The term blog is actually a shortened word for weblog. There are an estimated 7.4 millions of blogs on the web. Blogs are becoming a legitimate source of information.
There are several reasons why you may choose to blog: hobby, connect with family/friends or you are a writer. The foremost reason may be to help you to further your career or business. Here’s how blogging can help you:
Shows you have an ability to write
I’m an engineer. Engineers are notorious for not being able to write well. Having a blog helps me dispel that myth about engineers. Also with today’s technology and texting, putting together a complete sentence is becoming a rare thing. If you aren’t a good writer, the blogosphere is the place to increase your skills.
You become a ROCK-STAR in your area of influence
With the blog you actually build a community. The more discussion you have, you begin to look like an expert.Resumes are flat. Research shows that more than 20% of resumes contain flat out lies. But on a blog you can show how smart you are in your profession. If you are a small business owner, let’s say a plumber with a business; then blogging plumbing tips can make you the go-to plumber for homeowners following your blog.
Demonstrate independent thought
Very few hiring managers want to higher yes-men. Having a blog shows you have courage to voice an opinion.
In getting started with blogging you have two options here. If you’re still unsure about blogging and just want to try it out I recommend using any of the free blogging services out there.
Here’s a couple of free blogging platforms:
- WordPress.com- http://wordpress.com/
- Blogger- http://www.blogger.com/
Your blog address which is the same as the web address will not be unique as if you purchased from . But you do not have to pay for any hosting or download any software. There is no maintenance involved.
If you are serious about blogging or just want to start a website for your business, you can purchase your web domain name. Then you should select a hosting service in many times you can use the same company that you bought your domain name from. WordPress.org is the number one blogging platform. You can also use TypePad or any other service that you find. Most hosting services will help you download whatever platform you want.
Here’s a comparison between Self-hosted WordPress and the free version:
The key to building readership is to blog often. How often you blog will depend on the audience that you are seeking. Most working professionals won’t want to read more than once a day. I have found at least weekly will suffice for working professionals.
For more information regarding blogging I recommend checking out http://www.problogger.net; which is a site run by Darren Rowse. Darren is a prolific blogger out of Australia, who built a successful photography site with over 100,000 readers. He started Problogger.net to help new bloggers out.
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