“Why Every Employee Should Start a Blog” plus 1 more

Posted: 22 Aug 2012 01:05 PM PDT

This guest post is by Hassan Osman of PartTimeWebpreneur.com.

I've been running a blog for a year and a half now, all while working a demanding full-time job (at Cisco Systems), pursuing a graduate degree, conducting some research on the side, and doing what I enjoy the most: spending quality time with my family.

Although balancing those different areas of my life is no easy task, I can honestly say that blogging has been an extremely rewarding experience for me on so many levels—professionally, personally, and financially.

In fact, blogging has been so gratifying that I'm actually launching a second blog soon.

I truly believe that if you're an employee—whether you're just starting out after college, or you're a 30+ year workforce veteran—you should undoubtedly start a blog. I'll explain why in a second.

First, there's one important thing that you should look into before starting a blog: carefully read through your employer's social media policy regarding employee blogging. This is imperative, as you could get fired if you violate it. If your company does not have a published policy, you should still check with your HR department or boss about what’s considered acceptable to them.

Some companies, like Cisco, are quite open to having their employees run their own personal blogs (as long as the employees state that views are their own). Other companies place restrictions on what you can blog about, and a few other companies outright deny you from blogging.

So make sure you do your homework to avoid getting into trouble.

Why start a blog if you’re an employee?

1. You'll establish yourself as an expert

By running a blog in a specific field, you'll solidify your expertise in that area and establish yourself as an authority figure, which can differentiate you from your peers.

In addition, you'll be building a strong personal brand for yourself. Everyone, including prospective employers, already Googles your name anyway. A blog helps you take advantage of that by controlling your online presence and reputation.

2. You'll make some money on the side

You probably already know you can make a significant income from blogging (you're reading this on problogger.net after all!), but making money from a blog takes a lot of time, dedication, and effort. So why not start early when you don't really need the cash?

Moreover, in this shaky economy, you never know when you might need to fall back on a financial cushion for support. Pat Flynn started a blog as a tool for taking notes while he was an employee studying for an architecture exam. After he got laid off unexpectedly from his job in 2008, he had to rely on his blog for income, and made around $8,000 from it after a few months. Smart lad!

3. You'll learn important new skills

This is perhaps the most important benefit you’ll gain from blogging. Running a blog is a lot like running a small business. You'll pick up skills related to technology, marketing, social media, analytics, and much more. You'll also improve your writing, research, and public relations skills.

Those are all transferable skills that you can leverage in any position or company you work for. In The Start-Up of You co-authors Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha talk about always staying in "permanent beta" so that you adapt and evolve. So think of those additional skills as job security insurance.

4. You'll get a lot of new and interesting opportunities

The list of potential opportunities that you'll have opened up for you from blogging is endless. Some examples include writing a book, getting hired for consulting gigs, or being asked to speak at conferences.

I've had all three happen to me—all because of my blog. You'll also make a lot of new friends and build a crucial network of like-minded professionals all over the world.

Common excuses for not blogging—and their answers

“I don't know what to blog about”

This is understandable, as it can be quite hard to choose a blog topic. However, the good news is that there are a lot of helpful articles and books that will make it easier for you to make that decision.

A great ebook that'll help you get started is ProBlogger's Guide to your First Week of Blogging.

“I don't have time to blog”

It's true that blogging can be very time consuming, but who said you can't blog at your own pace?

As an employee, you have an advantage over full-time bloggers because you don't need to worry about publishing posts every few days. In fact, I have blogged an average of only once or twice a month, and still gained all the benefits I mentioned above.

“I don't know how to blog”

Of course you do! If you're reading this, you already have the skills needed to set up a blog in less than 60 seconds. Just fill out this signup form on WordPress and you'll have a blog in no time (it's also free).

“I don't think anyone will read my blog”

You're probably right; no one will initially read your blog except maybe your spouse and a couple of your friends. But guess what? Unless you're already popular, everyone starts off that way. Tim Ferriss's first post got one comment. He now gets over 1,000,000 monthly unique visitors to his blog (and a lot more comments). Stay persistent, create good content, get social, and your blog will eventually acquire more readers.

