Still, when I look back for a moment, an unusual benefit sticks out. I’m talking about the gift of connection.

Maybe, it’s the busy way of modern life. Perhaps, it’s because I moved around a lot throughout my life. Or maybe it’s just me, but I wouldn’t say that it’s particularly easy to form meaningful connections in this day and age.

Though, I suspect I’m not alone. Consider this joke on Twitter.

I find that quite funny and relatable.

Yet, blogging has allowed me to connect with so many people over the years. Many became professional connections, several online acquaintances, but a few actually become good friends. Geography is still an issue, mind you, but the friendships are real nevertheless.

Now, I’m not telling you to start a blog or resume your existing one for the specific purpose of making friends. (Though, there would be nothing wrong with that.)

Instead, I’m suggesting friendship that goes beyond professional networking is a possible, even likely, outcome. And I consider that a great benefit for bloggers.

The key is to be approachable. Letting people know you can be reached by email or whatever channels you prefer. Respond to comments and interact with those who engage with you.

You’ll be pleasantly surprised at the amazing people reading your words unbeknownst to you. Over time, some may become invaluable friends.

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Occasionally, I receive emails from people asking me about blogging. Now that the second edition of my blogging book is out, the volume of emails has only increased.

A common theme I see is people creating a blog, posting as often and as much as they can, only to run out of steam. Lots of work for dismal results.

Common questions are:

• Is blogging dead?
• Is blogging still relevant?
• I published N articles and made no money. How come?

There are other questions, of course, but these are the most common ones. These are not dumb questions.

People have legitimate reasons to be frustrated with their blogging efforts. One such email included a very relatable quote:

I spent 4 hours writing a 2348 word essay. It was read by 78 people. Maybe fewer, as I too visited the page.

Can we really blame her for being frustrated?

The fundamental problem is that a lot of people treat their blog as the product. Your blog is not the product. Let me repeat it, louder, one more time for those in the back. YOUR BLOG IS NOT THE PRODUCT.

Yes, blogging is still alive. Yes, blogging is still relevant. But blogging has also changed drastically. Most of the conversations that blogging used to spark have largely moved to social media.

Blogging is still amazing… but it’s not the product. Blogging can still change your life… but it’s not the product. Blogging can make you money… but it’s not the product.

If blogging is not the product, then what is it? Blogging is an incredibly useful tool. Specifically, it’s a content marketing tool. It can help you reach the people you need to reach and expose them to your product.

So what is the product then? The product can be you and your career, your business, a book you wrote, or something else that has value and for which you charge money.

If you treat blogging as the product, you’d be very disappointed to reach only 78 people, and be hard-pressed to make any money from it. Even if a quarter of them were to click on, say, your ads, it might not be worth your 4-hour investment in time. And trust me, such a conversion rate is extremely unrealistic.

78 prospective employers when you are looking for a job is not so bad, though. Well worth the four hours of writing. 78 prospective clients for your freelance business, could lead to thousands of dollars down the line even if only one of them were to sign up. 78 prospective readers of your book, might lead to quite a few extra sales.

If you treat your blog as the product, you’ll often need 100K+ people a month to extract any serious value out of it. If you have a product, even a small group of people who are the right fit for your product can change your life.

Reading my book will teach you how to ensure that the numbers are larger AND you’re leveraging them to promote the right product.

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