Forms of Shadows

What Is A Blog And Why Should I Have One?

Blog is short for Web log. Web logs have technically existed since the beginning of Usenet newsgroups. Web logs are much the same as a newsgroup, with some differences. One person is in charge of a web log, as opposed to a group of members.

Many people use Blogs as personal journals. Some people use their Blogs to write about issues that are of great importance to them. Some use Blogs to record family moments and share them with their distant relatives. Many people use Blogs to build communities. People have Blogged about television personalities and movie favorites and entertaining subjects. Business owners use Blogs to make money. In fact, blogging is a business all by itself for a large number of Bloggers! If you can imagine it, it is probably being Blogged right at this moment.
With this idea we should think back over the last years of the World Wide Web. Where it is going and where it has been.
Let's go back in time and take a look at the past trends that have occurred since the Internet became a real place to spend time and to make money.
Remember trying to find anything on the Internet? Before the search engines came along? Well, Some of you may not be old enough but for those who are, they will remember what a heaven sent thing the search engines seemed to be.
First there was the pioneers of searching like Alta Vista then Yahoo and now Google coming onto the scene and taking a fast first place in the hard drive of the world. Making webmasters want to conform their pages for high ranking on these searching heavy hitters, which means more traffic and more traffic means more revenue.
Then there was the email campaign (spamming), when people discovered the use of email as a means for follow up promotions and is still being widely used today. Spamming is a tool for mass markets that has come to be the commercial of the super information highway. Subscription lists and member sites have helped people narrow down the over all blank canvassing of emails and is being used more effectively as a marketing tool.

Blogs appeared few years back, and are similar to a forum, except that with Blogs, you can write about anything and everything. And not have other people calling the shots. When it first appeared, Blogs were thought of nothing more than just a tool for people to express their rants, feelings, emotions and so forth. Originally, blogging was a way for private individuals to write journals. Today, there are still a large number of people who use Blogs as journals – but even more uses have been found. Families use Blogs to stay in touch. People use Blogs to exchange information on specific topics. Clubs use Blogs to keep members informed…and businesses use them as well.

Smart marketers are now recognizing the use of Blogs; as another channel of business - be it branding, selling, promotion are taking the reigns and running with it.

Blogs have taken on a whole new meaning and become sophisticated in look and content to the extent that it has become a powerful way to market products and services. There are so many ways you can earn money with Blogs and get your presence felt on the net.

How can Blogging be a marketing tool? Or a money maker for that matter?

The concept of blogging for revenue is a relative new idea. Some Bloggers (that is a term for people who Blog) use affiliate programs to make quiet alot of money. You set up a Blog, include banners and text ads for affiliate programs that are related to your topic and your article content, write your Blog entries and build traffic to your site.
Finally, there was the affiliate programs distributing and selling products to customized lists and pin- pointed markets for a percentage of the profits. Many a salesman or women have made their mark in the world and on the web with this sales technique.
You can start blogging for cash with Google AdSense and gain revenue with your Blog whether it is hosted on your own server, or remotely hosted. AdSense, ads will appear and have everything to do with the topic of what you write. People that click on the ads that interest them when they visit your site and Google will pay you for each click. If you want ads on a specific topic to appear, you will need to use keyword optimization throughout the pages of your site. The name of your Blog should include specific keywords, and when you write Blog entries, you will need to use your chosen keywords as well.
Are your words worth something? Have you tried blogging?