Bloggers with Benefits

As an author, I’m aware that different readers will have different goals and, consequently, different expectations of this book.

Some readers may be solely interested in sharing their knowledge with the world. Writing and expressing thoughts for these kinds of readers is enough reward and motivation to blog on a regular basis. It’s their way of giving back by sharing a part of themselves for the benefit of others.

At the other end of the spectrum are readers who are mostly interested in learning how to make a second income for themselves or how to better market their company’s products via blogging.

This book is meant to be useful regardless of where you land on this spectrum. The only common assumption I make is that you have the honest intent to share your expertise with an audience and aren’t afraid of working toward that goal.

Throughout the book you’ll find a fair bit of information about how to build a large audience and, in the process, benefit to the fullest (including economically) from the success of your blog. I don’t think anyone reading this book will object to attracting a large following, but a minority might not be interested in the monetary benefits of blogging. That’s OK. Bear with me or feel free to skip those parts. Just understand that I’ve covered such topics in detail to satisfy those readers who may have goals that differ from your own.

And consider this: any time you spend blogging is time you’re not spending on paying pursuits or, more importantly, with your family/loved ones. A time may come when this weighs on you. You’re likely to blog more consistently and longer if your blogging pays for itself in some form or another (even if the reward isn’t directly monetary).

With that clarification out of the way, let’s briefly list what some practical and tangible benefits of blogging are. Most benefits, you’ll notice, derive directly from your blog being the effective megaphone and conversation tool we discussed earlier.

• Blogging can advance your career. You could land a dream job, improve your standing and visibility within your current company, or book more consultancy gigs if you’re a freelancer. If the latter applies to you, then blogging could also help you be more in demand and therefore enable you to command a higher rate.

• Blogging can help you become well known in your field. You might receive invitations to speak at conferences, receive an offer to write a book on the subject you blog about, or have the awesome benefit of being able to quickly bring attention to your latest projects with a single post. And, if you’re into technical books, make some room on your shelves for the free review copies you’ll likely be offered by publishers.

• Blogging can help you earn extra income. This can range from pizza money all the way to thousands of dollars a month. Blogging is by no means a get-rich-quick scheme, but it has the potential to handsomely provide you with economic rewards, both directly and indirectly.

In addition to these benefits, if you are blogging to promote a business, you can also expect to achieve the following:

• Finding new customers—blogging is an extremely cost-effective marketing tool (often referred to as inbound marketing); it can definitely help you attract a large number of new customers for your products.

• Building loyalty—customers who regularly interact with companies tend to develop greater loyalty to those companies, their brands, and their products. A blog that allows for comments and has an approachable social media presence is the ideal means by which to keep that communication channel open.

• Finding new employees, partners, and investors—when you put your business out there through a blog, you have the chance to meet an array of people online, including prospective hires. With a bit of luck, you may even catch the interest of potential business partners and investors. Blogging can enable you to network with the right type of people to help bolster the growth of your business.

Chapter 11, ​Advancing Your Career with Blogging​, and Chapter 12, ​Promoting Your Own Business​, will show you how to obtain all of these benefits.