Firstly, there are the serious bloggers. These are the people that blog consistently every few days or even every day. These blogs, typically, have ads and the subject of the posts can be anything or it can be a specific subject. Most of these can generate good money for the blogger. Sometimes serious bloggers can be a rabid bunch.
I actually was in an argument once with one of these over the top bloggers who seemed to be angry that I had no ads. He really said, “how dare you. You are ruining blogging for the rest of us.” Like my writing career is the same as his.
There are the people who do not blog at all. Of those there are the people who do not blog and the ones who focus on Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn instead. Most of these people see no reason to blog and consider it a waste of time. Time they could use on ‘real’ writing. This may be right for them.
There are those who use a blog as another kind of tool. I fall into this category. Instead of blogging for income or not at all these are blogs that have a much tighter focus. In my case, it is as a marketing and readership tool.
Then there are blogs that are not about making money and the owners are not writers and have no in being one. These are the personal blogs. Each post is about everyday things and some are even like diaries. One post might be about a significant other and the next might be about mowing the grass. Many of these are about hopes, dreams, winning, and losing. Although, I would personally classify them as writers, in a way, since they are publishing material most of the people that do this type of blogging do it because they want to express themselves.
My personal feeling about blogs is this. One size does not fit all. If you are a writer, before starting one you should have a very clear understanding of what a blog is and what it is not. What makes a successful blog and what does not and so on. Do you want to blog for money? Should it be a broad subject like ‘business’ or ‘The best 4 wheeled amphibious off road vehicles made by ‘X’ between 1990 and 2000.” Believe me, there is a blog for that and there might be an app too.
How can a blog fit and be of benefit to your writing career? If it does fit, how does it benefit? Will a blog fit your career at all? Are your clients online or off? For me it is both but, mostly, offline. Are there other considerations? My blog is about the craft of writing and I use it as a marketing tool as well. It has links to much of my online work so it is a resume too.
I feel it is a mistake to encourage someone to blog if it may not be right for him or her. The opposite is true. Just do not go in blindly. Decide it is ‘yes’ or ‘no’ first and plan it all out. If you do not know why you are there, your blog will be poor and you may even lose interest in it. Without planning, it could be a waste of time.
