No, Blogging Isn’t Over
Writers love to write. Writers also love to write about writing. A common belief among working writers is that blogging about writing is like spinning your wheels. It doesn’t actually accomplish anything for you and distracts from time you could be spending on doing more productive work. But blogging doesn’t have to be like that at all. In fact, blogging can not only provide many productive working benefits, but can help you establish yourself and your work while creating opportunities you never believed possible.
I can hear you thinking it, though: “But isn’t blogging over?” It’s true that with the advent of modern social media, “blogging” as such as kind of fallen out of public consciousness. The only reason you think of blogging as “over,” however, is because it has assumed different names. People make posts on social media that could easily be blog posts. They write articles on sites like LinkedIn. They create essays on sites like Substack. There are countless other outlets, too, where blogs go by any name but “blog,” yet are essentially just that. The fact is, more people than ever are blogging, even though what they are doing often does not go by that term.
Just because people are still blogging doesn’t mean you should be blogging, of course. The popularity of blogging by any name at all would not, by itself, be reason to take up your time maintaining regular blog posts. No, the reason you want to start blogging to support your efforts (whatever those efforts might be, whatever the project or projects you are working on) is because blogging can really help you.
“Blogging is a great way to show your talents and interests to prospective employers, while adding an edge to your resume. If you blog consistently it shows your dedication, passions and creativity – all of which are key attributes employers look for in job candidates.” – Lauren Conrad
Countless experts on writing, social media, and marketing understand the benefits of blogging. There are many. They range from tangible and immediate to intangible and eventual. Writing and maintaining a blog, in other words, is the sort of thing that will start helping you now, but will continue helping you down the road.
What does that “help” mean? It ranges from honing your writing and your technical skills to building a network of fellow content creators while also identifying and building your audience. Blogging is a means of defining yourself while also finding and reaching a receptive demographic. It is both workshop and marketing tool, platform and shingle. It’s the way you put yourself out there while also helping others to find you. Best of all, blogging is not difficult and can be a great deal of fun… but there are some ways that blogging works well, compared to some ways that blogging works less well.
To start a blog is to commit to doing so consistently. Starting and abandoning a blog won’t help. Your blog must be consistent. It should also be earnest, engaging, and not take itself too seriously, but at the same time it should meet basic professional standards. Beyond that, the doors of blogging are pretty wide open. It’s up to you what you make of your blog.
Remember, no matter what people tell you, blogging isn’t over. It’s still done, every day, by countless people… even if that’s not what they call it. Blogging, however, is a tool that can take your writing and your projects to the next level. To get the most out of it, you need to start doing it. In these pages, you’ll learn dozens more tips, tricks, and hacks for leveraging your blog to position yourself and your projects for success. You can’t do any of that, however, if you don’t get started blogging.
Listen to our advice, yes… but remember, without blogging on your part, this can only ever be writing about writing.