This blog is more of a personal blog and I only write about things that interest me. You can tell from the limited, and specific, categories I have for this blog that this is more of a "small town" blog and I hope it has a "small town" feel. The reason is I want to be able to connect with any of my readers. I would like them to feel like they know me a little bit and get a handle on my personality. I am basically the same person on and off line. The good, bad and ugly.
Blogging is a big deal now a days. More and more companies have blogs as they really help build the brand for that company. But you don't need to be a company, or even a business, to blog. You may still work for "the man" but you may be missing out on a lot of opportunities that can come from blogging.
Everyone has a passion, hobby, set of interests, etc. Why not blog about it. You can blog on a dedicated subject or bounce around through all your interests, like I do here. It's not too hard to build a following (even if it's a small one, like I have) for a blog. Tell some friends, use widgets like BlogRush and post a little in forums and people will read your stuff. Give quality content, and they will be back.
So what are you missing out on by not blogging? Quite a few things actually. Opportunity to network with people who have similar interests. Money. There are many ways your blog can generate income for you. The various ways are out of the scope for this post, but advertising, affiliate sales, contract work, etc. are all common ways to earn a buck by writing a blog.
If you are a business, it's an excellent way to build a rapport with your client base. You can keep them updated on your company, or service, status. You are able to interact with them via the comments and answer questions in lengthy detail with a new post. This is a priceless function for a business and even though it's becoming more common I am still surprised at the lack of company blogs for so many online businesses.
Heh, and in all fairness, this blog serves as the "company" blog for my companies SmartJabber and JumpLaunch. As they grow, we will make sure to have a dedicated blog for each of them (maybe we should already?)
Blogging can be time consuming but it's worth putting in the effort. Even though my posting frequency has been pretty, well, shitty lately it isn't too difficult to keep up with and manage your own blog. It's inexpensive to run and there are tons of free software packages and platforms out there.
If you aren't currently blogging then you should be. If you have no plans to start any time soon... why not?