Start Your Social Life Online – Part 2 (Blogging)

Now that you have started your Social Life Online using social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc; the thought may have crossed your mind to also join the world of Blogging. Maybe you have started your own personal blog to let family and friends know a little more about who you are and what you do because most social networking website don’t really allow. You may have also gone a step further and created a blog for your business that will hopefully attract enough of a following that it will someday create a revenue stream.

This article is going to cover the reasons why starting your social life online with a blog is very important. I will also include how using a blog can build your personal brand and bring traffic to a website that is yours, not someone else’s. I will continue to stress through the article that a blog is YOUR HOME. If you have ever thought about starting your social life online, NOW is the time to start blogging!

Blogging

Let me start off by saying that blogs have GREATLY reduced the technical bar for giving people the ability to create content online. If you can use a word processor, you can create a blog. All it takes is putting in a little effort to learn the buttons associated with the platform you choose to use. I will go over platforms later in the article.

Why are blogs so important in starting your social life online and why is a blog your true home?

The reason you want to consider starting a blog is fairly simple. Blogs give you a Home online. You don’t want to consider your social networking profiles or YouTube channel as your home base online because these are NOT yours. You have NO control over the website, and have NO say so in functions and features. You also will not have the same potential to create revenue. And not to mention, what happens if the owners decide to close down shop or something else? Bye bye all hard work. These profiles and channels are simply outposts of your home base and lead everyone back to ONE place.

Another reason you want to start your own blog is because it gives you the ability to create online buzz through blog posts and commenting. Your content can easily be discovered by millions of internet users that are interested in your topics and opinions.  Not online do you now have a voice, but a megaphone to shout out ANYTHING you want.

I recommend that you start a blog so that you can produce quality content that people are looking for. You can become somewhat of an expert on the topic you talk about. Once you have a steady flow of quality content, people are going to look up to you and trust you. This then gives you monetizing opportunities (making money).

Blogging Platforms

The first place you want to get your feet wet may be with a blogging website. Examples of blogging Platform websites are: Blogger.com, WordPress.com, Tumblr.com, LiveJournal.com, and more. Each of these sites give you a FREE account with extreme ease to start. The only problem with the free accounts is that you do not have your own domain name. It is something like www.blah.blogger.com or www.blah.wordpress.com. Like I said before, you don’t want to have your website on someone elses website.

The great thing about WordPress and Tumblr is that they both offer the ability to turn your blog from www.blah.wordpress.com into www.blah.com. And this is where your TRUE home base should be. If you are serious about blogging online for any type of business reasons, you MUST have your own domain for your blog. It could even be something like: www.yourwebsite.com/blog

Getting Started

Once you have created your blog, you are going to want to create a steady flow of quality content at LEAST 2-3 times per week. This content should teach, inform, and entertain your potential followers. By doing so, you are creating a resource of information for new and returning visitors. Building and maintaining a resource, is a very important part of your life online.

Building a home online with a blog all balls down to growing your reputation and personal brand at a place you can call your own. Without a true home, you are losing out on building a solid resource of your own and maybe even revenue opportunities.

The blogging portion of your online life ties in greatly with your Social Networking life. Social Networking plays a great role in pulling visitors into your blog. The goal is to use Social Networks, Forums, and Video promotion as channels feedings into your home online where you have the ability to collect visitors and monetize.

Start Your Social Life Online – Part 3 (Forum Posting)