Start blogging

Why blog?

Why add another terrible task in your to do list?  There are millions of blogs floating in the web – why add another?

 It will cost you so much sweat and labor and tears too, may be…besides who’s going to read it?

I do feel a voice inside me whining these words often. So after 137 posts, and 94 followers, I ventured again to research – why should I blog, and this is what I found:

There are  at least 15 great reasons why you must blog, says Joshua Becker.  

 Out of these 15 reasons, I find that I blog because:

 1. I have  something important to say, for example I want to say what goes behind creating my jewelry and the business aspect too. What happens in my work shop, what agony and ecstasy do I go through in this journey of being a jewelry artist- entrepreneur.

 2. I find that there are people who relate with my pain and passion. They are also artists making jewelry or other things and trying to  sell.  Why? so  that they can feed their family or just make enough  to buy the materials for their art. From their comments I can relate what they are going through too.

3. I can give something-  like tutorials, new tips, ideas that are working with me . And these days I can share that with the whole wide world.  It makes me feel good that someone benefits from that. I can make friends from some one across the globe.

From research and through my experience I found that  there are a few things to know why I should NOT blog:

1. Trying to make quick money.  Though there are lots of people who may make a lot of money from their blogs – it is   not very easy and that is not my purpose.
2. Fame – though there are people like Leo Babauta, it is hard to become famous overnight just by blogging. And he got there after years of hard work!

Then why should you blog?  Do you have some clear goal why you want to write a blog?

  There could be various reasons- for example,

* To show your potential customers who you are and why should they buy your hand crafted product or

* What is your belief, mission, ethics related with your product, or the brand of the product you make, or

* Monetize:  you can make money from your blog being an affiliate of different relevant things, resources, books etc.

 Here I find that there are at least 10 good reasons why you should have a blog

 But, blogging does  take hard work, quite a chunk of time  and  lots of commitment.

Writers’ block is a common ailment in this journey. What should you write about?

One good gauge for understanding the depth is running a list of ideas to post.  Can you easily jot down a few dozen things in a short period of time that will be relevant for your blog? When you are stuck, or get a writer’s block  this list comes in  handy.

What else is needed?

Consistency :
Regular posting is essential. Also relevant topis are what your reader will come for.  In that sense it is similar to writing the chapters of a book, I think. 

Niche:
 This is about finding out your niche and being clear about that.  Are you passionate about your niche?  You'll need that for the long haul.

 

Readers' needs and interests:

Who are your readers? Do you care for their needs?    How would you find that? Thinking about your readers’ problems and an effort to find solutions are important  reasons I blog.

  How do I know my readers' interest? I get that answer and some clue from the popularity of certain  posts and not of the others.

 What makes an awesome blog?  Delia from Blog Formattings suggests  10 points that an awesome blog must have.

You may differ with her  and/or have different ones.

Somewhere I read that any good writing should have at least one of the following  three qualities:

It should entertain the reader

It should teach or give something to the reader

It should be able to inspire the reader in some way

Great writings have them all.

It is also true from my experience that you may get bogged in over editing, especially if you are a perfectionist.  That retards my speed, consistency and commitment.

Now, if you ask me – Was it a good idea that you had started blogging?

I’ll answer- .  Heck -Yes.

What about you?  Should you start a blog? Or do you already have one?

 What challenges do you feel?  Which is the biggest problem you think, or your biggest reward in blogging?  Please share.

You may also want to check out :

Five most important Marketing Strategies I plan to incorporate in my Etsy shop

Strategies to boost sales in  my online store