If you ask yourself the question, "should i start a blog?then you need to consider these 10 reasons why (and a few reasons why not) before you make the decision to start blogging. Let's dive.
If you think Create a blog…but you're not sure if this is the right path for you, it's only natural to ask, should I create a blog?
Maybe you have lofty goals, like building a million-dollar business or launching a career as a New York Times best-selling author…
Or maybe your ambitions are a bit more modest. Maybe you just want a lifestyle that gives you the freedom to travel the world, work from home, or even a small blog that provides side income to pay off your mortgage faster, alongside your business. full time.
In addition to the financial incentive to Create a blog, you may have other motivations. Perhaps a blog seems like an ideal platform to share your ideas with the world or a valuable tool for building your personal brand in your industry.
You may even think that blogging is just a fun hobby you can devote time to – and there's nothing wrong with that either.
You've probably figured out that blogging takes work.
You cannot put your blog online, write your first article and start generating tons of traffic (and make money with your blog) the next day. It takes time, effort, and a willingness to experiment to build a profitable business around your blog.
Considering all of this, you may have some concerns (or doubts) about whether to start a blog. If you're scared of the technicalities, doubt your writing abilities, or worry that you're not good at marketing, don't make a hasty decision to abandon your blogging plans.
We are going to look at all the aspects to take into account to find the right answer to the question “ Should I create a blog?
Should I start a blog? 10 reasons to do it (and 8 questions to ask yourself first)
In the rest of this guide, we'll look at the key questions to ask yourself before embarking on a blogging career, but before that, we'll dive a bit more into why you want to blog. Create a blog.
We're going to look at six good reasons to start a blog…and four not so good ones. Now it's on!
6 good reasons why you should start a blog
If one of these reasons (or better yet, more than one of them) matches your reasons for starting a blog, you have every chance of succeeding.
Reason #1: You would like to write about a particular topic.
Do you already have one niche topic in mind for your blog ? If you don't have one, that's okay, but it's a good sign if you know you'd like to write about a specific topic.
It could be anything (but if you want to make money, you need to pick a specific niche that has some potential). Maybe you want to write about your experience as a foster parent, your obsession with classic sci-fi, your fascination with building tiny houses, or even a food blog that explores your homemade recipes.
Whatever your passion, you can talk about it on your blog and you will find plenty of other like-minded bloggers.
Good reason #2: you want to start an online business
Perhaps you approached blogging from a slightly different angle. You want to have your own business and you know that starting an online business is a great way to start your project without too much overhead.
While a blog itself isn't a business, it can still be an essential part of it.
For example, you can sell a product (such as an online course) or a service (such as a consulting service), using your blog as a content platform where you can write blog post ideas useful tools designed to attract targeted traffic and help these potential customers learn from and trust you.
If you manage to build a target audience regular readers who follow the content of your blog, you will create many opportunities for make money blogging through channels such as sponsored content, affiliate programs, advertisements, digital products, live events and more. What's important is that you focus on building strong relationships with your early readers, once you launch your blog.
Good reason #3: you are looking to develop your brand image.
A blog can be a fantastic way to get your name out there, especially if you're a solid, thoughtful writer.
If you want to build your personal brand — especially if you aspire to be an author or speaker — your blog can be a great asset.
I know it first hand. My blog has allowed me to obtain numerous paid (and unpaid) commitments for presentations in front of hundreds of people. As I share my experiences, ideas, and strive to establish thought leadership in my niche, I am in the crosshairs of conferences and events looking to bring in speakers their attendees will recognize.
Start a blog can also be a good way to dominate Google search results for your name (especially if alongside your blog, you also establish a social media presence).
Whether you want to impress a potential new employer, get a promotion in your current job, get more exposure in the media, or set the stage for pitching publishers to a potential book deal, your blog can be an ideal destination to put showcase your expertise and hone your personal brand.
Plus, you can start building your personal brand by learning how to write an e-book and generate revenue by selling it to your own audience. As other people consume your products, word of your work should spread.
