When we graduated from college, being a blogger was not a job. It was something people did as a hobby, but rarely made any money doing. There probably wasn’t even one person who became famous or successful as a blogger.
Now, times have changed. Blogging can indeed create income and there are dozens of bloggers who are considered celebrities and even have their own book deals. This is a whole new world for bloggers to thrive in.
For English major students and those who want to build a career as a writer, becoming an overnight blogging celebrity, and allowing blog ads and product reviews pay your bill might not always work out as well. The Internet is a vast ground and it takes a lot of time and dedication to get a targeted readership to follow and help you profit, amidst all the competition around the web. It really comes down to branding.
That doesn’t mean that blogging is totally useless for writers. There are many ways that being a blogger could improve your skills and help you improve your career today.
- Writing as a Job is Different From Writing College Papers
Being a blogger allows you to practice writing with the skills you would need to use at work. If you are consistent with your blogging efforts, then you would also train yourself to be on a regular writing schedule. This helps you improve your skills and adhere to deadlines. These are important and challenging even for the best of professional writers.
- Blogging Helps You Write For An Audience And Create Stellar Work
Social media might encourage us to live in the now and in the moment, without pausing. While this could help develop some creative content on the spur, we still have to take it slow sometimes. You would need to research, reflect on your work, edit, and have somebody else review your writing. All this should happen before you hit the publish button.
Having the practice to do this is essential for writing jobs such as working on a corporate marketing blog, creating lesson plans, and drafting proposals for a non-profit organization.
- Blogging Builds An Instant Portfolio
When you are consistently blogging, you will always have a writing sample ready to provide upon request. You also have living proof to show that you are qualified and know how to stick to deadlines, finish your project, communicate efficiently, and create a story.
- Blogging Means Knowing To Write Precisely And To The Point
To succeed as a blogger, you have to stick to writing for a particular theme and create your blog’s tone around this said topic. Whether you write about marketing or share recipes, your blog shouldn’t deviate beyond this topic or theme. Being a successful writer – whether you create articles or emails requires that you stick to the topic, be straight to the point and target the topic with few distractions. Being a blogger helps you develop these skills and also proves to your prospective employer that you have these skills.
- Blogging Allows You To Be Found
You might wonder who would actually read your blog swimming on the vast ocean called the Internet- with a zillion blogs and plenty of competition. But that can also mean that anybody can find your blog. You can be found by everyone who appreciates your topic and style of writing. You can also seek assistance from other bloggers to grow your skills and audience.
Blogging can get you in touch with other creative artists, writers, and readers. These people can create a potential network that can help for work, projects, or just to gain skills. Your personal blog can also have you get some exposure on recruiter and employee searches, giving you an advantage over other applicants. You can also create new contacts with your business card while attending writing conferences and other events.
At the end of the day, having a commitment to regularly add on to your blog is definitely a skill that would prove useful and help your career grow. Keep sharpening your skills as a writer even after you graduate from college.
Starting and having a blog set up for you to use has become really easy these days. You don’t have to hand code HTML or spend thousands on design and blog set up. All you need is a weekend, and perhaps $10 a year and you can set up your website on your own. Now is definitely the time to start blogging and build your career as a writer.
