Why You Should Start A Blog In College

I started thinking about making a blog about four years ago, when I was a freshman in high school. I could’ve easily started one then, but I came up with excuses for years—

“What would I even write about? None of my friends blog, who will even read it? English is my least favorite subject, why should I start writing?”

Finally, on March 24, 2014, I wrote my first post. I don’t even remember what it was, and I’m pretty sure I deleted it when I switched domains. It most likely had nothing to do with what I blog about now, but hey, it was a start!

Over the past year, my blog has grown in ways I never imagined. I went from being set on DIY blogging, to general lifestyle blogging, to providing tips and resources for creatives. That’s the great thing about this hobby/lifestyle/whatever you want to call it—you can write about whatever you want and truly be yourself!

Blogging is so much more than just writing posts though. You’re constantly learning new skills, meeting new people, and exploring your interests through different subjects. Based on my experience of blogging through my first year of college, here are some reasons why I think college students should start a blog:

1. It looks great on your resume.

This is something I never considered when I started blogging. Applying for a job requires finding a way to stand out from the other applicants, and having a blog will do just that! Rather than just putting “writing” under the skills section of your resume, you can link to your blog so the interviewer can see how great you are.

When I was interviewing for Microsoft last semester, my interviewer actually asked me about my blog, which was so surprising to me! I was able to talk about how I love helping other people create their own blogs, and that led to a conversation about my design work and skills. You never know when having a blog could set you apart!

2. It expands your network and introduces you to some amazing people.

I’ve met some crazy cool people over the past year, from web designers to photographers to full-time entrepreneurs. I know I always have someone to go to about design help or life advice—it’s like a giant family of people that are actually strangers. Blogging introduced me to some great people who I can now call my friends, and it’s crazy knowing I haven’t even met them in person, because it definitely feels like I have!

3. You’ll learn technical skills.

How many depends on how in depth you decide to look into the foundation of a blog, but I’m pretty confident that every blogger has gained some amount of technical skills from blogging. For example, if something in your post looks wrong or out of place, you’ll have to take a peek at the HTML behind it and mess around until it looks right. Or if you want to change something about the design of your blog, you’ll probably have to play with some CSS. Here are the technical skills I’ve learned or become familiar with through blogging, which are great to show off on your resume:

• HTML
• CSS
• PHP
• JavaScript
• Photoshop
• Illustrator

4. You’ll become a better writer.

This one is kind of obvious, but seriously, you will. I wasn’t lying when I said English was my least favorite subject, and I honestly didn’t think this blog would last because of that. But blogging made me realize I didn’t necessarily hate writing, I just hated writing about topics that didn’t interest me (aka English class). Now that I’m writing about things I’m passionate about, it’s so much easier and way more fun! I’ve also learned to pay more attention to my grammar/spelling, because that’s pretty important if you want to stand out as a great blogger.

5. You’ll learn a lot about business.

Even if you’re not blogging for money or running a business, this subject is a part of almost every aspect of blogging. From figuring out where the best place to market your posts is, to learning to network with other people, owning a blog is like having a business, without as much stress. Here are some business skills you’ll get out of blogging:

• Social Media Marketing
• Analyzing Data
• Branding
• Content Marketing
• Networking
• SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
• Copywriting
• Paying taxes (if you’re earning money from your blog)

6. You can make money if you get serious.

Yes, you can make money for blogging! How much will depend on how serious you get about your blog, but you can make anywhere from a few bucks a month to a full-time job’s worth. For reference, after just four months of blogging, I was making about $50 a month just by selling sidebar ads. It’s not much, but everything counts in college!

If you decide running your own blog isn’t your thing, you can also create content for other bloggers by ghost writing. Basically, you’ll write posts for other blogs, and let them post it under their own name. It’s like you never wrote it, but you get paid for your work!

7. It’s a great way to record your college experiences.

A lot of college bloggers I know use their blog to document their lives in college, sharing pictures and stories that are fun to look back at later. Even if no one reads your blog, it’s the perfect place to record memories in an organized way!

If you get bored of sharing about your own life all the time, you can eventually start using your experiences to help other college students. One of my most popular posts is a college shopping list I made last year as part of a blog hop. I never expected it to get so much traffic, but it’s hovering at around 7,000 pins total right now!

Here’s a handy dandy infographic for pinning as a resource:

If you’re interested in creating a blog, I’ll be making a post soon on how to start! Until then, I’ve piled up some great tips for running a blog, and you can always send me a message with any questions you have or let me know in the comments!