Consider Having A Blog, No Matter Who You Are
January 24th, 2008
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There are some technological advances that you can safely ignore without being considered an outcast. If you don’t want to have a BlackBerry or an iPod, you can simply pass on them and be just fine. But there are some tech waves you really want to catch. Just like you don’t want to churn your own butter or ride a horse to work, pretty soon you won’t want to admit that you don’t have a blog.
Conrad Hees has lucked into a couple of links here by writing some great posts on topics I was about to cover. In Why You’re Nobody Until You Have a Blog, he reflects on how cell phones were rare ten years ago but are considered essential today.
Remember the movie Cellular? As recently as 2004, a cell phone was considered novel enough to be used as the basis for a movie starring Kim Basinger, Chris Evans, Jason Statham, William H. Macy, and Jessica Biel. It appeared to be set in L.A., you know, with all those crazy people who thought phones didn’t have to be plugged into the wall. But who doesn’t have a cell phone today?
And look at how far the internet has come, as well as the average person’s ability to use it. In my computer science class in 1996, I was talking to someone about Lycos, and we wondered if they had a home page (that’s what people called websites back then). We put our heads together and figured that if they did, the address might be lycos.com (no, this wasn’t obvious). We had used web browsers before (though we didn’t know that term), so we opened up the browser that owned 90% of the market share at the time, Netscape Navigator, and painstakingly typed in http://www.lycos.com (being careful to get the slashes going the right way).
This was in a computer science class at what was then the #1 public school in the country (University of Virginia). Nowadays, pretty much anyone can find a company on the web without thinking about it. It’s instinctive.
Every respectable business knows they need their own website for potential customers to get information and buy from them. Now the trend is rapidly spreading to individuals. More and more people are starting their own website, which usually means a blog. Two new blogs are created every second!
People no longer ask “Do you have a phone?” or “Do you know what a phone is?” They ask “What’s your phone number?” We’re getting closer to the day when people will presumptuously ask “What’s your blog’s URL?”, although I think it might take a while. But we’re definitely going in that direction, so why not be sure you’re not late to the party?
The word “blog” is short for “web log.” Essentially, it’s just a website that’s usually run by one person, who posts new content on a regular basis. There are blogs out there on practically every topic, and blogging technology has gotten to the point where you no longer have to be a techie to run one.
This is not a blog about blogging per se, but let me list some things you might use a blog for, and point you to where you can get more information.
I make a distinction between what I call hobby blogs and professional blogs, and it’s essential to decide up front which category your blog(s) will fall into. A hobby blog is one that you do just for fun. You can start a blog about any topic that interests you, such as politics, hockey, fashion, or travel. You then write posts on your blog because you enjoy sharing your thoughts with people who have similar interests. It’s sort of a high-tech version of joining a book club or playing poker. You can also have a hobby blog that’s not about a specific topic, but is personal in nature, such as a blog to keep your friends updated with what’s going on in your life.
Professional blogs are used for purposes other than just having fun (although there’s no reason you can’t have fun with them as well). They’re often used for personal branding, as a way of building a reputation in your industry.
Imagine that you’re at a job interview, and you ask the interviewer to bring up your blog, which is basically your online resume. They see plenty of examples of you showcasing your expertise, backed up by many people leaving comments to say how helpful you’ve been to them. How are you not going to get that job?
A professional blog can help you develop what Napoleon Hill referred to as a mastermind, which is “coordination of knowledge and effort in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose.” All successful people surround themselves with like-minded people, and a blog makes this much easier to do. You can easily interact with wonderful people all over the world, people who would never even know who you are without a blog.
A professional blog can have monetary benefits, both directly and indirectly. A blog can generate income by running ads or selling products through affiliate programs, making it just about the easiest type of business there is. While most blogs generate very little income, a growing number of people have been able to create a part-time or full-time income (or more) from their blog. Sometimes this income is earned indirectly because of their blog. For example, if you position yourself as an expert on a particular topic, you might be able to do consulting work, write a book, or get speaking engagements.
If you know exactly what you want to blog about, then by all means jump right in. But if you can’t immediately think of the perfect topic, then don’t force it. Lots of blogs get started in haste, only for the owner to abandon them a few months later after they find that they have nothing left to say. I read up on blogging for 8 months before I started this blog, mainly because it took me that long to think of the right topic. You don’t need to start a blog right now, but I do suggest you start thinking about it right now. If blogging is on your mind, you’ll find your voice sooner or later.
There are sites out there such as WordPress.com that will host your blog for you and make it very easy to get started, but hosting sites are best used only for hobby blogs. One reason is because your URL will look like http://yourblogname.wordpress.com, which doesn’t look too professional. Another reason is that you’ll have less control. For example, you might not be allowed to run ads on your blog, or you might have a very limited selection of features and templates.
For professional blogs, it’s a good idea to use self hosting. This means that you’re renting a web server to use however you want. You install a blogging platform on it, or the hosting company can often do it for you. The clear leader in blogging platforms is WordPress, available from WordPress.org (different from WordPress.com!). You get your own domain name, such as http://www.MyGreatSite.com, which looks great and helps to build your brand. It takes a little money, but just a few dollars a month for a small blog. It also takes some technical know-how, but you can either learn as you go, or find someone to do it for you. It will all seem very complicated at first, but you just take it one step at a time, as lots of other people have.
