12 Reasons Why You Need A Blog
"Why Should I Blog' I Simply Don't Get It"
This post on a popular discussion forum set me thinking - and I came up with 12 reasons you should blog.
Blog EntrepreneurQ: Can you get married by blog' A: Now that I've got your attention! Actually you can, at least Eric and Kathleen consider they did, thanks to an obscure law in Texas ..... Read them and get started on your blog. Or better still, go get your blog up and running and THEN come back and read this :)
#1 - You Do Not Need To Know HTML
Blog Finance PersonalThough the answer is in a book I wrote this July, the question is still asked of me ..... One of the biggest hurdles many hopeful website creators face is they don't know to design a webpage. Blogs overcome this - all you do is type into a box, and the blog software automatically converts it into a webpage and publishes it on the World Wide Web for anyone to see.
#2 - You Are 'Forced' To Keep Your Content Fresh
Blogs are essentially online diaries. It doesn't make sense to write in your diary every month or two. Similarly, running a blog itself 'forces' you to update it often. And refreshing your blog often makes it more useful to readers and consumers - and by extension, to search engines who are in the business of presenting *their* clients with valuable resources.
13 Steps To Successful BloggingBlogs can be a very marketable and very profitable tool if used correctly. Profiting from blogs is just a matter of grabbing the attention of an ..... #3 - Your Blog Is AUTOMATICALLY Optimized For Search Engines
Search engines love fresh content. But that's not the only way blogs are powerful tools to rank high. Indeed, most blogs are structured to offer a high degree of search engine optimization.
All sections of your blog are linked together. The terms used as link 'anchors' are keyword-optimized. Categories can be created to host themed content. Navigating through your blog is intuitive. Archives can be customized, and generate hundreds of pages of content that act as 'search engine spider bait'.
#4 - You Get A Built-In Linking Structure
With very few exceptions, most blogs are structured to be a tightly integrated network of links - to other sections of your blog! It's quite easy for a visitor to get 'lost' within your blog... without ever leaving it.
Calendars link to posts on specific dates. 'Recent Post' listings point to your freshest content. Archives connect all your earlier posts. Search boxes let browsers look for certain kinds of content. And it all happens automatically, without you spending hours on creating a link structure or sitemap!
#5 - You Generate Multiple Content-Rich Pages
Every post you make on your blog is content. And by intelligently setting up your archiving preferences, you can turn each post into many different forms of content, each on a page of its own. Blog regularly for a few months, and you could end up having a 100+ page website - all filled with relevant, keyword-optimized, themed content!
#6 - You Can Keyword-Optimize Your Blog Extensively
All parts of your blog's template can be customized. And a very powerful way to do it is by inserting relevant keywords. It's a do-it-once job that will give you ongoing benefits for as the life of your blog. You can include keywords in your blog title, description, blog post headings, trackback links, comment invitations, archive titles, and category names.
#7 - You Create An Online Community
If your blog is on a specific theme, you can build a loyal readership and develop an online community. You can even take it a notch higher by tying it in with a forum or membership site. Ask for comments, suggestions, ideas and feedback, or invite reader participation. Pretty soon, your blog will be growing organically - even if you don't write a lot!
#8 - You Initiate Conversations With Readers
Of course, the first step is yours - to initiate a dialog with readers. You could do it with your blog post, asking a question or by inviting comments and interaction. Your blog will ......
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