Why you (yes, you) should start a blog
Writing a blog opens new doors to people and opportunities we’ve never considered.
Imagine losing your job but having a social network of people familiar with your work and ready to help you find a new one. Imagine if your next boss didn’t have to read your résumé because he already reads your blog.
Imagine turning a side project or a hobby into your profession because you had a following that could support you. Or imagine something simpler and just as satisfying: spending the majority of your time, energy, and attention practicing a craft, learning a trade, or running a business, while also allowing for the possibility that your work might attract a group of people who share your interests. All you have to do is show your work by writing a blog.
You don’t need to escape the matrix or calculate the answer of life, universe, and everything to come up with an idea or story for your blog. Writing a simple blog isn’t rocket science, which is a good thing for me (and probably you).
There’s no bouncer, no gatekeeper, and no barrier to entering these scenes: You don’t have to be rich, you don’t have to be famous, and you don’t have to have a fancy résumé or a degree from an expensive school. Online, everyone can contribute something.
We all have tremendous potential, and we all are blessed with gifts.
Take advantage of all the cheap, easy tools at your disposal — these days, most of us carry a fully functional multimedia studio around in our smartphones. Simply put, anyone can publish, and anyone can receive content.
4 REASONS TO START A BLOG
1. Knowledge sharing is always good.
The beautiful part about Medium is that it is a hive mind. It is a legit hive mind. Knowledge sharing is always good. You know, if I have knowledge on Medium, and I share it with you, now we both have it.
The minute you learn something, turn around and teach it to others. Share your reading list. Point to helpful reference materials. Create some tutorials and post them online. Use pictures, words, and video. Take people step-by-step through part of your process.
As blogger Kathy Sierra says, “Make people better at something they want to be better at.” Teaching people doesn’t subtract value from what you do, actually it adds to it. When you teach someone how to do your work, you are, in effect, generating more interest in your work. People feel closer to your work because you’re letting them in on what you know.
“Give what you have. To someone, it may be better than you dare to think.”
2. Document your journey and thoughts
The average person thinks 2,000–3,000 thoughts per hour. Don’t kill countless ideas and splendid plans just write them down.
We have a never-ending flow of ideas, tips, quotes, suggestions, and advice being continually pumped at us. We are swimming in a sea of infinite information. We paddle like crazy just to keep our nose above water and it can be exhausting, right?
We read an article and then we move on to the next. We finish a book and then start the next. There lies the problem.
Reading and writing cannot be separated. Reading is breathing in; writing is breathing out.
We are always reading a lot, seemingly, learning a lot but never really stopping long enough to digest, contemplate, act, review, and improve on anything we’ve just learned.
If you read a lot then certainly you can write a lot. The reading feeds the writing.
One little blog post is nothing on its own, but publish a thousand blog posts over a decade, and it turns into your life’s work.
3. Make your successes known
It sounds a little extreme, but in this day and age, if your work isn’t online, it doesn’t exist. We all have the opportunity to use our voices and to have our say, but so many of us are wasting it. If you want people to know about what you do and the things you care about, you have to share.
No one likes a person who gloats about everything they’ve done, but at the same time, you won’t advance if people don’t know about your successes. You need to publicize your accomplishments. It’s a delicate balancing game: too much confidence and you appear arrogant; too little confidence and you appear insecure. You need to find the “sweet spot” — the point where you are assertive with your own opinions, and are bold enough to take some risks, but you also listen and respect others.
Carving out a space for yourself online, somewhere where you can express yourself and share your work, is one of the best possible investments you can make with your time.
A blog is even better than a résumé or a portfolio. A consistently delivered blog is proof of both dedication to and passion for the industry. Also, if done properly, the blog very quickly shows your area of expertise.
4. Building friendships and community
You don’t have to live anywhere other than the place you are to start connecting with the world you want to be in. If you feel stuck somewhere, if you’re too young or too old or too broke, or if you’re somehow tied down to a place, take heart. There’s a community of people out there you can connect with.
Just find your voice, put yourself out there, and keep writing until the people who are looking for you find you. That’s what I’ve decided to do.
There’s only one reason I’m here: I’m here to make friends.
Would love to hear your opinion on this post, please share them in the comments. Your feedback will make me a better writer and in return provide better content. I welcome any feedback.
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Conclusion
We must make choices that align with our values and needs.
Make your decision, start writing, and watch your life move forward.
The sooner you start believing in yourself, the sooner you’ll start seeing results.
For what it’s worth, it’s never too late or, in my case, too early to start writing.
I hope you write things that you’ll be proud of.
