What is a blog?
The exact word blog is a combination of the words “web” and “log.” At the start of the internet, people used blogs as a sort of online diary. However, blogs have evolved from an online diary to a more sophisticated form of information and knowledge sharing for both individuals and businesses.
It can be observed that any Google search about any topic in mind will contain blog posts among its results. Whether we are talking about general information sharing or about product reviews, the word of reputable individuals that we can trust can be helpful.
Usually, blogs are written in simple language and in a conversational tone. This makes it super user-friendly and helpful for readers from all over the world, from different backgrounds and ages, to understand and learn about the topic they want.
The conversational, informal style also makes it easy to connect with the readers and the audience.
Blogs can be about any topic; however, for a blog to be successful, there should be some kind of constant demand for the type of topic that is written about. If there is no demand, there are no people trying to search for the topic in the search engines, and therefore no one will read the topic.
Of course, there is always the possibility of using social media to let the readers know about the new topic, but then again, the topic should be something they are looking for and interesting enough for them to want to read about.
Generally, a good approach is to dedicate a blog to a specific niche so that the new topics that are going to be written are somehow related to your blog audience. This makes it easier to link your new articles to the old ones.
A good thing about blogging is the ability to publish your content without the need for other publishing companies to do it. With blogging, it’s possible to publish your ideas and opinions faster and much easier.
What makes it a sustainable field is the ability to monetize your blog to make money and therefore pave the path to making it a good career opportunity or a sustainable business project.
There are a few different strategies for monetization, such as placing advertisements, affiliate marketing, or selling services and products.
A brief history of blogging
As said earlier, the word blog refers to the two words “web” and “log,” and this term was first assigned by John Barger in 1997. The first person to create a blog is believed to have been Justin Hall in 1994.
The blog he created was links.net, and it was called, at the time, a personal home page. The terms used were unclear before 1997, but generally they called it an online diary. Justan Hall was a student at Swarthmore College when he first started his blog.
New York Time Magazine refers to him as “the founding father of personal blogging.” He first used the internet in its early days, in 1988.
From the period 1998 to 2001, more people started creating blogs, like with the launch of Open Diary in 1998 and Blogger, LiveJournal, Xanga, and Pitas in 1999. Then things started to scale up after 2000.
Especially in 2002, when a search engine blog was created, AdSense was launched. People found a better way to monetize their online content, and the blogging journey started to thrive.
In the years after that, the blogging industry bloomed around the world, and more people started adapting to this new type of personal diary. Things started to get more sophisticated and professional, and businesses and individuals alike started to shift from the normal definition of blogs as personal diaries to the new blogs that share information about specific niches and related topics.
Even the average word count for a blog post to be able to rank in Google started to get higher. A 500- to 800-word post in 2010 was enough to be able to get a ranking on Google. However, this in 2024 will be around 2000 to 3000 words.
What types of blogs exist?
There are many types or categories for blogs, depending on the topic, on the topic, such as:
Personal Blog
So in the early stages of the blogging industry, all the blogs were in the personal category. It’s more for people to share their opinions, thoughts, and hobbies.
In this type of blog, the focus is mainly on the personal experience of the writer. Usually, audiences can connect with personal bloggers on a deeper level because they can see their experiences and therefore relate easier to them.
Business-Corporate Blog
In corporate blogging, the game is a little different. The goal is to get more traffic, convert that new traffic into paying customers, and increase profit from that. Usually, companies will discuss topics that are related to their products or the industry in general.
The way to make corporate blogging work is to provide useful information for the targeted audience while at the same time promoting your products. The more you know about your audience and understand their pain points, the better it is for you to write helpful content for them that can actually help you convert them into paying customers.
Also, depending on the company’s goals, you might want to spread awareness about a topic to help promote a product related to the topic in the near future or generally spread awareness about the existence of your business on the first page.
I personally have discovered the existence of so many companies just because they wrote a blog post about them. Blogging is always a good way to increase exposure.
Professional Personal Blog
This type of blog is personal to some degree, but at the same time, it is built as a business and not only a hobby. The mindset has to change in this type of blog from writing randomly with no plan in mind to actually writing for your readers and what you think will benefit them more.
You still write in a more personal way; however, the way you write makes your readers benefit first. In this type of blog, you treat your blog as a business, not a hobby.
New content should be added on a regular basis, and the key metrics related to your Google Analytics should be assessed from time to time to evaluate the progress you have made.
Also, in professional personal blogs, it’s not all about writing; you have to learn how to start your own marketing strategy and have a search engine ranking plan that may include guest blogging.
Fashion Blog
The main focus of this type is to write about fashion and style. Article writing is generally a process that requires creativity, but in this type of blog, creativity is more appreciated, as fashion is always related to creativity.
It features more photos and videos if compared to other types, usually because describing an outfit style is not the same as seeing it. Some of these bloggers, after their success with their blogs, become influencers on social media.
The characteristics of a fashion blog can draw attention from so many social media platforms that focus on visuals more, such as Instagram, where people are more likely to interact and want to see pictures of stylish and beautiful outfits. This niche is among the most popular; however, the competition is also very high.
Lifestyle Blog
Here, the topics are related to problems that people face in their daily lives. The reason that many people use search engines is to solve a problem they are facing and therefore land in a blog post that actually tries to provide a possible solution to their problem.
Topics like how to save time, be motivated, be creative, sleep better, take care of your mental health, be a good parent, prepare for tests, eat healthy, and much more are all different types of ideas and topics a lifestyle blogger can speak about.