Good reason #4: You want to make a difference in the lives of others.
While some aspiring bloggers focus on the difference blogging could make to their world, others focus on how their blog could make a difference to the world itself (by having a positive impact on people's lives). your readers). This does not, of course, exclude the possibility of make money with your blog.
Maybe there's a key message or idea you want to share — or your business has one that helps people in some way.
For example, if you're a life coach or write about personal development, there may be positive ways to create win-win opportunities for you and your readers.
Every blog has the potential to make a difference in someone else's life. Even a blog that posts funny cartoons can really brighten someone's day and even spark more meaningful conversations.
Good reason #5: You would like to have a new (and hopefully profitable) hobby.
Although blogging can be a valuable business tool, some bloggers get started because they're just looking for a new hobby.
If you're a writer or marketer, blogging can be a great way to get your work out to an audience quickly and effectively.
Depending on your situation, you may want to try blogging because you hope to make some money.
To be clear, this is a very valid motivation: you can enjoy writing articles and learning new technical skills while building a side income and figuring out how to best monetize your blog with good intentions.
Good reason #6: you love learning new things
When you become a blogger, you embark on a journey of learning that will hardly ever end.
Technology is changing rapidly. You might master a particular social network or website builder today, only to find tomorrow that they're introducing a bunch of new features — or they might go bankrupt and you need to come up with a new solution.
As a blogger, you will learn a wide range of skills, including the following:
- Find some blog post ideas, structure and write them
- The art and science of writing a title for your blog posts.
- Editing and proofreading your articles and possibly (if you accept articles from guest blog) of other people's work.
- Find images, resize them and modify them if necessary.
- Using a content management system – probably WordPress, but there are other free blogging platforms you can explore as well.
- Marketing and promoting your blog (and potentially your business, if that's the direction you're going).
- Write product reviews and recommend processes to your readers
- Using social media – which may include using new blogging tools to schedule posts and manage your social media accounts.
If you love learning new things, then you will really enjoy blogging.
You will also acquire useful skills which could prove to be a major asset in your daily work or in voluntary functions which you could occupy later. Remember that these new skills can also be monetized, for example by selling your services as part of online blogging jobs under contract.
4 Not-so-Good Reasons (Why You Shouldn't Start a Blog)
While all of the above reasons are excellent motivations for Create a blog, there are many other reasons why you are considering getting into this field.
If any of these reasons sound true to you, I urge you to think about them a bit more before you jump in.
If you don't follow this advice, you may be disappointed when your expectations aren't met, or when things get tough and you're no longer motivated by your blog's purpose.
Bad reason #1: you want to make money fast
Let's be honest, there are a lot of bloggers who get into this business primarily for the money – and I'll be the first to tell you that there's nothing wrong with that.
However, it is important to understand that blogging is not a “quick win” system (as some would have you believe).
Many bloggers – even successful ones like me – have spent many years develop their blog before they get to the point where they are generating a full-time income.
Instead of…
Rather than viewing your blog as a quick way to make tons of money, see it as a crucial part of a larger online business.
Again, there's nothing wrong with wanting to make money blogging, but instead dreaming of a magic fountain of "passive income" that would pour out in exchange for very little effort from your hand, you need to plan how your blog will fit into your business.
- Are you going to use affiliate links to promote other people's products to your audience?
- Are you going to advertise? (Remember that you will need significant traffic for advertising to be a viable source of income).
- Are you going to sell your own products or services? What types and why?
If you're not particularly keen on the idea of a blog, you can consider other business ideas that might be more suited to your goals.
Bad reason #2: you want to write about your life.
If today we estimate 31,7 million the number of bloggers publishing all kinds of different content around the world, some of the first blogs were nothing more than simple online diaries (in fact, the word "blog" is a contraction of "weblog", a "diary" in line of a person's life). Do you find this fascinating? Learn about key blogging terms.
There's nothing wrong with writing about your life…but a blog might not be the best form for it.
