15 Reasons why you should start blogging today

In this era of millennials, blogging is fast becoming the quickest way to express yourself online. It can be incredibly valuable to a variety of people and for a variety of reasons. Blogging is free and potentially valuable to start. Let's dive right in and see why you should start blogging today;

1. Helps establish authority

When blogging, you mostly share your knowledge and expertise about a particular area or field. Writing high value content i.e. writing about important topics that are relevant to your audience will make the readers to see you as an authority in a specific branch. A blog enhances your professional image just like business cards did in the 90's. After gaining your audience's trust, they might see you as their opinion leader and this supports their confidence in the services and products your business provides or promotes.

2. Generate relevant traffic and engagement and builds stronger relationships with your customers

By publishing on your business blog on a regular basis, you'll increase your position in the search engines. Google appreciates websites that frequently post new and valuable content. And a higher position in Google means more traffic. If your article is interesting and relevant for your target audience, they might even share it on Facebook or Twitter. Besides this can also result in more leads like subscriptions to your newsletter. Targeted blogging can convert this traffic into leads and leads into customers. As for the existing customers of a business, blogging helps develop stronger relationships. A business blog is not a monologue, it's a dialogue. It's an easy way to interact with your customers and if you keep an eye on the responses of your target audience, you'll get to know the people that you're dealing with. You'll learn what your target audience likes and doesn't like, what they're interested in. This information is valuable to determine the developments of your business and to improve your services or products.

3. Create opportunities

Blogging also creates a lot of opportunities for dedicated writers and content creators, it can lead to springing up of other businesses or traffic generating opportunities through different forms such as friendships, financial gain or self-growth. Blogging enables anyone with something interesting or valuable to say to be identified as an expert. It puts your personality out there to the world and gets you noticed in a very unique way.

4. Build strong social media presence

Most businesses nowadays have their social media handles integrated their websites. With this they build a strong social media presence. Blogging enables you to never lack content to share with your followers on Facebook or Twitter. Promoting your articles on your social media channels makes you active and keeps people aware of your existence. Your target audience also gets easy access to your content through these channels. With a big network of followers on social media, an active presence and links to your blog more traffic to your website is generated. And traffic to your website is of course the first step to online success!

5. Meet new people, attract an audience and tell your story

Blogging enables you to reach the billions of people that use the Internet. The audience you attract through blogging doesn't have to just be your "audience". They can become your friends, colleagues, partners, or lovers. Blogging enables you to be your own media company and can help you promote yourself or your business. Blogging works as a method for attracting an audience because it provides something of value to them before asking for anything in return. Most internet users would rather click on, a page titled "How to optimize your website for search engines ", rather than a page titled "Buy My Website Consultancy Services".

6. Is the current way of marketing a business with a more likeliness to enjoy positive marketing ROI

These days, companies are going all out to embrace the blogging world despite having a professional website. A reason for this is; clients will see you as more approachable, current, and most importantly more involved in your business. This makes it more likely to enjoy positive marketing return on investment (ROI). According to Hubspot's Blogging Statistics, marketers who prioritize blogging are thirteen times more likely to enjoy positive ROI. This means that you earn back the money (and time) you invest in a project.

7. Potential financial gain

Blogging has become more prolific and is without a doubt a profession for some individuals. If you are working a job that doesn't pay as much as you'd like, or if you would like to earn more money, blogging can make for a great side income. Blogging can also easily become a full-time job, if a blog is at its full potential. A blog with a lot of readers, can be easily monetized through advertisements and sponsorships. Advertising on your blog can help you financially, as can accepting sponsors if you're reviewing products, but ultimately your blog can lead you to a career in blogging, which may seem far off for someone starting a blog today, but it's becoming far more acceptable in this day and age.

8. Stand out

It is said that only 1 percent of Internet users actively create new content, while the other 99 percent of the participants simply view it. As I earlier stated blogging enables anyone with something interesting or valuable to say to be identified as an expert and puts your personality out there to the world in a very unique way. By blogging, you separate yourself from the 99 percent of people that don't blog and you get to stand out in an increasingly competitive economy.

9. Allows potential for self-growth and gaining confidence

With blogging a shy person can be the center of attention while meeting new people, all within the safety of his/her own limits. Broadcasting yourself online allows time for reflection and perspective. A blogger can look back on past work and ideas and learn from them, promoting not only a form of diary entry, but also the idea of self-growth. Sharing your ideas in a public form allows your creativity and confidence to grow. It's a great way of gaining confidence in the field you're writing in and in personal expression.

10. It's a form of diary to tell your story

Blogging is like a private media company. It is essentially a collection of diary entries for the world to see. You can tell your story the way you want to tell it without being dependent on journalists. Your blog can be your own secret place on the Internet; anonymous or not, there's a comfort in the thoughts and helpful advice of Internet friends. There are no expectations with blogging, despite the majority of followers being strangers.

11. Great writing experience with a great blogging community

Are you trying to be a freelance professional writer? Blogging is what you might just need to make a breakthrough. It is the best way to show your writing is current, and you're writing regularly. A single post on the internet is an official publication, and you can use it to promote yourself to companies far more easily by linking your blog. It is also worth noting that the blogging community is a very supportive community. The blogging community is an interdependent community with individuals who look for inspiration and ideas from each other and are always ready to lend a hand or work together with fellow members of the community.

12. Organize your thoughts and learn

A great blogger has to be a good learner and a great communicator. When you begin writing an article, you are forced to organize your thoughts. In case of any gaps in the topic that you are writing about, you will have to research and learn about it. Articulating what you have learned or experienced helps you internalize and familiarize with it.

13. Gives people a creative outlet and allows development of technological skills

Blogging can also be a way to channel creativity without imposing on your day-to-day responsibilities. Blogging gives you the flexibility to share and learn in the comfort of your own home, when you have the time to enjoy it.

It is very difficult not to learn basic technological skills while blogging. Within the first couple of weeks of starting your blog you will learn social media, SEO writing, picture formatting, etc.

14. Validate expertise and gain confidence

It is said that blogs are the new resumes. Blogging about a topic you would like to be viewed as an expert in, can illustrate to readers, employers, and your network, that you are skilled and knowledgeable. For the less articulate in speaking or shy people a blog can be a stage. It is where they can be the center of attention, meet new people and share their opinions and knowledge freely. A blog instills confidence whether it's in the field you're writing in or personal expression.

15. Will give you long term results

A blog enables you to profile yourself or your brand for the long term unlike advertisements. This means that the efforts put in your blog right now, give you positive results and more traffic for a considerable time from now. As long as the information in your past blogs or posts is still valuable, reposting it on social media keeps the articles alive. In addition, an article optimized for SEO with a first page ranking on Google search can stay on the first page for a long time, maybe even years. This keeps you relevant in your field for a long time.

So what are you waiting for? Go out there and create your own little space on the Internet - you won't regret it.