This article has been syndicated from Overthinker’s Notebook, an InfluenceHer Collective Member. Read the full post here.
If you’re like me, your introduction to the blog world happened by seeing blog posts on Pinterest, clicking through to read them and finding yourself poking around random blogger’s sites. The summer before college, I was fascinated with the world of blogging. Despite my immediate attraction to the world of blogging, I put off starting my blog for two years. I kept making excuses to myself that I didn’t have time, or wouldn’t have time when school was in session. Sure, I’m bored now, but I’ll be way too busy when school starts again. The week before my junior year started, I finally got over my fears and dove in.
My almost-two-year blogging journey has had a lot of ups and downs. Between finding my way through writing and promoting my blog to juggling it with school and self-care, I’ve learned a lot about blogging, running a business, time management, and most of all, myself. Here are some surprising things that happened or that I learned as a blogger throughout my junior and senior years.
- I gained actual, tangible skills for my resume
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The majority of my relevant experience has obviously been from summer internships, but many of the entry-level positions I’ve come across involve marketing. I see so many job descriptions that want someone with social media experience, WordPress experience, or email marketing experience. What allowed me to check off those boxes? Blogging did!
Seriously, blogging has helped my skillset in so many different ways. In addition to the obvious writing, web design and marketing stuff, I’ve gained skills in setting deadlines for myself and sticking with them, managing and prioritizing many different projects at once, attention to detail, strategic planning, and organization and time management. This is starting to feel like a cover letter, but that’s just another testament to how useful my blog has been in my job search!
- Nothing is as easy as it seems
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This one hit me like a brick. A lot of people position blogging as a get-rich-quick thing. While I never imagined I could “Start a Money-Making Blog in 15 Minutes!”, I sure didn’t expect it to take so long to see results. Sometimes, you try one thing, and it doesn’t work. Instead of giving up or waiting to “get noticed,” sometimes you actually have to rethink things and try a new strategy. Don’t get me wrong — blogging is a great experience. It just won’t be as easy as it looks.
- It’s hard to juggle
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College students have a lot of stuff to do. From homework to studying to extracurriculars to part-time jobs to trying to have “the college experience,” it’s no secret that they’re always stressed and caffeine-driven. As many benefits as blogging has, it’s one more thing in your weekly planner, and it’s a big thing at that. Especially around midterms and finals, it’s hard to find the time and motivation to keep up with your blogging. It’s up to you to either decide to make time for it or to prioritize school and be willing to suffer a loss of page views.
- You feel like you’re a part of something bigger
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Until you really get into blogging and social media, you don’t realize what a big blogging community is out there. I’ve met so many other bloggers through Instagram and Twitter — some of whom I still follow on Instagram. I read a post earlier about a blogger who moved to a new city, and she met another blogger there through Instagram who showed her the ropes. That’s the kind of support system I want when I move to a new job!
Some people go into blogging convinced it’ll be a competition (I sure did), but it’s truly not. There are so many great bloggers out there tweeting relatable stuff on Twitter and putting out blog posts you’ll love and the vast majority of them are willing to answer questions and help other bloggers! You just have to be willing to put yourself out there and make those connections.
- You’ll learn so much about yourself
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With a big project like blogging, there are so many things I’ve learned about myself. For example, I suck at actively engaging new audiences via one-on-one conversation. Some bloggers get new readers that way on Instagram and Twitter. I couldn’t in a million years. However, I’m really good at search engine optimization because it’s more formulaic and analytical. This has given me a general idea about what jobs I’d be good at doing (like anything involving spreadsheets) and what jobs I should steer clear from (like sales). This will be useful beyond the life of my blog and throughout my career.
More importantly, though, I learned about my own motivational drive. Those times when school and blogging and my fraternity were all too much, or when I felt like I wasn’t having any success, are the times that showed me how much I’m really made of. Those are the times when I pushed myself beyond where I thought I could ever go.
If you’ve read this far and you still think blogging is for you, what are you waiting for? There will never be “the perfect time” to start. You’ll always be busy, you’ll always have other things on your plate, and you’ll never magically gain more motivation. Why not start now? Happy goal-getting!
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