Journalist bloggers need to become Internet marketers – This isn’t blasphemy, it’s the truth. If you’re not willing to market yourself, you’ll never become a successful blogger. You have to let people know about your work, get on social media, post on other people’s blogs and link back to yourself. That’s how it’s done:

When I started blogging, little did I know that I know that I’d need to become an Internet marketer. As a blogger, you need to let people know you’re there. As a journalist, that can seem weird. We’re used to be being behind the scenes — behind the notebook or camera — not out there telling people how great we are.

But if you want your blog to succeed, you need to become at least a bit of a marketer. Your colleagues may think it’s odd; but you need to promote your blog with friends, relatives, through social media, through Twitter, through any way you can think of.

Blogging your way into a job — Yes, personal blogs make people money, and ads aren’t needed either. I wouldn’t have this job without my personal blog. I’m not the only one with this story either. Tony Pierce wouldn’t be heading up the LA Times’s blogging efforts if he didn’t blog on his own time.

Not all the advice in this Forbes’ article is that good. You don’t need to keep your posts short. Make your post whatever it needs to be. That could be a list or a 2,ooo-word essay or it might just be embedding some video content. That’s what good blogging is about.

This sums up why every journalists needs a blog:

It’s a small amount of work that will likely impress recruiters and hiring managers, because it shows you to be enthusiastic and engaged with your industry. It also makes you look like an expert in your field.

But get a blog. It’s one of the best decisions of my life. Believe it.

Despite Recession, More Than 50% of Marketers Increase Spending on Social Media — You want to know why marketers are increasing spending on social media? Because it works! If you don’t have anyone dedicated to social media yet, you’re completely missing the boat.

Social media is a great reporting, journalism, public relations and marketing tool. And it’s free to join social media sites. It’s a cheap way to accomplish a lot:

Part of the reason for this increased spending is the low cost of social media tools. Compared with larger expenditures like advertising, social media requires much less investment. In fact, three-quarters of those surveyed who knew their budgets said they allowed for $100,000 or less for social media tools over a 12-month period.

Plus, social media is a great way to find out what the public is talking about. You do care about the public, right?