Ever hear of an “aha” moment? When one thing falls into place that makes everything else make more sense? Or makes you realize new options?
This is kind of what starting a blog was like for me.
Before I started this blog, I was working long hours in an office all day, taking my work home (literally as well as emotionally), stressed out virtually every waking hour (and sleeping hour, for that matter), not getting enough exercise, overeating and overdrinking, and generally not living what I would consider my best life.
Worse, I didn’t feel like I could change this. I felt trapped in my job and my negative mindset. I had taken a very traditional educational and career path – finish school, go to college, go to law school, work your way up the legal professional ladder, etc. In my mind, I had made my decision and I was stuck with it. On top of this, even when I could muster up the thought that I had other options, I thought that I didn’t have enough money to make a change, or at the very least I didn’t have the courage, the right skills, the willpower, *insert other excuse here* to do so.
I trudged on like this for months and months, and each day I felt more trapped and overwhelmed. Honestly, I just felt sorry for myself all the time. Then one day I asked myself: Why am I living like this? I’m well-educated, employable, I have the best friends and family a person could as for – why am I choosing to remain in a situation that I’m not happy, or even content, with?
Shortly after that day (after being terrified and trying to talk myself out of it for a couple of weeks, or *ahem* months), I purchased my blog domain name and put in my notice at work. There were so many unknowns. I was NEVER an entrepreneur, I always worked for a boss who told me exactly what to do, I had no business-savviness whatsoever, every piece of technology I’d ever owned told me “nope” on a regular basis. I had no idea what I was doing… and it was one of the best choices I’ve ever made.
I soon realized I wasn’t a victim of my circumstances. In fact, I could literally do whatever I wanted! Since starting my blog, I feel so much more in control of my life – the blog has truly had a domino effect on my life and has led to so much personal development for me.
I want the same things for you.
Even if you aren’t interested in leaving your job, starting a blog can have such a positive impact on your life, which is why I’m sharing this list of 25 reasons why I think you should start a blog.
*If you don’t need more reasons – read no further, head here to start a blog through Bluehost, or head to my tutorial on how to start a blog here!*
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1. Share Your Gift With the World
There is only one you. Only you have your unique thoughts and ideas. What if you have an idea that would completely change someone’s life? And what if you ended up keeping it to yourself due to fear, apathy, or procrastination? That person would be missing out on what you have to offer. Don’t deprive someone of your gifts and talents!
2. Help and Inspire Others
On a related note, even if you don’t feel like you have some “big idea” that’ll totally change the world or someone’s life, you certainly have a skill or knowledge about something that someone else doesn’t have (and probably wants to learn!).
Before I started my blog, some of the thoughts that prevented me from starting were: “I have nothing to share,” “I’m not an expert in anything,” “Everybody knows XYZ.”
But guess what? “Everybody” doesn’t know XYZ, because “everybody” doesn’t have the identical background, knowledge, and thoughts as I do. Or as you do.
3. Meet People With the Same Interests
One thing blogging has opened me up to is a lot of people who are on the same life path as I am. Although I had read quite a few personal development books and blogs, I didn’t know that there were so many other people who were as passionate about “self-help” as I was! I now follow a community of people with similar interests who, even though I’ve never met them, feel like friends, and inspire me to be my best self.
If you’re trying to start a new career, master an area of expertise, or improve your life, it helps to surround yourself by other people who are doing the same, or have already successfully done what you’re trying to do! Starting a blog can connect you with other like-minded people.
4. Build a Community
Writing or sharing information online allows you to meet, influence, and connect with so many amazing people! Through blogging, you can establish relationships with individuals (from around the world) who you never would have met otherwise!
5. Networking
I don’t love this term, it makes me think of forced social events I was pressured to attend in law school to find law firm jobs. But I do think it’s true that life, as my dad would say, “is all about relationships.” The more people you meet and the more open you are, the more opportunities you will find and create. And I’ve found that within the blogging world in particular, you run into a lot of people who want to go out of their way to help you!
6. FREEDOM!
I’ve written blog posts on an airplane. With my blog and freelance writing, I can work from anywhere that has an internet connection.
If you make any money off of your blog, you are creating more freedom for yourself. This could be financial freedom (even if you blog income only covers one grocery bill), freedom to travel, freedom to create your own schedule, or the freedom in knowing that if you put in the time and effort you could leave your current job if you want to (even if you never end up doing it).
