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Blogs, or Weblogs, are online journals with
feedback -- or another way for people to express themselves through writing.
So first of all we should examine why blogs exist and how they differ from
Ezines or Newsletters? Blogs focus on either personal or business content
and are updated nearly every day, as are the feedback comments of the
readers.
The key word here is "readership". Your
public, or followers, will depend on how well you provide valuable
information on a particular subject. Your blog audience grows in relation to
this and how frequently you update. Some high traffic blogs post multiple
times a day.
Having a blog will connect your
ezine/newsletter and your business to a larger group of readers and
hopefully, deliver important content on a particular subject. This content
has to provide information of value to others, not just to yourself. In
other words, it is not a medium for hawking your products.
And to keep your readers connected,
that is, sharing knowledge and feelings about particular issues, blogs must
be readable and open to comment by all -- not just a select group. The big
question is whether or not you can write in the blog daily.
Personally, I would not add this to an
overloaded schedule of writing editorials and articles for a weekly
publication of my newsletter. If this were not the case, I think it would be
lots of fun and a chance to incite intelligent conversations with new
friends.
But remember; speaking and thinking come much
easier than writing. These just flow out of your head naturally. Not so with
writing. Many bloggers make the common mistake of side-stepping the
introduction paragraph sending readers into confusion. Introduce your main
topic and keep it simple, then discuss separate ideas relating to this. Tie
it all up in a concluding paragraph giving the reason you've written it.
Readability and simplicity will make your
blog accessible by all. You want this journal to be "good reading", a blog
that people return to and read daily, like their emails. Don't be afraid to
share yourself; everyone has an opinion and some may differ from yours ---
that's good stuff. People want to hear from real people, not just big
egos that can't accept another version.
Blogger basics and blogger knowledge are
easily found in the search engines. Do some minor research and start
blogging!
© 2004 Esther Smith
About
the Author: Smith has published numerous articles and writes a blog for
all artists:
http://the-self-taught-artist.com/blog.html
She also coaches new students on how to leave the time-for-money trap and set up
Leveraged Income for life.
http://thepermanentventure.com/dcc.htm If you can’t sing or ride a
bull, you better learn how to make your money work for more money. |