There’s plenty of other ways to spend your time, and certainly easier ways of making money – so why blog?
What are the benefits, really? Isn’t everyone moving toward social media anyway?
The questions all boil down to one thing (encapsulated by Marcus Boswell): what does the modern blogger get out of blogging?
Even if you love blogging, you probably still have wondered once or twice what future is there for blogging when so many other social networks are becoming more and more popular. Why blog when you can Periscope? Or podcast?
There are so many types of blogs, and reasons for starting blogs, but in today’s episode of the Problogger podcast, I want to focus on answering the question why a business should blog – either brick and mortar business, aspiring entrepreneurs, sole traders and businesses or bloggers looking to build their personal brand.
To me, it really boils down to what Bob Burg said:
“All things being equal, people do business with, and refer business to, people that they know, like, and trust.”
So you may be wondering what’s the point when your traffic is down, or you’re feeling uninspired, or someone else in your niche is killing it on Instagram, but there are reasons to forge ahead.
I discuss why it’s still important to have a home base, what blogging does for relationships, and the “secondary” benefits of blogging that are still useful for businesses. Sure maybe blogging isn’t the only way to achieve these objectives, but I want to talk about why blogging is still so important for establishing trust.
I have four things I outline about why you need a blog, and how a blog can help you make sales. Blogs have gone way beyond just being a place to park your written content – there are no rules about what you can and can’t post on them. These days there are people blogging in cartoon form, via video, with podcasts and other audio and as a homebase for their livestreams.
Suffice to say blogs are not dead – and in today’s podcast I reveal why I think that is.
What are your thoughts? Have you had more luck on social than you have on a blog? Is written content going the way of the dinosaur?
Further Reading:
- Is Blogging Dead? How Blogs are changing and How You Can Stay on Top
- 10 Ways To Stay Productive as a Work-at-Home Blogger
- How to Blog Effectively When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed
- Is Blogging Finally Dead? – Blog Tyrant
- Is Blogging Dead? Building Your Content Home on Rented Land – Social Media Examiner
Hi Darren,
Nope. Nope. Nope. But you knew this ;)
Content Central. That’s what a blog is. I post videos, reviews, podcasts (in the past), pics of me in paradise, eBooks, audio courses, paperbacks, audio books and about 10 other things to my blog….which I can’t recall now. Readers or customers or whomever can find your blog, and within minutes, scan through this treasure trove of valued, dream-inspiring, problem-solving content. And people trust the gal or guy who solves their probs or inspires them to live their dreams.
Trust. Bob notes it. People trust who they see. Or, whose wares are freely shared. Blogs are literally the most comprehensive, robust trust-building vehicles online. We bloggers forget at times to see our blogs from a 3rd person perspective. We assume people are experienced online, with blogging, or doing anything in an entrepreneurial niche. But newbies and struggling bloggers find blogs each day. Blogs which freaking knock their socks off! A bit tougher to knock someone’s socks off with a social media account, because folks can’t get to the 1,001 – and more – forms of content as easily, versus the experience at your blog.
Fun. I am horribly biased, but I think blogging is the most fun thing you can do online. No boundaries, no borders. You call the shots. Full expression. Fun. Clowning. It’s like your own personal palette. All online real estate save your blog constricts you in some way. Either they set the rules or you can’t upload content as freely and quickly, in the case of a biz site. Blogs are creative extensions of your being; you own it, nobody can kick you out (just pay your monthly hosting ;) and it’s your show.
Blogs are alive…and well….
Darren, thanks much for sharing.
Ryan
My thought on this is, if blogging was dead, tens of thousands of new blog wouldn’t be started every day, and there wouldn’t be the thousands of other successful blogs out there.
I agree that there are more ways to engage with your readers now than ever before, including social media, podcasts, and more but blogging is still important.
So, no, written content is never going the way of the dinosaur, because it never did for as long as writing was first invented.
Thanks!
Blogging will always have a role in building one’s brand … I need to get back at it myself!
Hello ,
I agree that there are many other ways prevail to increase traffic but i think that Blogging is still important in building one’s brand . And morover blogginf is a fun , its like giving your expressions out.
Since we live in the Information Age, I believe in the near future people will grow hungrier for original content that carries good intel. In order to meet this need, blogging will continue to evolve. Plus, competition has its bright side. In the endless sea of web content with blogs being launched every day, only those who add value will stand out and maintain stable profit.
Long live blogging!
Nice Article Darren ! Blogging is still alive and one of the important and effective link building technique and also beneficial for increase traffic.
I attended a lecture at one of Melbourne’s Universities were one of the teachers spoke about online flooding. There are so many sites, blogs etc all fighting over the same keywords, the same audience that people are becoming lost in the sea of information.
Google adwords – ever set up a budget and bid for keywords so that your post can be found online? Do you Darren know what the average blogger spends on keywords each month? Do you Darren know how much the average blogger spends on Facebook boosts, Twitter advertising to be found above this flood? No, i think not. Oh but according to you all we need are great titles, regular posts, great content and some SEO to grow. Sheesh!