For example, you may have privacy concerns, or you may simply find that few people are interested in reading the details of your day-to-day activities.
If you hope make money blogging, writing about your life is probably not the best solution. Unless you're a truly gifted writer (and have a particularly compelling life), you'll probably need another medium to share all the details of your life – consider Instagram a platform to tap into.
Instead of…
You can choose a particular aspect of your life (perhaps one of your hobbies, or a particular situation in your life) to talk about in your blog.
With this more concerted approach, you will be able to build an audience of people specifically interested in this topic (i.e. learning how to find your target audience). It will be easier not only to target your offer, but also to monetize it in a scalable way, since these people will all share a number of commonalities between them.
Like I said before, if you just want to talk about your life in general to an interested audience, consider using a platform like Instagram to see if you can build an audience there as an influencer (have a knack for photography will help you enormously).
If you want to put all your thoughts in writing, you can choose a more private medium, like a journal, rather than starting a blog for everyone to discover, read, and share.
Bad reason #3: You read a lot of blogs and it looks fun.
If you enjoy reading blogs, it only makes sense that you decide to start one yourself. While that's not a terrible reason on its own, it's not really a good enough reason to get into the competitive world of blogging.
Committing to a blog takes a lot of work (if you want to scale it). It's a bit like saying that because you love watching movies, you want to become a director. Enjoying someone else's work doesn't necessarily mean you'll enjoy the creative process or working on a similar project yourself.
Another danger is that you end up creating a blog that is very derivative of the blogs you read.
It's important to find your own angle and motivation for blogging…otherwise your blog won't have much of a chance to stand out.
Instead of…
Don't think you "must" start a blog just because you see other people doing it (and making money from it). There may be another outlet that would better match your unique ideas, experience, or skills to achieve your most important goals.
For example, it may be easier for you to talk about your thoughts than to write them down. So you could start a podcast (you will need podcast hosting though) or a YouTube channel.
You can also learn a bit more about the blogs you enjoy. Check their “About Me” page or see if the blogger has done any interviews.
Find out how much work it takes to build what they've created, especially in the beginning.
Chances are what you're seeing is just the tip of the iceberg, and years of tireless effort have brought their blogs to where they are today.
Don't be afraid to work hard, but know that blogging isn't just about writing, posting, and magically making money.
Bad reason #4: You want to get free stuff and subsidized travel.
You've probably seen bloggers post about products they received to review, or even, in some niches, trips and experiences they got for free.
Maybe you'd like to try some nifty gadgets or relax on an all-expenses-paid weekend at the beach?
While it's true that there are free products in the blogging world, the truth is that they're mostly for people who have the traffic and influence to promote products successfully.
Sure, it's possible you could write a few pro bono reviews and get the publishers a handful of free business books to keep reviewing them, or even get your hands on some products in the niche of your blog…but it's highly unlikely that you'll end up getting anything too valuable when you first start out. It takes time to build influence and audience.
Instead of…
Gifts can be a nice little perk. It's best to think of them that way, rather than going into blogging with the primary goal of getting freebies.
Focus on launching your blog and generating real income. You can then contact the brands concerned to ask them if they are interested in free products or services that you can evaluate. That way, you're not building a business model that depends on free or discounted products – it's more of an advantage.
Some blogging niches lend themselves to this better than others. If you write about parenting, for example, you might be able to get free toys or clothes.
If you write about health and beauty, you could get free supplements or makeup.
You can also get free subscriptions to online courses or software tools, if they apply to your niche.
8 important questions to ask yourself before starting a blog
So you think you have good reason to Create a blog ? Should you go for it, or will you end up wasting your time (and maybe even your money)?
Here are eight important questions to ask yourself (and take the time to answer) before you even choose a name for your blog, not to mention getting started creating its content.
Question #1: Have you chosen the right niche (topic) for your blog?
There are blogs on every topic imaginable. Some bring in a very impressive annual income, but others are run as pure hobbies and lose rather than make money.
