What is and How Do I Blog?

For many people the word blog means very little. Often when talking to people about my blog the answer is: ‘oh I don’t know about anything like that!’

However they are not reserved for the elite. Indeed setting one up is easier than a lot of people think. Everyone with something to say and an internet connection can have one.

The content of the blog depends on the individual or group writing it. Some can be used to:

Rant and rave: http://www.kackle-kackle.blogspot.com/
Inform on certain topics: http://thecommscorner.blogspot.com/
Report on previous events: http://www.lovelincoln.co.uk/ll
Create an online presence: http://scaryworldofbusiness.blogspot.com/

The beauty of blogs is that they can be used for a variety of reasons. They are an effective way to encourage discussion and engage an audience with a topic, product and organisation. This interaction with consumers can benefit an organisation as you can gain invaluable feedback straight from the direct users of you business. People are likely to leave feedback and comments online because it is easy to do so, gone are the days when you have to write a letter to head office regarding the service.

There are many different platforms upon which you can set up your blog. In my experience Wordpress and Blogger are the most popular and the easiest to set up however many others exist such as: dotemplate, Weebly, Templatr, Psycho and Firdamatic. It is important to find one that works for you. You can personalise your blog by choosing different themes to suit the personality of your blog and by adding widgets such as a live twitter link.

Blogs can be promoted using other social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter and search engines like Google. However they can also be done by more traditional methods such as word of mouth. Unfortunately the content can be the best, your ideas original, the layout perfect but there is the risk that people might not see it so it is a good idea to continue promoting your blog for more views and followers.

There has been a rise in the popularity of guest blogging – this is when an individual who maybe has their own blog writes a post for yours or vice-versa. This is a brilliant way of sharing traffic as all the followers from their website, if they like your post, are likely to look on your website.
Overall blogging is great, slightly addictive but great all the same. So get writing!

My top 5 tips for blogging:

- Make it interesting
- Add pictures to break up the text
- Follow other bloggers
- Don’t make your posts too long if possible, people tend to zone out online
- And most importantly – Don’t forget to spell check!


Article Written by Carli Smith


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