When I started blogging, I didn’t know the great benefits that would come out of it. I just knew I wanted to have a blog that mattered.
Today’s post, I’ll cover some of the rewards you can get from blogging. Some I’ve experienced already and others I’ve seen happen.
You might be interested in blogging, but need that last push to get started. You might see bloggers having fun and you want to experience it.
If you were on the fence about blogging, I hope I’ll have you convinced afterwards.
1. You will meet a variety of great people.
Since I’ve started this blog, I’ve gotten to know some awesome people online. Not only do I love what they write and what they’re doing, but I love getting to know them.
When I went to Las Vegas to get married, a blogger I’ve gotten to know, Steve Roy from Ending the Grind was out there at the same time. We set up a time to meet and we literally just walked around the Wynn/Encore casino and talked.
Just last week in Taipei, I met Matthew Hooper, who I met through Twitter one day when I first started and got to know him throughout the year. We just happen to be back visiting Taipei at the same time. Matt, a Canadian, actually lived in Taipei for eight years and met his wife here. Plus he worked with Eleanor at a language school many years ago. Small world!!
I know I’ll meet more in person in the near future.
I’ve read stories of people who’ve attended Blog World or World Domination Summit and finally met long time blogging friends, and made new ones.
You know what I’ve found too? Bloggers are some of the nicest people out there.
If you want to know how to reach out to bloggers, read Adrienne Smith’s post about how to do it.
2. Blogging is a great creative outlet
A blog is like a blank canvas. It’s up to your imagination how you want it to look. It could look like a Jackson Pollack if you wanted it to (not recommended).
When customizing my Standard Theme, I spent countless hours on it. I probably could have spent more if I didn’t stop myself. I enjoyed every creative minute of it.
Writing is obviously a great creative outlet. You take a bunch of ideas and make it into something that evokes an emotion in readers.
People have different ways to unleash their creativity, and right now blogging is my favorite way.
3. It can lead to publishing a book
It does seem like some bloggers would love to publish a book. With a blog, if you’ve built up a huge audience you, that could help in your book proposal. Even if you don’t go the traditional route, you could self publish on the Kindle, which many are doing today.
Pamela Slim has a book called Escape From Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur (great book), which started out as a blog by the same name. She didn’t start the blog with the intention of writing a book, but later was approached to write a book on her expertise.
Another blog to book is 1000 Awesome Things, by Neil Patel.
Neil started posting awesome things every weekday, got a book deal, and it turned into a New York Times #1 bestseller.
There is a blog called Stuff White People Like by Christian Lander. He says it’s about “a scientific approach to highlight and explain stuff white people like. They are pretty predictable.”
He got a book deal after three months (wow) and it turned into a New York Times bestseller, aptly called Stuff White People Like and now Whiter Shades of Pale.
Jenny Blake, another blog to book blogger (say that five times fast), wrote a guest post on the pros and cons of it. Great for those interested in publishing.
If you’re looking to publish your first book this year, Chris Guillibeau has a guide to teaches you how to write, sell, and publish your book (aff link).
4. It can make you money
A blogger can earn pennies or six figures a month. If you become an authority in your area, you could offer coaching, consulting, sell products, promote products, or have advertising.
Many blogs don’t make that much money, but you can make something from it. It might not be much, but it’s not bad writing on a topic you’re passionate about.
Any topic could eventually lead to earning income. Overheard in New York posts overheard comments and conversations from anonymous New Yorkers. The site earned an estimated $8,100 each month (figure from 2007) and a book was published.
Perez Hitlon started blogging about celebrities and now attracts four million unique visits each day. Ad revenue for the site is estimated at $111,000 a month!
I could keep naming blogs in different areas that make money.
I just want to say that just having a blog doesn’t mean you’ll make money. However, the potential is out there.
5. You can make a difference
The first thing that comes to mind is using your blog as a way to raise money for a charity.
Tim Ferris does it often on his blog.
