You can listen to the audio verson of this blog on this player.

What's the Deal?

Well, blogs were, and always will be, a vehicle for venting thoughts and ideas. That’s not to say you can’t use them for business; they just need to be geared less towards self-promotion. Instead think about how to inspire or educate your readers, or if you have an audio blog, your listeners.

When you think about the way blogs started out, writers didn't labour over their content, constantly revising and editing as though they were creating a literary masterpiece. They simply spoke openly and honestly about what they felt and thought. However, professional blog culture is becoming popular with digitalization. Different people have started their own blogs to make their voice heard and share their thoughts, ideas, and, in turn, target a particular niche audience. And, if what they write is highly engaging, their blog will not only attract a considerable number of followers, it will endure over an extended period of time and won't bite the cyber dust.

If you want your blog to be successful, you need to approach the writing on a casual and personal level. Be yourself. Write honestly and from the heart, without all the hype and polished promotional agenda. You need to entertain people, but not to a comedic standard!

Seek to Capture the Attention of your Audience

It's important to give your audience something that makes your readers want to keep reading. And not just initially. You need to capture their attention to the degree that they actually look forward to hearing what you have to say next. One of the best ways to ensure that you’ll retain reader attention and support is to choose specific niche topics. The more targeted or specific the niche, the better.

Here are some examples of blogs that have thousands of Twitter and Instagram followers!

This link takes you to a great example. I follow David Hutchens on LinkedIn. He's a Corporate Storyteller. I appreciated his story about growing up, his description of family life, and the mural he designed about the wonderful group, The Beatles. I had an emotional connection with this story immediately and NOT writing about his business proved to be a huge success.

So, take a few minutes to sit back and think. What stories can you share? What are your passions? What messages are you able and willing to share?