What is a blogger- Definition of Terms Blog, Blogging, and Blogger

Blogger is a term with two meanings can refer to a blogging platform with that name or to a person who writes on a blog.

Blogger.com is an online blog creation service created by Pyra Labs in 1998 and acquired by Google in 2003. It arose to respond to the need of many users to publish content on the Internet without having knowledge of code or programming.

Meanwhile a blogger (blog writer) or blogger in Spanish,is a person who writes for vocational or commercial reasons a blog. He does not require any specific training, and usually writes his posts from a subjective perspective.

Features of the Blogger platform

Blogger is the pioneer platform for blogs since 1998, being the coiner of the concept of Blogosphere. It is a free content platform owned by Google in which you can publish posts categorized by theme and by date.

It is characterized by having its own editor and by its ease of publishing by anyone without computer knowledge. It is an ad-free platform where bloggers can create their content and easily change the style of their blog using templates.

Characteristics of a blogger

A blogger is a person who writes on a blog, either vocationally, or with the aim of monetizing it to obtain an economic return.

One of the fundamental requirements to be a blogger is to publish broad, relevant and periodic content, with the aim of attracting readers and followers and achieving greater amplification of your posts. That is why a discipline and a methodology are necessary to create a calendar of publications.

A blogger must know how to write, but above all know what to write about to capture traffic from search engines thanks to a good web positioning. That is why it is important to do keyword analysis and have a basic knowledge of SEO to write content with the potential to reach the first page of Google.

A blogger must therefore be updated at all times, both of the novelties in his niche, and of the changes in the algorithms of the search engines.

source:- www.arimetrics.com

Do you know what a blog is?

If you don’t, then you’ve come to the right place. In 1994, when blogs began, a blog was more of a personal diary that people shared online. In this online journal, you could talk about your daily life or share about things that you were doing. Then, people saw an opportunity to communicate information in a new way online. Thus began the beautiful world of blogging.

What is a Blog?

Definition | Meaning of blog:

A blog (a shortened version of “weblog”) is an online journal or informational website displaying information in reverse chronological order, with the latest posts appearing first, at the top. It is a platform where a writer or a group of writers share their views on an individual subject.

What is the purpose of a blog?

There are many reasons to start a blog for personal use and only a handful of strong ones for business blogging. Blogging for business, projects, or anything else that might bring you money has a very straightforward purpose – to rank your website higher in Google SERPs, a.k.a. increase your visibility.

As a business, you rely on consumers to keep buying your products and services. As a new business, you rely on blogging to help you get to potential consumers and grab their attention. Without blogging, your website would remain invisible, whereas running a blog makes you searchable and competitive.

So, the main purpose of a blog is to connect you to the relevant audience. Another one is to boost your traffic and send quality leads to your website.

The more frequent and better your blog posts are, the higher the chances for your website to get discovered and visited by your target audience. This means that a blog is an effective lead generation tool. Add a great call to action (CTA) to your content, and it will convert your website traffic into high-quality leads. A blog also allows you to showcase your niche authority and build a brand.

When you use your niche knowledge for creating informative and engaging posts, it builds trust with your audience. Great blogging makes your business look more credible, which is especially important if your brand is still young and fairly unknown. It ensures presence online and niche authority at the same time.

Blog structure

The appearance of blogs has changed over time, and these days blogs include a wide variety of items and widgets. However, most blogs still include some standard features and structures.

Here are common features that a typical blog will include:

• Header with the menu or navigation bar.
• Main content area with highlighted or latest blog posts.
• Sidebar with social profiles, favorite content, or call-to-action.
• Footer with relevant links like a disclaimer, privacy policy, contact page, etc.

Blogs and websites

Many people still wonder if there is any difference between a blog and a website. What is a blog and what is a website? It’s even more challenging to differentiate between the two today. Many companies are integrating blogs into their websites as well, which further confuses the two.

What differentiates blogs from websites?

Blogs need frequent updates. Good examples of this include a food blog sharing meal recipes or a company writing about their industry news.

Blogs also promote reader engagement. Readers have a chance to comment and voice their different concerns and thoughts to the community. Blog owners update their site with new blog posts on a regular basis.

Why is blogging so popular?

It’s important to mention that the popularity of blogging grows with each passing day!To answer the question ‘what is blogging’, we need to look at the factors behind its rise.

