So, the year is coming to an end, we have had our fill of Turkey and (if you are anything like me) will probably be nursing a hangover after a New Year’s Eve party.  Yes, it’s that time of year when we all make new year’s resolutions, but before you go for the cliché; “Lose weight”, “Join a Gym” or “Try a new hobby” that we all tend to pick each year, why not try something different!  Why not start your own blog?

Why Start A Blog?

Good question I hear you ask.  But I though only nerd’s blog, don’t they?  Well actually no!

Plenty of people blog these days, from all walks of life.  There are approximately 60 million WordPress blogs in the world right now, with that number increasing to hundreds of millions if you include sites run on Blogger, Tumbler, Self-Hosted, etc.  Blogs attract hundreds of millions of visitors every month, in fact I’m sure you visit plenty of blogs when you are online yourself.

Blogging is SO easy to do these days; all you really need is an internet connection and a laptop or mobile to get started.  People blog about all sorts of different topics, in fact, I reckon that there is at least one person blogging on just about every topic that you can think of and if not, that could be the topic for you.  The main reason though why so many people do it these days is because it is FUN!

There aren’t many other ways in which you can potentially connect with hundreds, thousands, or if you are good, millions of people simply by being yourself.  You can blog from the comfort of your home, whilst at work on your lunch break or even when traveling the world, the possibilities are endless!

Not convinced yet?  Well here are 10 reasons to help convince you;

10 Reasons Why Your New Year’s Resolution Should Be To Start A Blog

1. Make Money Online

As this site is focused on making money online, I’d be daft not to mention that a blog can earn you money.  Many people online earn money by running their own blog and you can too if you put the work in.  The most obvious way is to display advertising on your site, but the great thing about running your own site is that you don’t just have to rely on one method!  You can incorporate; affiliate marketing, eCommerce, subscription services, sell your own product, etc. and many more!  See our ’30 Ways To Monetize Your Blog’ for more ideas.

2. Improve Your Career Prospects

You may be searching for a new job or perhaps looking at finding a new challenge in your existing career.  Whatever it is, a blog can help you achieve that!

If you have your own site, you gain exposure to a much wider variety of people who may be looking for someone like you.  For example, let’s say you run a blog linked with your expertise, say “Graphic Design”.  You write regular articles in your free time about anything and everything related to graphic design and build up a bit of a following.  You state on your site that you are seeking employment, to which one of your readers happens to notice and gets in touch with you.  This could lead to a possible job offer or at least acknowledgment from someone in your industry.

You can also use your blog as an online portfolio.  When applying for jobs, you tend to only have a limited amount of space to include everything about yourself on your CV/resume.  Employers will be impressed if you can supply them a link to your professional looking blog that includes lots of quality information, demonstrating that you know what you are on about.

3. Find Freelance Work

Blogs are also great for finding freelance work online.  For example, if we use the same graphic design example from above, you could attract clients that are interested in hiring you to do some work for them, perhaps by designing them a new logo for their business.  By regularly writing about and demonstrating your expertise on a particular subject, you will attract people to your site that are interested in working with you.

4. Build A Professional Network

Sticking with the professional theme, blogs can be a great way to build a network of people from around the world.  If you work in an office, you will tend to only interact with the same people every day, however online you can connect with people from around the world.  Think of all the people in your profession that you could connect with online.  If you can build a reasonably good blog, then you will begin to attract these people to your site to connect with.

5. Personal Journal

Blogs don’t just have to be work related, they can be about anything!  Many people online use their blog as a kind of online journal that they share with people.  Now, I don’t mean day to day monotonous activities that we all do (i.e. “Today I had a ham sandwich for lunch…”) but the exciting and interesting things that we all do.

Perhaps you are planning a trip around the world, planning to live out some of your experiences on your bucket list, want to share your hobby experiences, etc.  Why not start a blog and share your experiences with others.  You will get to interact with loads of new people, have fun and potentially make some money along the way!

6. New Year’s Resolutions

As I said in the introduction, we all tend to pick cliché New Year’s resolutions at this time of the year, but do we all stick to them.  Well no, otherwise we wouldn’t pick them every year!

Why not turn your new year’s resolution into the topic of your blog.  This way you will be more determined to lose that weight, stop eating chocolate or quit smoking, etc.  Whatever your new year’s resolution is, you will find that there is plenty of other people out there trying to do it as well, so they would be interested in reading about your struggle as well.

7. Meet New People

We talked about building a professional network, but what about just making new friends.  Blogging is a great way to meet new people online and get to know them.  The best bit about this is that, generally, the people visiting your site have the same interests as you, so instantly you have something in common.

The other great thing about blogs is that you get to meet and interact with people from all around the world.  You’d be surprised how much you can get to know about people and their cultures by chatting to them online.

I think from all the things that blogging has let me do; meeting new people from around the world is THE best aspect of blogging that I enjoy.

8. Become More Focused

I haven’t met another serious blogger that wasn’t focused.  Before I started blogging, I’ll admit that I was a bit lazy and unorganized.  That all changed when I got into blogging as I began to see that the hard work that I was putting in was paying off.  It is very satisfying to see something that you have created from scratch, grow into something bigger that attracts visitors from all around the world.  That in turn makes you even more focused into improving it and making it better.

I always thought that to become successful, you needed to be a focused person, you know, as though it was something that you were born with.  I have definitely changed my mind now because I think that anyone can be focused and driven, you just need to nurture it and watch it grow.  A blog can be a great way to do this!

9. Help Others

Depending on what you choose to blog about, you can get the opportunity to help people out.  This could be in the form of raising money for charity, writing tutorials, giving people advice or just simply listening to people’s problems.

However you chose to help people, you will that it brings a great satisfaction to your life.

10. More Time With Family

If you work hard and successfully build a popular blog that earns you a living, you will find that it will give you more time with the family.  Now, I don’t say this lightly, as getting to this point requires a lot of hard work and dedication, but blogging is a lot different that working for somebody else.  You get to choose your own working hours, what you focus on each day, how much time you have off, etc.  Just having this flexibility will allow you to spend more time with your family.

So, there it is!  My 10 reasons to help convince you to start a blog this year.  Like any new year’s resolution, it won’t be easy, but if you can stick with it, it has the potential to change your life for the better!  Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!

Did I convince you to start your own blog?  If so, what do you think you will blog about?  What other new year’s resolutions have you made this year?  Let us know by leaving a comment below!