Last year after the Japan earthquake and tsunami, I saw tweets about a fundraiser organized by Lavonne Ellis. A donation gave you a bunch of products donated by bloggers to help your blog and business grow. Plus you were entered in a drawing for some premium products and services.
I just read they raised $5,385 plus got a matching grant to double the amount! It’s really cool that a bunch of bloggers did that.
It doesn’t just have to be amount money. You can bring attention about issues in your community, nation, or the world. You can make a difference in many ways through your blog.
6. It can give you a voice
A blog lets you be heard. The blog is your platform. You can share whatever you want with your readers. You can share your opinion. You can teach. You can inspire. You can inform.
The important thing is it’s coming from you. You have a voice.
7. You can help people
If you’ve gone through a particular life experience, you can start a blog on that topic to help others going through the same thing.
It could be anything from helping guys pick up girls to surviving depression to growing a garden. The possibilities are endless what you could write that would help people.
8. It could lead to some unexpected opportunities
I remember when I ran a sports blog for two years, I got a surprising e-mail from Sprint to test out their new phone for six months for free. I got unlimited calling, could watch NFL games on it, unlimited ringtones and game downloads. All I had to do was blog about it once and give them feedback. Of course I said yes!
I’ve read bloggers get invited on trips by companies wanting exposure for their products. Some bloggers receive products to review and get to keep.
You could land a movie role. Pat Flynn, through a podcast on his blog, got asked to be a social media consultant on a film. As part of the deal, he asked to be an extra in the movie. They said yes.
Kimberly Snyder spent years learning about better eating for health and beauty. She started a blog on that topic and got picked up by the press. Celebrities found out and hired her. Now she is a highly sought after nutritionist for many of the entertainment industry’s top celebrities and author of the best-selling book, The Beauty Detox Solution.
9. You can be an authority
If you do things right and long enough, you could be an authority in your niche.
- Pat Flynn has become a go to person for online passive income .
- Darren Rowse is an authority on blogging.
- Chris Guillebeau is an authority on nonconformity and travel hacking.
- Brian Kelly is an authority on maximizing travel rewards.
- Chris Ducker is an authority on hiring virtual assistants.
- Matt Fraizer is an authority on being a vegan and an athlete.
You could become an expert on any topic that you can possibly think of. The great thing is you don’t even need to be an expert when you begin blogging. You become one over time.
10. You’ll improve your writing
In order to be a better writer, you should write more.
I hated English class my senior year in high school. I barely read the novels and didn’t like writing essasy. So I never thought I was a good writer.
As I got older, I found an itch to write. However, I didn’t have much confidence in my writing. I didn’t think I sucked, but I knew I wasn’t that great.
Having a blog and writing on a consistent basis gets you to write more. I’ve written so much in the past year and lots of it not worthy of publishing. That’s okay because it still allows me to work on being a better writer.
Learn to Start a Blog the Right Way in 2012
If you’re looking to start a blog this year, a course I’d recommend for any beginning blogger is How to Start a Blog that Matters (affiliate link) by Corbett Barr.
The program is a 90-day step-by-step action plan you can follow to create a blog that matters. It includes 13 weekly lessons, 4 special bonuses and over 8 hours of instructional video.
You could learn by reading all the free information online. However, Corbett has three successful blogs and the course saves you hours and hours by only teaching you the topics that matter.
There’s also a great guarantee for the course. If you go through the course and don’t get the results you want, he’ll personally coach you one-on-one for free. Great offer since he doesn’t do coaching anymore.
Sound like fun?
If you’re thinking about starting, or just recently started, I hope I’ve shown some great rewards from blogging. It takes a lot of time, commitment, and hard work if you really want to get massive benefits from it. The ones I mentioned above have spent years to get to where they are.
However they have one thing in common, they were all beginners just like you.
So if they can do it, you can too.
Blogging has been a life changer for me and I’d still blog even if I won the lottery. I’m having that much fun.
I want the same for you. So don’t wait any longer. Get started.
For current bloggers, what are your favorite things about blogging?
Do you have another reason someone should start blogging?
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