Creating a blog is a great way to get your thoughts out into the world. But is it the right choice for most people?
Should you start a blog? I think anyone can start a blog. If you’ve got something to share with the world, why not? As a writer it’s a good way to build your portfolio and get some more writing experience. But even just as a hobby, a blog can be a good alternative to keeping a journal.
In this article, I’ll explain why you should start a blog and some benefits that may come out of it.
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Should You Start A Blog?
Yes, I absolutely think that everyone should consider starting a blog!
If you have anything to share with the world that you’re passionate about or have expertise in, starting a blog can be a great decision!
If you want to be any type of professional writer, blogging comes with its own set of benefits. But even if you just want to do it as a hobby, it can still be an awesome choice.
Why Writers Should Start A Blog
I think that starting a blog is a great choice for all kinds of writers.
Maybe you want to be a full-time blogger. Or maybe you’re a freelance writer, novelist, copywriter, or any other type of writer.
Everybody can benefit from blogging. Particularly if you’re writing about the field that you work in. Just look at what I’m doing! It got you here, didn’t it?
Blogging is a great way to generate traffic and leads to your site. That’s true whether you’re targeting clients, trying to sell a product like a book you’ve written, or just about anything else.
Develop Great Experience
It’s no surprise that the more you write, the better your writing is likely to become.
So setting aside some time each week to write a new post for your blog is only going to help you in the long run. Especially if you’re looking to learn the conversational tone that blogs are usually written in.
Create A Portfolio For Yourself
Your blog can act as a de facto portfolio that you can show to clients.
You could spend time writing a variety of specific portfolio pieces. Or you can just maintain a blog, and then you’ll likely have dozens of examples of your work by the end of the year.
This can be particularly helpful if you’re writing in a particular niche, and also base your blog around that niche too. Then all of your writing will be relevant examples for potential clients!
You can use your blog as a selling point when you’re pitching yourself to clients. As a client, I would be more impressed with someone who runs their own blog than someone who is just a freelance writer without the blog.
It shows that you’ve probably got a lot of extra knowledge about SEO and other topics too. At least if your blog is run well.
I recommend setting up your blog on your own dedicated website. See my article Do Beginner Freelance Writers Need A Website? for more information.
Why Everybody Else Should Start A Blog
It’s not just writers that I think could benefit from starting a blog. It has benefits that anyone can take advantage of.
Keep A Record of Your Life
A blog can be a great way of keeping track of what’s going on with you. That way friends and family can get a more in-depth look into what you’re up to. Way more detail than they could get from just Facebook posts or pictures on Instagram!
Anyone can make a blog, but it would be particularly useful if you have an interesting life. Living abroad in Japan? Working for the summer on a fishing boat or farm? People love to get a glimpse into the unique lives of others.
But even if you’re just working or going to school and don’t feel like you have anything to share, it can still be worth keeping a blog.
It makes a great alternative to keeping a journal or diary. So if you’d otherwise keep one of those, try a blog instead. Just be aware that it’s available for the whole world to see (unless you set it to private,) so you may want to keep some details intentionally vague.
The good part is that you don’t have to keep track of a blog like a physical journal or diary, it will just always be there online for you to access and look back on.
Express Yourself
Blogging can be a great choice for introverts who may have always wanted to start a Youtube channel or podcast, but don’t feel up to sharing their thoughts on video or audio.
For a lot of people, writing is a much easier way to share their thoughts and emotions. So blogging can be a great way to share your thoughts with the world and build up a sense of confidence. All while you learn to express yourself.
I think blogging is a great creative outlet no matter who you are. Some people like to paint or draw, other people like to blog!
Learn Technical Skills
Starting a blog is one of the easiest ways to go about setting up your first website.
The idea of making your own website probably sounds complicated and involves a lot of coding. But trust me, nowadays it’s super easy!
Once you buy a domain and web hosting, there’s usually a one-click setup to install WordPress on your website. Once you pick a theme for how your site will look, you just need to create a new post and start writing.
If you can follow a 5 or 10 minute Youtube tutorial, then you should have no problem setting up your first blog or website.
You’ll also learn SEO if you’re looking to write in a way that will get your blog to rank highly in search engines.
Other skills you might pick up including formatting images and creating graphics in sotware like Photoshop or Canva, or using social media to promote your blog.
Should your blog just be about one topic? Read my article Do Freelance Writers Really Need To Pick A Niche? for some insight on the topic.
Make Some Extra Money
If you’re getting into blogging just to make money, then I don’t advise it. That’s because it will take a while for you to start earning money.
But if you’re going to make a blog anyway, getting paid a little bit is a nice side-effect of it.
Once your blog reaches a decent size, you can start to put advertisements on your site to monetize it. You can also use affiliate links and all sorts of other ways to make money from your blog.
You can make blogging your full-time job if you really want. But for most people, just getting a few extra dollars each month from the past blogs they’ve written is enough.
If you can make enough money from your blog to cover all of your website hosting costs and still have a bit left over, you’re doing great!
Imagine being able to get a free pizza or case of beer each month for free thanks to your blog!
Meet New People
If you start a blog on a topic that you’re passionate about, chances are that eventually you’ll start running into other bloggers or people who are passionate about that topic.
Maybe you blog about a specific breed of dog that you have, or some obscure hobby that you don’t think anyone in your city has in common with you.
The good thing about blogging is that it allows you to connect with people from around the world! So there’s a good chance that someone is just as passionate about the topic of your blog as you are.
Readers will leave encouraging comments and reach out to connect with you, and some of them may end up being good friends for years to come!
Don’t Start A Blog If…
Although blogging is great for both professional growth and as a hobby, some people get into it for the wrong reasons.
I don’t recommend blogging if you don’t think you’ll have at least a couple of hours each week to devote to it. You really need to be writing at least one new post for your blog each week if you want to see any kind of growth or consistent audience.
If you already have a stressful life, adding blog writing on top of that may end up being too much.
Obviously if you don’t enjoy writing, blogging isn’t a great option for you either.
Blogging also isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme. Maybe a decade ago anyone could start a blog and see overnight success. But nowadays there are probably millions of blogs out there, many of which are competing on the same subjects as you. So don’t start a blog for the money, or you’ll end up disappointed.
If you expect to make any money from your blog at all, I wouldn’t expect to see any of it for at least the first 6 to 12 months.
Conclusion
I think that blogging is a great creative outlet for almost anybody.
It doesn’t matter if you are a professional writer who’s looking to use a blog as part of your portfolio, or just the average person looking to keep a journal of your thoughts. Blogging can be a great hobby or passtime.
Blogging can even develop into a lucritive income source if you’re lucky. But don’t treat blogging as a get rich quick scheme or expect money right away, or you’ll quickly become discouraged and quit.
So if you’ve got something to share with the world, why not start a blog and start putting it out there?