Feel like you’re too late to the blogging party? Don’t even know how to create a blog? No worries about tardiness, it’s never too late in the ever-expanding blogosphere to join in. Just ask The Happy Seeker’s Christopher Foster, a 79 year old journalist turned blogger who had no problem starting his blog in his mid-to-late-seventies. And though he’s worked in newsrooms and published books for decades, he decided that he wanted to work in a new kind of writing medium, the blog. “I don’t seem to have the inclination or the desire anymore to write a book. So much work. So much time.” said Foster. “I find blogging is a happy medium. You write a post. It takes a couple of hours let’s say. Then all you have to do is hit a button, and immediately a little bit of you sets off to roam the world. What will happen? Who will you meet? What new friends will you find? It’s a new adventure every time.”
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While blogging can expand possibilities in your business and personal life, there are things you should consider before launching your blog, especially if you envision it more for career purposes than simply a hobby. As with any life-goal, make sure you have a plan and are clear on what the blog’s focus will be and who it will serve. For instance, ask yourself these questions: What’s my niche and who is my audience? How will I create valuable content worthy of a magazine that will educate and enlighten my readers on a consistent basis? Remember that as a serious blogger you need to be consistent in your posts so that readers know when to look out for you. That doesn’t mean you need to write one every day, but that you need to keep on a certain visible schedule. This is especially important for newbie bloggers who are trying to prove themselves to online readers on various social media sites.
This leads us to our last and final point, which is the power of networking and promoting your blog offline as well. Annabel Beeforth, the owner of the popular blog Love My Dress told The Career Stylist: “Make an effort to meet up with other bloggers or attend blogging related events or events you can blog about. I consider networking in the physical world one of the key reasons my blog has been so successful.” Once you know how to create a blog, and you’ve acknowledged all the hard and worthwhile work that is put into a blog and have created a time-table on how to best execute what you need to do, watch how in no time you’ll reap the benefits of blogging. Ask any successful blogger and they’ll tell you that blogging is a key way to build a brand, a business, your own profile, and best of all, community.