Even if you don’t make one cent off of your blog, knowing you have the ability to create something valuable from scratch is freeing in and of itself.
Head to my tutorial on how to start a blog here!
7. More Options
The world today is full of so many options thanks to technology. I never realized it before starting a blog. I also never realized how much I pigeon-holed myself with the whole “clock in, work, clock out, sleep, repeat” mentality.
After learning just a tiny bit about blogging I realized I could: Start any number of businesses selling products or services online; become a virtual assistant; make tens of thousands of dollars freelance writing; work on other companies websites; manage other companies’ social media profiles; and so many other income-producing options that never require me to set foot in a cubicle.
Starting a blog opened my mind to opportunities I had never considered before which has led to so much happiness in my life.
8. Creative Outlet
There is SO much room for creativity when it comes to blogging or creating your own website. The process of creating a blog itself presents unlimited opportunities to express your creativity.
One thing I love about blogging is creating images for my Pinterest account. It’s something I can do for hours on end without even moving. When I’m creating pins, I’m tapping into my artistic side that I don’t use as much as I’d like to and I always feel invigorated once I see the completed product! Learn more about how to create pins on Pinterest through my tutorial here.
9. Improve Your Writing
Starting a blog is a great way to practice writing! I’ve always enjoyed writing, but for many years the writing I did was professional or legal writing. Starting a blog has brought me back to writing more creatively and allows me to continually improve my written communication.
Also, if you get really good at it, other people and companies will pay you a lot of money to write for them! I know a lot of bloggers who earn multiple six figures a year through freelance writing alone. Holly Johnson, the creator of the course Earn More Writing is one of these people, and she offers this course to teach other writers how to pitch and secure high-paying clients to write for.
10. Learn Every Day
The more you write about something, or talk about it, the more you learn. Whether you’re researching for a blog post or watching a webinar, blogging opens you up to a bunch of different learning opportunities.
11. Discover Your Passion
It seems backwards, because a lot of people think that you need to be over-the-moon passionate about something to create a blog or business based off of it. I used to think this was the case, which is why it took me YEARS before I actually started blogging.
I’ve always been one of those “I just wish I knew what I wanted to do” kind of people. I wasn’t a kid who decided to become a lawyer or doctor at age 10 and just stuck with it.
The best advice I got was that you simply need to write about something that you’re interested in and willing to learn more about. That’s it! I think through starting a blog and writing about different topics you’ll quickly discover what you’re truly passionate about.
12. Put Yourself Out There
I wanted to start my blog for years before I actually did. The main reason I never took the leap is because I was afraid of putting myself out there. I would always talk myself out of it. My biggest fears were:
- Failing publicly
- Criticism from friends and family
- Getting made fun of
- People judging me
- Mean comments on the internet
- Putting my truest self out there for all to see
And guess what? ALL OF THESE FEARS CAME TRUE. People made fun of me, I’ve failed many times (and continue to fail), I’ve received many judgmental remarks (even from friends and family), I’ve gotten mean comments on social media (on Pinterest of all places! Come on…).
Guess what else? It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, I didn’t really care much when I got mean or unsupportive comments, because I knew I had made the right choices for myself. I don’t give up when I fail because failure is just showing me that my first attempts missed the mark and I have to keep trying until something works.
Literally the worst thing that can happen to you by putting yourself out there is that you feel a negative emotion. That’s it! And trust me, the fear of having the negative emotion is far worse than actually experiencing it.
Head to my tutorial on how to start a blog here!
13. Learn How to Fail
“But I already know how to fail” you might think. Well, then you’ll get better at it. And you’ll learn how to fail and persevere. Because trial and error has been the story of my life since I started this blog, and I’m only just now beginning to see the light, to learn how to build a following, to learn how and what to sell.
The only thing that matters is that you don’t give up. You will succeed if you keep trying, the only way to fail is to quite altogether.
14. Master Mental Toughness
Hey, I didn’t say I’d perfected everything on this list. This one is huge though. When you’re trying to build something from scratch it takes a lot out of you. It takes a ton of time and effort and willingness to learn.
And if you identify as a perfectionist, self-critical, a procrastinator or a doubter, it’s going to be an uphill battle like it has been for me!
There are days where it seems like nothing is going right and I will never succeed, and there are days when I feel like I’m on top of the world and there’s no way I can’t succeed!
Starting a blog will teach you how to be more disciplined, organized, and structured, and it will also show you how to overcome fear, obstacles, and self-doubt. In my opinion, totally worth it.