It’s all about solving the problems people might encounter on a daily basis. Your goal is to inspire others and help improve their lifestyle.
Travel Blog
This is best suited to people who are passionate about traveling to new places to experience new foods or to sight-see the mesmerizing views around the world.
The idea here is to write about your travel experience. However, don’t treat it like a hobby if you intend to make money. The only way to make money is to shift your mindset about this and treat it as a business. Have a good plan on how to organize your time to travel and when you intend to publish your new content. You also need to have a good idea of what type of monetization you want to use.
The main keys to success in this type of business are consistency, constant learning, planning ahead, and knowing what type of promotional strategy you want to use.
Food Blog
The most essential thing that everyone thinks about in the world is food. Blogging about food-related topics is a great way to create content.
Usually you have more control over the type of content you want to create, such as in recipes where you can try the recipe and then blog about it. Other possible topics can be restaurant reviews, food travel stories, how to prepare meals for work, how to lose weight, and much more.
Affiliate Marketing and Reviews Blog
Most blogs use affiliate marketing as one of their monetization methods. However, there are these types of blogs that focus 100% on affiliate marketing.
This is usually done by buying the product or service and making a thorough, honest review of it. The idea here is to help the audience decide whether or not to buy a specific product or service. What are the advantages of that product compared to others on the market?
Why do you think they should choose the product, or why should they avoid it? The most vital point is to make sure you give an honest opinion about your experience with the product you are reviewing. Readers at first need to be able to trust you, and trust that you are giving them correct information and not just trying to sell them the product.
At some point, if your blog grows big enough, you can even be sponsored to write reviews for different brands in your niche. The most straightforward way to start an affiliate blog is to sign up for Amazon affiliates and then invest some capital to buy the products you want to review.
Also remember to always treat your blog as a business, not a hobby, and in this case, you better calculate the cost of the products and discover their potential. If you are using a search engine, you will have to do keyword research about the high-search products.
News Blog
This type is usually focused on conveying the latest news in a specific industry or market. Let’s say the latest tech news, cryptocurrency news, and so on.
The personal opinion of the writer in this type of blog is not usually the dominant part of the writing, as what is important are the facts. Usually they don’t get the news first, but they rely on other news media, and then they report about it.
Finance Blog
Finance bloggers can make a huge impact on the quality of life of their readers. Either positively by giving them good financial advice, or negatively. So you hold more responsibility in this type of blog because you are dealing with what is called “Your Money or Your Life” topics.
The requirement is to always publish high-quality content that is backed with citations. Because the minute you advise your readers with poor, inaccurate advice, you are risking being the reason someone else’s finances will be ruined.
How is a blog different from a website? (Blog vs. Website)
All blogs are websites, but not all websites are blogs. Usually, a website contains several pages that communicate key information about the business and its related services or products. A business will select to create a website for the purpose of creating an informational web presence.
A blog, on the other hand, is a place where a writer or group of writers talks about some topics in a conversational tone most often. A blog post usually contains a comment section to provide the opportunity for two-way communication between the reader and the writer.
A web page is usually static and is a one-way communication where the business or organization is informing the readers about its goals, services, or products.
So many businesses started blogging as a marketing strategy because it has been proven by many that adding a blog can help increase the business’s ranking in search engines.
Is it better to have a blog or a website?
This question depends on your goals. Why do you want a website or blog? If you are a small business that wants to have an online presence, a website would be enough to achieve that.
But then again, remember that when you start your website, you need traffic. A blog section on your website can help increase the number of visitors. As I said earlier, blogging is now a marketing tool now a marketing tool for so many businesses.
You want to be found by a new audience; write about aspects related to your business in your blog. There are a lot of things to learn and apply to increase your SEO ranking. But generally speaking, business websites with blogs get 55% more traffic than stand-alone websites.
You can always educate your audience about many aspects related to your business and introduce many new visitors to your business and why they would need your products using a blog.
Another important thing is that having a blog makes the process of sharing content on social media easier. Let’s say you only have a website with a few static pages.
What exactly do you want to share on social media? Because both your social media presence and having a blog are important to increasing your monthly visitors,
Yeah, someone will need to write those blog posts. But then again, you have a tool, and with creativity, you can make your audience fall in love with your brand.
Nowadays, you don’t really have to choose between having a website or a blog. You can always choose to have both if that is what you need.
What are blogs used for?
It depends on who is asking this. Are you a normal person who wants to start his own blog or a business that has a website and wants to assess its options regarding starting a blog section?
For an individual, the purpose for which you want to start a blog can be:
- You want to express your opinions regarding some specific topics.
- You want to share your life stories with people.
- You want to treat it as a way to increase exposure and get potential clients as a freelancer.
- You want to treat blogging as a business and make money from it.
- You want to build and grow your brand identity.
Your purpose might even be all of the ones mentioned. But then, on a personal level, creating a blog can be your own way to improve yourself.
Writing about something is your way of understanding it well and also a way to improve many other skills, such as your discipline, writing, time management, and language.
I mean, it’s a great way to help improve yourself, but at the same time, help other people. The posts you are writing are helping other people understand or solve a particular problem.
On a business level, as discussed earlier, the purpose of a blog would be to:
- Increase your search engine ranking.
- Increase your monthly visitors and traffic.
- Build trust with your potential clients by educating them on topics related to your business.
- Help build a connection between you and your audience.
- Introducing new people to your business
- Also, there is a correlation between blog posts and backlinks; for example, posts with 2000 words tend to have more backlinks. Backlinks are one of the main requirements for increasing ranking in search engines like Google.