Reasons You Should Have Your Own Blog
April 12th, 2010 by Tweet
It has been a little over one year since we first launched Admix Web, and we are very happy with how successful we have been. Now, when I say successful, I am not talking about only monetary success. Though having a blog does usually bring in some excess income, and for some bloggers this income can be quit lucrative, I believe the most successful blogs are the ones that are started for another reason, other than just making money. Actually, I get asked quite frequently, “Why do you have a Blog?” Well, because I get asked that so often, I have decided to write this post explaining the positive motivations I have for writing my blog. Here are a few reasons I write my blog…Why do you write yours? Please feel free to express you reasons for blogging in the comment section! As always, I love to hear from fellow bloggers!
Lets people know what you know
Blogging is a great way to show your knowledge of web design and development, or whatever your niche area is. In fact, it is such a great way to show your knowledge, that is has lead me to at least ten great job opportunities, as well as many of my clients.
Learning by teaching
Blogging is a great way to learn by writing tutorials, posts, and round-ups. The majority of the time, I write articles and tutorials about areas I have learned through the course and scope of my work; however, many times I hear of a new technique which inspires me, and I take the time to learn about it and write a tutorial or post about it. Thus, blogging allows me to learn by teaching, which has given me the ability to stay updated on the latest techniques in my field. All in all, blogging challenges me to not be complacent, and rather to continue to learn more.
Interaction with designers and developers from all over the world
I have had the ability to interact with amazing web designers and developers from all over the world because of blogging. Just to name a few, I have had the pleasure of networking with other bloggers in my field, which helps me get my name out in the field, as well as learning from other great designers and developers. The whole point of networking is to meet people, in order to expand your imprint to as many people as possible, and blogging is a great way to do this.
Uses your free time in a constructive way
When you are as busy as I am between school and work, free time is hard to come by; however, with blogging I can use my free time in a practical and productive way because I am not only doing what I love, but in addition I am learning and improving my knowledge and skills at the same time. Thus, start a blog, or guest write for a pre-existing blog in order to use your free time in the most constructive way possible.
Learn from feedback
Blogging allows you to learn from the feedback you receive on your articles, posts, and tutorials. On many occasions, I have been given a great idea or corrected about something I previously knew from a fellow designer or developer who posted a comment on my blog. Most people like to comment and give their perspective on things, and this perspective gives me and my readers even more valuable information, which can be used to improve our skills.
Promote discussions
Like I wrote in the previous reason, blogging allows you to learn from the feedback you receive on your articles, posts, and tutorials, and in addition it creates a places that promotes discussions that can be extremely thought provoking. I enjoy when readers comment in my blog that makes me think about something I did not previously think about, and then it opens up a discussion on the very topic. In addition, many blogs ask general questions of the public in order to promote a discussion and get perspective from others in the field. For example, though I am giving my reasons for blogging, I would love to hear from other bloggers as to why they blog as well.
A blog is part of your portfolio
A blog should be part of your portfolio, because it is a not only a great way to show your knowledge through writing, but it help you to show you ability through the design and development of the blog itself. Think of it as a extension of your portfolio, and make sure to place the link on your CV or resume. And, like I previously wrote, blogging has lead me to many great job opportunities, as well as lead many of my clients to me.
Inspire someone to do it
At first, I was very fearful of blogging because English is not my first language, and I was scared that I would not be able to find enough topics to write about. However, after reading blogs from India, Germany, and other countries, where the writers also had English as a second language, it inspired me to do it as well. Since I started blogging, I have inspired a few others to do the same. Blogging takes commitment and dedication; nevertheless, it is something you can start doing today!
It is free (or really cheap)
Blogging is very cost effective, and many cases it is free or even profitable. However, as I previously mentioned, though having a blog does usually bring in some excess income, and for some bloggers this income can be quit lucrative, I believe the most successful blogs are the ones that are started for another reason, other than just making money. All things considered, blogging will not cost more than it gains for you, thus I always think it is worth it! Additionally, it is not necessary to have a domain in order to have a blog. You can create an account for free in WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr, and Blog.com and start right now!
