what are blogs?

[cheekymonkey]

Hi, Can anyone please give me a rough run down on blogs?? I have a site that I want to nationally market and someone has suggested blogs?? I dont want anyone to do any, just some information on what they are and how they work?

 

[Jonesy]

Start reading!

 

[YooHee]

this might help you also

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog

 

[cheekymonkey]

so i could use a blog on my site and my visitors could leave comments, info and tips etc to be seen by other visitors?

If so do i need special software for this?? Is it a big job? what are the benefits of having a blog?

 

[wood1e2]

YOu can get many different software packages off the net. If you search Google for blog software, you will find most of the major ones.

This can be installed on your server and placed within your website, so you can publish fresh content and have people comment.

 

[cheekymonkey]

ok thanks for those links. I am in the process of building a website based around "property moving" with info on "how to", also offers my visitors price comparisons and quotes submissions for related products and services.

What would you recommend for blogs for this?? I was thinking that it would be good if my visitors could submit "moving" related questions and I could display answers for everyone to see.. would this be a big job? Also would be good to have feeds from property news sites

 

[stanneon]

A blog (a contraction of the term "Web log") is a Web site, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.
Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (artlog), photographs (photoblog), sketches (sketchblog), videos (vlog), music (MP3 blog), audio (podcasting), which are part of a wider network of social media. Micro-blogging is another type of blogging, one which consists of blogs with very short posts. As of December 2007, blog search engine Technorati was tracking more than 112 million blogs.[1] With the advent of video blogging, the word blog has taken on an even looser meaning - that of any bit of media wherein the subject expresses his opinion or simply talks about something.


- the other good thing about using a blog is that you can make an income from it... sounds fun isn't it?...

 

[cheekymonkey]

How would you make an income?? sorry am i being blonde?

A blog (a contraction of the term "Web log") is a Web site, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.
Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (artlog), photographs (photoblog), sketches (sketchblog), videos (vlog), music (MP3 blog), audio (podcasting), which are part of a wider network of social media. Micro-blogging is another type of blogging, one which consists of blogs with very short posts. As of December 2007, blog search engine Technorati was tracking more than 112 million blogs.[1] With the advent of video blogging, the word blog has taken on an even looser meaning — that of any bit of media wherein the subject expresses his opinion or simply talks about something.


- the other good thing about using a blog is that you can make an income from it... sounds fun isn't it?...

 

[Stampy]

You can make money through Adsense, banner adverts, affiliate links etc. on blogs. But obviously you have to have decent traffic to make any decent money off them.

 

[LowcostPR]

I am looking into having a blog for my sister company (Ultimedia PR. Sorry had to have a plug) and I have been recommended to use Microsoft Livewriter.

Blogs aren't necessarily for making money as per se, but a regularly updated blog will help boost your position on search engines.

Also, it lets me exercise my writing arm, something that I love.

 

[stanneon]

How would you make an income?? sorry am i being blonde?

you can earn from Adsense, adverts and many more. But to have a good income, first is you must achieve a good status in search engine, like having a good rank for your keywords. A good number of visitors per day, it's great if you have loyal visitors coming to your site everyday. and a lot of good articles that makes your visitors wanting to read more and even subscribe to your blog if they really like it. Its a good practice to do his first before putting ads and earn some money from your blog...

 

[Stampy]

I am looking into having a blog for my sister company (Ultimedia PR. Sorry had to have a plug) and I have been recommended to use Microsoft Livewriter.

Blogs aren't necessarily for making money as per se, but a regularly updated blog will help boost your position on search engines.

Also, it lets me exercise my writing arm, something that I love.

No experience of Microsoft Livewriter so can't comment on how good it is, but I can recommend Wordpress. Search engines seem to like them as well. I was getting more traffic on a stand alone WP blog within 2 weeks than I got on one of my ecommerce sites after a couple of months.

 

[Mark Nagurski]

A blog is simply a website or part of website that displays (ideally) regularly updated content, usually in reverse chronological order (i.e. your most recent post first). Blogs will also often allow readers to leave comments about each post and contain an RSS feed so that readers can subscribe for future updates.

You can create a standalone blog, integrate a blog into your existing website (i.e. mysite.com/blog) or even run your entire site using blog software (as I do on my content marketing blog).

Blogging as a promotional tool for a business is quite different than blogging as a hobby or running a standalone blog to earn from.

Some benefits of business blogging:

• Each post become an indexed page - properly optimised and containing the right keywords it can deliver quite a lot of search engine traffic
• Blogs invite reader participation and engagement
• Blogs are simple to use and allow you to add new content without any coding knowledge
• They can attract media attention
• They can attract the attention of other bloggers and site owners in your niche - helping attract inbound links
• They are usually less formal, allowing your personality to come through
• They are immediate, allowing you to comment on news etc...
• RSS feeds encourage repeat visitors
• The act of blogging helps you develop your own ideas, network in your niche and keep up-to-date with what's happening

Simple technical considerations:

• Pick good software - we always recommend Wordpress
• Integrate it into your site (or branding) - it's not a big job but you will need some design / coding experience
• Set it up with useful plugins (software to enhance the blog's performance and add functionality) and add RSS subscription options

Before you bother:

• Can you really keep it up? Apparently 90% of blogs are either abandoned or updated only once every few months - if you can't blog regularly, don't bother
• What will you write about? Blogs about your business are boring. Blog about your potential readers and customers - what problems are they facing?
• Who will blog? If not you then who? Staff, suppliers, outsourced to a blog content writer?
• Why? There are great benefits (as above) but are they relevant to you?
• How will you promote it? It takes time to promote a blog - find out how before you start a business blog.
• Who will read it? If you don't have a clear vision of who will read your blog it isn't likely to appeal to anyone.

Blogs can be great for building your business, demonstrating your expertise and attracting traffic - BUT - they are a big commitment and will normally take months to show real results.

Hopefully that helps a little but the best way to learn about blogs is to read them.

 

[domokun]

A blog is nothing more than an easy to update website.
It's only called a blog because they used to be known as web-logs (read online diary).

People see them as two entirely different things

I have a website, now I want a blog

When they are the same thing in essence. All of the sites I build are based upon a "blog" content management system. This allows users to easily add static pages and news articles quickly and easily.