It’s no secret that blogging greatly influenced my writing career. I went from writing a few articles per week on Textbroker to owning and managing several of my own blogs as well as managing those of various clients. If not for the blogs, I probably wouldn’t be where I am today.
I’ve spoken a bit about how blogging affected my writing career, but I don’t think I’ve shared the ins and outs of how. And there are quite a few ways that managing a blog impacted everything from writing books to product reviews.
If you haven’t created a writing blog yet, what are you waiting for?
How Blogging Affected My Writing Career
Blogging can do more than just give you a creative outlet or to share experiences with chance readers. If used properly, a blog is a great base of operations whether you’re a freelancer, author, or labor professional.
Throughout my career, the blogs I’ve managed have impacted a lot of what I do today. In a lot of ways, blogging is similar to writing a book.
The following points are in no particular order.
1. Practicing What I Learned
First of all, blogging gave me a great place to practice what I learned. I would implement everything from the very beginning, which helped me grow as a freelance writer.
Whether it was learning AP Style English or search engine optimization, everything I learned was put into practice with this very blog.
Now, you don’t have to buy a self-hosted website like I did in the beginning. However, I knew I was going to eventually monetize the website. And most free platforms for blogging are not as versatile when it comes to making money.
Either way, practice makes perfect. The more you utilize the things you learn, the more they become second nature.
2. Improving Expertise and Authority
Expertise and authority are vital for any professional, especially if you’re trying to land clients. Blogging gives you the chance to build on those two elements as well as demonstrate your prowess in a specific industry.
For example, if you decide to blog about sports as a way to promote yourself as a sports writer, covering your own topics helps build expertise and authority.
With as much content as I have on WriterSanctuary, I have demonstrated that I know a lot about various forms of general writing. My work with GreenGeeks has influenced my expertise with WordPress.
Sure, writing degrees and certificates can help you from the perspective of a resume. But many businesses today are putting emphasis on practical experience. A blog can help show that in a variety of ways.
3. Making Myself Googleable
When you Google your name, what comes up at the top of the search results? Blogging can help you secure those top positions in your specific niche or genre as a writer.
Although it took me a few years, I have top billing for my name ahead of a lawyer and a doctor. I had to write a lot of content and be active on social media, but I am quite easy to find online today.
Why does this matter? Because as a writer, your name is your brand. This is true whether you want to write books or create blog posts for some giant corporation.
Today, a lot of businesses will take a look at your online presence, and being pronounced on Google can do all kinds of good things for your writing career.
4. Secondary “Passive” Income
Using my blogs, I have been able to generate a bit of extra income over the years. First, I made enough money from AdSense revenue to pay for the blog’s hosting. Then, I’ve sold sponsored content, made a bit from affiliate income, and even sold a few books from the blogs.
There are a number of ways you can monetize a website, especially one that is self-hosted. As I said, free blogging sites can only offer so much in terms of making money from your content.
If you don’t care about flexibility, you can also blog for sites like Vocal, Hubpages, or Medium to generate a bit of extra cash while practicing your writing.
The bottom line is that blogging will contribute to passive income while writing about your favorite topics. That is, as long as you’re writing something people want to read.
5. Building an Audience and Fan Base
Blogging will contribute to helping you build an audience and fan base for your content. Never underestimate the value of a community mindset. A lot of the people who subscribe to your blog will inspire you and are more likely to support your journey in a myriad of ways.
I know a few people who follow virtually everything I write and everything I upload to YouTube because they like what I create. One in particular has been around since 2013, when I began blogging about Textbroker.
A lot of these people wind up becoming more than just an audience. They can easily become good friends, even if you never meet them in person. You can get quite attached to these people.
One of my favorite things is to interact with my audience during the live streams on YouTube. And I care about each and every one of them as though they were beloved neighbors.
6. Trying New Products and Services
When you begin fleshing out a blog with content, one of the best types of posts is a review. Not only do they work exceptionally well for generating clicks from Google, but they also provide an opportunity to earn affiliate income.
Well, as long as the product or service has an affiliate account setup.
Blogging gives you the opportunity to try new goods while writing about your experiences. If you’re using an ad-sharing network like AdSense, you may even earn a few bucks over time.
For instance, I’m constantly on the lookout for new writing, editing, and development apps to try. Then, I share them with my audience in the hopes of helping someone find their next favorite tool.
