When the conversation comes around to blogging and you’re asked if you blog, what do you say? The most common replies are I don’t have time, or I wouldn’t know what to say or I wouldn’t know where to start. But the largest percentage of comments I get is actually in the form of a question, “why should I?”

Who is blogging?
In response to this question, let’s take a look at who is blogging. As you will see, I have presented a lot of stats below.  It is not my intent to bore you with them. It is to impress upon you just how prevalent blogging has become in a very short period of time.

According to scribd.com* American bloggers spend 3.5 times longer on the web than watching television and while online, they do more than just write articles – 84% of bloggers comment on other blogs and 64% use social networking media sites. 69% of bloggers use an RSS feed reader and 41% are Twitter users. Bloggers are diverse, active, and socially engaged and traffic growth on blogs was highly evident in 2008. Additionally:

• 50% of bloggers see blogs as the primary news source by 2013
• Blogging grew 68% in 2008
• 346 million people worldwide read blogs
• 77% of active web users read blogs
• 184 million people started a blog
• 95% of the top 100 newspapers have reporter blogs
• 37% of bloggers have been quoted in traditional media
• 1 million blogs are written every day
• 31% of bloggers frequently post company info

The average blogger in the US:

• 51% male
• 42% 18-34
• 58% Aged 35+
• 74% College graduates

As you can see, there is a large market of people who are blogging every day.  How much of this market are you missing out on?

What benefits will you receive by jumping into the fray of Blogging?

Build and control your brand
By creating your own social networking hub you will be able to control your content and branding by what you post. Visitors will comment on what you write, which can develop into two way conversation. On most social networking sites you have no control over what is said.

Increase traffic and revenue
Another question I get asked a lot is “how can I be found?” This is actually much easier with blogging. Search engines love fresh content, and bloggers are constantly adding fresh content. Additionally, you will increase traffic by cross-posting your content to other sites, such as Facebook and twitter. My blog posts are imported directly into Facebook’s notes application. Since I have been posting to Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter I have personally seen a huge increase in traffic to my website.

You are your own webmaster
There is no learning of HTML, no learning of image editing software, nor is there a need for an FTP program. From anywhere in the world, you just login, write what’s on your mind and publish it. That’s as easy as it gets!

You are the Expert
One of the most popular responses to why people do not blog is they don’t know what to say. I disagree with this premise. You are the expert in your field. You have spent an enormous amount of time learning your craft and probably even more time implementing it. Look at the emails you send out, ever given a presentation? How do you introduce yourself and what do you tell people about your business?

If you blog regularly you will develop value for your readers. You will begin to develop a readership that likes and trusts you. As you progress, you will develop a reputation as an expert in your field. Visitors will come back to see what you have to say. And as far as I know, Google still puts a lot of importance on the links to your site. So, the more you blog, the better ranking you will eventually receive.

In my next post I will discuss how to get started.

*http://www.scribd.com/doc/11481779/Social-Media-2008-Statistics