The greatest fear for any blogger is that nobody is listening. Extensive blog entries have recently given way to snackable information like tweets, making blogging a less sexy and a more time consuming endeavor. Bloggers have many reasons to go to the digital well and pour their hearts out on a blog. Mostly the reasons fall into two categories: fame and fortune. You will achieve neither if you don’t create interesting, fresh content that attracts a readership who want to hear what you have to say. In a recent New York Times article, Richard Jalichandra, chief executive of Technorati, said, “that at any given time there are 7 million to 10 million active blogs on the Internet, but “it’s probably between 50,000 and 100,000 blogs that are generating most of the page views.” That’s a pretty competitive marketplace. So what’s a blogger to do? For one thing, be original. A blog that doesn’t offer a unique perspective will eventually be lost in the din. Another important thing to do is post often. Being a blogger means creating content. If you aren’t posting consistently, then you probably won’t consistently attract readers. I had a writing mentor in college who said if you want to be a writer, you have to write. It sounds simple, but you’d be surprised how difficult it is to actually get your butt in a chair and put your thoughts down. So why do I blog? Strictly for fortune. Yeah, right. Fame and fortune are always at the back of my mind, but I’m not counting on it. I blog because I believe my background in the traditional advertising agency industry gives me a unique perspective in the world of digital marketing, online branding and content distribution on the internet. In other words, a unique perspective. Anyone out there?
Thanks for this. There is a lot of hype surrounding the potential monetization of blogs and I’m glad you’ve highlighted the reality of the situation.
Cheers,
Karl