Transform Yourself into a Blogger

Last days I have been indulged in mentor-ship and teaching. The lock-down was more about teaching, training and learning in the course time. I interacted with about 35 students and 15 interns. The common thing I was teaching them was ‘ Blogging’. Meanwhile, I found common queries and confusions. I taught them what blogging is, reason and the process too. 

The first task after the interaction was if they were given a chance to start a blog, what topic would it be. The students got curious and started juggling their minds with the topics, some said fashion, some said personal blog, for others it was travel, journalistic blog, political blog and the genre went vast with the 35. 

The outcomes I received brought me to write  this blog. We are often confused about Blog with Social Media posts, even we think that blog is all about writing an article. Here I am making it easy to understand and get guided if you don’t know how blogs can be  artistic and earning tools.

How blogging started?

The online writing is termed Blog, as it is a short form of Web-log. These information can be googled and received. I am here to talk about the basic art behind blogs. There were times when people used to write diaries and share what’s in their heart. They used to form poems, stories or daily happenings as their diary writing, some websites found this hobby as their business and created such space for those writers who could write and keep them private. They even gave the option to share it with friends. Slowly, these websites attracted the writers and they started sharing their stories through weblogs. Social media and internet market became vast and boosted the blog sites. These blog sites became the answer to many search histories on google, thus search engine optimisation(seo) words came into being. Use those words which are searched the most and let your article get placed on top google search. People started sharing the blogs on social media with their friends, acquaintances and families.

“ Read about  History of Blogs”

The history is not the same, we have evolved from just sharing and making people aware that we write. It is more about getting known and letting your writing and creating art known. This art is now a great help to businesses as well. The Internet has advanced the blogging curriculum and has brought great opportunities for people who are able to find words to the things they watch, hear, or come through. Now the internet world is filled with words and is packed with too much content, then it’s tough for you to get genuine readers or people who stick to your blog choosing it out of 100s. 

So what’s next?

 What and How a Blog speaks?

I found my students and interns getting it tough to understand how a blog is written. Always remember, blogs are always a way to connect to your audience. Even if you are selling a product or service, or writing a political review, your blog should be less formal or personal. By personal we mean, it should be more like the way you talk to a person or discuss the same topic verbally.  How do we do that? We frame examples, we give them connections to those stories, we use a language that is informal and friendly. Your blog should be designed the same way. What is the difference you see in a Tv show or radio? Don’t you feel radio shows are more connecting and personal, we even feel like the host is talking and sharing with us personally. Your blog is that radio show which needs to be informative but in a very informal tone.

Blogging today

It is again a most common perplexity when it comes to initiating a blog, even readers get confused how blogging is used today. Let’s make it easier by bifurcating the means of blogging-

• Blogging as a writing hobby-

Blogging has come as a boon for the writers. Writers always looked for a platform where they can share their thoughts. Writers are good observers and they are keen towards presenting their observation in words. Blogging assembles their thoughts at one place where they can read, follow other writers and share their part too. Some blog sites used today are  Blogspot, WordPress, Ghost and Tumblr. These are the most commonly used websites where you can create your account and share your writing skills.

• Blogging as a profession-

Blogging as a profession gets broader when it comes to regular blogger, freelancer, part time blogger or blog marketer.  These days every business or organisation owns a website, blogging is used as a Public Relation Communication tool. They hire good writers who could be communicative enough to talk to their target customers, frame good stories and be effective in portraying a brand image. Even PR and Online Marketing Agencies look for bloggers who write on their client’s behalf.

 Blogging is now a passion too, more for travellers, fashion enthusiasts, food lovers, music hovers, fitness freaks, active sports persons etc. These are the cliche genres of blogging where a blogger writes on their interests. They interact with their target audience sharing new information, experience and providing reviews. They earn from their passion based businesses by writing or including them in their blogs. This is termed as Blog Marketing, where the blog is used as a marketing medium to aware and advertise about brands or services. Instagram is one of the most catchy and trendy platforms for bloggers to attract and interact, it helps in bringing the crowd to the main site.

• Blogging in education and research

Researchers and Educators are even using this platform to provide information. Blogging has given a space to share the research and write on educational topics. This attracts students and other researchers to gain knowledge and find the right documentation on a particular topic they are searching for. 

I hope the above information was fruitful and if any confusion persists you are free to comment below or mail me at kaushik@herchubbytalks.com . I will be writing more blogs on communication and media topics, stay tuned to Social Media or subscribe to the newsletter to get updates related to blogs.