If you are a blogger, you might have come across a similar scenario where you need to explain what occupies you during the course of your day. Or you might be searching for the answer to this question because you are the curious sort. Or you are interested in starting one and would like to know: What the job description of a blogger is. What does it entail…exactly? Really Short Answer: “I am a blogger.” Blank look. After about 2 seconds — question: “What is that?” Answer: “I am a web writer and I share my thoughts online. I educate people about effective communication …” Thoughtful pause. Question: “As a hobby …?” So…what do bloggers do? Many, many things. A blogger creates content for millions of people surfing the Internet, posted in reverse chronological order on – no prizes for guessing – their blogs, in the form of blog entries. Over and over again. They provide information that interests their readers, in “cyber-bites” – easy to digest pieces. Whatever your topic of choice is, you are bound to find hundreds of blogs writing on that same topic. Want to break it down even further? Well, here are 43 things that bloggers do:
As a Writer
- Write blog posts, articles, web copy, and other pages. They spend hours agonizing over creating great, compelling, curiosity inducing, benefit driven headlines.
- Tell great stories.
- Teach by writing how-tos, tutorials, in depth case studies.
- Upload videos and communicate via podcasts.
- Use infographics and images to hone their point.
- Curate Content.
- Offer subscription on their blog, possibly by offering a freebie such as an ebook or report upon sign up.
- Write guest post pitches and posts.
- Create own products such as ebooks, guides, worksheets, ecourses, etc.
- Participate in contests and competitions.
- Update their testimonials, guest posts links around the web and other honourable mentions.
As a Researcher
12. Research online and offline to bring you high quality material. 13. Link to other posts on the same topic that explains a point in question. 14. Maintains ideas (swipe) file. 15. Keeps an eye on what is happening – the latest trends and news. 16. Subscribe to other blogs for pleasure and for inspiration.
As a Learner
- Participate in education & training such as webinars, ebooks, courses etc.
- Attend workshops and conferences.
As a Community Builder
- Respect their reader opinions even when totally different to their own.
- Encourage conversation around their posts. They respond, engage and create rappot with their audience.
- Answer reader questions via email.
- Handle guest post queries.
As a Technical Expert – (Ok, comptence will do)
- Run the back end such as hosting, plug-ins, themes, coding to ensure that their site is up and running at all times.
- Fix any unexpected problems on site.
- Track stats using Google Analytics.
- Conducts surveys. 27. Optimize posts and posts for SEO benefits.
- Manage spam.
As a Marketer
- Promote brand, create USP.
- Send out newsletter or auto-responder emails using email marketing programs such as aweber or mailchimp.
- Invest in traffic generation strategies.
As a Networker
- Guest blog.
- Build relationships with other bloggers. Follow their blogs, comment, email, interview or engage via social media.
- Partner with other bloggers to create programs or ebooks.
- Attend offline conferences.
- Speaking engagements
As a Social Media Enthusiast
- Maintain their presence across many social media by sharing highly useful content.
- Learn about the new players.
- Update facebook page, set up a strong linkedin profile, enthusiastic following on twitter
- Keep an eye on trends.
As an Entrepreneur
- Monetize through advertising, affiliate marketing
- Sell products such as ebooks, subscription based learning or services such consulting, coaching, speaking, seminars
- Bookkeeping and taxes. Phew! It is a miracle anyone would do all this willingly. The good news is you can take it slow and gradually tick off items on your list as you go along. Most will not apply, especially if you are blogging for pleasure. What did I forget? Add your thoughts in the comments below. (Photo credit: owenwbrown via Flickr – CC BY 2.0)
