Blogging 101: Why Do You Want To Blog?

When it comes to blogging, every blogger is different, and every blogger has a different reason for the “why do we create a blog?” question. Knowing the reasons why you want to start a blog and knowing you want to start a blog are two slightly different ways of thinking. Knowing the answer to why though, can help inform how you create your blog and your ongoing blog content and brand.

Why Knowing ‘Why’ You Want to Blog Helps Your Blog

Why is what motivates most people to do what they do. It is what creates and contextualises your emotions, reaction and reasonings. So, knowing the why about your blog can help you make more rational decisions to meet the goals you set yourself.

Depending on your why and what you want to gain from a blog can help you when getting started. You can perfectly plan and design your blog from the beginning to reach what you actually want (rather than flailing wildly to find what you want your blog to be like I did…). For example, if your why is to make some extra income, you will need to set your site up ready to have income streams.

Knowing your reasons why early on can also help in the long term. We’re more likely to accept change and alter aspects of your life or blog if there’s solid reasoning behind it, that you understand and fits your needs. Whilst I mentioned money earlier as an example, if you’re a blogger than focuses solely on blogging for journaling/passions/making friends etc. making money may go against your why and so if it becomes an opportunity later on, you know to say no.

Not knowing why you’re blogging can also cause you to feel demotivated if you’re not getting to outcomes you expect. People create their own milestones and measurements based on subconscious thoughts – if you work out your why you can better understand how your measure your success. For example, if you’re blogging to gain authority in a specific area then a possible measurement could be follower numbers.

Whilst planning isn’t a perfect art and you can’t predict everything, it does help further your motivation to meet your goals. It’s also worth mentioning that blog success can also rely on a lot of luck, networking and previous privilege in blogger’s lives. So don’t worry if you start blogging and you’re not on the same level of other bloggers, it’s not worth comparing yourself in that way.

Stuck on the why? Here’s some help!

Top 9 Reasons People Start a Blog

1. Blogging for Journaling

One of the most common uses of blogging since it started has been for journaling. Writing down things about your life and your experiences to share with other likeminded people can help create conversation. It can also help develop relationships with family and friends who are further away or create new friendships with people with similar interests and experiences.

Some people worry that journal-style blogging means discussing your deepest fears and embarrassing moments, it doesn’t mean you’re fully journaling like in a diary. When you create this kind of blog it’s vital to create boundaries to what you want to write about. Those who create Travel journal blogs may have boundaries set at not disclosing anything about their actual home (which is smart if you’re leaving your house alone often!). Those who talk about topics like mental health, illness, etc may leave out their names if it could alter perceptions of their real-life friends and family. Those who use anecdotes about friends and family may draw boundaries at using real names.

Set the boundaries that are right for you at the start of your blogging journey – and remember you can always open up later on but it’s extremely hard to close the boundary that you once had open. Especially on the internet when archives may be saved.

2. Blogging for Passions and/or Hobbies

A lot of the bloggers I know and interact with have chosen to blog as a place for them to talk about the things they love. Whether it’s books, make-up, films etc. They often find that the people in their life don’t share the same interests as them, and they use blogging as a platform to find similar people and connect with others too.

So, when you’re thinking about why you want to blog, maybe take note about what you’re truly passionate about. I’ve seen many blogs start in one niche and slowly shift content to include more and more of another topic – mainly because the writer loves that additional topic/hobby.

3. Blogging for Making Friends

I’ve spoken to other bloggers about this and one of the key reasons why they started to blog has been to meet new people and make friends. Internet friends are real – and finding people with the same passions and hobbies are easier online.

I’ve spoken about blogging communities before, and how friendly they can be. As well as the importance of giving and gaining support from others. These are key parts of reaching out to meet new people – whether it’s mutual comments or a follow on social media. One small step can create fuller friendship groups.

4. Blogging for Making Money

I’ve already mentioned making money above. This is because it’s completely possible to create a ‘side hustle’ blog to make money and many bloggers have succeeded in creating these kinds of blogs. However, it often takes a lot of time and effort to start creating a passive income from blogging. This means that you would need to put things into place from the start of your blog in order to best capitalise on what monetisation methods you use.

This could be making sure you set up Google Ads as soon as you create your site, and creating affiliate accounts so you can use affiliate links from the very first blog post. Plus, much more, which can help you increase and sustain income month on month, and year on year.

5. Blogging for Business

For some bloggers, blogging isn’t just additional income to their job, it’s their whole job and income. If you want to become a full-time blogger, you need to think a lot more about your income streams. These need to be planned carefully, and you need to think about ways to make money outside of passive income of digital ads and affiliate links.

For example, creating lists of companies you may want to reach out to for editorial work, or thinking up and writing new e-books every quarter.

You can also create a blog which is attributed to a business you run. So many websites now have blogs attached to them – from fast fashion to even medical companies. The internet is so full of information and many businesses use blogging to show the information they have about the industry they’re in.

6. Blogging for Learning New Skills

If like me, you wanted to start a blog because you wanted to learn some new skills – then it’s best to create a handy goal list for which skills these are. This can be technical skills such as website creation, design, SEO etc. OR it can be more skills learnt through content like learning about skincare products as you test, review and write about them. Either way, in order to be ‘successful’ in your own eyes for learning these new skills, you should ensure you’re clear on what you want to learn and to what level you want to be at for those skills.

There’s a reason why it’s started to become a bigger part of college and university courses too.

7. Blogging for Writing

On top of a general skills point – I wanted to talk about how important blogging can be for people to hone their writing skills. Whilst blogs aren’t quite the same as novels, many authors do use blogging platforms to improve their writing skill and to write consistently even if it’s not on their books.

Others also use blogs as a way to improve writing skills for copywriting jobs or for personal benefit. Many people love the act of writing and blogging is a medium that has as super low barrier to entry.

8. Blogging for Forming Authority in a Niche

I’ve mentioned business and I’ve mentioned hobbies – but there’s also the middle ground of blogging to form authority or credibility in a specific niche. These are often blogs that contain consistent content, which also grows their personal brand.

For example, you’ve probably seen (and read) blogs from marketeers about all kinds of topics – often they’ve built their blogs purely to form authority in marketing and specific specialisations within the industry. On the other hand, people with a lot of interest in beauty and skincare have created blogs where they have in depth information about products, which gives them credibility in that topic.

9. Blogging for Self-Improvement

I’ve already talked about skills, but blogging can also help you improve as a person. Blogging can help build confidence and self-esteem in multiple ways for example, making friends and finding a group to be part of can help boost confidence.

Gaining skills and knowledge about topics can also help you to develop yourself offline, whether it’s in your possible career or schooling or if it’s just joining an IRL group to discuss interests.

Blogging can also help with communication skills which are often deemed as ‘soft skills’ in the workplace. Things like this are also often referred to as transferable skills – which can help boost your CV and your interview skills.

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So, I’ve ran thought a non-extensive list of reasons why you could be blogging, but I’d love to hear from you. So why do you choose to blog?