While blogging has been around for quite a while, it’s still a popular way of sharing information. One thing is for certain: blogging is not dead, and there are many reasons to start a blog.

I began my own blogging journey in 2012, and have since published more than 1,000 articles on my site on the topics of books and travel. I was in your shoes once, and searched should I start blogging? on Google more times than I’d like to admit.

If you’re wondering why you should start a blog, look no further; this article will introduce you to all the reasons to start a website today, as well as how to actually build one for yourself — including steps.

What is Blogging?

If you’re considering starting a blog then it’s important that you at least know a little bit more about what blogging actually is.

A blog is essentially a website run by an individual (or a small group of people) that they post on consistently. The blog will most likely have a focus of some sort, or a niche, which can be on any topic that they are interested in.

On a blog, a blogger will post articles, share photos, and sometimes videos on anything related to their site’s topic.

Compared to standard websites, blogs allow for a lot more connection with their audience through comments, emails, and connected social media platforms.

Blogs typically have personal stories and experiences added to the informative articles, and posts are published a lot more frequently.

While blogs can be time-consuming to create, they can be incredibly rewarding if the topic is something you’re passionate about.

There can also be a generous payout, and it’s not uncommon to earn six figures after a year of work. But you have to be consistent and very motivated to get to the point where you start to make money off your hard work.

10 Reasons To Start a Blog

There are many reasons to start a blog, from sharing your story to generating some extra (or full-time) income. Here are ten of the top reasons to start a blog today.

1. Share Your Story

One of the benefits of blogging is having a platform to share your story. This was one of the very reasons that blogging became so popular in the first place — it allows people to feel like their voice is heard.

Blogging started as a means of online journaling, especially with the popularity of a platform like LiveJournal. Now, it’s turned into more of a creative outlet of sorts where anyone can turn to the internet and write their hearts out.

As a creative outlet, you can use your blog to talk about what inspires you, what you love most, what you’re knowledgeable about and about your hobbies and passions.

Because you will be your own boss, there are genuinely no limits at all when it comes to coming up with what to write about on your blog.

No matter what topic you choose, there will be people out there interested in what you have to say. That is one of the many beautiful things about blogging.

2. Do Something You’re Passionate About

Whether you’re passionate about writing or not, you’ve obviously started reading this post for a reason. There must be something that you want to blog about online that you are incredibly interested in.

For example, I started my blog when I was just 14 because I loved reading so much. No matter where I was, I always had a few books within arms reach because I was so addicted to reading!

So, I started a blog about it to share the books that I was reading with others.

I found that there weren’t many people in my life who loved reading as much as me, so I turned to the internet so that I could at least share my passion somewhere.

One of the top reasons to start a blog is to share a common interest with the world. So, consider what makes you happy, and make your blog focus on that specific topic.

The more passionate you are about what you’re writing about, the better your articles are going to be!

Plus, people are more likely to continue reading your blog and stay up to date with what you are posting if they can sense your enthusiasm with every word you write. 

3. Make Money

Turning your passion into profit is one of the best things about blogging. 

While this shouldn’t be the main reason that you start blogging, it’s definitely a huge advantage of becoming an entrepreneur and creating your own website/business!  

Keep in mind that it can truly take a few years to start to gain a following and rank well enough in Google to start getting enough visitors, which is when you’ll start making money, and you’ll be able to monetize your blog.

It’s not easy to just become an overnight sensation with blogging — it’s hard work, but if you have the heart, mindset and passion, you can make it your reality.

Most bloggers start their websites as a side hobby and make some extra income from it until it becomes popular enough for them to turn it into their full-time position.

While you should blog about something that you are passionate about, if you genuinely want to generate an income blogging, then be sure to consider some of the more profitable niches — finance, health, fashion, travel, and tech.

The blogosphere is saturated, so be sure to think about what makes you different and why people should visit your blog instead of another. This is how you can start to set yourself apart for success.

4. Learn New Skills

Why start a blog? Well, you can begin to gain new skills that you never had before. Many people who are new to blogging don’t realize that there are many sides to blogging, so you’ll most likely have to gain some new skills in the process.

One of the top new skills you’ll most likely gain while blogging is website design.

