Unless You Know What Your Blogging Purpose Is Your Posts Will Become Virtual Dust On The Shelf
An article from professional blogger and founder of The Blogging factory which looks at your blogging purpose.
Hi, Pete Harris here, am I am the founder of The Blogging Factory. Over the next few weeks I am going to show you how to get your first or next blog online. Before we do that, I am going to ask you one simple question and that is. “What’s your blogging purpose?”
Now I can hear the groans and you saying “come on Pete, get to the good stuff”. Sorry, but as they say Rome wasn’t built in a day. Things take time and if you rush then you will in all probability fail. Then you will blame me for things not working. So, I am going to set the scene.
You must be clear in that space between your ears just what is your purpose to starting a blog. It is not that hard to work out in the grand scheme of things. There are in my opinion two directions to take because I like to try and keep things simple.
The first direction is if you want to create a personal blog which documents your life. What you do and what you get up to. What you are passionate about and where you can state your opinion. In many ways you can create a virtual journal of your life instead of the past where people used to use a pen a paper. Nothing wrong with that and I am sure some people like the old school methods.
We are though in the 21st century and things have changed somewhat over the last 20 years or so.
Blogging Purpose – Do You Want A Blog For Your Business?
Now the other direction you can take is if you want to create a blog for your business. Or even use blogging as a business model. There are hundreds of thousands, if not millions of individuals all around the world, who earn their income from sharing their message through the powerful medium which is blogging.
Having a blog for your business really is a must in today’s digital environment. People use the internet to gather information for solutions to the problems they are suffering from. Your business offers solutions and creating a blog gives you a platform to deliver your solutions.
I will cover how to structure your blog in a later post. For now the main feature of a blog is the fluidity it gives you to create content on a frequent basis. Your blog basically tells stories about how your business, and the products and services you offer, can add value to people lives. If you take a moment to think about this, you will realise how powerful this is. To make an impact on someone for the better! What on earth can be better than that?
Now the other direction is to become a full-time blogger and create a home-based blogging business. Now you may be scratching your head and saying to yourself, “Pete what do you mean?” So, let me explain.
Fancy Being A Blogging Celebrity?
Have you ever what the news or factual show and seen professional bloggers get interviewed? Usually it would be fashion, health, show business or environmental issues where these people are interviewed on certain trending topics. Now they are not there to talk about their blogging business, more to get exposure for themselves.
You see these individuals create tons of content on their niche or industry. By doing so they create huge followings on their blog and through social media. This really is the holy grail but what do I mean by that? When you have a tribe of followers you become an influencer. Therefore your fans will take notice and take action on what you say.
These individuals are then attractive to big businesses who will pay them to be associated with them and endorse their products and services. As an example, a travel blogger will get paid to travel the world by travel companies, airlines, hotel chains etc.
Now that is just scratching the surface, but this principle can be relative to any niche or industry. Also, there is a business model that fits perfectly with blogging called affiliate marketing where you create content. Within that content you can promote other people’s products and services, and then receive commissions on any sales you make. I will be talking more about this towards the end of this series of posts when I give you tips on how to monetize your blog.
Blogging Purpose – Let’s Set Firm Foundations For Your Blog
All this good stuff is for later, but I wanted to create an itch that you need to scratch. That is, why do you want to create a blog? What is your blogging purpose? See there really is method in my madness and you may think that creating the right mindset is not necessary or even boring. Let me tell you there is a need for it before you start clicking buttons and building your framework. At the end of the day if your foundations are not firm then your framework and what you put inside of it will collapse!
I would suggest you take some time to gain clarity on what you are trying to achieve from starting your own blog. Many people think that having a blog is just about getting a domain name, which I will come onto shortly, and then publishing content. In layman terms a blog is a domain name which holds content but unless you know the reasoning behind creating the content your blog will just gather virtual dust. No one will find your blog or may not be interested in what you have to say. Now can you see where I am coming from.
If you want to fast track your success download my How To Start A Blog guide here or fill out the form to the right of this post. I will then send it instantly to your inbox for you to access.
As you can see, defining your blogging purpose is crucial in so many ways. Therefore, once you have purpose you will stand a better chance of creating a powerful platform for yourself. Come back tomorrow and discover how to do niche and market research for your blog.
As always I wish you every success.
Pete Harris
Professional Blogger & Information Publisher