Blogging As A Profession

What Blogging Means To Me

Blogging is writing, photography, and other media that’s self-published online. It started as a chance for people to write diary-style entries. It has since been incorporated into websites for many businesses. Blogging includes frequent updates and informal language where readers are given the chance to comment about a blog post. The word blog is actually a shortened form of its original name weblog. These weblogs allowed early internet users to write/type the details of their day in diary-style entries.

History

Blogging dates back to 1994 when Justin Hall created the first blog at Links.net which contained a review of HTML examples he came across from various online links. He referred to a blog as his personal homepage.

Other people followed suit such as Jorn Barger who coined the term weblog. In 1999, the blogging platform Blogger was launched giving people the opportunity to have their own blogs and publish online. In 2002, a new trend emerged with mothers blogging about parenting in order to educate and support readers.

In 2003, more blogging platforms were launched like WordPress and TypePad. In 2007, Tumblr was launched continuing the trend of microblogging or sharing stories, news, and other content in the smallest format possible.

In 2012, Medium, a new blogging platform was founded as well as Pulse, Linkedln’s influencer blogging platform.

What A Great Blogger Should Possess

A great blogger has certain qualities that sets them apart from other bloggers. These qualities gives a blogger the power to decipher what users want, how to make good content, and how to promote it.

Effective bloggers must be passionate about what they’re writing because only then will they find it easier to write about things that others with similar interests would enjoy. You have to love what you do or else you won’t succeed in the long run. It’s also essential that you have a writing background or have good writing skills because it’ll make your posts more enjoyable and interesting.

A great blogger should also be well organized. It’s important to plan and manage your writing schedules if you have multiple blogs. Remember that your content will suffer if you rush through the writing process.

A great blogger should have a large network and be known in the industry so that his/her content is easier to promote. If you have built personal relationships with industry influencers, it can help earn credibility personally and for your blog. It also helps that you have basic SEO knowledge and know the benefits of good keyword research and maximize the potential of each post and thus, be able to monetize your blog.

Being active on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and connecting with people on a regular basis will help bloggers get noticed or discovered. If you’re promoting other users’ content, those users in turn will return the favor.

Blogging Journey

I started making websites back in 2003 using free website builders. I have a website which housed my digital art which I created just for fun and as a hobby. I then made new friends online who have the same interests as mine. They were the ones who introduced me to blogging.

I started blogging in 2007 with my own domain name and hosting. Because of blogging, I gained a lot of new friends. Blogging then was so different from what it is now. When I used to read a blog, it felt as if I knew the blogger really well since most of the posts written before were personal and I was updated with what’s going on with the author’s life.

I didn’t take blogging seriously but I realized later on that I can make money out of it. That’s when I registered my blogs to different paid to blog sites. Soon, clients directly messaged me and sent products for me to feature on my blogs. Most of my clients were from overseas when I was starting out but as the years went by, I also have attracted local clients. I got invited to events by well-known local brands and given projects, too.

Nowadays, most of the time I blog about featuring and promoting brands. I miss the time when all I blogged about were my personal experiences, but we really have to go with the flow to keep up with others. Still, there are times when I do blog about more personal things.

What I Learned The Most

Blogging grew on me. I’ve come to love it and I don’t think I can ever turn my back on it. Blogging led me to different opportunities and experiences — from getting awards, attending events, traveling, to trying new products, and more! Best of all, it introduced me to a lot of great individuals who later on became good friends as well.