Why Do We Need A Blog?
We Share A Common Interest
When you are passionate about something, you want to share it. Blogging is an excellent way to share that enthusiasm and excitement! When you blog about something you are excited about, it opens the door to connecting with those around the world, not just our neighborhood, that are also passionate about crime prevention as well. Then, we can hopefully be a model for other communities to be inspired by and look to for sources of information. It also tells criminals that we are passionate enough to write, distribute links on, read, implement, and comment on the tips in the blogs which makes us a less desirable target. Sadly, I haven’t found any community run websites like ours. It is most likely due to the time and expense that is involved. Hopefully, we can help others remove those obstacles.
To Educate One Another
Blogging is an extremely effective way to teach others at their own pace when they have time. The blogs are also archived, so if you see an older blog you can simply access it in order to find the information you are specifically searching for without having to go through the entire site which can be time consuming and tedious.
To Gain Exposure
Neighborhood crime watches have expenses. While my family is donating all of their professional time, the site’s host and domain have to be paid for. There are other expenses as well - especially post-pandemic when everyone feels comfortable getting together again. Signs don’t pay for themselves either. The first time I was a Block Captain was approximately thirty years ago (I know it is shocking they allowed a toddler to be the Block Captain, but they did). We had to earn our signs which were attached to the stop signs at the end of our block. If we did not meet compliance requirements and goals, the city came back and took them down. We had to earn them and then re-qualify annually to keep them. Honestly, I love my hometown and they have an excellent crime watch program; however, it was a little stressful. We will purchase our signs for our blocks and then set realistic goals for our areas which gives the power back to local leadership who should have the best pulse on the area. We will still need to buy them for the entrances into the community though. It isn’t exactly fair to place the additional expense on high traffic through streets. Some streets don’t have homes either. We need to send a clear presence and the most important signs will be at those entry points into Paloma Creek.
To that end, if you have the extra cash available to purchase some signs, we will gladly take it off of your hands and strategically put it to good use. If you would like to advertise your business, you can pay to advertise at the bottom of each page for a year, in advance, starting at $50. You can read all of the details about marketing with us here.
To Rank Higher With Search Engines
Blogs give Google new content to index on a regular basis. That allows us to use each piece of content, ranking us higher for specific keyword searches that will attract our target demographics to the website. It is called a SEO keyword search.
People Are More Likely To Share A Blog Post
Social media audiences are more receptive to sharing blog posts than they are ads, promotional pages, and sites. By creating blog content, you share us more on your social media profile, giving your audience the potential to become a visitor when they come to our website. Simply social sharing of our content increases exposure to our target audience, while leading to more incoming traffic, for free.
Build Online Identity
What happens when someone searches for you or your company’s name online? One of the advantages of blogs is that it allows you to build and control your online identity and branding. People who are searching for Paloma Creek can find our blog which will lead them to this site. They will learn about the neighborhood crime watch and our community.
Connect With Others
One of the greatest benefits of blogging is connecting with others. I am not talking about followers or writing to an audience. I am talking about finding a way that we can be together while we are apart in the midst of a global pandemic. We make friends with people we wouldn’t have met otherwise. I know I have met some people in Paloma Creek that I wouldn’t have normally met due to the internet. One of the best ways is to follow-up and meet in person at events when we are comfortable. Please remember to be safe online. We are still strangers.
Immediate Feedback
We are in a society that wants everything yesterday. They want things before they even knew they needed it. That actually makes great sales opportunities and opens up new ways to receive immediate feedback from your target audience. Blogging should help you to get feedback from readers. It could be negative or positive, but it’s important to know what people think about the content. When I write for a newspaper, I have to purchase an actual subscription in order to respond to comments, questions, and feedback. I love that I can see and respond via a blog. You can’t have that kind of feedback with a newsletter.
Writing For & Creating Blogs Usually Leads To Other Blogs
Most Bloggers don’t stop at one blog. It is slightly addictive. Do you see where I am coming from? What is your expertise that you want to share? Write about it and send it in! If you already have a blog, please send us a link. There isn’t anything wrong with a little self-promotion. Most Bloggers start in one area and then branch into others. I have blogged on the following topics: security, personal safety, marriage, dating, parent-child relationships, sexual health, grief, makeup, fashion, cats, event planning, social media marketing, real estate, home buying, home selling, cooking, baking, child development, faith, school to prison pipeline, politics, chronic illness, personal finance, weddings on a budget, photography, startups, women in leadership, mentoring, and more.
You are probably wondering a little bit about me now. I was a low-key Social Media Influencer; however, with exposure comes attention. Sometimes that attention is unwanted - especially for a very happily married woman who adores her husband. While I love sharing with others and listening to your stories, there have been many times that people have crossed from sharing privately to being completely inappropriate. We have healthy boundaries and social norms for a reason. I spoke with law enforcement in great detail once they began breaking the law and we decided that it was time to scrub my online existence. I don’t want or need the attention. It was also a lot of work for the monetary pay, but that wasn’t what ever motivated me. I like to help people, so here I am…. I like anonymity.
What Is The Blog Schedule
You should expect to see something on the first weekday of every month. If there is something that we want to alert you about, you should check here and the Little Elm Police Department’s Facebook Page. They do a great job of posting about situations of importance that impact the area. While they aren’t as funny as surrounding jurisdictions (or me for that matter), they get the job done. That is what is truly important. Some of the comments are pretty epic though. You might see me on there every now and then too.
