Should I Start A Blog in 2022?
I remember my first blog. My first real blog, that is – my Xanga and LiveJournal sites didn’t count, as much as I loved them. Now, 17 years later, what started as a college hobby has turned into part of a multi-million dollar industry. If you’re new to the whole “blogging” thing, you may feel like it’s too late. Rest assured: if you are wanting to start a blog in 2022, let this be your sign to do so.
Blogging is more than just putting a pen to digital paper. It’s a way to improve your confidence, showcase your knowledge, and cement yourself as a thought leader in the online space. When you start a blog, you allow yourself a creative outlet to let your ideas out into the world. I visit blogs to learn and become inspired – you never know who’s going to visit your blog and get the ‘spark’ they need to succeed.
Why Should I Start A Blog?
We’ve gone over a few of these above, but if you’re wondering why you should bother to start a blog, here are a few reasons people start a blog:
Build A (Personal) Brand
A personal brand is one of the most valuable things you can build online. Establishing yourself an an expert opens the doors for jobs and freelance work, sponsorships, and networking opportunities in the business world. Find a niche, write in-depth articles, and continually showcase your knowledge. As you do this, your audience will recognize your expertise and trust you with their time (and money).
Supplement Other Social Media
Blogging may not be as flashy as a Tiktok or Instagram profile, but don’t underestimate the long-tail, SEO benefits. Google and YouTube (also Google) are the number one search engines for a reason. Blog content is so much more long-lasting than the ephemeral short-form video content. My cornerstone content – the content that brings in the majority of my traffic – still gets several hits a day. By providing consistent content updates, you ensure that the foundation of your knowledge-base continues to grow. This happens even as old posts continually bring in potential audiences.
Building A Side Hustle / Career
There are several things you can do to “monetize” a blog: creating a product to sell, adding Google ads, affiliate sales, creating a course… the possibilities are endless! Once you’ve established yourself as a thought-leader, people will look to you for your recommendations and expertise. By creating a product (or selling a similar affiliate product), you can help your audience solve their problems AND make a little money in the process!
What Do I Need To Know Before I Start A Blog?
Here are a few things you should consider before you take the plunge into blogging:
It’s Not Easy
For a lot of bloggers, it may look like they wake up in the morning, write a thousand words, and then call it a day. This could be further from the truth. Writing a blog post that inspires and educates takes practice. It takes constant, consistent writing to develop your skills. Those skills are constantly challenged with new ideas and ways of thinking as blogging evolves.
Beyond writing, a blogger needs to have a variety of skills to be successful. You have to know a bit of HTML to get content to look exactly like you want it. You need to know basic SEO principles to properly categorize and set up your post. You should be active on social media to share and discuss your posts. Writing is only a small part of a much larger set of skills you need.
Know Your Audience
While it may be tempting to just start writing, you should consider who you want your audience to be. Writing the wrong topics will bring in the wrong audience. Try to stick with a single topic, or topics that relate to each other. This ensures that the right people are attracted to your content – and that they’ll come back later for more!
Know Your Why
Having a goal means you have a clear endpoint in mind for the things you want to accomplish. If you don’t know where you’re going, then how do you know you’re heading in the right direction? Pick a few KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to measure. It may be tempting to count traffic and pageviews, but don’t forget to challenge yourself as well. Set a habit for consistency or writing time as a metric to ensure you’re continually growing as a writer.
Wrapping It Up
It’s never to late to try something new, and starting a blog is no exception. If you’ve seen this post, and have been inspired to start your own blog, then let me know! Shoot me a message on Twitter or LinkedIn. And congrats on taking the first steps to become a blogger!