To any writer that says they’re too busy to write their own blog, we say you can’t afford not to blog.
It doesn’t matter what stage of your career you’re at. It doesn’t matter if you’re a novelist, poet, or copywriter. A well-written and well-maintained blog can always be helpful.
Even if you’re not burning up Medium or racking up staggering numbers of views and shares, here are 4 ways that your blog can drive your career.
1. Carve Out Your Own Niche
Let’s say you’re aspiring to be a full-time food blogger. If you try to get hired by a media company, you’re going to run into the classic vicious cycle: Nobody will hire you because you have no experience, but you can’t get experience because nobody will hire you.
Get unstuck by paddling your own canoe. Start your own food blog and treat it as seriously as a full-time job. You’re probably going to have to start out by writing for free anyways, so you might as well do it to build your own brand, instead of someone else’s.
Your blog/portfolio can showcase your ability to tell a compelling story and take enticing pictures. However, if you work with a company that offers keyword research services, you can actually start to rank for important keywords in your niche.
If you gain traction, this opens the door to start making money. The blog goes from being your portfolio to your main source of income.
2. Show More Personality
If you’re a blogger or copywriter, client work can be creatively stifling. Where are the fun projects? When can I inject some personality into this writing?
Writing your own blog can be an opportunity to exercise some creative muscles that you forgot you had. It’s cathartic to finally free yourself from the shackles of client guidelines and just write whatever the hell you want.
You can be funny, you can be edgy, you can be provocative, or even weird. It’s a chance to remind yourself how good you really are.
3. Show That You Have Initiative
Future employers usually want someone with a boundless passion for the craft of writing. They don’t want someone who just goes home and switches off every night. They want someone who takes their laptop out on the train on the way home to pick away at their screenplay/novel/ personal blog.
Simply put, if your next boss wants someone motivated, you can either tell them you’re motivated in your cover letter, or you can prove it to them by showing them your active blog.
4. Become an Actual Thought-Leader
Everyone claims to be a thought-leader or an influencer these days—but almost nobody actually is.
Let’s say you own your own company. That certainly makes you an expert, but not necessarily a thought-leader. A thought-leader isn’t just someone with original ideas and unique takes. You need other people in your industry to pay attention to your ideas and share them.
Blogging about your industry with your own unique voice and personality opens the door for things that really establish you as a thought leader. It helps land coveted opportunities like guest blogs, public speaking events, and sitting in on industry roundtable discussions.
So stop stalling. It’s time to use a blog to start your writing career or take it to the next level.