6 Reasons You Should Start a Blog

You’ve wanted to start a blog for a while now. But can be so intimidating! There are so many things to think about. And so many technological things to figure out.

However, in my opinion, these aren’t valid reasons that can stop you from starting a blog. It’s such an exciting industry, small things shouldn’t stop you!

So, how do you know you’re ready to dive in and carve out your own space on the internet? I’ve got quite a few ways to know you’re ready to start a blog.

1 | Start a blog if you’ve got a topic you’re excited about and understand.

First things first, do you have a topic?

When I first started out, my topic was “everything that I like.” It included DIY projects, recipes, Netflix, my dog, and even some hockey thrown in for good measure.

Most people would tell you that my blog wasn’t specific enough to be successful. And they’re partially right! I saw a huge upswing in traffic and readership when I narrowed my focus to blogging, design and feminism.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t start with a broad topic. The most important thing is that you’re excited about it and understand enough about it to write many different blog posts about it.

Are you excited about a weird combination of Netflix, your dog, and hockey? Awesome! Right about those. See what you enjoy writing about the most, and see what resonates with your audience the most. When those two areas intersect, you’re golden.

But it might take some time to get there. If you’ve got a specific niche right off the bat, awesome! But if not, don’t try to force a topic on yourself yet. Just start writing and see what comes to you.

2 | You like reading blogs and want to get involved in the blogging community.

Bloggers are some of the most common audiences of blogs. And I’m not just saying that because I blog about blogging — I think that’s pretty consistent across the board.

And it makes sense! In order to feel on top of your blogging game, you’re going to want to follow other blogs, including your “competitors.”

So, if you’re already reading a ton of blogs and want to feel a connection to the larger blogging community, you should take the leap and do it!

3 | You like to write and want to improve.

I’m just going to say it: if you don’t like writing, you shouldn’t start a blog Writing is at least 75% of what you’ll be doing as a blogger. If you don’t like it, your blogging experience is going to be absolutely miserable.

However, if you do enjoy writing, you’re in luck! Blogging is an excellent way to improve your writing skills. When you “force” yourself to write on a regular schedule, you’re getting in a bunch of practice that texting, emailing, and instant messaging isn’t really providing.

So, if you’re interested in improving those skills (hello, résumé builder), blogging is an excellent way to do it!

4 | You’re interested in improving your marketing skills.

One of the biggest things bloggers need to learn is marketing. Social media, email marketing, webinars… as the sole employee of your blog, you have to be your own marketing department!

As a digital marketing manager at my full-time job, I can say the skills I learn every day as a blogger directly help me in my career. I’m constantly playing around with my blog’s social media strategy, which is helping me learn things I can use at my job.

I would even venture to say my blogging experience helped my land my current job!

If you’re interested in learning marketing but either aren’t getting the experience at your current job or aren’t in the marketing field right now, a blog is an awesome way to break into the industry and get some of those skills.

5 | You’re interested in learning (at least a little) about design but don’t know how to get hands-on experience.

Just like with marketing, bloggers are in charge of their own graphic design. So what happens if you’re interested in learning how to design, but can’t get any freelance jobs and aren’t getting any experience at your full-time job? You work on it with your blog!

Sure, you could create your own designs for fake clients, But what if you could actually get feedback on your designs by communicating with other bloggers about the pros and cons of your logo, website layout, color scheme, and header image graphics? You’re going to grow your skills even faster!

6 | You’re interested in starting a side-hustle and want to test the waters.

So many people start a blog because they want to be able to make money on the side. And I 100% get the sentiment! When you’re not getting paid a lot but have a ton of student loan debt, you need a side hustle.

But here’s the thing: making a ton of money with your blog is hard. You’ve got to get a ton of traffic if you want to make more than a few pennies off of ads or affiliate links, or if you want to get the attention of companies offering sponsored posts.

However, there’s one major benefit: it shows you whether or not you’re going to have the time to devote to a side hustle.

Thinking about creating an online course or offering design services? You’ll definitely be able to make money doing them, but they’re going to take a lot of time. Starting a blog gives you some flexibility to figure out your side hustle schedule without investing a ton of money or risking a client’s happiness along the way.

Plus, your blog can become a great marketing tool once you actually launch your side-hustle! Win, win.

There are so many amazing benefits of launching your blog! While it can be a huge time commitment, the opportunities will likely far outweigh the downsides as long as you’re committed!

So what are you waiting for? Go out there and start a blog!