What Is A Personal Blog

Have you ever wondered why blogs are so common? It started as a simple online journal but has grown to become a widely-used medium to promote an idea. As a result, there are a large number of them present on the web.

Well, that's only natural. After all, blogs create an environment where bloggers can keep users engaged with their posts. And depending on the type of blog, you can direct users to your services with well-written content. Amongst all the types of blogs, business blogs are predominant today.

However, many bloggers still set up a blog or two for personal use. These are Personal blogs. If you are familiar with the blogosphere, you no doubt know what that involves.

But as a beginner looking to start a miniature blog site, you'll need to understand what a personal blog is. Not to worry, this article discusses the features of personal blogs and how you can profit from them.

It also provides a simple guide on how to get your blog up and running in no time. But before all that, what is a personal blog?

What is a Personal Blog?

Personal blogs are the oldest forms of blogs around. It refers to an online journal or diary about an individual. Hence, it contains the personal opinions and beliefs of the blogger.

While business blogs are aimed at promoting a service or product, Personal blog posts are created to share a thought. They aim at creating a community of people with similar interests. As a result, a personal blog can serve as a good source of information and entertainment.

There are tons of personal blogs out there on the web. Some are pretty successful, while others are waiting to be discovered. But what makes a blog successful? You might wonder especially if you're looking to establish a blog yourself.

Well, the success of a blog, whether personal or business, lies in its ranking as well as the number of traffic and engagement it receives. When these are high, it creates a perfect atmosphere for bloggers to earn extra income. Yes, that is possible even with a personal blog.

So how do you monetize your blog? Before that, you must first increase engagement. And to do that, several blogs have followed a similar pattern. Hence, leading to the same characteristics.

Five Characteristics of a Blog

SEO is one way to improve the success of your blog. But SEO won't help you if your blog lacks the required features. Below are five common traits of personal blogs that play a large role in keeping users engaged and increasing the overall time they spend on your site.

1. The Comment Box

Most blogs you find always have a comment section where the blogger invites users to leave a thought about the article at hand. For personal blogs, the comment section is very vital. Why? Personal blogs are usually more informal than corporate (business) blogs. Hence, you can utilize the comment section to engage in discussions with your readers.

By responding to their queries or opinions, you can get them to read other articles on your blog post. But that's not all. The comment section also allows for group communications. Thus, you can engage in discussions with many readers at once.

2. Frequency of new content

Readers are usually in the search for new content. If your blog interests them but lacks consistency, they are sure to stop visiting your blog. And when readers stop, it is difficult to win them over once more. Hence, your blog needs to be brimming with new content.

You can set specific days of the week to post new articles. By doing so, your audience will be familiar with your posting schedule. That way, you can retain your readers.

3. Subscription

Subscription and RSS feeds are yet another way to keep your visitors engaged. Once they subscribe, they'll automatically get notified anytime you post the latest content on your blog.

4. The 'About Me' Section

Believe it or not, this feature is crucial to attracting visitors. As mentioned earlier, personal blogs aim to create a community of people with similar interests. To do that, your readers need to know your interests and whether it aligns with theirs. Hence, this section will help them connect with you and attract them to your posts.

5. Visuals

Your use of visuals adds color and life to your blog. It also helps in capturing the eyes of newcomers. So fill up your blog with appealing and relevant images.

As seen above, when your blog is swarming with traffic and engagement, it is pretty much successful. And you can utilize this to generate additional revenue for yourself. So back to the question - how do you monetize your blog?

How to Monetize your ‘Personal Blog’

For business blogs, generating income is a primary objective. They promote their products and services and attract prospective clients. But for blogs that focus on an individual, it is difficult to gain money. If that is what you're thinking, you are far from it.

Many personal bloggers have found their blogs to be a great source of funds, especially those that are performing well organically. Again, that's why you need to first increase your user engagement and SERP rankings. The five traits mentioned above as well as a brief guide to on-page SEO will help.

There are several ways to earn from your blog. However, the two below have proven effective time and time again.

Affiliate Program

Affiliate marketing simply involves promoting other people's products on your site. It is one of the simplest yet sure-fire methods of monetizing your blog. All you need to do is find a product, contact the brand and put up links to their site on your blog.

When a visitor to your blog purchases the product via your link, you earn a commission. But how do you find the right product to promote? Well, you can easily do that through affiliate networks. They act as a middleman between firms and affiliates.

Google Adsense

Apart from affiliate marketing, Google Adsense provides another income opportunity for personal bloggers. In this method, you only need to sign up for Adsense. Afterward, you'll set up an Ad space on your blog where you'll attract visitors. So whenever a visitor clicks on that Ad, you get paid. Isn't that interesting?

Furthermore, the Google Adsense program is safe, fast, and reliable. What's more, you don't need to pay when signing up. As a result, Adsense is the number one choice of many bloggers looking to earn. But of course, before you can earn, you need to set up your blog. How do you go about it?

Getting Started on your Blog

Starting up a blog may sound like a daunting process that requires years of training. But if you're familiar with blogging platforms, you know better. Yes, setting up your blog is not as scary as it sounds. And you can do so yourself and without being a computer guru. Here's how to start a blog in eight simple steps.

• Lay out a plan for your blog's main theme.

• Define your target audience. Remember, no blog is successful without constant traffic.

• Purchase your domain.

• Select your hosting company.

• Select your blogging platform. WordPress is a recommended choice for beginners. It has a clean and user-friendly interface.

• Design your blog with WordPress' endless selection of themes and plugins.

• Some of those plugins are streamlined for SEO. By making the right use of them, you can get your blog to the top pages of Google in no time.

• All that's left is to start publishing content. As seen above, consistency is the key to boosting engagement.

Conclusion

As stated earlier, personal blogs are the oldest form of blog sites. Back then, they were no more than an online diary. They consisted of the daily lives and hobbies of individuals. But today, they consist of so much more.

With over 500 million blogs today, blogging has become a medium for brands to promote their businesses. While personal blogs are not aimed at moneymaking, they also allow bloggers to earn as seen throughout this article.

Hence, if you were having doubts about starting a personal blog, you can rest assured. They draw engagement even better than other blog types. And with the right content and features, you can sit at the top of Google's SERP. So without delay, get started on your private blog.