In the early stages, blogs became mainstream, as news services began using them as tools for outreach and opinion forming. They became a new source of information.

Who is a blogger?

In recent times, bloggers have become famous for various reasons. Blogging has become an alternative career or side gig for many. Seeing this, even more, people are choosing to join the blogging ranks.

So who are bloggers? Bloggers are individuals who love sharing parts of their lives with you. They post on various topics from arts, home designs, carpentry, and finance articles. Bloggers are mobile and don’t need to be in one place. They live on the internet!

Definition of a blogger

A blogger is someone who runs and controls a blog. He or she shares his or her opinion and knowledge on different topics for a target audience.

Why are many people blogging today?

Would you want to have a blog of your own? Yes!

Most people today are creating blogs for a variety of reasons. Every human being has their own story to tell. Through the internet, bloggers can communicate with a massive number of people.

Why is blogging so popular?

Blogs allow you to talk about any topic you are interested in and express your opinion. You’ll find some bloggers writing on every activity that took place during their day. These activities may range from small things like waking up to major issues like human rights and climate change!

Remember that as a blogger running your own blog, you need to focus on the topics that you are passionate about, and through that focus strive to become one of the best blogs on the web.

Are bloggers getting paid?

Our blogging industry survey proves that bloggers do earn money, but this is not a get-rich-quick kind of profession. Before you can start monetizing your blog, you need to build both your Google SERPs ranking and your niche influence. Those tasks take a lot of time and quality content.

Money-making opportunities won’t present themselves until you’ve gained some credibility in the field. So, get down to business.

Here’s how you can make good money as a top-ranked niche blogger:

• Selling ad space on your blog privately or via Google AdSense.
• Becoming an affiliate partner privately or through ads networks.
• Selling your own digital products such as eBooks and tutorials.
• Selling memberships for access to exclusive content or advice.
• Using your blog as a content marketing tool for your business.

If you’re starting a blog as a way to market and boost your existing business, you probably won’t be selling ad space or memberships. However, you can create and start offering exclusive digital products such as eBooks, guides, or online courses as a lead capturing tool in exchange for visitors’ email addresses. That way, you’ll nudge them one step further down your sales funnel.

Want to start a blog on your own?

Creating your own personal blog takes a few steps. First, you need to decide on a name for your blog, also called a domain name. Then, you need to choose the best blogging platform for your needs. We recommend going with a self-hosted platform. There are a few choices when it comes to self-hosted platforms.

WordPress

WordPress Ideal Users

Creating and managing a blog on WordPress will likely require more maintenance than other platforms, but it will provide the extensibility and content management features publishers and other businesses need to create a complex blog.

WordPress Pros

WordPress was originally created as a blogging platform. Though it has evolved into a multi-purpose content management system, it still has many features and themes for blogging.

WordPress enables you to not only purchase a custom domain and download one of 3,500+ themes specifically designed for blogs — it also lets you add social media buttons, forms, affiliate links, and other features via plugins.

The customization options are virtually limitless with the 59,000+ free plugins available.

WordPress Cons

You will have to make sure your theme and plugins are compatible and up-to-date. Otherwise, they can disrupt the user experience or break your site. Other maintenance tasks like finding and fixing broken links, updating the core software, and optimizing your database will also be your responsibility. This can be difficult for site owners who don’t have the time or technical expertise to regularly maintain their site. 

Squarespace

Squarespace Ideal Users

Squarespace is an ideal blogging platform for businesses and individuals creating image-rich content. With Squarespace’s award-winning designer templates and integrations with Getty Images, Unsplash, and Google AMP, you can create visual content that’s engaging and shareable.

Squarespace Pros

While Squarespace only offers about 140 templates, they are all mobile-optimized and fully customizable so you can create a blog that looks the way you want it to. Once you’ve designed your pages, you can use Squarespace’s blogging and SEO tools to create and optimize your content.

Finally, after publishing your blog posts, you can connect your social media accounts to easily promote them. Then use the built-in analytics tool to learn where your traffic is coming from, what your visitors are looking for, and how they’re interacting with your content.

Squarespace Cons

Squarespace offers even more features, from audio files support to newsletter signup forms, but ultimately it’s limited in functionality. That’s because it supports less than 30 extensions, so you’re mostly limited to the features Squarespace provides out-of-the-box.