Even if you use a free template for the web design platform that you choose, you will most likely want to make changes using basic CSS or a drag-and-drop builder like Elementor to make it look exactly how you envisioned it.

Bloggers also have to stay on top of their social media marketing, which might be something you’ve not done before. You’ll have to learn how to post consistently, how to write intriguing captions, and how to engage with others to grow your audience and make connections.

Email marketing is also essential with a blog, even when you are just starting out. Having an email list means that you can get more eyes on your post, and will gain a more loyal readership.

You can learn more about it by checking out platforms like Mailchimp, ConvertKit, Mailerlite, or Flodesk.

5. Do Something Enjoyable

At the core, the very best reason to start a blog is to have fun. Being your own boss and running a website is a creative adventure.

Truthfully, blogging can start to feel like a game sometimes, which is part of the fun. Who doesn’t love a little competition?

Once you start learning about SEO, finding keywords and ranking well can become a bit of a game that you play against yourself. The same goes for sticking to a blogging schedule, growing your follower base, and more.

Of course, this also connects back to reason number two. You aren’t going to have fun if you aren’t blogging about something you’re interested in, so make sure you choose a topic focused on something you love most.

6. Meet New People

One of the best reasons to start a blog is to connect with other people who have the same passions as you. It’s one reason I started blogging; I wanted to connect with other people who liked reading as much as I did.

By blogging about something you love and utilizing social media marketing for your website, you’ll start connecting with others who have the same interests as you.

This can spark new conversations, and you may even begin to make some blogging friends who you have lots in common with. 

Networking also goes hand in hand with meeting other people.

By networking and finding others in your niche, you might even be offered fun opportunities that will help you to grow your brand — conferences, press trips, retreats, etc. 

One of the best places to find other people to connect with, especially when you are just starting out are Facebook groups.

There are more basic blogging groups that are for people in all industries, but you can also find niche blogging groups depending on what you blog about.

7. Build a Portfolio

If you have dreams of becoming a freelance writer, then easily one of the best reasons to start a blog for you is to build your portfolio.

You can leverage this portfolio to gain paid writing opportunities in the future, whether you have experience as a freelance writer or not.

My blog has gotten me tons of freelance writing gigs, especially recently. Having more than one thousand published articles on my blog has helped to show others that I’m passionate about this line of work and that I am a good writer.

A portfolio of work can also help to attract clients or customers, even if you don’t want to become a freelance writer. 

For example, maybe you blog about social media marketing and have your own social media manager business. Consistently blogging about your line of work helps to portray you as an expert in your field, which makes others more likely to want to hire you and trust you with your services.

Your blog can also go on your resume, which can be helpful if the topic that your blog focuses on has to do with the industry you have a full-time job in or are seeking a career.

8. Help and Inspire Others

If you love helping others, then this is for you. By blogging, you can help and inspire others, which is one of the most rewarding aspects of having a blog!

Even if you don’t have a big following, you can make a little bit of a difference.

Whether you aim to inspire others to get out and travel, get fit, or cook your favourite recipe, it can change someone’s life in ways you might not have even thought possible.

As you start to gain more of a following, your readers might feel so inspired by you that they’ll reach out to you on social media or send you an email to let you know that you changed their life.

This is one of the most rewarding and incredible aspects of blogging.

9. Become a Stronger Writer

Like most other things in life, the more you write, the better you get at it. Whether this means becoming better at structuring an article or using a broader vocabulary in your writing, you will grow your skills as a writer by blogging.

One of the best ways to do this is to come up with a consistent blogging schedule.

When you’re first starting out, don’t tell yourself that you have to post multiple times every week. Instead, post consistently once a week until you feel that you can handle writing a lot more posts.

Having a blog means that all of your posts will forever be online, so it’s easy to track the progress of your writing skills. Even I can see a difference in my posts from 2012 compared to my posts now, and it makes me feel like I have come a long way.

As a new blogger, keep in mind that not everything you post has to be the absolute best. You will make mistakes, both grammatical and factual, and that’s okay. You can only go up from here!

10. Gain Confidence

When you start blogging, you will increase your confidence tenfold. This applies to both the topic that you decide to write about and your writing skills, and it can even translate into your confidence in life.

