The Relevance of Blogging

I assume you're talking about personal blogging, so I am going to answer as best as I can from my perspective:

1. Definitely for personal fulfillment and venting, but also just to get your voice out there. It could be to review products, share information, offer advice, or even just to build your "personal brand."

2. Blogging is still going strong and there are still thriving blogging communities. The key is just finding them.

3. Still relevant, but there are a lot more to sift through. Generally, if you have a problem and you're looking for a solution ("build blog traffic" or "sewing a button" or "bean recipe"), you're get a number of blog results.

4. No one is because everyone has a blog. It takes a lot more to get noticed because you have to find a way to position yourself where people just stumble on your blog and want to stay.

5. Personal blogs, not so much. People tend to read blogs for a purpose and what you had for dinner doesn't cut it. If I'm looking for a recipe for great northern beans and you have one, then I'll read your blog.

6. It's really time, dedication, and finding the right audience. Most blogs make $0.00, with a few making a little more than that with AdSense pennies. Popular blogs make money through ads and any other events/seminars/whatever they may host for their readers.

7. I tend to read author blogs for snippets and updates. I only read the blogs of authors I love and who generally have series where I'm waiting for the next book. They also tend to interact with other authors, but that's the case for a lot of bloggers in general.

It's easier than ever to make a blog and people like to talk about their interests. There's also the idea that you can become a top blogger in a month easily, so you see a lot of people starting blogs and then coming back a year later for their 3rd post. Most blogs aren't going to be anything major, but people like to have an outlet where they can put their opinions out there with ease.

The personal brand tends to be more for self-help/motivational authors, where it's less "Read XYZ by So-and-So" and more "Read So-and-So's take on ABC in XYZ." For most writers, blogging seems like more of a way to get involved in a community.

Most blogs don't make you want to keep reading, but successful blogs make you want to follow their backlinks and just get lost in the site. It's an art that few have mastered, but a lot of people are trying to figure out.

I like to use my blog as an addendum for my writing and my ministry work. As i get more people following my work i want them to "hear" from me on a regular basis so I see my blog as a way to keep them connected with my thoughts on a regular basis.

I run the blog and social media for a startup. I lean more towards professional blogs because of work, but I do have my favorite personal or fun blogs that I visit regularly. I had a personal blog for about a month a few years ago, but I didn't have the time or drive to maintain it.

My first answer was a combo of all the blog research I've done with my own brief stint as a personal blogger.

Keep in mind that while blogging started out as a type of diary, now it is just a type of regularly updated website. I have a dozen blogs and none of them are about my life and as far as I know my family and friends do not read them. People interested in the subject of the subject of the blog read them.

It takes a lot to build up a loyal following and single visitors are really common. I would think challenge blogs are better at that simply because you want to make people interested in the journey and not just your musings.

Sometimes it's just nice to get your voice out there, even if no one is listening. I think that's why most people blog. They may dream of making big money and having a huge following, but I think just having a platform to chronicle your successes and failures is what really drives people to blog.

Other than personal fulfillment, what's the point of having a blog?

To practice writing style, to inform others, to share knowledge. There’s probably as many reasons as there are blogs.

Is the blogging craze still going strong or is it waning?

It’s still going strong, but there are a bzillion blogs out there. It’s harder to build followers these days.

Are blogs still relevant?

Is practicing writing style, informing others, and sharing knowledge relevant? Depends on the blog, I suppose.

Who's ever looking for a new blog to read?

I don’t know what you’re asking here. Bob. Bob the rabid wombat is looking for a new blog to read. My blog is only about a year and a half old, but it has readers. I pick up new followers all the time. So someone out there is looking for new blogs to read. Other than Bob, I mean.

I don't know anyone who reads blogs. Who's reading them?

Got me dancing, but I have a blog where I post sporadically and I have 416 strangers that follow it, plus folks that wander in to read a specific post. Is that awesome? Well, it is to me. There are blogs out there with a gigantic amount of followers, but I think it’s amazing that 416 people regularly follow my blog.


What does it take for a blog to succeed and make money when there's nothing new under the sun to write about?

Make money? How do you make money from blog writing? I suppose if you are a super cool blogger with thousands of followers then you could sell advertising. I don’t think the majority of blog writers are in it for all the fat loots.

Why do writers have blogs? To post samples of their work? For agents/publishers to check them out?

Sure, if that’s their thing. There’s also the examples stated in question one. Blogging keeps my hand in when I’m away from my WIP. It also allows me to write about whatever the heck I want to write about. To date, my most popular blog post was about bad writing advice. WordPress put that one in Freshly Pressed. My favorite post was entitled, Lane Bryant, What the Hell? That one was a hoot to write. That’s why I write a blog. Because it’s a hoot!