To sum it up, the benefits of starting a blog while you're an employee definitely outweigh the costs. You'll be perceived as an authority figure, make some money, and learn some great skills in the process. So stop making excuses and start one today!

Hassan Osman is a Senior Program Manager at Cisco Systems, a graduate student at Harvard, and a blogger at The Couch Manager. His latest blog, the Part-Time Webpreneur, is about how full-time employees can start and run a side business (views are his own).

Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger

Why Every Employee Should Start a Blog

Traffic Technique 7: Networking and Collaboration

Posted: 22 Aug 2012 07:04 AM PDT

Two minds are better than one—especially when it comes to blogging.

For bloggers trying to grow their traffic, working with others can give you a real advantage. The most obvious example is, of course, guest posting on someone else’s blog, but there are as many opportunities for creative collaboration as there are players in your niche—and all of them are different.

I often report on the ways social media has helped me generate traffic for dPS—and connect with new photographers whose content, in turn, attracts more traffic. But today I want to look at some other, more creative networking techniques that you can use to attract attention—and hopefully lasting, loyal visitors—for your blog.

The comment connection: networking with other commenters

I think a great place to seek opportunities for collaboration is in blog comments. Often, when we’re commenting on blog posts, we focus on the post, the author, and making a response that’s intelligent and presents us in an authoritative light.

But there’s a missed opportunity here: the chance to forge connections with other commenters. We all know how easy it is to see who knows their stuff in blog comments. We can usually follow a link to commenters’ blogs or sites and find out more about them and what they’re doing—which may give us ideas that we’d never have had on our own, perhaps for joint projects.

Responding to the comments on a blog post, rather than simply to the post’s author, can be a good way to get a feel for how responsive peers in your niche may be to your ideas, and to get on their radars. If you want to get in touch after that, it should be pretty easy. And who knows? Perhaps together you’ll be able to do far more to build your audiences—and traffic levels—than you’d ever have managed alone.

Connecting with your local audience offline

Recently I ran a small blogging event here in Melbourne, for a sub-niche of bloggers in town (food bloggers). It wasn’t a speech given at a business conference, or a presentation at a blogging event: it was held at the restaurant of a friend of mine, and benefitted him, the event speakers, and the bloggers who came along.

This event was a collaboration between myself, a friend, some of Melbourne’s best bloggers (who spoke at the event) and some of the city’s up-and-coming and established names in the niche (the attendees). Some of these people were familiar with Problogger.net; others weren’t. In all cases, the opportunity to connect in person with people from your target audience was, for me, unmissable.

When it comes to traffic, it’s all too easy to focus on overnight traffic success tactics—like guest posting, which can spike our traffic for the day. But strategies like networking plant seeds that can bear fruit over months or years—you may not see the benefits of that work for some time. But these longer term traffic strategies are essential if you’re to keep growing your audience and your blog sustainably.

Connecting with other experts

This one might come as a bit of a surprise, but it’s just as important as the more direct traffic methods, and shows how valuable collaboration can be.

By networking on and offline, and collaborating with those I’ve met, I’ve built relationships that have directly influenced my blog’s traffic levels.

I’ve met the Web Marketing Ninja, as well as Naomi, my designer, who’s helped me optimize my product offerings and the way we present them, and attract more quality traffic to each launch—as well as to my blogs overall.
I met Jasmine and Georgina, plus a range of authors, who help me produce content and products that continuously meet the needs of my readers, and which are a basic necessity in attracting and retaining new readers. They’ve also made it easier for me to form more relationships with larger numbers of players in the markets where I operate, which is a big boost to my efforts to find readers.
I’ve also formed relationships with other bloggers, like Brian Clark and Chris Garrett. The print book I wrote with Chris is yet another example of a collaboration that sowed seeds for future traffic. We’ve been reaping the benefits of that work ever since.

Your traffic network

Networking and collaboration are excellent ways to grow your traffic in the long term, as well as more immediately. Have a think about your traffic network—in terms of the people you know or you’re working with. Could that network use a little extra attention? Are there opportunities for collaboration that you’re overlooking?

I’d love to hear how you’re using networking and collaboration to build your blog traffic. Let us hear your tips in the comments.

Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger

Traffic Technique 7: Networking and Collaboration