You may have heard lots of buzz about blogging and wonder about blogging trends. Blog writing strategies change over time and to be successful it is best to keep up with the latest information related to your industry. Having a blog is a great way to brand yourself and your business. Your goal is to reach the right audience and to do this you will want to attract readers to your blog.
The components of blogging are not as straightforward as you first thought, you will have to get hosting, buy a domain name, install plug-ins, compare content management software systems, decide on ways to monetize your blog, establish a traffic generation strategy, constantly add new posts to your blog and much much more.
It can get overwhelming and the following article will discuss some of those things as well as what to expect in the future of blogging online.
[Answered] What Is The Future Of Blogging Online? Click To Tweet
1. Writing content online with a blog
Things to Consider
Setting up a blog is just the first step to branding and marketing yourself on the web. People want to use the internet as a tool to reach clients, customers, and associates. You can purchase books about blogging that help you with the mechanics of getting started. It is important to understand what blogging trends are happening to be prepared for the unexpected.
Blogs are dependent on search engines and ranking algorithms and that is why it is best to know what you can do to maintain your level of authority across the web as a blog writer. Blogging is a business for some people while others consider it as a way to express themselves online.
Some many experts and gurus have plenty to say about what you should be doing to establish yourself as an expert. Plus you will be offered to purchase training programs and books to help you become a better marketer as well as how to write content that is engaging and shareable.
If you choose to use it as a marketing tool for your business then it will be valuable to know the direction of the blogging community. Let’s discuss some of these changes and how you can adapt your writing style to fit the tidal wave.
2. Blog writing is NOT how you will make money
The first thing you need to know is that blog writing is NOT what makes you money online. Blogging is just a tool to provide information to readers who are looking for a particular product or service. You can say that your blog writing is an introduction to what your business has to offer. The writing itself is not what generates you the money.
3. Is having a blog all you need?
People are confused and do not realize that setting up a blog on its own is not enough. Once you understand how a blog should be used then you will be able to start to figure out what direction you want to go with your website. The internet is full of tutorials and training material to show you how to set up a blog as well as how to market it but not enough emphasis is placed on picking the right niche and knowing who your audience will be.
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4. Why pretty blogs don’t make money
For example, you can have a very pretty website or blog with a great graphics header and stunning presentation of information but if you do not know who you are speaking to then it is all worthless. Who is your target market? What do you want to accomplish with your blog? Why are you blogging in the first place? These questions need to be asked before you can start to earn from your writing.
5. What you need to profit with a blog
Guide to diversifying your revenue
To be honest how your blog looks is not the determining factor to earning a monthly income, it is great to have a nice presentation but if you concentrate on colorful graphics an fancy fonts along with too many plug-ins it could actually hurt your earning potential. This is because people will not know what to do when they come to your site.
Do you have a call to action on your blog?
The goal is to give your visitors a easy to follow path on what you want them to do when they get to your blog. For instance give your readers tasks to do such as feeling out a survey or signing up for your newsletter. This is how you will be able to keep in contact and have a way to promote any products you are affiliated with. That is where the term “the money is in the list” came from, it is saying that your audience is also your customers.
Diversification and ways to profit with your blog
To profit from your blog you will need to know how to turn your content into something that people are willing to pay for. It will take planning to make it work. Most bloggers start out as content writers for revenue sharing sites then they branch out into there own blog which can be monetized with google adsense ads or affiliate products such as Amazon, eBay, and Commission Junction.
The only problem with making money this way is that it is limited and your blog is relying on search engine traffic or social media visitors to get click-thrus or commission sales. These methods are not consistent or passive because once you stop promoting your site or using keywords to attract organic views you suddenly also stop making money.
Diversification comes from earning from more than one payment source. Selling your own information products and building memberships subscribers is going to be the best way to receive residuals each month regardless if you write an article or do any marketing for your business.
6. Following blog trends
Are you ready for what comes next?
I just mentioned that setting up a blog and writing is only part of what you need to do to profit from your blog writing. The reason I said that is because some people are disillusioned to think that blogging is a easy way to generate income from home and this is not the case. I can tell you from experience that I have not worked so hard in my life than when I set up my blog. I put in long hours plus overtime which sometimes does not produce me with any results or money.
So why do I do it? well basically because I am in it for the long haul, I know that as time passes all the content that I produce will achieve what I want. As a blogger you will have to know why you do what you do. It is not as simple as many guru’s want you to think. Blogging is not a get rich quick method and it sure is not the road to riches.
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7. What blogging is…
What blogging is: Now that we know what it isn’t lets look at what it is. Blogging is a tool. Blogging is a introduction. Blogging is a communication strategy. Will it make you money? Only if you have a product or a service to sell. Yes that is right you have a business if you want to make money with a blog.
Not what you expected? well that is why so many books and websites do not discuss the business side of blogging, they want to make the whole process to seem easy, and effortless because if people knew that it was hard work they would not keep buying information products targeted at the newbie blogger.
8. Why blogging trends are important
That is why I recommend that you follow blogging trends to stay ahead of what is coming down the road for blog content writing. What I mean is read lots of information on the topic, not just the good stuff also read the bad stuff about blogging because then you will be able to take the parts that you can use for yourself.
