Why People Blog: 5 Common Reasons For Starting A Blog

I was drafting a post about my blogging journey and realized that I have never written a post about why people blog.

When asked, many people usually think the obvious thing:

• Money.

But that’s not always true.

People blog for many reasons.

Here are some of the most common reasons I can think of…

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1. Hobby/Interest in Writing

This is the most common reason people start blogging.

Many people like to write and they like to write for themselves. Basically, this is what blogging is all about. It’s why blogging started, and it’s why blogging exists. Most people just want to keep an online space for writing.

These people don’t care about the best blogging platforms, how to get more traffic, and how to increase the number of comments. They just love to write, and if someone happens to comment, then hey, that’s good too.

That said, blogging out of passion should be every blogger’s biggest reason for blogging.

2. Fame/Popularity

When people see any successful person, they try to follow that path.

When I was a kid, I used to see Sachin Tendulkar (famous cricketer) and I wanted to become a cricketer. When I used to see movie actors on posters and newspapers and TVs, I wanted to become a film star.

• This is not just me, this is human tendency.

This is also true for the blogging industry. When people see successful bloggers like Darren Rowse, Amit Agarwal, John Chow, Tim Ferriss, or other bloggers who have money and fame, they try to be like them.

This is not a bad approach, but what they’re forgetting is that all of these famous and successful bloggers are blogging because it’s their passion.

Again, passion is the foundation of blogging.

Not only is quick fame and fortune a misguided reason for starting a blog, it’s not possible. I’m sorry…

Every success is preceded by a lot of hurdles, and if you want to become a famous blogger, know that it’s going to take you a while to get there.

You need to crawl; it’s impossible to jump.

3. Money

Most people look at professional bloggers (like me) and think, “Oh, all I have to do is write a few things, click a few buttons, and I can make a lot of money!” But this is very, very, very untrue.

A lot of people start blogging for money. And while you can make money blogging, I need to say it again:

• If there’s no passion, you’ll find making money very hard.

Blogging can be a gold mine for people who want to tap into the rich field of online marketing, but if you just want to make money, you’ll make more money at a “traditional” job.

If you do want to make money blogging, you should have a well-planned road map for your blog, and be able to target a profitable niche.

AdSense and affiliate marketing are the two best ways of making money.

4. Sharing and Learning

People like to share their knowledge with the world, and their blog becomes a place for people to share that knowledge.

This is how many blogs end up taking on multiple topics, which if you’re trying to make money, is not the best idea.

During the initial days of blogging, few people know that they can actually make money blogging. I was one of those people who thought things like “making money online” were all scams and rip-offs.

But I was wrong…

5. Online Portfolio

This is one of the newer reasons why people create a blog.

Let’s say you’re a programmer who is skilled in creating websites, you could create a blog and start posting about programming-related topics. This will help drive potential future employers to your site who might want to hire you for a project.

Or maybe you’re a photographer. You can start a blog on your website with all of your pictures to try and draw in people from search engines.

This is actually a very effective way of finding jobs.

Common Reasons Why People Blog

These are 5 of the most common reasons people start blogging. But they’re not the only reasons.

Let me know what your reasons are for blogging. What inspired you to create a blog? What inspires you to keep blogging? Tell me your thoughts in the comments below!

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