While many factors separate successful blogs from unsuccessful ones, choosing your niche (subject) is a crucial decision that will have a huge impact on your blog.
It's not about picking a "lucrative" topic - some topics can certainly be monetized more easily than others, but what's particularly important here is that you pick a topic you'd like to write about for years. years, and a subject on which you have at least a base of experience to develop and share.
Avoid picking a topic just because you've seen other blogs succeed with that topic.
For example, it is very common for aspiring bloggers to want to write about " How to make money blogging“, because it matches the blogs they read about whether or not they should start their own blog.
While this is certainly a niche topic with great monetization potential, it's also a crowded corner of the blogosphere – and you're very unlikely to succeed in this niche if you haven't ever made money blogging.
Not to mention that, ethically, you shouldn't try to teach others what you yourself don't yet know.
Question 2: How confident are you in the technology?
While blogging platforms are mostly very user-friendly, and even best WordPress themes don't require manipulating HTML or CSS these days, there's no denying that if you want to blog, you need to be comfortable with certain technicalities.
If you're having trouble attaching a file to an email, then you might struggle — or at least find that blogging has a steep learning curve.
The good news is that there are a lot of different blogging platforms out there. Even if you think one of them doesn't match your skill set, you might find another platform easier to pick up.
For example, if you don't want to register a domain name and set up a monthly hosting plan from day one, using hosted WordPress offered by WordPress.com might be a reasonable option that requires a lot less work. upfront to get your blog online quickly – and which will be much cheaper than high-end managed WordPress hosting plans.
Even if the technical aspects of blogging seem daunting to you at the moment, remember that there are tons of guides and tutorials out there that can help you.
With blogging, you can experiment as much as you want without worrying about wasting valuable resources or doing a mess (it's not like you're carving marble or re-wiring your house) . You can create a WordPress blog Free “test” and experiment – if something goes wrong, that's okay. Simply undo your changes and start over.
Question #3: Will you have consistent time and energy to blog?
Another inescapable fact of blogging is that it takes time and energy.
Sitting at write a blog post at the end of a busy work day (or early morning) might be the last thing you want to do.
Although many bloggers manage to succeed despite their busy lives, you need to be realistic about what you can do in the time you have.
This may mean delaying your blog launch if you have a busy day job and just had a new baby. You might want to wait a bit.
You can also set small goals, like making $100 a month by the end of your first year of blogging, not $10 a month, if your life is very busy and you have the patience to make one. deliberate practice for years to come.
Another option, if you're still determined to dive into blogging, is to look for ways to free up more time and energy in your life. This can be something as simple as hiring a babysitter for a few afternoons a week so you can write, or it can mean talking with your partner and other family members about way to distribute the tasks more evenly in order to free up a little more time for your blog in the evening.
Keep in mind that you don't necessarily need a lot of time to blog – five to ten hours a week can be more than enough if you're just posting one or two articles a week and not yet. lots of promotion.
But obviously the more time you spend on it, the faster your blog will grow.
Question #4: How are you going to make money?
Let's be clear: there is no rule that your blog must make money.
However, most bloggers want to at least make enough money to cover their own costs (for example, their hosting plan or the cost of a high-end WordPress theme for their blog).
If you have an existing business, you need to be clear about how your blog will support it.
For example, if you are a freelance designer, your blog can be a form of Content marketing which you can use to attract potential customers. It can also be a destination to showcase your work and a portfolio that you use to close the deal with interested prospects.
Too many bloggers get into the idea that once they get enough traffic, they can quickly monetize those readers.
On the contrary, it is best to prepare for monetization from day one. Think about exactly how your blog will make money: will you run ads, promote Amazon affiliate products, validate the idea of selling your own products, work with sponsors, or use a mix of different methods?
Read my ultimate guide to how to make money blogging for a step-by-step tutorial on monetizing your blog.
Question #5: What type of content will you create?
While written blog posts are considered the primary form of content to post on a blog, there are actually many other options.
