- Updated: April 30, 2024
Have you established a practicing career? You may be an entrepreneur like me or a businessperson with a product or service to sell. Learn blogging and how it helps you with career or business growth.
This post is about the origin of blogging, its concise definition, how it became a widely recognized term, blogging as a business venture, and how it can help you market your career and business.
The origin of the term "Blog."
The term blog was coined from 2 words, “web” and “log”, in the late 1990s to describe a form of online journaling or writing, where individuals or groups would regularly update a webpage with new entries in a chronological format, much like a log or diary.
Over time, “weblog” was shortened to blog, and it has since evolved into various formats and styles, including personal blogs, professional blogs, and corporate blogs.
An Analysis of Web and Log Components
Web
A web is an extensive collection of documents. It can be texts, articles, audio, images, and videos.
These documents are stored on a computer connected to the internet for public accessibility.
When you request a document by browsing a web address, it will be transferred to you to read, watch, listen or take action as compelled.
Log
A log is the detailed record-keeping of events and activities occurring in real time. Depending on the subject matter, logs can be documented and recorded daily, weekly, or monthly.
An excellent and famous example is political news, recorded and published daily.
Remember, political news can be from a local government or ward or at the state or federal government level. It’s an opportunity to curate interesting information people want, and streaming it is enormous.
Thus, just like in political news, if you can creatively make your career interesting and useful to people, you will be responsible for recording events and activities about it every day, weekly, or monthly as you deem fit.
What is blogging?
Blogging is the art of keeping records of events about a specific subject matter. It can be daily, weekly or monthly, in the form of documents (text), images (graphic), audio (podcast) and videos (vlogging) stored on a computer with the aid of the internet to access them anytime, anywhere.
Blogging in the context of “Art” and “Computer”
1. To master the “art of keeping records,” you have to be skillful at writing, designing attractive and compelling images, and creating videos and audio with magnetic presentations.
Nobody is innately gifted with writing or presentation skills, the design for compelling images and all that stuff.
Every successful blogger started from scratch.
They keep honing their skills, and it gets better.
You must keep practicing, and your performance will improve if you can’t hire credible people to create and promote your content.
Whatever format you use (posts, images, videos, and podcasts), make sure it’s remarkable, relevant, and quality.
2. By “computer,” we mean a storage space where documents, images, and audio are securely stored for the audience to access and easily re-access at anytime and anywhere.
Blogging: From Buzzword to a Recognized Term
“Blogging” was once considered a buzzword but has become a standard term in the realm of online content creation and publishing.
Initially, it gained attention as a new form of personal expression and online journalism. However, as the practice became more common and established, it transitioned from being a buzzword to a widely recognized term describing the act of writing and publishing content on a blog platform.
The terms “blog” and “blogging” also lived up to a meaning-making sense. It’s an action verb meaning to “publish new content”, while the latter, as a continuous tense, means “to keep maintaining or edit content”.
For example:
1. Have you blogged today? Meaning: Have you published new content today?
2. Kunle, What are you doing? I am blogging. Meaning: I’m editing or working on my blog.
In addition, according to the Oxford dictionary, blogging is an action verb which means “to keep a blog; to write something in a blog”
Blogging is fun. It’s getting easier as a job, especially with the use of social media platforms such as TikTok, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc. It’s a great marketing tool you can utilize to promote your career, product, or service.
Blogging as an Enterprise
Blogging offers the opportunity for both enjoyment and strategic consideration as a legitimate business pursuit.
It’s a means of communication to market your career or product. You can start blogging as a hobby or a way to share your passions and interests with others.
However, as your audience grows and you gain expertise in your niche, you can monetize the blog through various means, such as selling products or services and advertisements.
You can enjoy the creative process of blogging while also treating it as a legitimate business opportunity.
Whatever niche and message you want to propagate, consider it a subject – in that way, it makes sense and elevates uniqueness.
People are creating subjects out of nothing about what they love and believe.
This lady loves organizing things at home. She calls herself an organizing consultant.
If you know and are passionate about a specific subject, use blogging to create content and messages that are helpful to people.
Don’t worry about income at the beginning; you will figure out the business model later through reader demand and insights.
First, focus on selling your conceptual idea to people – make it useful and valuable. If you can achieve it, that begins an incredible journey.
When you attract readers and followers, the added value you can deliver in terms of product or service will emerge. Thus, establish your presence and authority first.
Blogging can help you Market your Career and Business.
If you have a career you are practicing, document what you are doing. Sharing them with the public is a clever medium.
Indirectly, you will attract people who like your work. Indeed, some will stick around and become buyers of your forthcoming product or service.
For example, the creative and visual product designer – Andrew Kim landed his first job at Microsoft while in college. He manages a blog that he utilizes to publish his school project.
One of his works about rebranding Microsoft caught the company’s attention and was a game changer.
Here are Some Specific Actions you can take to Leverage Blogging for Marketing your Career or Business.
1. Define your goals
Determine what you want to achieve with your blog. Are you looking to establish yourself as an expert in your field, attract new clients, or land a job at a specific company? Clarifying your objectives will help guide your blogging strategy.
Also, as an entrepreneur, you should have clear objectives. Whether you’re attracting clients, increasing brand awareness, or driving sales, having defined goals will guide your strategy.
2. Identify your target audience
Understand who you want to reach with your blog. Define your target audience based on factors such as industry, job role, interests, and demographics. Tailor your content to address their needs, challenges, and interests.
3. Choose a niche
Select a specific niche or topic for your blog that aligns with your expertise and interests and resonates with your target audience. Focusing on a niche can help you stand out and attract a dedicated following. As an entrepreneur, it will help establish your expertise and attract the right audience or customers who are interested in your offerings.
4. Create high-quality content
Consistently publish informative, valuable, and well-written blog posts that address relevant topics within your niche. Use a mix of formats such as articles, how-to guides, case studies, product information, insights and opinion pieces to keep your content fresh and engaging. Quality content builds credibility and attracts attention.
5. Optimize for search engines
Incorporate relevant keywords into your blog posts to improve your search engine visibility. SEO is vital for increasing visibility and driving traffic to your blog. By optimizing content with relevant keywords and providing valuable information, you can improve search engine rankings for either personal, career-wise or business purposes.
6. Promote your blog
Share your blog posts across social media channels, professional networks, and industry forums to increase visibility and attract readers. Engaging with your audience by responding to comments, questions, and feedback can attract readers or customers.
7. Network with others
Connecting with other bloggers, influencers, and professionals or businesses in your industry can be beneficial for both career advancement and business growth. Comment on their blogs, participate in online discussions, and collaborate on projects or guest posts.
Building relationships and collaborating on projects can create personal and business success opportunities. Networking can help expand your reach and create opportunities for collaboration and career advancement.
8. Measure and analyze
Track your blog’s performance using analytics tools like Google Analytics to evaluate the effectiveness of your efforts. Monitor metrics such as website traffic, engagement, and conversion rates to understand what content resonates with your audience and adjust your strategy accordingly.
By implementing these strategies, you can effectively leverage blogging to market your career and business, establish your expertise, attract clients, increase brand awareness and achieve your professional and business goals.
It's your turn to do something.
It has been vehemently proven that blogging can transform your career or business into an invaluable service.
There is no better time than now because everyone you know is growing and learning.
I was once an amateur in the field. To become an expert and achieve the status you want in your career, you must start practicing now.
The potential for income, prestige and, importantly, to impact people’s lives is inconceivable.
