By Stephanie Patrick
Blogging itself isn’t all that new of a medium. That is, it didn’t just burst from the ground one day after a major Pintrest trend hit Facebook. The concept of blogging, “web-logging” for those who dislike truncations, has floated around the Internet for as long as people could code HTML into forums. Its popularity has skyrocketed in the last decade, as the story-sharing platforms available to us have evolved more user-friendly tools and as companies, both small and large, are taking advantage of blogging’s marketing capabilities. In this age of the web, literally anyone can start a blog, and use it however they please—whether it’s to share personal diary entries, recipes, or to educate the public about a cause.
It can be argued that blogging is one of the most powerful journalistic writing tools on the Internet. For example, [Tumblr],(https://www.tumblr.com/) one of the most expansive blogging platforms on the Internet, can circulate original and reposted information before major news networks can even draft cue cards for the evening segments. News and media, from photography to audio to video, can travel in the blink of an eye to millions of users at once through simple publication tools. That’s why companies and organizations—such as, Modcloth (an increasingly popular vintage-style clothing site) and Den of Geek (a news source for all things nerdy)—take advantage of professional writing skills to craft expertly written articles for their multitude of site visitors and readers.
>“It’s becoming more of an imperative in the professional writing industry to understand blogs than a side hobby.”
Perhaps the most essential component of blogs that professional writers should seek to maximize is interaction potential. More often than ever, blogs are being designed like websites, with media packets, commentability, and links to outside sources. With these potential interactions, writers who freelance or even score employment gigs with major blogs can broaden their experience and further delve into the digital age. Eventually, the professional writer who hopes to accept a position with majorly popular magazines like Bon Appetit or Glamour is going to be evaluated on their ability to analyze crowd patterns and take their writing to the web, where more and more publications are spreading their branches.
Sites such as WordPress and Blogspot help writers build professional blogs with customizable layouts.
Limitless Potential
Not every blog for which professional writers are hired to write is a fashion, baking, or art blog, popular as they might seem. The University of Alabama at Birmingham has a blog archive that uses, for example, technical writers to assist the blogs in purveying school, research, and medical information to not only alumni and current students on the university’s circulation, but to the general public as well. With these blogs, you can keep up with the latest on a range of subjects, including Alys Stevenson Center information, The Sterne Library, and even the happenings of Study Abroad students.
On the other hand, blogging might be one of the most difficult media platforms to utilize for the budding professional writer. The success of blogs depends on visitor counts, commentary, and popularity measured in views, all of which require Search Engine Optimization (a specialty that can be difficult to master) and social media usage in order to spread the word about a blog or set of blogs. Blogs represent a third dimension of writing that includes interactive code, and more employers are looking for professional writers that aren’t afraid to dirty their pen-happy fingers with digital diligence.
It’s becoming more of an imperative in the professional writing industry to understand blogs than a side hobby; blogs have limitless potential, and some personal blogs can even house smart, interactive resumes and portfolios to showcase to employers. Many professional writers can use blogs to hone their writing skills and develop networking and connectivity that will boost their chances of becoming recognized in the vast blogging community.
Developing those previously mentioned Search Engine Optimization techniques can boost your popularity as well, and as those of us who frequent our favorite blogs know, popularity, content, and interactability can mean the difference between a passive hobby and a settled job for the professional writer.
