In this blog, I am going to share the Pros And Cons Of Blogging.
Blogs were once a teen thing, right? As early as 1994, internet early-adopters who created online forums and personal profile pages created long-form essays, reviews, opinions, and stories, but no one knew how integral weblogging (shortened very quickly to "blogging") would become.
Newer platforms like WordPress, Tumblr, and Medium soon replaced Blogger and LiveJournal, making it unnecessary to become a web designer in order to start a blog.
The Huffington Post was among the first media operations to morph into a massively complex operation as a result of the ability of news blogs to provide breaking stories more quickly than traditional media outlets.
Despite being bemused at first, many newspapers that originated in print soon developed blogs of their own.
Bloggers no longer belong to a strange subculture. Our world is filled with potential bloggers, and every business is looking to build buzz through blogging. Blogs can be businesses in themselves.
You may wonder, though: does it really make sense to start another blog on the internet so saturated with them?
That's what today's topic is all about. This article is for anyone looking to start a blog, whether it be for business or personal use.
Why Even Start a Blog? - Pros And Cons Of Blogging
Let's take a moment to consider how people are still writing blogs in an age when the world seems to be abounding with content.
- To share things with the public.
- Blogs were born out of this impulse: people wanted to express themselves to others beyond their immediate family and friends. These reasons remain as good today as when they were ten years ago. Facebook posts only reach friends on Facebook, Twitter doesn't offer nearly enough room on Twitter, and Reddit has haphazard archives that make it difficult to browse. You can still share your thoughts about love, books, or fantasy football disasters via a personal blog.
- To promote something. Businesses are now relying so heavily on blogging that many CRM platforms have built-in blog templates. If regularly posted, product, service, deal, and company philosophy updates can enhance a company's relatability and interest.
- To help people. The services offered by blogs are highly sought-after, ranging from movie reviews to product watchdog blogs that prevent you from purchasing counterfeits to mental health blogs that get you through a rough time. A blog is a fantastic tool for democratizing information and sharing it with people at the right time.
- To break the news. Bloggers cover a wide range of topics ranging from shallow to in-depth. It's still up for debate whether online news is a good thing, but we can all agree that keeping up with the news is easier than ever before. If you're starting a new blog, you might think you have it tough to compete with the likes of Vox, but don't give up there will always be an angle that nobody has yet covered.
- As the product. A popular blog can also generate profit without being tied to a business, either with sales of merchandise, paid advertisements, or funded through Patreon.
By now you've probably already decided which category you'll belong to if you want to start a blog. Do not forget you can always fall into more than one category!
The Pros of Blogging
What do you think is the best part of blogging in 2022?
1. Easier Than Ever
Originally, blogging was as simple as starting an ugly blog on LiveJournal, starting an ugly blog on Blogger, or learning how to code. Those days are thankfully long gone.
There are many tools that allow you to build a great-looking blog at your own domain, including WordPress.org, Medium, and Wix. You can now create a blog from scratch in a few clicks, saving you a lot of time.
2. Low Startup Costs
There are a lot of people who think you have to spend lots of money to launch a great blog. No such thing exists. Your blog can certainly benefit from ad spending, marketing automation tools, and other investments as it grows: social media ads, marketing automation tools, etc.
To start writing, you only need a keyboard, a platform, and a few words. You don't have to spend money upfront to get started. There are no shortcuts to success. The best content will make you successful.
3. Drives Traffic To Your Website
Your website might not necessarily attract web surfers by itself, no matter how awesome it is. There is not a lot that sets you apart from your neighbors, for example, if you market plumbing services.
You can use blogs for search engine optimization as well as for sales. Furthermore, a sales funnel allows you to simplify the sales process, which increases the chances of a sale. A tool such as ClickFunnels can help you with this.
4. Builds a Community
It's exciting to attract loyal followers when you blog. It's more interesting to have a real conversation than just to hear one person talk, and there's no greater thrill than to find out your work has touched someone.
