Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Internet Marketing, Still a Viable Economic Alternative! - Blogging



Blogging

Day two of the Internet Marking series will focus on Blogging. Question, did you know that the Huffington Post was actually a blog and its originator, Arianna Huffington rakes in a cool $29,894 per day for that entity which, by modest estimates, is valued at $21.82 million. That’s quite impressive, however, there are other bloggers such as Pete Cashmore, the creator of Mashables, who earns $15,781 per day with his blog which is valued at $11.52 million.  

Of course these numbers represent some of the very best in blog earnings on the internet and a casual google of top blog earners and best bloggers 2014 will net you multiple lists of the movers and shakers in the blogging industry. But you might be saying to yourself, “That’s fine and dandy, but why should I be interested in blogging’?, Or perhaps, you might be thinking, “Jeez, I want to blog but those are some imposing standards to try and emulate or compete against; where does an everyday person like me go to get started and what can I expect”? Not to worry, there are as many reasons to blog as there are people who blog so there's no need to be overly concerned about competing with the top earnings in the industry, particularly when first starting out.  Which is why today we’re going to take a look at a. why you should blog, b. what type of blog should you have c. where should you blog and d. what expectations should you have when blogging. 

Why Blog?
1.  People blog for entertainment and personal expression. Time was when people kept diaries and logged daily events or important milestones in life. With the digital age, people have the convenience of simply hitting a few keyboard strokes and they’re blogging. 

2.  People blog to make an impression professionally or to establish their name as an authority. In fact, because companies check prospective employees’ internet activities when making hiring decisions, blogging is another way to expand your resume, and indeed there have been instances where people have been hired for positions based upon their blog content and performance alone. 

3.   People blog as a way of networking or meeting new friends. The internet provides the opportunity to communicate with people around the globe. Currently, 33% of the world’s population has internet access so a blogger can have connections from just about anywhere that has internet capability.

4.    People blog to market a brand or product. The internet is an effective way to market products or promote a service, and blogging provides a vehicle to keep clientele informed or updated on the latest happenings, both personal and promotional.

5.  Blogging can get your voice heard. People use blogs for advocacy reasons or to express an idea of concern. They blog about the changing climate and other environmental concerns. They blog about human and animal rights, and they blog about population control, you name it, and there are people blogging about it.

What type of Blog should I have?     
Like any venture it’s good to have an idea of what your mission and objectives are for starting a blog. For instance, you may have a special hobby like knitting, or baking that you would like to share with friends, family or even promote as business earning both direct sales and passive income.  I enjoy writing, but I also have an interest in internet marketing. It would make sense that an internet marketing blog would fit into my schematic planning, however, this blog serves a number of FUNCTIONS. It can educate individuals in the types of marketing that is done on the net. It can also service as a technical instruction vehicle, sort of an “how to” when it comes to setting up a blog, choosing a platform as we’ll see in a bit or function as a monetized hub that increases with earning capacity over time through traffic generating tactics like social networking, safelist, and  SEO, Search Engine Optimization. 

Where should I blog?
This simply means what platform or what vehicle should you use to host your blog. There are many to choose from. This blog is hosted through Google and Blogspot. However I am in the process of setting up two additional web sites through Word Press which I gained with a basic membership with Wealthy Affiliate and there are also blogging platforms available through the Wealthy Affiliate servers.

You will want to have your blog hosted under your own domain if you desire for it to be an income producing entity. A domain name and hosting can be purchased either annually or on a month to month basis. 

What should be my Expectations when blogging?
The expectations for your blog should probably coincide with your passion from starting a blog in the first place. Whatever spurs you to productivity will assist you in determining your expectations. Does that sound vague on my part? Well I say this because many will tell you not to go into blogging thinking that you’re going to make huge sums of money, become famous or generate large sums of traffic. Well, there are bloggers doing just that every day, and, as we’ve seen, some have probably exceeded even their initial expectations for their blogs. And who knows, if you’re patient and stick with it, perhaps your blog will strike it big, or perhaps, someone hire you to promote their product or service.

Happy Blogging!

Next up, we'll look at on-line stores and marketing groups. 






















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