15. Build Confidence
“Confidence isn’t walking in a room and thinking ‘they will like me,’ it’s walking in a room and being ok if they don’t.”
Whether it’s through positive feedback from your readers or customers, or simply through believing in yourself and having your own back, you will build confidence in yourself and your abilities.
16. Learn How to Ignore the Naysayers
Things I heard when I quit my job to start a blog:
“But you’re so responsible, this is really irresponsible!”
“You can’t make money off of that.”
“It’s great until the money runs out!”
“You can only succeed at that if you get really lucky.”
“It’s just such a saturated market.”
“It’s really hard to build a following.”
First of all, none of these things are true. They are all the opinions of other people who view life through their own lenses. This has been my truth:
- It’s not irresponsible to pursue a new career or a dream you have. You owe it to yourself to pursue your dream and you owe it to society to share your unique gifts with the world.
- You can make money online, I have and I knew nothing about how to do it 6 months ago. If you run out of money, you can pick up other work (I know this from experience).
- You don’t have to be lucky to succeed, you just have to put in the work. You just keep trying until something resonates with your audience.
- No market is too saturated for you. Even if you’re selling the same thing or saying the same thing as a thousand other people, your unique voice and personality will resonate with someone.
- It takes time and effort to build a following, but if you work at it your followers will grow (even if it’s slow).
Other people will always have an opinion on what you should and shouldn’t do. And people are very vocal when you’re doing something that makes them feel uncomfortable. But it’s your life. You need to trust yourself and ignore unsupportive comments.
17. Master Technology
I use the term “master” very loosely. I mean you’ll get better at using technology. I’ve never been a big fan of computers or the latest technology because I’ve never felt confident in my abilities to use them.
It’s overwhelming to try something new. It’s overwhelming to start a website. But if you’re committed and willing to be frustrated at times, you will learn how to do it.
I have a step-by-step tutorial on how to start a blog. I also took a course to learn everything I needed to know to launch a well-designed blog called Launch Your Blog Biz by Create and Go. I also use Google all the time when I’m stuck and I’ve found the answers I’ve needed 100% of the time so far
18. Improve Your Time Management Skills
Whether you quit your job and go all-in on your online business, or you’re blogging or working on a website on the side, having your own project forces you to manage your time wisely.
19. Build Something From Scratch
Every time I go to my blog’s homepage I think “wow, I built this from nothing.” It’s such a cool accomplishment to have this tangible thing to show for all of your hard work. Regardless of the money aspect, having a blog or website is physical proof that you can do hard things and create something that is totally your own.
20. Make More Money
There are many different ways to make money from your blog. It can be used as an online resume or portfolio to help you find other work. You can sell other people products through ads or affiliate marketing. You can sell your own physical products or digital products. There are tons of options when it comes to making money online and starting a blog creates thousands of opportunities to do so.
21. Quit Your 9-5
This was one of the most enticing reasons to me for starting a blog. I didn’t want to spend the rest of my career sitting in an office. There’s nothing wrong with it whatsoever, it just wasn’t for me. I love that I have the ability to travel whenever and wherever I want without getting the ok from someone else.
22. Travel More
If you’re into traveling, blogging can help you do it more. You could build a blogging business up to the point where you can leave your day job and travel full time. Even if you never left your job, having a blog as a side hustle can bring in the extra cash you need to go on more vacations!
23. Improve Other Areas of Your Life
It’s weird, but successfully launching my blog made me feel like I could also succeed in other areas of life – losing weight, drinking less, improving my relationships, etc. I think it was due to believing in, and relying on, myself more. Being in control of my life rather than playing the victim and letting other people dictate what I did.
24. Inspire Other People to Do All of the Things on This List
The main reason for writing this article is that I want my readers to feel the way that I do now. I know what it’s like to feel trapped, to feel stuck in circumstances you don’t think you can change, to live for 5:00 and the weekends, to feel like there’s something missing. Starting a blog was the catalyst for so much positive change in my life, and if I can help anyone else have the same experience through reading this article, I’ll consider it a success.
25. Live Your Life to the Fullest
When you’re totally lit up about your job and your life, there’s nothing you can’t do. Starting a blog showed me that there is so much more that is possible than I ever believed before. It taught me that my opportunities in life are truly limitless, and I can’t think of a better way to live my life.
Head to my tutorial on how to start a blog here!