Here are some blogs about blogging to help you get started:
- ProBlogger “helps bloggers to add income streams to their blogs.”
- Skelliewag.org “is about creating content your site’s visitors will fall in love with.”
- Copyblogger teaches you how to “write in a strategic, persuasive, compelling manner.”
- Blogging Without A Blog is an excellent place for newbies to learn about many different blogging topics.
In his post Are You Missing Out On Your Biggest Self-Marketing Opportunity Ever?, Conrad Hees talks about the importance of buying the domain [yourname].com to use in your personal branding, and I couldn’t agree more. You definitely want to get your own name as a domain name right away, before someone else does. [yourname.com] might eventually be where your professional blog is hosted, or it might simply redirect to another of your sites (probably not a hobby blog, though). But don’t worry about that right now, just buy the domain before it’s too late. I got mine a year before I had a site to point to. Don’t make the mistake that Bill Gates and Alyssa Milano did (someone else beat them to their domain names).
I use GoDaddy.com (affiliate) for my domain names and web hosting, and their customer service is unbelievable. If you don’t mind watching French maids, you can watch GoDaddy’s French Maid TV video to get an overview of buying a domain name, as well as a code for 10% off your order.
No matter who you are or what you do, a blog is a great way to build your personal brand and create opportunities that don’t exist otherwise. Blogs are really for everyone, so if you’re not on board yet, start thinking about creating one of your own.
January 24th, 2008 at 4:07 am
Hi Hunter,
Thank you so much for the kind words and link to my site. I feel honored to be mentioned in this great post.
You are so correct. We have come far with cell phones I think we still have our old “bag phone”-one of the first cell phones, and one of the old “brick” cell phones…..now they are so small, it’s unbelievable.
Blogs too, will become, maybe not a necessity, but a convenience. I like how you used the example of having someone be able to look at your blog in an interview. Doesn’t get much better than that.
I also like how we are able to meet people from all over the world, read their writings, and view their photos.
Blogs are a great social and learning medium. As great as the internet is, blogging makes it even better with the ability to communicate via comments. Although forums can provide the same type of information, blogs seem to draw similar personalities together.
Again Hunter, thank you for the link, and for your frequent visits.
Isn’t blogging great?
January 24th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Hi Hunter - I love the comparison between blogs, cellphones and the Internet.
Also, I love your comparison of a blog with Napolean Hill’s mastermind group. And I think that is so true. With many of us working from home, it’s difficult to meet like minded people that we can bounce ideas off, and blogging helps us connect.
Great links by the way - those are some of my favourite blogs on blogging.
January 24th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Hunter,
That’s a great article. And a sagely forecast.
Especially in business, I think at the moment it’s a fantastic differentiator. I can’t comment very scientifically, but we have fewer than 100 small business clients.
Not one of them currently has a blog (and I checked a couple of weeks back).
Now our blog is relatively new. Less than 6 months old.
But it’s delivering. The language is different. We’re talking a little less formally.
We’re being ourselves. We’re self-deprecating. In short, we decided to get rid of the corporate-speak and produce a blog/site that tells it as it is.
We poke fun at ourselves in the About Us section.
And do you know what? We’re growing as a result. We’re in the low-volume game. So every new client is worth an awful lot to us.
I read a blog post today and I think it’s one you should take a look at. It’s by a guy called Mark White who is on a similar crusade - to persuade small businesses that a blog is pretty important tool nowadays.
Please take a peek - I think it echoes alot of what you say - Cath/Barbara - I think I may have mentioned this blog before, but it’s worth a look too - the guy’s a bit of a blog guru:
http://www.betterbusinessblogging.com/corporate-blogging/3-key-blogging-questions-question-1/
January 25th, 2008 at 12:56 am
@ Barbara, I don’t know what bag phones and brick phones are, but I know how far phones have come. When I got my first cell phone I was amazed that I could actually carry a phone around in my pocket. The next one I got was half the size, and now they’re even smaller. As for blogs vs. forums, I think it’s like visiting someone’s home vs. going to a big party. Both can be fun, depending on your purpose.
@ Catherine, those of us who work in an office also have difficulty meeting like-minded people! Of course, for every person we know, we almost certainly are like-minded in some areas, but we might not even figure this out because we just know someone as “the sales guy” or “the database gal.” Blogging makes it easier to connect with “the SEO guy” or “the world traveler gal,” or whatever kind of person you need.
@ Ian, that’s great that you’ve been able to use your blog to differentiate yourself so effectively. That post you linked to is a good one. He’s definitely right about deciding on a blog’s purpose up front, instead of doing it just to keep up with the Joneses.
January 26th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Hey Hunter, nice post!
Thanks alot for the mention….I would have commented sooner, but I have been preoccupied recently and have not been keeping up with my feeds.
Good job spreading the word about the importance of things like blogging and personal branding, etc. The ‘early adopters’ of these things will be in the best position to succeed in the coming years.
Keep up the great writing!
Conrad Hees’s last blog post..Differentiation and The Blogosphere
January 27th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Conrad, I know you’re busy…you’re working on that new blog that I’m looking forward to!
BTW, thanks for that tip about StumbleUpon; they sent me 153 visitors yesterday. Although those visitors didn’t stay long, I can say it’s definitely a good tool for new bloggers who want to get their posts in front of some people. It’s probably a good tool for established bloggers too, since they can easily get lots of stumbles.
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