08
Jan
2013
Jan
2013
Reasons Why to Blog, Reasons Why Not to Blog
categories: Blogging
I started this blog almost four years ago to keep up my writing skills after graduating from college. Over time, my blog has morphed into a very different endeavor than when it first started. It’s grown with my needs but the purpose has remained the same: to get me to write. Although now I’m using my blog to pursue this field professionally, I do it because it’s still fun and I enjoy writing.
Having a personal blog, a business blog, and a professional blog are completely different animals. Here’s what I’ve learned about practical reasons why I have a personal blog:
Top five reasons to have a blog
Forces you to write and think creatively The more you blog, the more you have to try. At first, post ideas come easily. But as time goes on and you’ve exhausted the easiest ones to dream up and execute, you have to delve deeper into your creative resources. Blogging regularly will force you to write, use your brain, learn how to write better, and think creatively. If you’re a non-word based blog, you’ll get really in touch with your media and learn new skills you didn’t even dream you’d know one day. It’s a hobby that makes you break boundaries you once thought impossible. Being a blogger is being a polymath.
Lets you explore Being able to say “I run a blog” tends to open some doors. You might get invited to events you wouldn’t have normally been able to attend. Plus, sometimes it gets you a free dessert if you review a restaurant.
Keeps you in touch with people you know Blogging is probably the best way to stay in touch with lots of people with the least amount of time. While you could write individual letters or call each of your loved ones, it can get overwhelming. Blogging cuts that down and allows everyone to see your adventures in one place.
Opens up doors to new opportunities You’ll be recognized via your blog and possibly even get job offers, book deals, or maybe just the occasional product to test (or nothing!). This aspect of blogging takes a lot of time and dedication. You might hear stories of bloggers that took off within months of starting but for each one of those, there’s hundreds of bloggers who keep plugging away, unknown.
Promotes yourself In the same vein, blogging puts you in front of a potentially very large audience in the best light possible because you control the message you send. If you want to display yourself as a funny cat photo expert, you can do that. How about a stylish bright young thing? You can do that too. When people google you, your own opinion of yourself will be the first thing they see.
Top five reasons not to blog
Your life and thoughts become public Unless you’ve made your blog password protected, anyone can find you. Even if it’s anonymous without comments allowed, people will interact with your content through other social media outlets. If you aren’t ready to have your life and thoughts rehashed by strangers, blogging is not for you. And don’t forget that stupid things you say will always be there, if even if you delete the post.
Time consuming Blogging takes a lot of time to do it well. Sure, you can post once in a blue moon and enjoy it and get a decent readership. But if you’re publishing publicly, you likely want as many readers as you can get. Creating content that could go viral takes planning, time, editing, and reediting. Keeping readers means blogging at least three times a week consistently.
Guilt That you don’t blog enough. That your content isn’t the best it could be. That you’re distracted by your blog when you’re with friends and family. That you should be doing other things that need doing. That you spend too much time on it. That you talk about it too much. That you bore others. That you’re not actually doing something to make a difference. That complaining about your blog is some serious first world problems. There’s an endless amount of guilt with blogging. You can learn to manage better it but it’ll always be there.
Obsession with Approval A desire for approval comes with running a blog. You’ll think, on the days you get no readers, “Is this worth it?” and obsessively check your stats, shares, repines, and whatever other things you can obsess about. Even if you say you’re in it for personal growth, you wouldn’t be publishing it for the world to see if you didn’t want people to give you input on it or to share it with others. You too will succumb to analytics.
Money Spending money on a blog can be avoided by using services that are free, like Blogger. But what if you want to add your own photos? Got to get a camera. What if you want to own your content’s first distribution rights without any legal mumbo jumbo and put it all on your own server? Hello, hosting costs. And while you might say “But I can make money with my blog to offset these costs!” getting to that point can take time and then you’ll give yourself another thing to worry about. Oh, hi new taxes.
If you still want to start a blog after this, check back next week for my top tips when starting a blog.
If you still want to start a blog after this, check back next week for my top tips when starting a blog.
The Park Wife
January 8, 2013 at 3:35 am (137 days ago)Great list, I relate to all of them, why to and why not to. Maybe I have been around the blog world too long.
milexblog.blogspot.co.uk
January 11, 2013 at 2:46 am (134 days ago)you know I love it
Benlovesting
January 12, 2013 at 12:56 pm (133 days ago)Thank you so much for this! Is amazing!