Should You Start a Personal Blog?

Should You Start a Personal Blog?
(Photo : Sincerely Media via Unsplash)

Did you know there are over 600 million blogs on the internet today? In fact, according to blogging statistics, over 7 million blog posts are created every single day.  In light of these staggering numbers, you might be wondering, what's the appeal of blogging? That's a fair question.  In truth, there are many great reasons to start a personal blog. 

Reasons for Blogging

For businesses, blogging is a tactic to drum up awareness for a brand, boost traffic, and ultimately increase sales.  But what about a personal blog? Perhaps you have strong opinions you want to share. A personal blog is a perfect platform to express your ideas to others. 

Or, maybe you want to keep track of your personal journey as you strive to improve yourself. A blog is a great way to record your progress and reflect upon how much you've grown over time. Here are a few more reasons why you should consider starting a personal blog (and a few reasons why you shouldn't).

Easy Startup

Thanks to user-friendly content management systems such as WordPress, starting a personal blog is easier to do today than ever before.  Furthermore, the startup cost for a blog can cost next to nothing.  With the help of a fast WordPress hosting service combined with your desire to share your views with the world, starting your blog can be a cinch.

Meet New People

The world is increasingly becoming more virtual.  From online dating to Zoom work meetings, work and recreation activities are being conducted over the internet. Starting a personal blog is an extension of living in today's virtual world.  Consequently, you may find it easier to connect with people and make new friends through your blog.  For instance, you might live in New York, and discover a fan of your blog contacted you from London.  In short, starting a personal blog is a powerful way to make new connections and contacts.

Find the Perfect Job

In the same way a personal blog can help you meet new friends, it might also help you land your dream job.  Look at Julie Powell, who started a blog about her love for cooking and Julia Child.  After posting about her cooking adventures every day, her blog became a smashing success.  So much so, Julie went on to get a book deal, and her story was even made into a movie, Julie & Julia starring Amy Adams and Meryl Streep as Julia Child.  While this is an extraordinary example, you never know if your personal blog might turn into an incredible job opportunity.

A Potential Side Hustle

Depending upon how much traffic your personal blog gets, you might be able to earn money from it. After you've been blogging for a while, and have a healthy amount of posts published, you can look into ways to monetize your blog.  For example, you can start putting Google ads (known as AdSense) on your posts. You make money every time a visitor clicks on one of these ads.  The payout per click is usually pennies, but with enough traffic clicking on the advertisements - those pennies could add up to a significant side income.

What's the Catch?

After reading all these reasons to start a personal blog, you might be thinking, "This is great! But what's the catch?"  That's a smart question because blogging isn't all rainbows and unicorns.  While starting a blog might be relatively simple, maintaining it takes discipline and motivation.  If you don't think you can stick to adding regular, consistent content to your blog, it's probably not going to lead to better opportunities.

Furthermore, blogging takes patience if you want to see it turn into something profitable.  Making money with a blog either through affiliate sales or advertisements does not happen overnight.  Furthermore, landing a job through your blog might not happen quickly either.  Therefore, if you're looking for immediate benefits such as a book deal or mega-millions from your blog, that's simply not realistic.

The Last Word on Starting a Personal Blog

Creating a personal blog can be hugely cathartic and rewarding. It can be a wonderful way to monitor your progress in life, meet new people, express your creativity and share your ideas with the world.  It might even grow into something that could make you money.  Just remember to enjoy the journey if you choose to start a personal blog.  Doing so will lead to a more enriching, satisfying experience as you express yourself with your blog.

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