Alright, so let’s address one of the most frequently asked questions on the internet – what does blog stand for?

If you’re an aspiring wordsmith who’s eager to touch the hearts of millions with their penmanship, you’ve probably asked this question a thousand times.

And every time you read a different blog, your interpretation of this rather astounding outlet keeps changing, doesn’t it? It’s natural- and we could tell you that a blog is basically a web journal that one can use to share their thoughts with a limitless audience.

But, to be honest, there are so many interesting facts to share that it’d be rather unfair if we capture its meaning in a single sentence.

So, out of all of the best gifts that humanity has given itself through the internet, our topic of discussion is blogs! Read on to know more…

What is a blog?

If you’re here to understand what a blog is, let us take you back to 1994 when it all started. Yes, the normies are right for once – blogs did start as web journals where you could share your daily activities or memorable experiences to connect with others.

But times have changed, and blogs have now evolved to be informational sites displaying content about various subject matters, investigated upon by independent writers.

What purpose does a blog serve?

It’s more like, what purpose does a blog not serve? Jokes apart, you can’t deny the fact that it’s the digital age where “content is king.” You could sell a bible to an atheist if your content is impactful enough to change a naysayer’s mind. That’s what it is – it’s one of those instances where you experience the real purpose of blogs.

Suppose you’re planning to start a new business – a weblog, another word for blog, is one of the cheapest and most effective platforms that you can use to interact with your niche market.

Blogs are one of the smartest virtual tools that help in gathering more and more web traffic, with enough influence to turn a newly found start-up into a colossal business overnight. Moreover, you can include a CTA (Call To Action) to generate potential leads out of the immense traffic the blog has gained for your business.

Although blogging has become an important marketing tool, it goes way beyond that dimension. Apart from helping you reach out to the target audience, a blog can also be used for educational purposes. For instance, if you’re a research blogger, you could share your studies with a broad base of readers and spread relevant info for important subject matters.

Now, you have to keep in mind – you can’t just draft a blog and expect it to serve your needs for years to come. No, the way you’re managing the blogs is imperative to your online visibility.

In other words, a blog is just as influential as the creative mind behind it is at managing it, especially when it’s informational. Just as a great blog post could turn your life around, a poorly written out-of-date blog could seriously harm your online presence.

The basic structure of a blog

Alright, it’s time to get a little technical here. To understand what blog stands for, we need to explore it’s structure a little. So, how do you recognize a blog? It surely isn’t the same as it was years ago, as the format keeps changing rapidly. However, we’ve noted down a few common points that you have to keep in mind while preparing a blog site.

This format, more or less, can be useful to design a professional blog-

Must include a header with the navigation bar/menu

Must consist of a brief content area that contains all the latest/highlighted blog posts

Must have a sidebar that consists of CTA, social media accounts and categorized content

Must have a footer that contains the informational links such as privacy policy, contact info, disclaimer, about, etc.

Once you make sure that your blog fulfills all of the criteria mentioned above, it becomes easier for the audience to navigate through it and find relevant content easily.

Is there any difference between a blog and a website?

After reviewing the structure, it’s likely for anyone to get confused between a blog and a regular site. However, a static page, another word for website, is still a lot different from a blog, so don’t get confused.

Now, coming to the main issue here – how are blogs and websites any different? Nowadays, as more and more businesses are opting for blogs to execute the same tasks, you can hardly tell the difference!

Remember when we said that a blog needs to be managed properly? Yes, the main difference between a blog and a website is that a blog requires being updated from time to time. It’s less likely for website owners to focus on daily updates, as it isn’t necessary.

For instance, let’s assume that you’re running a health and lifestyle blog that focuses on sharing a fat loss diet. Numerous recipes are emerging every day that are trending on the web, so you too have to keep your blogs updated and well-managed to use that opportunity to gain more exposure.

Furthermore, the essence of blogs relies on their ability to effectively engage the readers. For instance, while reading a blog, you have the option to contribute your own thoughts in the comment section and start a conversation. But, websites are merely static pages that promote one-way communication.

But that’s not all; you can quickly identify a blog from a regular website if you search whether the content consists of the date of publication and writer reference. Furthermore, every blog consists of tags and categories, so there’s that.

On the other hand, the content on a website doesn’t consist of any of these, and it’s more likely that you won’t find any change if you visit it the second time. However, if you’re in tune with a blogger’s schedule, you’ll find numerous additions on every single visit.

What is blogging?

We’ve noticed that the majority believes that blogging is all about how well you can write a post. However, it’s a huge understatement. Blogging usually refers to the entire skillset that you’ll need to run a successful blog. Apart from your penmanship, how good you’re at linking, posting, and sharing your content is also a significant part of a successful blogging campaign.

Why is blogging popular?

When blogs exploded as the next big thing, businesses started to consider it as a smart opportunity to promote themselves to a broader audience at a lower expense. This move led to sponsorships, and blogs started becoming mainstream. Brands could now interact with their customers efficiently, and this enabled them to maintain optimal customer satisfaction.

Then came the news media, who turned blogs into an informational source by utilizing this platform as a useful tool for outreach and opinion formation. Niche bloggers took this opportunity to establish their careers by providing expert opinions and valuable information to the uninformed. The higher outreach the blogs would get, the more money the blogger can pool from the content.

Can I get paid as a blogger?

Of course, you can! However, you shouldn’t be doing it if you’re mistaking blogging as a get-rich-quick scheme. 

You have to invest your time and energy to build an impressive Google SERPs ranking before you consider earning money from your blogs. After you’ve achieved this feat with enough quality content and dedication, you can move towards monetizing your content.

Coming to that, one of the most common ways of earning money from blogs is by affiliating with certain brands as a partner, which ensures that you get direct and stable earnings. Furthermore, if you’re popping everywhere (pun intended), you can sell advertisement space on your private blogs via Google Adsense.

But if you’re not interested in either of these, you can raise the bar higher and sell your own virtual products and services to use the exposure as a business platform. Also, you can become an expert and charge people for memberships to access exclusive content relevant to their study/research. Bottom line, the ideas and opportunities of earning are limitless when you’re dealing with a global audience base. 

Endnote

Before we take your leave, here’s a little trivia for the geeks.

Did you know that blogging had first expanded its horizons and started becoming popular in the early 2000s, especially after the emergence of political blogs? Yes, that is when the reputed institutions began to recognize the difference between typical journalism and blogs. Fast forward to 2020; the American blogging community boasts of 31.7 million users!

On that note, we hope that we could help you gain a better understanding of what blog stands for. Do you feel like we’ve missed out on something? Or is there any idea on how to earn money through blogs that you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments below!