Since they lack some feature that bloggers needs — like an auto-save feature, for example — Squarespace is not the ideal platform for everyone.

Wix

Wix Ideal Users

Wix is a popular blogging platform for beginners who are looking for hosting and blogging tools in one place and who prioritize speed and design over functionality.

Wix Pros

With Wix, you have two options for creating your blog. Using the Wix Editor, you can start by selecting from over 800 pre-designed templates that any blogger can use, whether you own a retail business or run a food review website. Or you can start from scratch if you know HTML and CSS. Using Wix Artificial Design Intelligence, on the other hand, you can fill out a quick questionnaire and have a blog created for you. 

After you’ve picked or created your template, or had one selected for you with Wix ADI, you can begin writing and editing posts on desktop or mobile, embed Wix’s stock photos and videos or your own media, and organize them into topics.

Once you’re done writing, you can configure your SEO settings to boost your organic reach, push your content to your subscribers with Wix’s email tool, and share them through your social media accounts. You can further foster a sense of community among your readers by letting them become members.

Wix Cons

While Wix is more versatile than other hosted website builders, it lacks customization options and content management features, particularly when comparing Wix vs WordPress or another CMS.

Weebly 

Weebly Ideal Users

Weebly is another popular blogging platform for bloggers that want everything they need to launch a blog in one place, including website building tools, templates, and hosting. More specifically, Weebly is best suited for creating blogs with lots of content but more basic functionality.

Weebly Pros

Weebly is affordable and easy to use like Wix, but differentiates itself in multiple ways. The editor supports drag-and-drop functionality for both posts and pages, for example. You can create more complex layouts by adding elements like forms and image galleries as well. You can also add more sub-levels to your navigation menus, which allows you to organize larger amounts of content.

All Weebly templates are also mobile-optimized, which means you won’t have to do any additional editing or rearranging for mobile.

Weebly Cons

While Weebly offers more functionality than most website builders, it does lack flexibility when compared to WordPress or another CMS. For example, you can’t drag and drop elements anywhere on your posts and pages or edit parts of the underlying source code. These restrictions do make Weebly easier to learn and use than most platforms, but they can frustrate more advanced users.

There’s also been some pain points since Weebly was acquired by the ecommerce company Square. A prime example: users who select that they want to create a website will see the standard Weebly editor, whereas users who select that they want to create a website with an online store will see a completely different editor called the Square Online Builder. This has caused some confusion among users. 

Contently

Contently Ideal Users

Contently is a robust blogging platform that’s ideal for enterprise companies with large budgets but few internal editorial resources.

Contently Pros

Contently allows you to manage your entire content creation process in one place. You can create and visualize your editorial strategy with their customizable production calendar tool, organize your blog posts with their tagging tool, and effectively collaborate with your team on projects by leveraging their advanced workflow tools. You can even pay for Contently’s well-vetted freelancers to write some of this content for you.

Before publishing your content, Contently’s smart content review tools will ensure your content is aligned with your brand, optimized for search, and legally compliant. Finally, to refine your content strategy, Contently enables you to compare your content’s performance against industry benchmarks, quantify its ROI, and measure its performance by topic, format, and sources directly in your dashboard.

Contently Cons

The biggest drawback of Contently is that it’s beyond many small businesses’ and individual’s budgets. With prices ranging from $3,000 to $25,000 per month, Contently is one of the most expensive blogging platforms for enterprise companies.

Joomla

Joomla Ideal Users

Joomla is an open-source CMS with advanced content and user management features that are built directly into the platform. This makes it an excellent WordPress alternative for creating community-centric blogs. 

Joomla Pros

Joomla offers rich built-in functionality as well as thousands of extensions. For example, Joomla allows you to create custom post types, manage hundreds of users, and publish content in multiple languages right out of the box.

It also offers some great extensions for blogging. EasyBlog by StackIdeas, for example, provides a much cleaner drag-and-drop editor than Joomla’s built-in editor. You can also enable star ratings on your blog and automatically publish posts to your social media platforms with this extension.

Joomla Cons

Because of its robust built-in functionality, Joomla does have a steeper learning curve than a CMS like WordPress so it’ll require more time to set up. It also offers a smaller selection of themes and extensions than WordPress, which can limit your customization options.

