Blogging – a valuable way to get you noticed.

How many of you blog? And if you blog, how do you blog?

Blogging seemed to have lost its way with the invention of vlogging and over using of Youtube but now blogging is back in a big way as people all over the world are wanting to learn about others and absorb what others have to say in the written form.

I first started blogging about four years ago but really never utilised or understood the force of it until a year ago.

My stats show that people actually do come to my site. Some will come every day and others once a week and other subcribe to my rss feed.

I was estastic when a friend of mine, who was anti blogs for years, decided to start her own blog. Her arguments pre-blog were that she couldn’t think of anything to say and secondly she couldn’t be bothered. However once she saw the success of another blog I had at the time being a great connection with people and rewarding in the terms of business contacts and like minded people she finally understood how effective blogs can be to get ones self noticed on a larger scale than conventional advertising, plus it’s a good way to get a lot off your chest and share information.

There are two different types of blog in my opinion and the best blogs utilise both types.

1. A Show blog
2. A Tell blog

A good example of a show blog would be something like perezhilton.com It shows  readers various snippets of celebrity gossip, generally with pictures. He may add a little comment on how he feels about it but mostly it’s a show blog.

A Tell blog is more about a product or person which goes into a lot of detail through the entries to explain what that product or person is about.

Both are popular formats but I find using a combination of the two can be a winner. Why? Because not only are you showing something you are telling the reader what you think of it and why you feel the way you do. Personalization goes a long way.

I see a lot of blogs on a daily basis and I am more drawn to ones that combine both the show and tell aspect of the subject talked about.

If you are a serious blogger – who wants to stand out and be noticed, then a self hosted blog is a better route to use.

A self hosted blog is easy to set up; although you do need a little bit of cash to begin with.

Here’s a quick run down of what you need.

1. Domain name (can be bought cheaply for $5 – $7 a year)
2. Hosting space ($2 per month basic)
3. FTP program ( free)

That’s pretty much it.

The techinical know how of setting up a self hosted blog is not that hard to fathom out. I’ve listed a web hosting company on my eBook – Guide to Professional Plus-size Pin-up Modeling, that actually has WordPress as an add on (free) and you just click a button to install it. It’s very simple.

Next, think about what you want to write about and who you want to attract to your blog.
With this blog here I like to share my own experiences as well as show people other things that interest me. Ultimately I’m sharing knowledge of myself and other things and people.
Write within your comfort zone.

Think about what you really want to talk about and be honest.  Most blog readers like to read some degree of personality. Don’t try and be something you’re not.
You all know by now what my personality is like. Some people like me some people don’t. However that rolls I try and keep it real to me as a person.

If you’re trying to attract people to your blog try and give them something that is raw and real occasionally. Mix it with some light hearted fun a long the way and also you may want to add a dose of information that they may benefit from.

I recently found this video which I’d like to share with you by Tim Ferriss, the author of  The 4 Hour Workweek (#1 New York Times Best seller), and he explains alot about his experiences with successful bogging in this presentation.

I’ll let you watch it and absorb what he has to say. As they say, ‘you can never stop learning’.

Happy Blogging!

V x

Vanessa Reece