I have a separate website with my portfolio on it, and that actually does reel in work for me, as I chose a good domain name and I get really targeted search traffic to it every day.

Just because there are lots of writer blogs out there doesn’t mean someone can’t be successful with a new one. Should Google have dropped their search engine idea because Yahoo, AOL, and MSN had one? Should Ford have forgotten about Explorer because Honda, Toyota, and Jeep were already making them?

I believe writers should have a blog on a topic they know and are passionate about. If it happens to be a topic that seems saturated, like writing, they should figure out what’s missing from all the other writing blogs out there and seek to fill that gap.

~Graham

I did see spikes in other parts of my website, which I would imagine would be attributable to the blog post. And I did get a nice advertising offer through my quote request system. So there’s that.

~Graham

I write a blog about Russian literature, though, and it’s definitely a plus when I send out inquiries about projects. The topic is also memorable!

Mainly, though, I blog to help other writers. It’s no more complex than that. And, judging from my inbox, it’s helping.

Down the road, when I launch my writer mentoring program, that’ll actually become part of my business. I guess it’s part of the business already, in that it’s getting me exposure and prospects for when I do launch.

Still, if I never launch the program, I’m happy with what my blog is accomplishing.

As far as bringing something unique to the table, I certainly try to. If I write about a topic that’s been done before, I at least try to write about it from my personal perspective – incorporating my journey.

I just decided to start another blog about another interest. I feel that this has served me well in landing gigs because clients see my ability to write on the specific topics. There are great writing blogs out there (like this one) and I feel they do a better job of getting out info. I’m just not interested in reading rehashed tips and tons of writing journeys.

And that, is the power of blogging

Yes, preaching to the choir — that was the primary point of my original blog post. But the topic has certainly grown the last couple of weeks!

Self-examination of *all* marketing tools is useful. For me, that post was a public self-examination (ooh, that sounds vaguely illegal…). How do I tweak to make the blog more useful?

I love it when people like James say “Yes, it works if you put in the time, yes, we’ve seen results” because that is proof in my mind that you can use your blog as a marketing tool.

For about half the people out there, the point is moot. They do it for fun, and that’s fine. Any residual clients they get is bonus. But if your blog (or any other Web 2.0 tool) is designed for marketing, it pays to consider how it fits into your general marketing plan, and whether or not it’s working.

~Graham

I think that all of this self-examination is good if it brings about blogs (whether they be about writing or something else) that are more focused and more purpose-driven (which is where I see all of this going).

A good blog (or should I say a good blogger) will definitely experience some demand for his or her skills over time.

BTW, thanks for the Business and Blogging link.

It has brought me work. It have pointed to it when applying for writing jobs and found that it has served me well. It has also brought me unsolicited clients, and I have gotten some free products from marketing companies asking me to do reviews.

I know this isn’t answering your questions because they specifically deal with writing blogs. But as you stated, everyone has a writing blog, and I didn’t think that my creating one would add any new information when there were already so many well done ones out there. So I figured it would be “preaching at the choir” like you mentioned.

And YAY! I should be at 18 now, thanks to others!

And hey I linked to your blog. You may get those 22 more subscribers. I hope you remember me when.

Yes, our blog works. Yes, it brings in business. It does so because we treat it for what it is – a resource and tool, a gateway to business, and NOT as a standalone business itself.