14 Awesome Reasons to Start Blogging Today!
Welcome to the ribbon cutting ceremony for BloggingStartup.com. This is our first “official” post. We hope you enjoy it. If you are interested in blogging, be sure to subscribe to our RSS feed.
In April of 2007, Technorati reported that more than 120,000 blogs are created every day. That is more than one new blog every second. New blog posts are added at a rate of of 1.5 million each day or 17 per second. And that was nearly a year ago. Blogging is now major fixture in our Internet world.
So, why do people blog? There are a multitude of reasons for blogging. I’ve tried to capture the some of the more popular reasons in the following list. Keep in mind that any one blog probably exists for several reasons. A blog that promotes an individual may also sell things and, therefore, make money. A personal blog could be started to express one’s self and to keep in touch with friends. So here is my list of popular reasons to start a blog (with examples):
Share stuff - A blog can be your little place on the web to share things you find interesting. Examples: 10 Daily Things and I Can Had Cheezburger.
Report news – Many blogs today are highly respected as current news sources. Examples: TechCrunch and Mashable.
Make money – Some folks try to make money from blogging (usually from selling advertising on their blog). Examples: Blogging Experiment and Josh Buckley.
Express yourself – A blog is a place where you can let out your frustrations or you’re your soul through artistic expression. Examples: Stevey’s Blog Rants and Poem-Express.
Influence others – Writing to sway the thinking of others has long been a popular reason for starting a blog. Examples: Tree Hugger and Global Warming Hoax.
Connect with friends and family – Many blogs are started as a way to share family news and photos with friends. Examples: The White Family News and Potter Family.
Comment on issues – Some blogs function as a personal opinion page for authors wanting to share their point of view on major topics. Examples: The Blue Voice and Townhall.
Promote a business – Many corporations have learned the value of advice and corporate news style blogging as a marketing and public relations tool (including Kleenex with their “Let It Out” blog…yeah, I’m serious). Examples: John Nack on Adobe and Let It Out.
Help others – There are a number of blogs that offer advice, tutorials and other assistance. (Hey, BloggingStartup.com falls in this category!) Lifehacker and Copy Blogger.
Market stuff – Some blogs sell stuff while others directly promote their product or service. Examples: Gina Jackson Personal Fitness and SoloStream.
Share your hobby – Hey, want to talk about how you like to spend your free time? Why not start a blog? Example: Views From a Paintball Cynic and Blog Of Herbs.
Promote yourself – Blogs can be a great way to let the world know who you are, whether you are wanting to change jobs or promoting your services. Examples: Joe DiAngelo, Personal Trainer and George Torok, Motivational Speaker.
Journal your experience - Type about anything. Talk about your day, share your opinion, show a funny picture or tell what you had for dinner. Examples: Dooce and Pecor Family.
Try something different – Be creative, explore the world in your own way, through blogging. Examples: PostSecret and Executed Today.
I am not endorsing the content of any of these blogs. I chose them as examples to highlight some of the more popular and well designed blogs. Most of them have been around for several years. So don’t expect your blog to meet this quality level right out of the gate. Your blog is your little corner of the web. You can blog for any reason and blog about whatever you wish.
Why do you blog…or want to?
[Photo Credits: Technorati and Antigone]
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Comments
I’m looking forward to more.@Tish Thanks Tish! You are my first “official” commenter. 
@Executed Today I assumed that was the universal reason for blogging…no explanation needed!
Thanks for mentioning our blog in your list of various reasons to start a blog.We are certainly out here to voice our progressive view and comment on the issues of the day. Good luck with this new endeavor of yours. The Blue Voice
Hi Jim, thank you for summarizing the reasons to start a blog. Only 6 of them are applicable to me at the moment but all other are very reasonable as well and in time I’ll employ some of them.
Have a nice day!
[…] 14 Awesome Reasons to Start Blogging Today! - A list of reasons people blog and great examples to go along with each reason. […]
[…] Why are you blogging? Knowing the reason(s) you are blogging puts everything else in perspective. Probably the most important question, “For love or money?” Read “14 Awesome Reasons to Start Blogging Today.” […]
I think it’s often a combination of one or more of those reasons, but there tends to be one central drive.
I also suspect that central drive can change. I bet many people start blogs to make money. Nothing wrong with that. But when the magic millions don’t appear, they either fall away, or continue because they enjoy it for new reasons.
Perhaps reasons they didn’t expect such as to make friends or because they feel they are being listened to on a topic they are passionate about.
Personally, I think being listened to, offering my experiences (of seeing my business go bust and starting again), and perhaps even helping others.
I started the blog last June a month after I went bust. I’ve succeeded to turn the business around and we’re currently recruiting more staff and expanding again.
It’s going really well, and all aspects of my life are improving.
But the blog only has a strip of Adsense which has made a grand total of $60 in nearly 9 months!
My original goal was to diarise as a kind of journal which may help others. That need is still there, but I do crave more visitors - particularly from those who want to know how to grow a business fast which I’ve now done twice!
And if it finds struggling people, all the better. I’d love it to one day help create a success story from the edge of disaster.
Anyway, I’ll shut up now.
Like the blog. Nice and crisp, easy to read and very well written.
[…] 14 Awesome Reasons to Start Blogging Today! - A list of reasons people blog and great examples to go along with each reason. […]
Great post, Jim!! I couldn’t wait to see what would be up today! By the way, I blogged about your site on Blogging Gal.
Best of luck!