There are so many great reasons why you should write and maintain a personal blog. It doesn’t have to turn into a business, it doesn’t have to be profound and life changing for anyone who reads it, it just needs to be done.
Many people think that blogging is hard and they don’t know where to start. There is a whole website dedicated to helping you start your own blog here, with specific advice on the best free blogging platforms, how to promote a blog once it has gone live and how to make money from it if you choose to.
Now, Why Should You Keep A blog?
– Keeping an online journal that you can update from anywhere
– Keeping track of any personal development
– Learning to articulate your thoughts in a coherent manner
– Thinking more about your actions
– Improving your memory
– Improving your writing and grammar
– Make money blogging
– Leave a legacy
The last point may seem profound, but when you’re much older, your memory will let you down. You will forget most of the events in your life and the major events in your life will seem faded. A written record will help you to relive great memories and share them with friends and family.
A blog is a powerful tool, and with the hundreds of easy-to-use tools; you don’t even need to know any code to be able to set it up. Some of the most popular websites started out as a personal blog. SEE: Cracked.com, Listeverse.com, Mashable.com.
What are the steps to running a successful blog?
1. Pick your writing style
Will you write in a first person or as a storyteller? It’s important to pick your style and stick with it, although it’s fine if you change it later. Do some research by reading other personal blogs. Will this be an opinion blog, a review blog, a journal, a way to communicate with friends and family, or a business blog?
2. Always be thinking of topics
Keep a track of any ideas that come to you throughout the day. Create a note on your cell phone and write down any ideas you have or any subjects you want to write about. You will not remember the idea later! The most important factor in creating a successful blog is the subject you write about. All you need to think about is if you will love to write about it everyday.
3. WordPress.com
The most powerful and widely used blogging site, WordPress.com is already search engine optimized to help you get your blog noticed, and its simple to use interface will get you blogging in no time. And best of all, its FREE. Because it is so widely used, there are an endless supply of tools and guides for you to refer to at any time.
4. Promotion and Feedback
When you’ve submitted your first post and thrown it into the pile of hundreds of thousands of blogs posted every day, how can you get yourself noticed and start getting feedback?
– Pick Tags carefully. Choose no more than 4 words that would best describe your blog post
– Pick the right category. Post your blog in a category that is relevant and popular. Never leave it categorized
– Follow other bloggers and like other blogs. WordPress.com is a community, and like any community, it functions on interactivity and correspondence.
5. Update regularly
Give yourself a timetable and stick to it. Will you update it every Sunday and Wednesday? If that is what you choose, stick to it. At the beginning, its best to write every day to improve your writing style and get into the habit of writing down your thoughts in a coherent manner. The more practice you can get the better you will become. To make money blogging, people have to visit and revisit your blog so regular content will create that following.
Note: This will take time and a lot of practice. Keep at it and reap the benefits.
The only types of blogs that work are run by people who love blogging. Ask yourself if you are willing to do it regularly and focus on the results you want to get. Many blogs end in obscurity and you don’t want yours to become a chore.
Blogging has helped me find a platform to share the interesting things that I learn and to encourage others to do the same. I could not recommend blogging more and if you want to start your own, I hope this post was helpful.