To be honest it will take being in the blogosphere for a length of time to start to see patterns as they develop. It is almost as if you start to see a certain movement in the community and that is how you can tell what is next.
9. Blogging trends watch
What are some of the new things going on with blogging? Here are some that you should keep your eyes open for:
1. Paid Content
2. Membership Blogs
3. Social Media Content Distribution
4. Email Marketing
5. Multi-User Blogging
6. Mentor Coaching
Within these bigger trends will be micro and mini-trends for specific niche topics and industries. As a business blogger, you will notice other things happening in this space such as offline business marketing, blogging software, and mobile app development.
As these things happen around you look for the pieces you can use to improve your online presence and future blog growth.
10. Blogging data and statistics
11. The following report covers data put together by Technorati.
Who are blogging? Those between the ages of 25 thru 44.
What are the different types of blogs? bloggers fall into 5 main categories, hobbyist, corporate, entrepreneur, part-time professional, and full-time professional.
What percentage of bloggers blog for money? it seems that only 40% of the average blogger is trying to earn a living with their blogs the rest are just doing it for fun.
What are the types of multi-media being used by bloggers? blogs use video, Facebook, Twitter, Podcasts, Bookmarking sites, and photos to gain traffic.
Consumers trust blogs when deciding to make a purchase online
This is why big brand companies are partnering up with bloggers to give their reviews of these products.
12. How Blogging is changing
Since I have been online I have seen trends come and go and one of them has to do with how blogs are presenting the information. Originally people used blogs to dispense free content on a variety of topics of interest. Slowly as time went on blog owners decided they could profit from charging for the stuff that they were giving away.
Mail subscriptions are in
Now all the traffic that comes to their blogs has to fill out a form by opting to be on an email list. Some blogs only give you have an article and if you want to read the rest of the blog entries you have to become a member of the site. Some of my favorite blogs now require readers to join a paid blogging platform. Why have so many bloggers give up the free blog model?
Reasons for the changes
Could it be because of all the duplication going on across the web or is it due to so many people joining the blog space that it is crowding out relevant and valuable content? It could be any one of these reasons. In the meantime, if you have a blog of your own you may want to consider how you can monetize your information for profit.
Mentoring is hot
You can do this by offering to provide one on one mentoring as well as paid instructional videos to your readers. Top blogs see the benefit of list building and building communities that they can communicate over a longer period. It is not practical to let all your visitors pass through your site each day without capturing them for later.
The best customers are repeat customers so if you can get a hungry group of people in your target market who want what you have to offer then you can sell to them over and over again.
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13. Successful blogging strategies for your business
Blogworld is a media expo that provides information through tradeshows to bloggers all over the world and the common theme is that more men and women are using blogs to brand themselves and reach out to a target audience in their niche.
To succeed online with a blog it will take integrating social media along with methods of interaction with visitors with videos, comments, teleseminars, and website membership networks.
Mobile devices play an important role in how people consume and dispense information on various topics in the media space. Bloggers who are visible on these tech gadgets such as the iPhone, iPad, and kindle will see a huge surge of readers and visitors to their blogs.
Direct mail is another medium to use to reach your audience, collecting physical mailing addresses and sending out reports to your readers is another way to take advantage of the trends happening with blogs.
14. Write what you know – What does that mean?
You have probably heard the expression many times, people have told you to write what you know and the money will follow, or more specifically the content you write will attract visitors and readers from across the web and they will link and share your content with everyone they know. Now let’s step back a minute and analyze what this means.
15. Can experts be good writers?
To write what you know will require that you can express your actual thoughts and experiences with a subject. For instance, if you have worked in a particular occupation most of your life then you have the knowledge to share with others. The tricky part about this is that most people know HOW TO do something well but they can not WRITE about it.
Let me rephrase that, most car mechanics or plumbers know how to change a carburetor or install sinks and unclog pipes but how many of these professionals know how to sit down and write about what they know, not many if any. So that is where they become an expert and write what you know is flawed.
16. What technical writers do
Who writes about plumbing, car maintenance, and heating and cooling installation? Well quite frankly they are called “technical writers” these are people who are trained in writing instructions and explaining very technical functions in a readable format. Now how many people on the web want to read technical manuals when they come to a blog or website? exactly none.
17. When blogging is just a way to promote advertising
So does this mean if you are a plumber you can’t have your blog? Well not exactly but the whole concept of “writing what you know changes”. I have seen blogs that are meant to teach readers how to do simple repair jobs at home but most of them are general and not very helpful. The reason behind this is because most of the time the blog is featuring advertisements that feature plumbing products and the blogger hopes the people coming to the page will click on one of those ads. This causes the content on the blog to become vague and lacking real information.
A plumber who wants to get more clients will advertise his or her services with some contact information and pricing which could be a good fit for reaching out to people in local areas, so adding some helpful tips on a blog of things the customer could do at home for minor repair jobs is a good idea. In conclusion, deciding on what you know and how it will fit into a valuable and quality blog is a challenge that many experts and writers will face in their careers.
