Everyone wants to be an authority in their field, and some people say that you have to put in 10,000 hours to blog and be an authority in your market. Seriously? Blogging, you might ask? Haven’t most business owners moved to YouTube or to podcasts? You can create videos or podcasts, but blogging is still critical to your success. Here are a few reasons why, and some ideas on how to blog (and what to blog about).

Answer Frequently Asked Questions

There are those questions people ask over and over. With a blog, you can answer the questions people always ask. And then send people to your blog! So much easier than answering the same questions over and over. And answering those questions naturally helps you gain authority in your niche market. The answers to those Frequently Asked Questions can become evergreen content. For more about evergreen content, you might like: Sick and Tired of the Same Old Content? Create Evergreen Content.

Clarify Your Thoughts

Your ideas may not be fleshed out, but while writing your blog post, your thoughts become much more clear. I often think I learn more writing my posts than those who read my posts. Of couse, carving out the time to write can be an issue, but it’s always a priority. Brian Tracy wrote an excellent article (with video) for Entrepreneur: Why Time Management is an indispensable element of success. Check it out.

Introverts Rule

You may be introverted, shy, or uncomfortable around people. But when you’re blogging to be an authority in your market, you can edit your own thoughts and present them exactly as you’d like them to be seen. So if you’re a perfectionist in addition to being an introvert, that’s a win-win. If you haven’t read this article about introverts and writing headlines, you might like it, too. How to Write Headlines That Will Help You Reach Introverts.

Add Value to Your Community

Many of us have an online community, even if we’re not completely aware of it. Blogging lets you add value to your community and voice your opinion. If you think about your audience, or community, and write about what they’d like to learn about, you’ll always be an authority. By the way, I really like this Huffington Post Life article about the Importance of Community.

And of Course, SEO

When we blog for authority, we’re also blogging for the little bots that roam around on Google. So they like us to be writing and updating our blogs and websites constantly. Blogging helps with SEO.