What is a Blog? In Plain English Please

If you are fairly new to the Internet, you have probably heard the word "Blog" flying around. But what is a blog? How does it work? And how can I use it on my website? These are all good questions, which I hope to answer for you.

What is a Blog?

A blog, in simplest terms, is a daily journal of your thoughts that is maintained by a blogger (which would be you) on the web. When posting to a blog you will notice that it is arranged in chronological order - with the most recent additions on top.

You can choose to allow your readers to add their own comments/feedback to any issues you may have addressed on your blog. Or, you can add audio to your blog. Pretty neat, isn't it. What a great way to have contact with your customers.

Can it be used on my website?

Can it be used on my website? Definitely. It can be a great tool for you and your contacts. However, I personally feel that it would be a greater benefit to the established website that has a following. In other words, start with a newsletter first, to build your mailing list, than go for the blog.

If you have a following, than go for it. Don't want to pay for it? That's okay, you can go to www.blogger.com, they have a great tutorial and the blog is free.

What can it do for my website?

I see many inventive uses for a website that is based on content. Such as:

1. Strong communication tool - a form of contact with your customer.

2. Allow you to get to know your customers and their wants, as well as, allowing your customers to know you.

3. Can provide daily, quality content - which will pull the search engines and thus, increase your traffic.

4. Use it to advertise your links. Taking a conservative approach, and blend it in to the topic.

5. Use it to answer inquiries that people may have.

6. Use it to inform.

As you can see, the list can be endless. But I do see only one slight drawback for those who do not want to keep a constant vigil over their website - and that is maintaining the blog. The blog should be maintained on a regular basis. Why? People get bored, and on the Internet, it's very easy to click their boredom away. Thus, keep yourself enlightened and it should keep them enlightened.

If you find this small drawback inconsequential - then go blogging.

To your success.

Vickie J. Scanlon

====================

Vickie J Scanlon has a BBA degree in Administrative Management andMarketing. She left the corporate world as an Reports Programmer,to begin her journey as an Internet marketer. Visit her site at:http://www.myaffiliateplace.biz for free tools, articles, ebooks, and how to info.

More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Blogging/RSS Information:

Related Articles

Feed The Need: 5 Ways To Use RSS To Boost Your Business Or Organizational Success
RSS (it stands for Really Simple Syndication, among other things) is a relatively new technology that allows anyone who creates frequently changing web content - news, blogs, current events, etc. - to deliver their messages to interested readers with no fuss, no muss and best of all - no spam! Currently, RSS is being used by content-rich sites (mainly blogs and news centers) to keep readers up-to-date on newly published posts or breaking stories.
Blogging for Your Work at Home Business
Were you aware that Blog is now an official word in the dictionary? Do you even know what a Blog is? If you have a work at home business, you ought to learn.
RSS and Blog Marketing for Real Estate
Earlier this month, Realtor Magazine announced that they would be featuring an article about Tampa Bay Realtor John Mudd and the success he has been having in attracting prospects and media attention with his blog on real estate.Since then, many others in the Real Estate market have been curious about how to implement similar strategies to capture leads in their areas.
Why Use RSS?
So why use RSS? Well, I can find a whole lot of reasons why. Although I'm not technically inclined I do understand the power behind syndication.
Why Your Blog Might Be Sabotaging Your Business
Many marketers were very excited when forum and newsletter discussion focused first on blogs (about two years ago) and then on RSS feeds (mainly within the past year). It was a brand new opportunity for marketers to use, one that promised both search engine success and a way around spam complaints.
Dear Web Diary!
Blogging is hot and getting hotter, with more and more web logs (blogs) cropping up online by the day!Since being documented nearly a full decade ago, blogs and associated software have emerged, giving rise to this lucrative and dynamic market.Blogs are highly interactive.
What Are RSS Feeds?
RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication." It's a format thatweb sites and blogs can use to send updated headlines to you viaservices like My Yahoo!.
The Full Circle of RSS Marketing Power
RSS is a many-in-one marketing & publishing tool, although unfortunatelly most marketers still fail to understand this powerful concept.While RSS does provide a number of benefits when used for each individual marketing function, best results are achieved when it is fully integrated in your internet marketing strategy.
RSS Feeds and How to Use Them
RSS feeds are the most important technology to arrive on the internet since blogging, yet take up of RSS feeds among webmasters and web visitors is still very low. The Sunday Times recent ran a survey to see how home users use the internet, RSS did not appear in it at all.
3 Ways to Publish RSS
As RSS news syndication gains popularity among users, new ways for publishing RSS are emerging. In this article, I examine the three most popular methods, and help you decide which one works best for you.
Business Blogging: Where Do I Start?
The new hot commodity is a blog for your small business so you've decided you must have one.Before you begin think about it long term.
#1 Mistake Most Blogs Do
As much as this might surprise most bloggers, the #1 mistake most blogs are doing is not publishing their content via e-mail, as a supplement to their RSS feeds.Just think about it: while RSS is growing strong, it still only penetrates about 5-6% of the American online population.
Blogging on Ecademy Will Boost Your Web Site
For many people blogging is the way in which they are able to update their web site with new information and fresh content. As such, blogs are a great way of gaining returning visitors to your web site.
Should Affiliates Really Use Blogging and Pinging To Get Indexed?
There seems to be a huge craze lately with everyone trying to blog and ping to get their websites indexed into the search engines. Although this can be a great tool, all marketers should first understand exactly what they're getting themselves into before starting.
Blogging - Whats It All About
A blog usually is a web page that contains brief, discrete hunks of information called posts. These posts are arranged in reverse-chronological order (the most recent come first) and each is uniquely identified by an anchor tag which is marked with a permanent link that can be referred to by others who wish to link to it.
The Key To Marketing With Blogs
I've spent months answering questions from marketers about blogs and blogging and how they fit into the marketing mix. Still, 99% don't understand the power of blogging.
Blogging Policies, Does Your Business Need One?
Weblogs or Blogs as they are more commonly referred to, have become extremely popular in the last several years. So popular in fact that many large businesses are letting some employees post Blogs on their corporate websites.
How to Get a Blog on the Internet
Of all people in the world I was easily one of the most pessimistic about computers, the Internet and now that I even know they exist-blogs. I think blogs are pretty cool but I never thought I could have one.
RSS Feeds Future Revealed
I don't claim to be a futurologist or an RSS pioneer but I have been keeping a pretty close eye on RSS and how it has been evolving. From what I have seen so far I think I can make some pretty good predictions about where RSS feeds are heading.
The Hybrid Blog and Ping
For the past two years, one of the best SEO inclusion tactics was the use of blogs. Blogs have become a base standard in SEO marketing, but as times change, so does the efficacy of any tactic.