorized as tutorials or 'how-to' sort of blogs.
It's easy to develop a blog [http://www.bloggingstudio.com/how-to-create-a-blog/]. You don't need any technical knowledge for that. Just follow a simple step by step tutorial with screenshots and you'll be able to develop a blog in under 5 mins.
BloggingStudio.com [http://www.bloggingstudio.com/] is a great source to learn the essential concepts of blogging and learn how to create a blog. Additionally, you will learn suggestions to take your blog to next level.
If you are seriously interested in blogging, don't get a free blog. They don't really look professional and impose many restrictions. Some websites don't even allow you to put your own advertisements.
It is recommended to have a self hosted blog. A self hosted blog gives you complete freedom and ownership to your blogging space. You can install any theme and plugin that you would like. Also you can put advertisements on your own blog. Moreover, a self hosted blog looks professional and your reader will understand that you are serious about your blog.
Finally, an effective blogging career requires hard work and persistence. Don't expect an overnight success.