For all those writers out there, I'm here to tell you that you have exactly what it takes to run a successful blog. You have thoughts, you have words, you have the internet! There are so many personal and professional benefits to blogging, and the most important benefit is that you get to share your work with anyone and everyone.
And unlike publishing in a literary journal, magazine, or newspaper, blogging gives you a lower-stakes platform that allows you to publish your own content in the time and manner that you desire.
Keep reading to find out my top 5 reasons you should start a blog!
1. It has never been easier to start your own blog.
With sites like WordPress, SquareSpace, and Wix, you have so many resources to choose from. While SquareSpace and Wix have a monthly fee, WordPress has a free option with thousands of templates to choose from. It’s an extremely efficient process, there’s no doubt that you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for, and I guarantee you’ll have a blast doing so! Go on, explore a couple of the options today, and you might just have your own blog by the end of the day!
2. Blogging keeps you consistent.
For those of you who taking writing very seriously, you know how tough it is write consistently. Putting pressure on yourself to write all the time eventually turns into a underlying stressor that prevents you from writing at all. Life happens, things come up, and let’s be honest, writing isn’t always the most entertaining activity. However, with blogging, it can be! There’s no way to become a better writer than to be writing as much as possible, and if you want to run a successful blog, you should publish at least one blog post per week. That means, at minimum, you will be writing one day per week! So, even if you publish 500 words every Friday, at least you can keep yourself accountable. And after a while, your loyal followers will come to expect content from you, so your writing habits may even increase.
3. You’ll learn a lot!
“Blogging forces you to teach yourself what you don’t know and to articulate what you do know” (Huffington Post). Organizing your thoughts is a difficult process, but challenging yourself to do so one a week will push you to figure out how much you actually know about a certain topic. No matter the genre of writing or your expertise, research is a core aspect of writing. Writing helps you become more familiar with the topic you’re writing about. The more you write, the more you’ll research, and the more you’ll learn. Over time, you might even become a thought leader! A thought leader is someone whose views on a subject are taken to be authoritative and influential. And yes, you can get paid for that.
4. Everybody needs a side-hustle.
Let’s be honest, times are tough. Even if it isn’t your goal to make money, it’s completely likely that with time, consistency, and dedication, you could be making a profit from something you enjoy doing for yourself! For example, my friends Danielle and Caitlin started their lifestyle blog, Once Upon A Dollhouse, a little over a year ago. The Dolls now have multiple partnerships with small businesses, local and national, and have more that 7,000 Instagram followers. Their blog is their full-time job, and they love every minute of it. On a smaller scale, my friend Staci started her vegan cooking blog, An Earthling Named Staci, a few months ago. She had such a good response that she has now branched into cooking videos and vlogging. The possibilities and opportunities of blogging are endless, and the best part is that your blog is uniquely yours.
5. You get to tell your story your way.
When you are writing about a topic of your own interest, you can decide how to portray a story, what information to include, and what information to exclude. Blogging is a fantastic way to express yourself and your interests. No one has a voice like yours - it’s what your friends and family love you for! So, even if only your friends and family are the only ones who read your blog, your content is something that will keep you connected to those you care about most.
Alexandra Gerard is a freelance hustler in Chicago, providing blogging, photography, and social media services. You can find her on Instagram: @itsyagrlgerry.