Whether you are a hobby blogger or you are blogging full-time, blogging can teach you so much about the industry and even about yourself.
I have learned so much since I started my blog and looking back at my previous content it proves how much I have developed my copywriting skills, my photography skills and my business skills. If you are unsure about whether you want to start a blog, my recommendation would be to just do it! Starting and running a blog can be so beneficial to you.
Here are 4 reasons why you should start a blog:
- It gives you a space to be creative’
- It can help you develop different skills
- It can help you share experiences to help others
- You will meet new people
If you are still on the fence about starting and writing on a blog here are 5 things that blogging can teach you and how these things can positively impact your life:
1. New Skills
There are so many skills gained by blogging, skills you wouldn’t necessarily develop without running a blog. Many of the new skills are marketable skills that you can transfer to your CV or use in your current employment to improve your performance. You will learn skills like:
- IT skills – You will learn how content management systems operate like WordPress or Blogger
- Social media management
- Copywriting – It is a lot more than writing blog posts. It is also about: publishing tweets that share your brand’s voice, cultivating engaging Instagram captions and crafting professional email campaigns and pitches to brands.
- Branding and marketing
- Graphic design and content creation
- Photography and editing tools
- Search Engine Optimisation
You not only learn new skills but develop your confidence. It takes huge confidence every time you hit publish and share your writing. As time goes on you will become more confident in our abilities and will be more likely to reach out for opportunity.
2. Perseverance
Building and developing a blog and brand does not happen overnight, it takes time to grow and cultivate a loyal engaged following. You are learning to persevere every day you show up for yourself and your blog. The good thing about perseverance when it comes to blogging is that the longer you push your blog, the more you will get out of it. No matter your niche as there are plenty of people out there that will have the same interests as you.
When I first started my blog I didn’t focus too much on blog views I was just writing and sharing posts. 4 years later my perseverance is paying off as my engagement is good and I have developed some great working relationships with multiple brands. If you are not seeing the results you want, just keep going your hard work will pay off.
3. Time Management
As a blogger you have to learn to balance your time between: research, writing, proof reading, scheduling, post promotion and running all of your social media platforms. You have to juggle a lot in order to stay engaged and present. It can be very overwhelming at first to try and split your time between all of them. As time passes you learn how to be more organised with your time, you learn about blogging apps such as: schedulers that can help you save time.
I have definitely improved my organisational skills and I have found I can fit for more into my day than I thought I could. I have found a good routine with keeping on top of social media content, marketing and creating new blog content.
Here are 5 time management tips for bloggers:
- Set a blogging schedule
- Schedule blog posts ahead of time
- Work at a time you are most productive
- Request guest posts if you feel you need time on other activities but still want new blog content to go on your blog
- Create to-do lists to ensure you do not forget any tasks
4. Networking
In order to build a successful blog and brand networking is key. Whether it is networking with other bloggers, brands directly or PR contacts, you need to be connected to those people to grow.
Networking with other bloggers can be so beneficial for growing your blog. Engaging with other bloggers develop like-minded relationships who will then support you and your writing, they will share your content on social media, comment on your posts or even recommend you to other bloggers or brands. Befriending more successful bloggers can help you learn more about the industry and tips you should be aware of.
Networking with brands and PR can be more difficult but just as effective to grow your brand. Reaching out on advertised opportunities or even writing organic pitches to brands can be a useful way to get your brand name out there. Pitching to brands can give you the marketing contact, so even if they say no the first time you have a contact you can reach out to in the future.
If you do work on collaborations with brands it is beneficial to have them write testimonials for other brands to see how well you can work on collaborations.
5. Setbacks Happen
Not everything with blogging is simple and you can have a setback or two. These setbacks could be a dip in views, a brand has turned down your pitch or you may experience writers block, plenty could happen but good news is it will not last and you will bounce back. There may be particular reasons for your setbacks but you will learn and they will not knock your confidence as much because you know your worth and abilities.
Here are 4 effective ways to deal with setbacks:
- Focus on what you can control
- Trust in yourself that you have the ability to overcome the setback
- Allow yourself to be disappointed
- If you made a mistake that caused the setback, acknowledge that and correct it
These are 5 things that blogging can teach you and that you can transfer to other areas and projects in your life.
What has blogging taught you? I’d love to hear in the comments.
This is great! So, cool to learn what blogging has taught you. I think a lot of people need to read this!
Thanks, for posting!
Thank you, what have you learned from blogging?
Glad that I found you. I love the community here.
Thank you! Me too!
😊💪🏋️♀️💃🤸♀️🍾🍹🍸❤
Thank you for reading and commenting! Xx
Thank you!
This is so true! I love the points you brought out. Internet friends are totally real friends, I’m almost ashamed to say I’m closer with some than my other real friends. It’s just so much easier to connect online … and I’m almost always online! It really helps to have a good network of people as well, as you can get to have blogging opps that way! xx
Definitely, some of those people are so supportive! It’s lovely making friends! Thank you for reading and commenting Geraldine ❤️xx
LOL love this, definitely discovered how much i can really do in one day 😂 & i love what you said about following your passion!
Thank you for reading and commenting ☺️
Lovely post! <3
Thank you ❤️
Blogging has taught me so much. From writing skills, blog/graphic designs and even how to send a professional email when dealing with brands because I see my same-aged friends struggling to write emails when applying for jobs/scholarships and I was like oh! I learned all of this from blogging lol
That’s so great that you learned all that from blogging. Thank you for reading and commenting!☺️
Totally agree with you on all point. It’s such a personal growth process when you start blogging. You learn so much as you go along, and the amazing blogging community out there is a fantastic gift and an important resource for sharing knowledge.
