Have you ever wondered how a single person keeps updating their blog with new content regularly without running out of ideas? There are some bloggers who will leave you wondering how they manage to write content on a regular basis. Nobody can argue with his prolific writing skills.
For example, Seth Godin updates his blog regularly with new content. When I was first introduced to blogging, I thought I wouldn’t be able to write. But over time, I now know that writing a blog is not difficult. Over the last three years, I have learned a lot about blogging. I have written articles for various blogs and websites. However, I still have to learn more about writing to become a better prolific writer.
Becoming a blogger is all about learning how to blog. Blogging is not difficult as some people tend to think. Below are the top four blogs that will teach you how to blog and how you can become a better blogger.
1.) Blogtyrant.com
2.) Copyblogger.com
3.) Problogger.net/blog
4.) Bloggingtips.com
If you are starting a freelance writing business, the Freelancefolder.com blog will help you tremendously with tips on running your freelance writing business.
Anyone who is computer literate can now create a blog. You don’t have to worry about the technicalities as there are blogging software like WordPress and Empower Network that have made blogging simple.
Importance of blogs
1.) Blogging is interesting: there is something that you really love to do (your passion). Go ahead and create a blog and start writing about your passion. Blogging will make you learn more about your passion. You will be amazed at the attention you will receive from people.
2.) Proper use of free time: Blogging is not a waste of time. If it were a waste of time we wouldn’t be able to have so many blogs today. Instead of sitting idle for most of your free time, you should create a blog and start posting. This will make you not wonder what you should do to keep busy when you have free time.
3.) Inspire others: Blogging has made it possible for people to encourage each other even though they have never met. People share problems and support each other. For example, here is a quote that I found that made me realize how blogging has made it possible for a person to gain support from other people. “I was struggling with depression and anxiety disorder, and I felt like not blogging about it was creating a false story. When I finally shared the struggles I was having, I was shocked, not only by the support they gave me, but but also because of the unbelievable amount of people who admitted they struggled with the same thing.”-Jenny Lawson
In fact, I encourage more young people to start blogging to inspire other young people facing various challenges like starting a business, running a business, advancing their career, unemployment, overcoming substance abuse, etc.
4.) Earn Money Online – Start blogging to earn some money online if you haven’t found your dream job. There are many opportunities online that you can use your blog to earn money. You can start blogging for money if you get hired as a blogger. You can use your blog to do affiliate marketing or you can use your blog to sell products to people online.
The opportunities to make money online from a blog are many. It is up to you to make a decision on how you are going to make money blogging online.
5.) Gain Exposure and Attract Potential Employers – Blogging exposes you as an expert in your field. You will be recognized as an expert when you share informative information on your blog and also on other blogs that allow guest blogging. Some people will seek your advice, while there are those who will recommend people to read your articles.
Blogging will also expose your talent, creativity, passion and dedication. “Blogging is a great way to showcase your talents and interests to potential employers, while adding an edge to your resume. By blogging consistently, you show your dedication, passions, and creativity, all of which are key attributes.” that employers look for in job candidates.”-Lauren Conrad
6.) Blogging improves your writing skills: When you keep blogging, you become a better writer over time. You will learn to express yourself better. Blogging improves your writing skills and also your skills in communicating with people.
7.) Marketing and Building Customer Relationships: Blogs are important in marketing. A blog is a marketing tool, and marketers should use blogs to tell people about the products they sell. Marketers should post informative information about the products they are marketing so that people know how these products will help them solve various problems. Blogs build better relationships between customers and businesses.
Big challenge in blogging
The main challenge that many blog owners (bloggers) face is inadequate targeted traffic. Without targeted traffic, a blog will never thrive. When you realize that your blog is not attracting enough targeted traffic, you should not give up.
It’s normal for anyone to feel discouraged by disappointments, but giving up is not a solution. Giving up is creating another problem of not having found a solution that works effectively. The best thing you can do instead of giving up is figure out how you will drive targeted traffic to your blog.
So why isn’t your blog getting targeted traffic? Some of the reasons are as follows:
1.) Your blog is not yet known as it is still new. Requires exposure.
2.) There is not enough content on your blog to attract people and for search engines to rank your blog.
3.) The content you have posted on your blog is not of high quality. Posting mediocre content on your blog could be the reason you lack targeted traffic.
4.) The niche of your blog could be the reason for insufficient targeted traffic. If your blog is targeting a niche that is too competitive or that people are not interested in, then your blog will not attract a significant amount of targeted traffic.
5.) You haven’t started selling a product that solves a particular problem or you might be selling a product that isn’t helpful.
6.) You have not optimized your blog for search engines. You have not used search engine optimization techniques to optimize your blog.
7.) You haven’t done list building and this has led you to not keep in touch with the people who visit your blog. They visit your blog to never visit it again since they forget it.
8.) You haven’t caught people’s attention. Your blog does not have content that is interesting for people to read. You haven’t used headlines that grab people’s attention. Nor has he published videos or images that capture people’s attention. You are not giving gifts. People love getting free stuff!
9.) Your blog contains many spelling and grammatical errors. People will not want to continue reading a blog that has posts that contain a lot of spelling and grammatical errors.
10.) Another reason for lack of targeted traffic is ignoring readers and writing for search engines. Focusing primarily on optimizing your blog for search engines instead of focusing on your readers will eventually drive your readers away from your blog.
Ten ways to increase traffic
Driving targeted traffic to your blog is a process that needs to be ongoing. Here are ten ways you can use to drive targeted traffic to your blog.
1.) Update Your Blog Regularly – You should start updating your blog regularly with new content that is unique and informative if you haven’t been doing so.
2.) Quality content and not quantity content: Although you should update your blog with new content, it does not mean that you should update it with any content in order to update it regularly. High-quality content is important to retain your existing targeted traffic. Posting high-quality content will get people to visit your blog because they know they are going to benefit a lot.
3.) Get exposure for your blog – Use internet marketing techniques that ensure your blog gets exposure. Some of the internet marketing techniques that you can use include social networking sites, forms of search engine optimization, viral marketing, pay per click ads, Google AdWords, etc.
4.) Stay in touch with your audience – You need to build lists. Let people who visit your blog willingly give you their email addresses. Later you will contact them to remind them to visit your blog.
5.) Catch People’s Attention: Catch people’s attention so they can keep coming back to your blog. Use titles that grab people’s attention to read your blog posts. You should also post videos, infographics, and include images in your blog posts so that they attract people’s attention.
6.) Avoid spelling and grammatical errors: Proofread your articles. Let someone else read your articles before posting them on your blog. This is to ensure that your articles do not contain spelling or grammatical errors.
7.) Engage Your Audience – You need to engage your audience. Ask them questions and let them comment on your blog posts. Respond to their comments. This way, your audience will know that you appreciate them and value their opinions. Your audience will trust you and keep visiting your blog and they will also recommend people to visit your blog.
8.) Allow guest blogging – You must invite experts to post content on your blog. When you allow experts in your field of expertise to guest blog, your blog will gain a good reputation. People will trust it and this makes your blog authoritative.
9.) Quality Products: Selling high quality products will get people to visit your blog. Word of mouth will spread much faster on your blog if you sell a high-quality product that solves a particular problem that other products have failed to solve.
10.) Buy traffic: Buy traffic will at least make people aware of your blog. There are many websites that specialize in selling traffic.