As time goes on, you’ll find that you are more open to having others read what you have to say. When I first started my blog, for example, I was scared to tell many people outside of my direct family that I was blogging because I was nervous about what they would think. It’s the complete opposite now.

You may also find that it becomes even more comfortable and more fun talking about the topic you write about. You’ll more seamlessly be able to speak about it, which could translate into you speaking at fun events or even hosting your own online webinars to get more people interested in your website.

If you decide to monetize your blog, you’ll start to gain confidence knowing that you don’t necessarily need a full-time job to make a living.

This could give you more time to focus on your hobbies and passions in life, and it’s great if this goes hand in hand with what your blog topic is.

How to Start a Blog

Now that you know the reasons to start a blog, it’s time that you learn how to start one. It is actually a lot simpler than you may have initially thought. 

Here I’ll list what makes a good website, and the steps to take to finally start the blog that you’ve been dreaming about.

1. Decide on the Purpose of Your Blog

First of all, decide what you are going to blog about. The fun part is that you can blog about absolutely anything.

Here are some great questions to get you started on finding your niche:

• What makes me happiest in life?
• What are some of my hobbies?
• What am I most passionate about?
• What could I write tons of articles about and never get bored of?
• Why do I want to start a blog?

Once you have your topic figured out, it becomes a lot easier to do the next steps. Don’t worry if it takes you a while to come up with a topic, and don’t think that your topic has to be what you blog about forever. Your blog can be fluid.

2. Come Up with a Name and Purchase Your Domain

Next comes the most challenging part, in my personal opinion: coming up with your blog name. Check out our post: how to choose a blog name.

This is difficult because you want your blog name to be related to what you post about, but you also want it to be different enough that it’s not like other blogs out there.

The easiest way to do this is to sit down and write out all possible names that come to mind. You may also want to ask friends and family if they have any ideas because this could help generate more blog names.

After you come up with an official name, claim your handles on social media and also purchase your domain from a site like Bluehost (the domain name is free if you host with Bluehost). 

3. Choose Your Blogging Platform and Host If Applicable

Now comes the part where you have to decide where to host your blog.

This usually only applies if you choose to host on WordPress, which is the top-rated blogging platform out there because of its numerous plugins, design options, and SEO capabilities.

Some potential places to consider hosting your site include Bluehost or SiteGround. 

There are many different hosting sites out there, so make sure you do your research and pick the one that fits your budget the most. Goats On The Road readers receive a significant discount off hosting using this link — plus, our free video course, VIP Facebook group access, ebook and more.

Be sure to read reviews for the hosting options that you are looking at. You don’t want to go with a host that’s cheap only to find out that 99% of the time, your blog is offline.

4. Design Your Site

This is the fun part: it’s time to start designing your website!

Before you start, come up with your brand identity by creating your logo, choosing your type suite, and picking your colour palette. This is essential to creating a brand for your business.

Next, search through the thousands of templates that are out there. Many of them are completely free, especially if you choose to use WordPress, while others are paid. Choose what works for your budget.

Most often, people who are new to blogging prefer to choose a free theme at first and then eventually switch to a paid theme once they become a bit more serious about blogging. 

5. Publish Your First Post

After getting your website all set up and picking your theme, all that’s left to do is write. This is why you started your website, so just start to write your heart out and see where it takes you.

When writing your post, make sure to organize it in a way that makes sense. For example, it probably doesn’t make sense to go over how to make a recipe before listing the ingredients. See also: how to write a blog post

Once your post is all set, it’s finally ready to hit that big fat publish button. Don’t overthink it too much, just hit “post”.

If you want to make sure you rank well on Google, this is the part of the process where you may want to start learning about SEO. It can take up to six months to start ranking in search engines, especially when you’re new.

Why Start a Blog: FAQs

Conclusion

Now you know all the top reasons to start a blog and the steps to creating your first blog on your own.

At the end of the day, as long as you are passionate and knowledgeable about what you are writing about, and you post consistently, then you will feel successful with your blog — and most importantly, it won’t feel like work.

I hope this post has inspired you to finally take the leap and begin blogging! Best of luck on this amazing journey.

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