Drupal 

Drupal Ideal Users

Drupal is a highly flexible open-source CMS that’s best suited for advanced users, as well as enterprise companies, with complex blogging needs who are looking for a self-hosted solution. 

Drupal Pros

Drupal has hundreds of out-of-the-box features and modules. If you know how to use them or have the time to learn, then Drupal will provide you more power than other open-source platforms. 

Specifically, Drupal supports a wide selection of taxonomies, content types, page templates, blocks, views, and more for creating and managing lots of different types of content. It also has advanced user permissions so you can provide site admins, content editors, and other stakeholders personalized access to specific content. This — along with its multilingual capabilities, Layout Builder, and other modules — will allow you to create and manage large, complex blogs

Drupal Cons

If you don’t know how to use Drupal’s out-of-the-box features and modules, and you don’t have the time to learn, they can be confusing and hinder your blogging efforts. In that case, you might be better off with a simpler platform. 

Write.as

Write.as Ideal Users

Write.as is a lightweight blogging platform that’s ideal for individuals looking to create simple blogs with a minimalist design.

Write.as Pros

Offering a stripped-down editor with nothing but an auto-save feature, Write.as offers the experience of writing in a virtual journal. Write.as is also free to use and doesn’t support ads.

Teams can also use it like Google Docs to share updates, proposals, and works-in-progress (for a monthly subscription). 

Write.as Cons

Write.as does require you to use Markdown, a syntax that uses special characters to format text. For example, you’d type in asterisks to create bullet points, hashtags to create headers, and [Link] to add a link. The syntax is not difficult to learn, but it might require some practice. If you’d prefer to simply click a button to create bullet lists or add hyperlinks, then you’ll be better off with one of the free platforms below.

Also, while Write.as is free to use, you’ll have to upgrade to its pro plan for $6 per month to connect a custom domain name, install a custom theme, remove the nofollow tag from your links, and more.

Tumblr 

Ideal Users

Tumblr appeals to personal bloggers and brands alike. While bloggers might be able to use this as their only platform, brands tend to use it as one platform among many to show their personality.

Tumblr Pros

Tumblr combines the power of blogging and social networking in one highly-visual publishing platform.

Tumblr offers everything you need to create a professional-looking site. You can select from hundreds of free and premium themes and add multiple pages, sidebars, social sharing buttons, comment sections, and more. You can also buy a custom domain name from a domain name registrar rather than use the free subdomain: yourusername.tumblr.com. If you have HTML coding skills, you can further customize your site.

When you’re satisfied with your site’s design, you can start creating and publishing multimedia post types. Featuring photos, GIFs, links, chat dialogue, audio files, and video in your content makes it more engaging, memorable, and shareable. 

Since other users can easily like, reply, and reblog your posts on their Tumblr as well as their other social accounts, right from their dashboard, this is an excellent platform for engaging and fostering an online community.

Tumblr Cons

There are restrictions on the site that can frustrate users. For example, you can only schedule (or “queue”) 50 posts in a day, which might limit your ability to plan and execute a long-term content strategy. You can also only upload videos under 100MB and in MP4 format and only track 20 tags at a time. Furthermore, your site can be suspended at any time if you’re found in violation of Tumblr’s community guidelines.

Blogger 

Blogger Ideal Users

Blogger is a free platform designed for newbie bloggers. While it lacks many content management features, Blogger is more feature-rich than most free blogging platforms. For that reason, Blogger is perfect for individuals looking to create lifestyle blogs as a hobby or to make some extra cash.

Blogger Pros

The biggest advantage of Blogger is how easy it is to create and customize a relatively basic blog.

To get started, you just need to create an account with Google, select a template, and get publishing. You can purchase a custom domain, optimize your SEO settings, connect your blog to Google Analytics, optimize your posts with Adsense, and even edit the HTML and CSS of your site — but you won’t be able to do much beyond that.

Blogger Cons

To get a better sense of the platform’s limitations, you can compare Blogger vs WordPress or another CMS. With Blogger, you can’t install plugins to extend the functionality of your site. You can’t create different content types, like portfolio pages. And you can’t change the default display of your content from reverse-chronological order to, say, your most popular posts.

In short, if you need the content management features and customization options of a CMS, then look into alternatives to Blogger.

Source: hubspot