People blog for many reasons. Originally, I started my blog the end of 2013 as an author platform.
But as time passed, I realized my blog provided much more than an author platform and it wasn’t all about the numbers. Blogging served a different and more profound purpose. I would even say that it’s changed the way I look at and live my life.
That’s why if you’re thinking about starting a blog, I’d highly recommend it. That is, if you’re blogging for the right reasons.
If you’re starting a blog to get rich or even to eke out a living, well, don’t count on it. Monetizing a blog is super hard these days. In fact, after three years, I’m still not making money from my blog. By the way, don’t believe all the hype from people selling online courses that try to convince you blogging is a great way to make passive income. Make no mistake, writing and promoting a blog is a ton of work. There is nothing passive about it.
In fact, it’s so easy to get frustrated when you first start a blog. As a technically-challenged person, I had to learn WordPress. Then, I spent a lot of time promoting my blog and trying to find an audience. Something else I knew little about. As with most bloggers, I quickly became obsessed – and depressed – with the numbers and how many visitors, subscribers, and Facebook followers I had on any given day. Turns out building up readership for a blog takes a LOT of time, effort, and patience.
So Why Blog?
Some people may disagree with me, but I think blogging shouldn’t just be about making money, drumming up business, gathering a huge following, chasing fame, or trying to sell books.
Blogging can serve as a creative channel to voice ideas, thoughts, opinions, beliefs, and feelings. On top of that, writing a blog provides a wonderful opportunity to inspire and touch the lives of other people in a positive way.
How Blogging Changed My Life
My blog has certainly seen me through many ups and downs these past few years. I’ve written about joyful moments like a trip to Chicago with my husband to celebrate our anniversary, a day spent playing in the snow with my grandchildren, watching Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones at Desert Trip, and a quick weekend trip with my kids to San Francisco.
I’ve also poured my heart out while caregiving for my Mom who suffered from Lewy Body dementia and wrote about her eventual death. I shared my angst when my mother-in-law died from ovarian cancer and my son went through a painful divorce and custody battle that same year. (Ironically, shortly after I started writing a blog about happiness, I had the worst year of my life.)
Yes, I love reading, which provides a welcome respite from complextime my troubles, but writing is my real escape, outlet, and passion. When I write, I become so focused, my problems fade away for awhile, giving me a much needed break. In fact, if you’re truly a writer, believe me, it is a life-long addiction!
The process of putting my thoughts and feelings into writing has brought me comfort as well as help me relive happy moments.writer
As I’ve written about my life, my blog helped me think about what’s important to me and determine if my life is headed in the right direction.
Since I can’t write about every event, idea, thought, and feeling, blogging provides a sort of filter, clarifying my life. My blogs have helped me understand what is most meaningful to me. I’ve discovered along the way that sometimes it’s the simplest moments that make me the happiest.
Embracing Creativity
As a professional writer, my blog gives me wonderful creative freedom to express myself. Not to pop anyone’s balloon, but writing sounds more glamorous than it is in reality. For most of the past 25 years, I’ve written articles on subjects that magazines, newspapers, publishers, and clients choose for me.