Why Blogging is So Important
Blogging has evolved over the years. The problem is whilst things online evolve quickly, public perception evolves more slowly. Consequently there are many myths about blogging.
Blogging is a tool and like many tools, blogs have multiple uses. Maybe once blogs were primarily an online diary. Today they are much more than that. Their versatility makes them valuable tools. Whatever else you have on your website you should include a blog. Even if you don’t need it today, the chances are you will at some time and you may find blogs do things you’re currently doing by some other means more effectively .
Advantages
Blogs are a great way to organise content. Each post has a unique url. This means you can link to them from other posts and pages on your site, as well as from other websites. It also means you can organise them and so build a searchable library of posts.
You can delete blogs without disturbing the structure of your website. If you display a lot of ephemeral information on your site, you can easily keep it up to date.
Types of Blog
I think there are three main types of blog:
- The diary is a mostly spontaneous day-to-day record of your life or some aspect of it. Posts don’t necessarily follow on in a logical way although over time they may tell a story.
- The library is where you plan posts and over time the blog will build into sections of a greater work. Sometimes people turn their blog into a book and it can be a planned approach to publishing (although diary blogs have been published too). This blog is of this type; I publish 4 different threads, updating each one once a week, Monday to Thursday. My Friday posts are more like a diary blog.
- The noticeboard is where the blog informs about events, products, activities, news, etc. For many small organisations a blog can substitute for a newsletter. Members on an email list can receive notice of new posts as they are published.
There must be other uses – do let me know if you think of any!
A Myth
There is a myth about the need to regularly update blogs. This originates from the requirements of search engine optimisation (seo). If you need to organise your blog to attract traffic to your site, regular posting may be important. For many websites it is not necessary and a focus on good content is more important than how regularly you publish.
Next Time
In this new sequence I shall post about the basics of blogging. These posts will include tips I’ve picked up that will help you blog regularly and relevantly. Later I shall move onto looking at how you can organise blog posts to increase accessibility.
This sequence may be interrupted as and when I receive requests for help with various aspects of your website. Simply make your request in a comment.
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