Blogging is one of useful terms that people are constantly using but then it is only a handful to people who really have an understanding of exactly what it means. In fact very few people know exactly what a blog is. Even fewer of these people know the origins of blogs and where they are today. Still, it has not prevented many from starting their own blogs on all sorts of topics. It has not hindered the power of the blog as a tool. The benefits of blogs are just so many. From the article you are going to analyze a few elements concerning blogs to bring them to the light.
What is a blog?
A blog is a basically a shortened of the word weblog. The two words are frequently used interchangeably. Initially, blogs were simply online personal journals or diaries that placed a lot of attention on personal expression. The blogger would express all their thoughts and ideas concerning all sorts of topics in the world. Above definition might not apply entirely to the blogs available nowadays, but it is still an integral part of the activity that is blogging.
Nowadays, a blog is a personal website which is going to be updated on a daily basis. It might not really be about personal thoughts, but then again, it depends on what the blog is about. There are some blogs that are 100% about facts and others are about fictional matters. There are other blogs which are constantly covering issues of social justice and thus, they will mix facts and fiction- person thoughts most of the time taking center stage.
Why do people have blogs?
While the idea of blogging has taken a totally new route nowadays, the number of people who engage in the activity are ridiculously high. There are bloggers who will tell you each and every detail of their life. They will tell the world about what they have for breakfast, when they woke up and how they got to work. On the other hand, there are other bloggers who give practically no detail about themselves, but instead focus on writing about hobbies or interests that they enjoy.
Therefore, at the most basic level, a blog is mainly used as an outlet for personal expression. It is a fun way to keep your ideas, emotions and activities all flowing, which is the one other reason why people have blogs; for entertainment. There are blogs that will provide hair tips while others supply the latest gossip on celebrities. If you have a hobby in cooking or anything related then there are blogs for that. Sports fanatics will not have a short supply of places where they can read about their favorite. There are even some blogs for just about any kind of entertainment under the sun.
Another reason why there are blogs is to make money. People make huge money from their blogs, but it is really tricky affair. In fact is the reason why blogging has changed to what it is nowadays. People read about how they can make money online and due to the lack of jobs currently they simply jump into the business. For such reasons you are able to access a blog of every kind and some of them quite poor in terms of quality.
Starting your own blog
Contrary to popular opinion, starting your own blog is not exactly the most difficult of activities. There are many difficult tasks but starting a blog is not one of them. As a matter of fact, you can have your blog up and running in a matter of minutes. Here are a few tips on how to start your own blog.
Choose a topic to blog about
There are blogs that are about lifestyle. They will talk about everything from fashion and food to music and movies. At the same time some other blogs focus on only one topic. They are the ones that will talk about baseball. Such a blog will discuss in graphic details every single thing about baseball from how to play and how prepare for a game by getting good sleep. The best thing you can do for your blog to be successful is choose a topic that you are passionate about and things will be so much easier for you later.
List down topics
One of the best tips for every beginner is a selection of topics. The rule of the thumb is that if you are able to come up with at least 50 topics that you can write about on your blog then you should focus on the same topic. The topics might not come in easily, but if you are able to get the topics it should not be difficult starting your blog.
Select a blogging platform
There are so many different platforms some of them are free others you must pay for. There is WordPress- the biggest of them all. It is really an interesting platform and that is why people are flocking in their numbers to start a blog on such kind of platform. There is the self-hosted option which you will pay a fee for and it offers excellent service. There is also the free-hosted version of the platform. Other popular platforms include: Blogger, Tumblr, Drupal, TypePad, BlogSmith and so many more.
Shifting from one platform to another is not really a difficult task. All you do is export or import all your content from one platform to the other. WordPress comes highly favored because of the features it offers. It is considerably comprehensive when compared to the other platforms available.
Create content
The content of your website/blog should be of premium quality. Remember what your audience wants to read and write for them to get maximum benefit from your blog. The goal is to make sure that they come back again to your blog. The content must be fantastic, frequently updated- do not take several months to add a post- and most of all, interactive. Let it be content that people will want to read.
Subscriptions
Encourage all those who visit your blog to subscribe and add a slot for doing that. This will make it possible for them to get updates through their email addresses about the changes you made to your blog.
Conclusion
Blogging is really fun, but terms and conditions apply. Starting a blog is not difficult and it should not be costly at all. There are so many things which you will need to achieve in order to get the best of blogs created. Once you are in the business and you are creating good content that attracts traffic, then the next stage of making money comes in. The above steps will make the task of starting a blog less mysterious.
