Why Should You Start a Blog | Our Top 7 Reasons to Begin Today

1 Connect With Your Audience

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Blogging is a great way to build and connect with your audience. Blogging allows you to create an audience of like-minded people who are all interested in similar topics and looking for somewhere to find that content. Your blog can be the place that they find it.

By creating longer-form content, such as blog posts, you can position yourself as an expert on the topic and can connect with your audience by creating personal and in-depth content that they wouldn’t find anywhere else.

When thinking about the type of content you’re creating on your blog, think about both what your audience wants to read and what will inspire them. If you already have an online brand then blogging gives you the opportunity to show a more personal side and allow your audience to get to know you.

A successful blogger leaves their audience feeling informed and connected. Your audience should feel like they know you thanks to your content.

2 Improve Your Writing

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Blogging is a great way to improve your writing skills and gain more writing experience. If you’re a novice writer then it can be tricky at the start but luckily online tools such as Grammarly can check your spelling and grammar to make sure your content is of the highest quality. Like anything, the more you write the better you’ll become.

They say that readers make the best writers so if you feel like you’re struggling to get to grips with writing content then spend some time reading other blogs to get a feel for different writing styles and layout options.

Blogging is also particularly good for freelance writers or those who are hoping for a career in copywriting or journalism. Your blog can become your online portfolio to showcase what you can do.

Improving your writing skills with the help of blogging will be beneficial across other areas of your business too. For instance, if you need to write pitches, reports, or in-depth emails then having good content writing skills will help you to produce the very best work.

3 Build Your Online Brand

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Blogging is one of the very best ways to build your online brand. Those with the best web presence are the ones who have positioned themselves as an authoritative voice on their chosen subject. Blogging allows you to showcase your skills and expertise and highlight to your audience that you know what you’re talking about.

The more content you have on your blog about your subject fields the more authoritative you will come across. After all, who are you more likely to trust and turn to for help or advice, a blogger with one, outdated blog post or someone who has multiple, regularly updated blogs on the topic in question?

If you can provide value to your readers you will soon become recognized as the go-to for your industry which will not only help to boost your blog visitors but can also help you to convert readers into customers (if you have something you want to sell).

4 Learn a New Skill

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One of the great reasons why people start a blog is that it can provide them with the opportunity to learn a new skill. Blogging isn’t just about writing, in fact far from it.

To be a successful blogger you’ll need to understand how to market yourself and your content, the importance of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) as well as being able to take great photos and utilize social media. That’s all before you take into account aspects such as affiliate links and sponsored content further down the line.

You don’t need to know how to do all or even any of the above when you start a blog, you just need to be willing to learn. Platforms such as WordPress and Squarespace both have great customer support features to help you get to grips with the technical aspects. There are also tonnes of other blogs all about blogging that you can turn to for help on specific questions you may have such as how to take the right photographs or how to boost your SEO.

5 Generate Income

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Once your blog is developed and you’ve started to build up an audience you may decide to utilize it to generate an income. Monetizing your blog isn’t as easy as it looks however and if your sole reason for starting one is to make money then it may be worth considering other, less time-consuming money-making options.

It will usually take years to hone your blogging skills and build your audience to a stage where you can begin making a solid amount of money. But once you get there how can you generate income from your blog?

First things first make sure you’ve chosen a profitable niche. If the topics your blog covers are of little interest to the masses then you may struggle to make any sort of substantial cash.

Once you’re in a position to start thinking about monetizing your blog there are various ways you can do so such as:

• Affiliate links (if a user clicks on this link to buy a product you will receive a percentage of the sale).
• Sponsored content (this is where brands will pay you to create a blog post that promotes them or their products).
• Advertising (you can sell advert slots on your blog through a third-party platform).

Once you do start making money from your blog the great thing about it is that it can be what is classed as “passive income” meaning how much you make isn’t related to how much time you put into it and instead it can tick along without much input from you. For example, once you’ve got an affiliate link up and running on a blog post that link will continue to make you money (providing people are using it) without the requirement for you to do anything else.

6 Meet New People

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Thanks to the number of bloggers out there, the blogging community is full of like-minded people with whom you can connect, meaning starting a blog is a great way to meet new people.

Blogging communities are not only a great place to make new friends and meet up with people who have similar interests to you but they can also be super helpful for new bloggers looking for guidance. If you’re struggling with a technical glitch or writer’s block then having a network of people who can understand and offer advice will be essential.

There are multiple ways that you can begin to network with other bloggers and meet new people such as:

• Keep an eye out for local blogger events for you to attend.
• Make sure you’re following other bloggers and engage with their content.
• Join relevant Facebook groups specifically for bloggers in your location or niche.
• Consider providing guest posts for other bloggers to build a relationship with them.

7 Boost Your CV

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Starting a blog can be a great way to boost your CV, even if you think your blog has nothing to do with your career path.

Running your blog requires a lot of technical and writing skills but it will also help you to hone various transferable skills which you can utilize in your chosen career field such as:

• Communication – networking with your audience and other bloggers is a great way to showcase your communication skills.
• Organization – scheduling blog posts and fitting your blog around other commitments can help to highlight how organized you are.
• Creativity – creating content and supporting imagery allows you to showcase your creative skills.

If your blog is related to the field in which you work or hope to work then it can be a great way to highlight your industry knowledge and expertise to a prospective employer.