Thank you for reading and commenting ☺️
I really enjoyed this post. What great reminders for all of us of the things we’re picking up on this blogging journey. I think the biggest one for me is the fact that blogger friends are real, true friends. It’s incredible but true – that our friends who are on this journey with us are so sincerely encouraging and supportive. And I think many of us have grown to know each other so well through following each other’s writing, too. Thanks for a happy reminder of the benefits of blogging!
Joan Senio
My Best Friend Adeline
https://kindness-compassion-and-coaching.com
It is so true!! Supporting one another is great! Thank you for reading and commenting! Xx
These are all such valuable lessons to have learnt from blogging! It’s a unique journey to take and I agree with everything you’ve said here. We need to get that good balance of blogging and personal life, that’s definitely a good thing to have learnt and or know early on.
Gemma | https://anoceanglimmer.wordpress.com/
Thank you for reading and commenting! Xx
Thank you for showing me there is light at the end of the tunnel… its truly tough at first and there is just so much to learn…its enlightening though 🙂
It is so hard to begin with, but it gets easier ☺️
Thanks for sharing this post, I love seeing how others find their blogging journey 😊
Thank you for reading and commenting!
Can you send me the link to your blog ☺️
Definitely agree with you about being organised especially if you work full time and try to blog too! Networking with the blogging community is such a rewarding thing to do too.
Thank you for reading and commenting! Yes, I definitely have to stay organised.
Thank you!
Thank you for reading and commenting! Xx
Aww thank you so much for such a kind comment and for reading my post! ☺️
Thank you! I try to be, but I am not always organised! Definitely! Thank you for reading and commenting! ☺️
Yeah definitely and people should always support others!
That’s lovely Lauren 🙂 You raised really interesting points. It’s indeed great to make new friends.
Thanks so much
The amount of time, effort and passion that goes in to blogging is amazing and the people looking in from the outside of this amazing community don’t always see that at first. There is so many things to be learn and always opportunitys to learn more! Really enjoyed reading your post! thank for sharing! x
Aww thank you Finlay! Yeah that’s definitely true!! X
this is such a great list, it’s really helpful to look back and realize all the lessons that something has taught you. like you said, i couldn’t imagine my life without my little corner of the internet. blogging has taught me that we all have the ability to help someone and while we all have something that makes us special, we go through a lot of the same things and can grow together. x
mich / simplymich.com
Definitely! Always learning and changing on the blogging journey. Thank you for reading and commenting x
I agree with a lot of these points! I work 6 days a week and I still find the time to blog because I love it! This is a really great list, and I’ve learnt so much from my time blogging and have realised it’s not easy at all! X
Thank you for reading and commenting, can you send me the link to your blog x
Thank you so much for reading and commenting x
I agree that online friends are real friends. I have met so many wonderful people on Twitter and Facebook. Some of my own friends don’t support what I do. My online friends have been there for me.
That’s a shame that some of your own friends do not support you, but it’s great you have online friends. Your blog is always interesting to read ☺️
I love this post! 🌺
Before I started my blog I did so much research that I thought I was more prepared than I was for my college exams. How wrong I was! There’s so many things you only learn whilst doing, which is why it’s so great when bloggers share their tips. ❤️
Yeah I wasted so much time trying to prepare rather than just getting on with it. You learn all the time. Thank you for reading and commenting ❤️
Sounds like we had the same start to it lol. I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is, that if you want to start a blog you need to throw yourself into it. If you know how to create a post, you can learn the rest as needed ❤️ And you’re very welcome xx
Yes and you have to be so consistent with blog posts ❤️xx
I so love these types of posts!!
I’m glad you have learnt these things – I have too. Blogging takes up a lot of time – or rather it fills your time – and its so lovely to see the results and connect with other like-minded people who enjoy what they do 🙂
Great post!
-Lena
http://www.lenasnotebook.co.uk
Thank you lovely!! Thank you for reading and commenting xx
I can definitely relate to these! It is funny how, when you start blogging, you realise how much time you actually have in a day but also that there’s never enough. Great post 🙂
Yeah definitely, trying to fit everything can be so difficult. Thank you for reading and commenting ☺️
Thank you for reading and commenting. Online friends are definitely real friends, they are so supportive ❤️
It does thank you!
Can you link your blog x
Nice! Glad you shared!
Thank you
I appreciate your insights. Hope to get to the point where I can look back and note the lessons I learn so someone else can benefit.
🌻
Blogging has taught me that I am not a terrible writer after all which helped me gain confidence. I’ve gotten several compliments about my writing style and it feels good to know that I’ve come a long way, considering that my mom wrote all of my essays for me in high school. Jump to today, and I’m writing my own essays for university. I learned how to write thanks to blogging and an English course I had to take as a prerequisite for school a couple years ago. 😊🌺
I have read your posts you are not a terrible writer at all. It’s nice to build a community! That’s amazing!
Loved reading this! I’ve blogged for 13 years and it has definitely helped me to hone my digital writing skills and develop an entirely new skillset. And, the people I’ve met have made it all the more rewarding!
That’s awesome! Can you link your blog? Happy New Year! Thank you for reading and commenting.
All great points here. Bloggers pick up a series of new skills, often unearthing long buried talents. I became social again through my blogging career by starting into cameras and speaking many 1000’s of times LOL. What a fun, freeing gig this is. Blogging teaches many lessons.
It really can teach us so much. Thank you for sharing.