Blogging

Purpose

Blogging is a great way to share thoughts, promote ideas and or a business, connect with people who share your same interests, and it is a way for others to post their works. There is a blog for everyone. You can find blogs that talk about fashion, books, movies, and there are even blogs that exist as a diary to the blogger. Blogging allows an outlet for a person's thoughts and feelings with anonymity; it acts as a safe place for many (Boniel-Nissim & Barak, 2013). 

Design and Content

When design a blog, you want to choose a theme that will represent you and your blog. The best way to determine what the design should be, you have to first look at what your content will be. Once you have decided on what you will be blogging about, you will want to ensure that your design will match your content. The design should be creative, different, but not distracting. You want your blog to stand out from other blogs. You want to give readers content that is worth reading, it is good to keep your voice consistent (Williams, 2014). 

Audience

Knowledge of your audience will help you in how you communicate. Write what your readers want to read. You should research other sources on the subject of your choice and look for what it is others are discussing (Williams, 2014). If you continue to engage your readers with the information on your blog, they will continue to come back. If you are not able to pinpoint who your audience is, your blog will not be successful. You want to appeal to your specific audience's interests. Depending on whom your audience, it will also determine how often you will need to post and when to post. For example, if you have a fashion blog your readers will be expecting daily posts during fashion week. If there isn't anything on there, readers will look to other blogs. 

References

Boniel-Nissim, M., & Barak, A. (2013). The therapeutic value of adolescents' blogging about social-emotional difficulties. Psychological Services, 10(3), 333-341. doi:10.1037/a0026664

Williams, R.N. (2014). How to Blog Made Easy. London, United Kingdom: Flame Tree Publishing.