If it wasn’t for trying new things, I would never have come across Reedsy. And the Reedsy content has been a major contributor to subscribers, followers, and even income.
7. A Greater Understanding of Topics
You should always spend time researching a topic before writing a blog post, even if it’s something you think you know inside out. That way, you can offer the best information possible to your audience.
This is especially true if you’re writing about technology. Things can change overnight.
This process greatly improves your knowledge about that topic, which then contributes to the expertise and authority I mentioned earlier. So, it’s always worth the time to explore different aspects of what you’re writing about.
I hate the term “fake it until you make it.” I would rather learn what I’m writing about and build on that knowledge over time. If I don’t know it, I’ll look it up and learn.
At the end of the day, the more content you create about a certain topic, the greater your understanding of it. That translates to a great reputation in your field.
8. Displaying Samples of Styles for Clients
Blogging lets you show samples of different types of content for potential clients. That’s why it’s always good to diversify the styles in which you write.
For example, clients can see how I put together reviews, lists, and tutorials on this particular blog. And if they like what they see, they can use the contact form to inquire about rates.
Though, I am more partial to writing fiction nowadays. I’m trying to ween myself off of needing clients to survive.
Nonetheless, blogging lets you show off your prowess while writing certain types of content. So, writing a review can help you earn money from affiliates and ads while at the same time tempting clients to pay you for writing similar content for them.
If you’re focusing on a popular niche, theoretically, you could make a great deal of money from a variety of channels from a single blog post.
9. Inspiring Ficiton Writing
Blogging about certain topics easily inspired me when I pivoted to writing fiction. Apps, lessons, products, and services fueled my growth as an author. Even today, a lot of the tools I review wind up becoming part of my routine as an author.
Every time I write about a new service or hammer out something inspirational, I wind up affecting my own mindset. As such, I become more motivated to finish writing the first draft of a new story.
Essentially, the more I help hopeful, self-publishing authors, the more I help myself.
In the early days, I even tried a few short stories on this blog as a way to practice fiction writing from WordPress writing prompts. I don’t do it much today as I don’t want to confuse the Google algorithm any more than I already do.
Never Underestimate the Power of a Blog
A blog can do a lot for virtually anyone’s career. As I pointed out a moment ago, it can help strengthen expertise and authority. So, whether you want a career as a writer or simply want to promote yourself as an electrician, blogging can do a lot for your online reputation.
Personally, I think everyone should have a blog of some kind. In fact, I would be more likely to trust brands and service professionals if they wrote about their offerings outside of marketing materials.
For example, a handyman could easily build up a local reputation by providing tutorials or reviews about equipment. Not to mention making a few extra bucks on the side from online revenue.
What about a lawn care service that shows the best methods for taking care of certain plants or covering various landscaping projects?
One of my more recent clients provided information regarding home and auto care from his insurance company’s website. Some of the more popular topics centered around ways to prevent damage to property.
Blogging can do more than just help with improving writing prowess. It’s a way to market yourself as a professional, regardless of career or job. And it might just help you land a few local clients in the process.
Start Writing About What Interests You
So, what should you start blogging about? The short answer is pretty much anything that interests you. But, keep in mind, successful blogging is all about playing the long game. That means it’s best if you choose a niche that will keep you interested for years to come.
Do you have to pick a niche for your blog? Not necessarily. But focusing on a specific niche makes success much easier in terms of search traffic and making money from things like affiliate sales, books, or product sales.
Someone visiting a blog about cats is less likely to buy computer equipment. Most of the audience wants information regarding cats and how to care for them, making affiliates for pet supplies invaluable.
My point is that a focused interest performs better online than one that is more hodge-podge. While blogging can help improve your writing, it can do so much more for you in the long run if you explore its potential.
You might wind up turning yourself into a go-to expert about something about which you’re passionate.
At one point, I was a go-to source for Textbroker content, as that was my original interest. The more you dive into something you love, the better. That is, as long as you’re able to continuously write and build up your website.
What Would You Blog About?
I have several blogs that I work on throughout the week. They are niches that highly interest me. The problem is that I don’t always have the time to write all of the content I would like.
Primarily, though, blogging has greatly influenced all forms of writing in my career. And if it wasn’t for the sites, I doubt I would be as successful as I am today.
In reality, the blog is what prompted me to build the YouTube channel in the first place. So, I know that I would never have built the YouTube channel if it weren’t for wanting to accentuate the blog.
It’s funny how some things influence the development and success of others.
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