Besides being the people you do all the work for, word-of-mouth marketing is the most powerful marketing you can buy - it's priceless.
5. Showcases Your Work
Would you like to build a career as a writer online but have yet to receive a byline? You may want to consider blogging. It may not be on your own domain, but a well-edited, well-formatted post shows potential clients or employers that you know how to write.
You must pay equal attention to format, punctuation, grammar, and syntax if you are using your blog as your portfolio. Don't forget to have fun when writing reviews! Imagining each post as a cover letter is a fun way to get started.
6. Easy to Monetize
Once you establish a blog, you can make money in numerous ways. You can make money from blogging via subscriptions or Patreon donations, but blogs can also be used to drive traffic to your online store.
There is more to it than that, however. The ability to sell ad space, promote sponsored content, and earn commissions through affiliate marketing are all excellent ways to make money with your blog.
7. It's Fun
While developing content for your blog can be a lot of work, getting it on the page itself can be great fun. It would be great if after returning from your dream vacation, you could craft the perfect post, along with photographs and videos, that made all your followers feel like they were there, too.
Then you see your followers rush to buy your favorite indie video game that no one has ever heard of. Even a blog can be a hobby - it's not just a tool!
The Cons of Blogging
Starting a blog has its challenges, what are they?
1. A Crowded Market
There are over 600 million blogs on the internet, which is about one blog for every ten humans. In other words, that is market saturation at its finest, and it will only get worse.
Unfortunately, everyone writing a blog has to compete with the same overcrowded field, and the best time to start a blog was yesterday. Having a well-written blog is still absolutely possible, but content alone won't get you a following.
2. Demands Consistency
Experts tend to agree that you must update consistently if you wish to build an audience. As an example, consider two blogs on the same topic, one written by a qualified expert every Monday and Thursday, and the other written whenever the writer wishes.
What is likely to become a part of your routine, and what will you ignore? You need to take blogging very seriously if you want to build a community of readers. Although it's inexpensive, it's hard.
3. Do Everything Yourself
Scheduling isn't enough. It can be exhilarating and liberating when you're just starting out as a blogger to lead your own web project, but unless your blog is purely a hobby site, you'll need to think like an entrepreneur as well.
We'd all love it if great content found an audience effortlessly, but in reality, generating buzz and building marketing strategies require diligent effort while keeping faith that it'll pay off. Your blog should be run like a business if you want to monetize it.
4. Good Content Isn't Easy
Of course, you also need a strategy for both content and marketing as well as thinking like a creator. If you choose a topic for your blog, ask yourself how long you could write posts on it. You may need to broaden your focus or shift your focus if it's less than six months.
The way you write will have a dramatic impact on how you include content such as images, videos, and audio clips, so decide if SEO is important to you. It's a reminder that being a successful blogger requires heavy lifting.
5. Potential Technical Issues
If you are using a blog platform, you may be more likely to encounter technical difficulties than if you are using a blog platform. However, because you have more control over your blog's look and feel, the more likely you are to experience technical difficulties, such as slow page loads, blank screens, and theme/plugin compatibility issues.
Squarespace is a great tool with pre-made themes and a simple editor, but it limits your control, while a WordPress-powered blog puts you back in the driver's seat, but you'll have to put in more effort to make it work.
Should You Start a blog?
Is starting a new blog worth the effort given how many already exist and how much work it takes? Yes, as long as you're willing to work hard.
Blogs became popular 20 years ago, and have continued to do so since then for a reason: they continue to be one of the most efficient, effective, and fun ways to get the word out about your brand.
Even the most targeted marketing campaign cannot create a dedicated following of loyal readers who incorporate the blog into their daily routines in the same way that a good blog can.
People are drawn to blogs because they add value to their lives for free (unless they count the internet connection), and if your blog does that well, people will follow you further and become customers.
Choosing your subject before deciding how much design control you want is important.
Create a regular posting schedule and interact with other blogs to build a following based on the platform you choose. Make a plan to evolve towards monetization if that is your goal. Do not start out with a focus on monetization.
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