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Blogging Benefits RevealedThe Evolution of Blogging from an Online Diary to a Powerful Business Tool

When blogs first joined the social Web landscape in the 1990s, they were viewed as little more than online diaries. Today, blogging has become a powerful tool for journalism, thought leadership, communications, and business growth. In fact, there is room for everyone in the blogosphere, and each blogger has his or her own reasons for blogging as well as his or her own goals for that blog.

Blogging for Fun

People around the world and of all ages write blogs simply for fun. Whether they blog to entertain others, as a personal creative outlet, to connect with friends and family across long distances, or to connect with new people across the globe, there are few barriers to entry to the world of blogging.

Susan GuneliusAuthor of Google Blogger For Dummies

• Joining the Blogosphere• Niche Blogging• Corporate and Business Blogging• Choosing a Blogging Application• Blogging Tools• Promoting and Growing Your Blog• Making Money from Your Blog• Microblogging with Twitter

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About the Author

Susan Gunelius is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc. (www.keysplashcreative.com), a full-service marketing communications company. She owns one of the leading blogs for business women, WomenOnBusiness.com, and writes about blogging, social media marketing, branding, and copywriting for a variety of Web sites and publications. Susan has authored over half a dozen business and social media books, including Google Blogger for Dummies.

Start a free blog using a tool like Blogger.com or WordPress.com and play around with the tools available to you. You’ve got nothing to lose!

Blogging for Networking and Exposure

Many people write blogs to build relationships with people who can help them develop broader recognition or establish their reputation as an expert within their careers or industries. Blogging makes it easy to communicate with like-minded people.

With Google, LinkedIn and Facebook being three of the first tools people look to when they research a potential employee, employer, business partner, consultant, and so on, it’s imperative that you leverage blogging and the cross-promotional opportunities of the social Web to build your online reputation.

Blogging for Business

Everyday more and more businesses start blogs to directly and indirectly build their brands and market their products and services. Companies such as Zappos, Southwest Airlines, Google, and many more have leveraged their business blogs to sell products, generate publicity, build consumer relationships, clear up confusion or erroneous information, and ultimately, build their brands and businesses in the long-term.

Chances are, your consumers are already using the social Web. Your business needs to be there, too, or you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to connect with them where they’re already spending time.

Blogging for Money

Everyone can make money from blogging. In fact, many bloggers have turned their blogs into full-time careers generating full-time income streams. Whether you use your blog as a catalyst to start a new career as a paid professional blogger for other businesses and blogs or you monetize your own blog using ads, sponsored reviews, and so on—you can make money directly and indirectly from your blog.

Experiment with various monetization tools and techniques and pursue those that generate the income you need without negatively affecting the user experience on your blog. The last thing you want to do is sacrifice long-term readership for short-term gain.