If you are a writer and you are not blogging then you should be. While many people simply dismiss blogging because of its description as a web diary they are missing a lot of traffic and revenue generating opportunities every day. Many internet entrepreneurs work hard to publish their blogs but as a writer you have the ability to easily create the content you need without needing to hire out. In fact, publishing a blog can be the perfect way for you to profit from your writing.

In truth blogs are much more than a simple web diary. They are actually a content management system and/or an easy web site template. Blogging software allows you to begin posting your content to the internet in minutes and when you harness that ability with an RSS feed you have a powerful traffic magnet.

I have come up with 7 reasons why every writer should have a blog and RSS feed.

1. Publishing a regularly updated blog helps you keep in touch with your existing audience. Whether they come for your style or subject matter, your readers will appreciate having ready access to your material.

2. A blog can help you attract new readers. Your blog entries (posts or articles) will become fodder for the search engines and will attract new visitors. Once a reader has found something of interest in one blog entry they are likely to move onto other entries as well.

3. Blogs and RSS feeds often rank higher in search engines than traditional web sites. Search engines love blogs and RSS feeds. If you design your blog properly then every time you update it the search engines are notified. Even if you don't regularly ping most search engines will revisit blogs more frequently. Plus the very organization of a blog lends itself to spidering and good search engine ranking.

4. Blogs can help you establish or build your reputation in a particular field. As your blog grows you will demonstrate your knowledge in your chosen niche.

5. Blogs and RSS feeds are good revenue streams. You can add pay-per-click ads, affiliate ads, or sell ad space on your blogs. In fact, many PPC companies also provide the ability to add PPC to your RSS feeds.

6. Blogs are great ways to generate leads. Even if you don't want to put any advertising on your blog you can use it to promote or capture leads for your own ezine or newsletter. These are great leads as the fact that they came from your blog means they are already interested in your topic and predisposed to your individual message. If you have ebooks or other products to sell then you can use your blog to promote these as well.

7. Creating your own blog is the easiest way to establish a presence on the internet and creating an RSS feed is even easier. In fact, it is also the cheapest way to get started on the internet as there are a number of free blogging sites out there. I started out with blogger.com and usually recommend them but have heard others point to several other top blogging sites as well. The blogging software that I now use is WordPress and also happens to be free. In fact, most web hosts now offer WordPress (or other free blogging software) as a free site add-on through Fantastico. Installing WordPress from scratch is quick and easy but Fantastico makes it even easier. Blogs created at Blogger have an RSS feed created for them and WordPress also creates feeds in several variations automatically.

As you can see there are several benefits to starting your own blog and RSS feed. If you can count that many benefits from a tool that is also free and easy then you are foolish not to begin using it for yourself. I don't know a writer who isn't looking for additional ways to profit from their writing and blogging is the perfect solution.

Deanna Mascle shares more writing advice in her blogs Your Route To Internet Writing Success and Word Craft. Visit http://route60.us to learn more.