You can publish video articles, broadcast a podcast, create graphic content such as infographics, organize live video trainings, courses, etc.
It's important to think about what exactly you want to create, and whether you have the necessary skills and equipment.
If you're not confident in your writing abilities, you probably don't want to base your entire blogging strategy on producing 1-word articles twice a week. If you can't afford a decent mic, podcasting might not be the right choice for you either.
While your content doesn't have to be super-professional from day one, readers will expect a certain level that they've already been conditioned to.
Blog posts full of typos and disjointed ideas, crackling podcasts you barely hear, and videos you shot on an old phone probably won't cut it.
Question #6: How will you measure your success?
There are many ways to “succeed” in blogging.
If you're not particularly motivated by money, but want to spread your ideas, you may decide that success lies in the number of subscribers to your mailing list or in the amount of traffic you generate each month. .
If you're hoping to quit your job from blogging, you'll need to figure out how much money you need to make (don't forget to factor in expenses and taxes) and see if you're getting closer to that goal over the months.
If you just want to have fun blogging, you probably won't have an objective measure of it: you'll just think about what you're getting out of it and how much fun you're having in making progress.
Before start your blog, think carefully about what “success” means to you.
Determine which indicators (if any) you will track to see if you are progressing towards your goal.
Question 7: What are you (and are you not) willing to compromise on?
There are so many things you can do as a blogger, it's impossible to execute them perfectly (all the time).
It helps to think from the start about where you're willing to compromise, both in terms of your blogging business and your life as a whole.
You may not compromise on the quality of your content, but you won't worry about responding to every comment on your blog.
Maybe you'd like to have a completely custom blog design, but you can't afford it right now. So you'll be compromising by picking a premium WordPress theme that you like and committing to investing more of your time polishing it.
However, when it comes to your life as a whole, there are things you might need to compromise on in order to free up more time, energy, or even money to launch your blog (and grow it). ).
Maybe you're willing to give up some of your other hobbies, at least temporarily, or go out to restaurants for a month or two in order to save some money that you can spend on growing your business. blog.
There are probably areas where you absolutely do not want to compromise in your life. Maybe you want to make sure you're still spending lots of time with your kids, eating well, and hitting the gym regularly.
It's worth thinking ahead about these areas where you shouldn't compromise, so you don't inadvertently encroach on them when your blogging life gets busier.
Question #8: How often will you post new content?
While this question may seem like a relatively minor detail when you haven't launched your blog yet, it's still worth considering how often you plan to post new content at this point.
If the niche of your blog requires you to write every day (for example, if you want to blog about the latest Apple news), it probably won't work if your lifestyle involves long hours most days of the week.
There is no right answer on how often you should post content.
Most bloggers agree that the key is to post quality content, even if that means posting only one post every two weeks.
If you can be an invaluable resource to even a small number of readers, you have the foundation for a blog that has the potential to grow and become profitable.
By setting your content publishing schedule in advance, you can plan, for example, how many people to interview for your podcast or how many blog posts to write and launch each month.
Should you start a blog? Make the final decision
Blogging is definitely not for everyone, although it can be one of the easiest types of businesses to start on a tight budget (if you have the time and are not afraid to work hard).
You'll probably have to put a lot of time and energy (and even money) into your blog before it becomes profitable…and you may not be at a point in your life where you can. allow. If so, don't blame yourself today. There are free blogging sites you can start experimenting with.
If blogging isn't for you, these lists are sure to inspire you to get into a type of business that's better suited to you, even if it involves freelancing as a blogger or WordPress developer.
That said, there are (obviously) still MANY good reasons why you should start a blog.
If you have a few free hours per week and there is a subject you would like to write about, nothing prevents you from doing so!
You can get started inexpensively (there are even several free blogging sites you can use to test the waters); if you're hesitant, try blogging and see what works for you.
If you are hesitating, try blogging and see how it goes for you. There's no way to be sure if you don't jump in and put in the effort. Head over to my ultimate guide to creation of a blog and let's do it together.
