Is being a blogger worth it? That’s a question many ask themselves, and we’re no different. Obviously, you know our answer, since you wouldn’t be reading these words otherwise. It’s up to you to have to think about the value a blog provides, and decide whether it’s powerful enough. We’ll try to help by listing some of the many benefits worth starting a blog over. Before we go ahead, it’s important to know we’ll mention positive things only. Keep that in mind that negatives do exist and will be apparent eventually. If you acknowledge this, let’s attempt to demonstrate why you should dare to be a blogger.
1. Be your own boss
The first among reasons why you should dare to start blogging is the ability to be a free agent. You plan your day and can decide to split work in any way you want instead of 8-hour chunks, 5 days a week, 9-to-5. This is liberating and can relieve you of the stress of working under someone. An added benefit is that you’ll see a productivity boost if you have a low attention span.
2. Work from home
Working from home is a typical answer to the question, “why do people blog?“. You get to choose where you’ll work, so there’s no more dressing up or a long commute. Also, you get to design an office to your liking, which can, once again, increase productivity. Also, bloggers that work from home tend to be happier and more comfortable. This stems from many things. For example, a perfect chair-desk combination, the ability to reduce noise, and utilizing objects such as stress balls, yoga mats, or pilates balls. Also, you can take a break whenever they want and stay productive even if you’re on a couch and in pajamas.
3. Earn money from it
Money is undoubtedly one of the primary things that can make you want to become a blogger. And while it is a route that can lead there, the road is long and hard, especially since you depend on search engine algorithms. However, once you get there, old blog posts that suddenly get some love can make you passive income. Additionally, new blog posts can go viral at any point, or, at the very least, earn income that adds up over time.
4. Meet new people and build an audience
Although making money is nice, the real answer to, “who should have a blog?“ is anyone who would like to meet and interact with like-minded individuals. The joy of exchanging knowledge and sharing interests with people like you is often payment enough. Your words can often inspire, persuade, or help people make their own lives better. Also, you’ll be adding value without asking anything in return. This selflessness has been known to lead to unexpected friendships or even relationships.
5. Gain relevance
As you continue publishing blog posts, especially if you’re focused on a specific niche, you gain more prominence and praise. For that reason, the purpose of being a blogger can be to establish authority in a field, which directly leads to an enhancement of your professional image. It can directly lead to benefits 6 and 10 below.
6. Create or boost a business
When you mix the audience you’ve gained and the authority you’ve attained, you get a chance to convert this into a business. This is also known as “converting leads into customers“ and is based on something you can sell, whether a product or service. It can also apply to scaling your current business to a whole new level, give credibility to your cold calls, and provide an additional resource people can refer to. Of course, it can mean expanding your business by adding a product or niche tied to your blog. Whatever the case may be, this is definitely one of the primary reasons to be a blogger.
7. Get better at writing, learning, and teaching
Enough about monetary gain, let’s talk about the personal benefit of having a blog. We’re referring to becoming more literate, creative, resourceful, and knowledgeable through researching for your blog. In doing so, you’ll encounter things you never expected to read, let alone learn about. This is essential since you’ll have to explore and analyze things masterfully, then write them in such a way that everyone, from laymen to experts, can grasp them effortlessly. With this, you assume a position akin to that of a teacher, providing invaluable knowledge to those in search of it. Furthermore, you can proudly stand out as part of the 1% of the Internet users that create content, since the rest only view it.
8. Acquire new skills
Writing is far from the only thing required to run an online blog. To be successful, you’ll have to be well-informed and capable of using “modern“ skills. For example, following best SEO (Search Engine Optimization) practices, doing marketing (e-mail, social media, ad campaigns), writing for different audiences (age, knowledge, degree of proficiency, etc.), photo, audio, and video editing, or creating animations. You also have to be familiar with web hosting, web design (WordPress theme you installed) and know WordPress itself inside and out. This alone is a good reason to start blogging, as it can translate to your daily life.
9. Get to tell your story
You can have as many blogs as you want, and don’t have to shoot for the top. You can write blog posts for yourself, password-protect the pages, and treat the whole thing as an online diary/journal. Dumping your thoughts, concerns, or funny and stressful events can provide immediate relief, and lead to self-reflection. You can unlock the blog, at which point it can turn into benefit 4 mentioned above. So, if you wondered why you should start a personal blog, we’d say, “to document your life“.
10. Create opportunities
Blogs are the new business cards. So, even without money or prominence, they can lead to opportunities that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. A fun part of writing a blog can be discovering what those lucky breaks are.