I often receive messages from students wanting to start a blog but they feel that it’s too mammoth a task to start. I feel ya.
Blogging does take a lot of time and persistence, but that commitment and dedication to blogging always pays off. The sooner you start, the sooner your blog can progress and be what it is you want it to be.
I always recommend blogging to students as it’s a great platform to show your interests, hobbies and skills to prospective employers. If you have something like a website that you can direct employers to, it will make their job a lot easier of understanding who you are as a person and seeing how dedicated you really are to your interests.
So here are five reasons why you should start a blog!
Related post: My Blogging Story
1. Why not?
What’s holding you back from starting a blog? Is it the fear of putting yourself out there? The fear of what other people will say about you?
While we’re on the topic of fearing what other people will say about you, yes, those people from your small town will probably snigger and send some screenshots into a Whatsapp group, but let them. You’ll be the talk of the group for all of five minutes and then the next time they take screenshots will be when you’re posting about how you made six figures from blogging.
Honestly, you will thank yourself later when you stop fearing what other people think or say about you. I didn’t tell anyone about my blog for over a year, and I really wish I had stopped worrying so much!
Related post: Five Ways to Overcome the ‘Embarrassment’ of Putting Yourself Out There
2. It’s your online CV
If you’re afraid to put some thoughts out into the world, why not make a website of your CV? It will showcase your web design skills if nothing else, right?
Building a website and a blog helps get your personal brand out there. I had no idea what a personal brand was until I realised I had one. Unintentionally, by sharing your thoughts, contributing to online conversations and having people read your work will create a personal brand for you.
You could even write about your work experiences, give advice to other students embarking on work experiences or even how to land a position. Let employers see how immersed you are in your industry and how interested you are by blogging about the sector you want to work in or even the company you want to work for.
Related post: Is Blogging Worth the Time Invested?
3. A great way to network
Having a blog, especially in your industry niche or the subject that you are studying at university, opens you up to networking and making professional connections.
On social media platforms such as Twitter and LinkedIn, where you would promote your blog posts, you can get involved in conversations with other people in your profession and direct them to your blog posts.
Having a blog allows you to build a community around your work as more than likely, people in that same industry will comment or give feedback on what they think about different topics.
Having a blog is a great way to showcase your work and could create opportunities where leaders in business come looking for you.
4. Gain new and improve current skills
Owning a blog adds so much to your CV. Things you wouldn’t even think of. You know how to run a website, design a website, maintain a website and create content.
You understand SEO, Google Analytics, use of keywords, social media promotion, social media management and maybe even some coding.
If you haven’t or aren’t undertaking a course in computer science, this will add great new skills to your CV and make you more prepared for a digital world.
Sales and commerce seems to be going the way of the online world, and if you have knowledge in running websites, selling online and creating copy for websites, you’ll be a very strong candidate when looking for a job in the future.
Related post: Is it Time to Give Up Blogging?
5. It can create a lot of opportunities
Aka you can make a hella lotta money. Not that I’m speaking from experience, but I’ve read about other bloggers who do cash in on their niche and are full-time bloggers.
So many opportunities can come from just having a blog where brands want to work with you, companies want you to write guest posts for them, people want to appear on your blog or even people want you to go and speak to them about having a blog.
You never know what could be in store for your own blog until you start it. The more niche you make your blog, the better the opportunities. Everyone can make a fashion or beauty blog but if your fashion blog focuses on sustainable clothing, or you focus only on skincare products for acne, these are two very niche areas which could gain success.
You won’t know if you don’t start and I would always recommend starting today rather than tomorrow. You’ll thank yourself in the future.
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