8 reasons you should be blogging
There are many benefits to starting a blog, or contributing to a pre-existing one. Other than the fact it can be an enjoyable experience you can gain a lot simply by sharing your thoughts online. Here’s a quick list of 8 reasons you should be blogging
Learn something new about your industry.
By taking the time to sit down regularly and write about a certain aspect of your industry you are bound to begin to learn new things. In taking the time to research you posts you’ll be opened to a whole world of other people’s thoughts.
Learn something new about yourself
I’m a firm believer that by having to actually think through what you think you know, you learn a lot more about what you actually think. By putting words down on a page you are forced to spend time examining what you believe, learning a lot about yourself in the process
Learn from being criticised
If there’s one thing that’s true of the Internet is that if you put somrthing online, someone, somewhere will disagree with it. And this is a good thing. Blogging allows you to share your ideas with the world, but it also allows the world to reply with what it thinks. It may be that your new idea stinks, or that it’s a completely new way of looking at things. But without sharing it with other people it’s difficult to know.
Demonstrate thought leadership – don’t just be a sheep
Everyone has at some point read something or heard someone say something that they disagree with, or seen something that they think they can do better. But very few people actually take the time to put their thoughts down on paper and put it out there for all to see. If you don’t want to be just another sheep it’s time to be bold, and for you speak up with your own thoughts and ideas. And all it takes is a blog.
Be part of the community
Similarly, by sharing your ideas online you become part of the community instead of one of the countless spectators. Blogging gives you a voice online, it allows you to interact with your peers from all over the world and engage with new and interesting people, all the while adding value to your network
Be transparent and authentic
Whilst blogging gives you the opportunity to belong, it can also help you stand out. What better way to demonstrate your transparency and authenticity and differentiate yourself than by sharing your thoughts or position on a certain topic, or by giving readers greater insight into your opinion.
Use your free time constructively.
Sure there are times when you want to watch your favourite TV show, or go out with friends, but there are also those days where you realise you have done nothing at all, and feel like you have wasted your free time. Why not use this time to learn something new and share it with your peers?
Create a movement
Do you have an idea that you think will change things for the better? Do you think that things should be done differently? The Internet has dramatically changed the way we share ideas. Blogging connects us to people who share similar thoughts and beliefs as us from all over the world, a platform that would be almost impossible in the offline world. Blogging is the best solution to find people who are like you and getting your movement off the ground.
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Thanks a whole lot for your lucid and excellent advice. I set up my original website two years ago and am converting it into a baking blog just for the reasons you expressed.
Great observations…although I think i counted 8 reasons.
Absolutely right, there are 8 reasons!
Those first three reasons are really good points for me – I moved to a new job in a new country 10 months ago, and had to start a new blog (I left my old ones behind with my replacement, as they were professional blogs written specifically for an audience that I no longer work with so closely).
And the process of forcing myself to write a new blog post every day for the last 10 months has forced me into a continual learning process – finding something to write about that’s audience relevant, that is readable, and that I can add some value to. Yup, it’s hard, and it’s awkward sometimes. But it’s a great learning experience that I’m getting a lot from – it’s certainly pushed me into learning more about my new job, new marketplace and new country.
However, whenever I talk to colleagues about the process of blogging, I’ve always forgotten Mike’s first three reasons. So I’m off to update my presentation…