Blogging Needs a Sharper Image

hawkWhen you hear the term “blogging” or “blogger,” does it resonate as credible publishing? Or amateur hobby?

I sense that most people still regard blogging as personal hobby or marketing enhancement, or both (which is okay), but not the lucrative game-changer of the publishing industry. This is about to change, and here’s why:

The Future of Blogging

Blogging has its roots in personal publishing and more recently—paid personal publishing. We need to brace ourselves for what’s next.

Modern blogging won’t be the same from what it is today, but the fundamentals will remain: niche sites with excellent content and aggressive self-branding.

The first thing this shift will eliminate is [Read more...]

Coming Soon: Blogging 3.0

stairsIt’s time for Wordful to move up the ranks of blogging.

Instead of solely focusing on ways to be more expressive, free-thinking and creative with your blog, I’d like to put more energy into how you can build your blog into a viable media publication. This implications of this shift have huge upside potential, as it follows blogging’s natural evolution towards mainstream publishing.

A Brief History of Blogging

In the beginning, blogs provided soapbox-like platforms for personal expression (Blogging 1.0). Then, a few smart bloggers started posting useful content and hustling for readers. From this they built traffic and loyal audiences and began making money. Enter the blogging goldrush. [Read more...]

Is There Really a Future in Blogging?

photo of earth at night from space

Writing on Wordful.com feels great, but every now and then I get discouraged. I wonder if what I’m doing is really what it takes to become an A-list blogger. What do I really need to do to break the barriers of small-time personal blogging thru to mainstream success?

Is it true that if we really work hard and smart that something great is bound to happen? Is there really a future in blogging?

Successful first-generation bloggers are enjoying the rewards of their hard work and savvy from a time when blogging wasn’t considered profitable. Now they’ve got the loyalty and following of thousands — even millions — of fledgling bloggers trying to emulate their success. This exclusive bunch shares a few key things in common which we wanna-bes are striving for: experience, influence, brand equity and great pay.

[Read more...]