If you like writing, and if you have an opinion on anything (especially a strong one), then chances are good that you will enjoy blogging. Blogging offers you a way to get your message out to the masses, and the best part about it is that you don’t need a degree in journalism, or any other fancy piece of paper that makes your opinion appear to be “more valid” than anyone else.

That is what’s great about living in 2017, we all can get our thoughts out to thousand, even millions of people by using social media. Some do it via, podcasts, some do it via vlogs, and others use written word to their message across.

It may sound silly at first, writing down your thoughts and displaying it for the world to see, but is it really any different than what journalists do when writing an article? Of course, it isn’t. Besides, there are several examples of people who used blogging as their avenue to achieving mainstream success.

Take Bill Simmons for example. Bill Simmons is a former ESPN analyst who got recognition from his website “BostonSportsGuy.com,” where his blog “sports guy” began to blow up to the point that he landed a job at the worldwide leader in sports. Eventually, they even gave him an entire segment of ESPN named “Grantland” where they employed several hundred people.

So, the thought that blogging won’t get you anywhere is ridiculous, it is capable of getting you pretty far if you draw in the right audience.

But how do you get paid for your blog posts

The only way really that you will make any money blogging is to get a big enough audience that your site or blog begins to get recognized by advertisers as a viable candidate for running adds with. Until then, you will see little success.

Blog for other websites

While you are waiting for your blog site to take off, you should try getting some guest spots on other websites. There are always people who are looking for talented writers who can post some content on their site for them.

While you are blogging for other authors, pay close attention to the advice they give you. Always take it for what it is, constructive criticism, and always use it to better yourself as a writer. Your success means their success, so they are not going to lead you astray. If they will let you post your blogs as you, go ahead and do so, attaching your name to your work will give you a following, even if it just one person.

Writing for another website will give you an opportunity to work on your craft while getting a paycheck, building a semblance of a fan base, and learning the ins and outs of the life of a writer. Blogging seems relatively easy, and maybe it kind of is, but there is a lot that goes into getting a message across to millions of people. It is definitely more detailed than just write and post.

Important things to think about when blogging.

First of all, you want to make sure that you are talking about what matters to you. If you talk about what you think others will want to hear it will show. Be sincere when writing. Otherwise, it will show that your heart is not in it.

Secondly, you will want to look at some key words within the topic that you know people will look up in search engines. For instance, we know that the term “Nuclear War” will be searched when talking about the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea. So, make sure you have that somewhere in your title (don’t be click baity though, if you don’t actually talk about it, then it shouldn’t be in your title).

This is called key word optimization (S.E.O.), and it is essential to getting your blogs (or anything you post) in the google rankings. This makes a huge difference in whether or not Google, or any other search engine, recognizes your blogs as relevant.

Start blogging on your Facebook account

Social media is great for many different things, and one of those things is an open exchange of ideas (if only people would use it for that). Since you are likely on Facebook every day anyways, you might as well put some of your blog posts on your page.

Open the post up to the public to allow for maximum visibility, and before long you will have people actively participating in your conversation. From there, invite people to your website, and you will be having multiple advertisers coming to your page wanting to advertise to your audience.

Use blogging to gain access to more opportunities in other areas

Let’s go back to Bill Simmons for just a moment. His blog posts made him money sure, but what it really did for him was give him notoriety that he was able to capitalize on. He used the popularity of his blog as leverage to get a show on ESPN and eventually his own website sponsored by ESPN.

This is something that you should be looking to do as well. Of course, you should be realistic about your expectations here. Try not to expect those results, rather dive headfirst into any opportunity you get. If someone asks you to speak, do it. If somebody asks you to be a guest on their podcast, do that. Anything that has the potential to give you a larger following should be met with a, “yes, I’ll do it.”

Wrap – Up

Blogging is a fun way to pass the time, particularly if you enjoy writing and enjoy letting the world know what is on your mind. It’s also a very engaging and rewarding activity, talking to your community and exchanging ideas with one another. And every time you have a new follower added to your community you get an overwhelming sense of satisfaction from knowing that somebody views your content worthy of looking at on a daily basis.

If you love writing, then you should be blogging.