Teylor Feliz is a well-known XHTML/CSS/JavaScript enthusiast from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He has more than 10 years experience in the computer programming and development world, including 2 years teaching computer science. He is currently living in Louisiana, where he plans to complete his degree in Computer Science, and begin a Masters in the field.
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Those are the reasons I started blogging too. Nice post Teylor thanks for sharing.
Thanks Shurandy! Glad we share the same mindset!
I agree with all the points you discussed, specially “Your blog is your portfolio”. It is very true because after blogging for few months and couple of hundred posts you can proudly show your blog and say this is my work, this is my writing, this is my style, this is my love
Yes, I agree. Blogging is a part of you!
Great post! Thanks for sharing, Teylor!
Thanks for the comment!
Very good post Teylor!
I am starting my own blog, but I don’t really have any technical knowledge such as web design or graphic design. I appreciate them all though and have other areas of “expertise”, but it is really going to be more of a personal blog. I am definitely doing it for the love of doing it and not for monetary reasons..
I believe most of the reasons you listed apply to my blog too… Hopefully.
Thanks again,
Nick Rovisa
I completely agree! You have to love blogging if you are going to do it, because it takes a lot of dedication!
Great article.
Thank you!
thank you! i’m just starting with blogging, this post was inspiring
GREAT! Let me know if you need more advice!
thank you for this great articles.
Thanks for the comment! I am glad you liked it!
Thanks Teylor,
i’ve come along this blog-post hrough your post on webinformers.
I’ve thougth a lot of times about starting my own blog, but i always felt like “everything i would have to say, has been said before.” Your article impressed me as much that i’m just starting PS right now to design a blog-section on my website.
Thx,
Andi
Sorry, wrong link. The right one is:
designinformer
Get started! Let me know if you need any advise! Thanks for the comment!
yeah … i completely agree with you, but now i find it hard to make a consistent post, for example a post in every 3-5 day
Yeah, it can be hard, but I try to look everywhere and in my real life work as a designer and developer for inspiration as to what to write about. I am actually going to do a post about it soon
Stay tuned! Thanks for your comment!
great!…i’m just looking for an ispiration for working on my blog after the hard and long restyling of my website. and my inspiration for the contents will be “my real life work (and private) as a designer and developer for inspiration as to what to write about” ^_^
i started for the same reason and get the review from the many users( commentators ) for articles, tutorials. they really judge our skills(most of the time !)
We learn by being judged by others!
One great article, keep up doing a great job!
As always, thanks for the comment and I am glad you liked it!
Nice job on this article. In addition I have seen where the creation of a blog serves as a very nice starting point for collecting like minded groups both online and in person. Amazing how these groups/members can compliment each other.
Great article. I’m agree with you. A blog is a great way to promot yourself or open up your mind from feedback.
I really enjoyed this post, I hope more people start to blog. It is amazing to know what is going with people in the world
Very nice post. Yes, i like the part “Blogging is really a part of your portfolio “
You have highlighted some very important points of blogging and why anyone should have a blog for that matter. A blog allows people to know about you and your business and what I find most interesting about blogging is the feedback. Positive or negative, feedback helps us understand our audience much better. Good post!
Great article Teylor , the reasons youve touched upon as to why someone should have their own blog are quite accurate . Albeit , most people embark upon blogging for monetary reasons , I believe that whether one does it for profit or not – what truly matters is : Finding something which you love and doing it to the best of your ability. . If one doesnt have a passion for what they are doing – then it is futile and failure can be expected .
Thank you for sharing your views and expertise
P.S :Your English is perfect btw
M.
These reasons are so true and close to my heart. I believed these are the reasons why everyone should have something to say by having their own blog.
Good article – I think you hit the nail on the head there – Blogs will defiantly let your customers know you know a lot about the industry you are in.
Thanks Everyone! So glad this post got such a great response!!! Thanks everyone for the comments!