Kachi Ogbonna

Whereas there was hardly anything like blogging two decades ago today there are over 500 million blogs. And on a daily basis millions of posts are updated to the internet across the world. But there many people that struggle to understand the benefits of blogging or why so many people blog on a daily basis. This post is meant to explain the typical reason most people go into blogging and the biggest benefits of blogging. And also why you may have to consider joining the train.

It should be noted that when blogging first started people were blogging principally to share their personal lives and experiences online. It was more of fun and following passion. For example, one of the early and most successful bloggers in Nigeria Linda Ikeji said she never planned to make money from blogging. For her it was another way of practicing journalism which school denied her the opportunity to study. But today, blogging has evolved. It has become one of the most powerful digital marketing tool. People now blog as a means of promoting their business and building their brands. In fact people now take blogging as their sole business and make millions of dollars without having any real product they sell.

So if you are among those asking about the benefits of blogging or you want to know if blogging is worth your time and efforts, then just hang on because this post will give you all the answers you seek.

What is Blogging?

A blog (shortened version of ‘weblog’) is a kind of online journal that lets people publish information in a reverse chronological order with the latest posts always appearing on the top. So blogging is the process of writing contents in the form of blog posts and publishing them on the world wide web to educate, inform or promote. A person who runs a blog or who publishes regular contents in a blog is referred to as a Blogger.

Blogging Goals: Why do people go into blogging?

Different people start blogging for different reasons but here are the major blogging goals you can find:

To pursue one’s passion

When you are passionate about something, you want to share it with everyone you see. With blogging you have a potential 7 billion people to share your passion with. From Europe, to America, to Asia, to Africa down to Australia people are constantly searching for information online. So whether your passion is for politics, palm oil business, football business, travelling or even on how brands started there is no better way to share it with the world than through blogging.

One good thing about this is that there are millions of people out there who are as passionate as you are about any course. And once you start blogging about that passion there is a force of attraction that pulls them from wherever they may be to your side. And you unconsciously start connecting with like minds.

Those who blog for passion just derive satisfaction from seeing their thoughts shared widely.

To build authority in one’s field of expertise

If you are a thought leader or expert in any field there three quick and easy ways to build authority. The first one is public speaking. The second one is through writing a book. And the third one is through blogging. But as you already know many people have stage freight or they simply don’t like showing their faces. With this public speaking will not be an option for such people. For writing a book, it works but the challenge is that the cost of publishing hard copy books might be much for a starter. And writing a a complete book might become a year long project for some persons. So these leaves blogging as the most potent way of building authority in your field of expertise.

As you blog about the niche wherein you are an expert or at least very knowledgeable about, people will begin to recognize you as an authority in that niche. This recognition will lead to both radio, podcast and TV interviews. People will even invite you to speak on that niche at various events. You can even get related contracts or appointments based on the contents of your blog. I am the number one testimony about this. On a daily basis people write me for different offers simply because my posts project me as an expert in entrepreneurship.

To educate others

If you are someone who loves to teach, blogging can be a platform for teaching people who have an interest in your areas of expertise. And I have said this over and over again if there is one group of people that should be blogging, it should be teachers. These people generate contents on a daily basis and there is no good reason why they shouldn’t send those contents to the web to educate beyond their immediate environment.

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To gain exposure

Whether as a personal brand or as a business blogging is one powerful way of gaining exposure. And remember that even if you are selling eternal life no one will be able to buy it until they have discovered you. And blogging is one good way to get discovered without you having to meet people physically.

You can decide to concentrate on creating contents for your personal or business blog on a regular basis. In which case Google will have to index them thereby increasing your website visibility in SERPs. You can also decide to go into guest blogging, that is creating blog posts for other blogs or publications in your niche or industry. This is even sometimes more powerful because the audience of those blogs or publication whom otherwise wouldn’t have known you will now get to see you and your works. This viral exposure gives you more traffic that you can monetize one way or the other.

To make money

Do I need to talk too much about this? I think more than 50% of the people going into blogging in 2022 are doing so solely as a business with the aim of making money. And that is good. In fact even the 4 reasons stated above will in one way or the other lead to making money for the blogger.

But this particular group we are talking about here going into blogging targeting keywords that can easily rank on search engines. As more of their contents rank high on search engines it will lead to more organic traffic. And with increased organic traffic they can apply for Google AdSense and their blog will start earning heavily on a monthly basis. But here is the thing, if you blog dose not add value, if it does not answer the questions people are asking online, if it does not offer any solution to peoples’ problems no one will take a second look at it.

20 Biggest Benefits of Blogging

1. You can build and manage your online identity

When people hear of any name or something they have not known ab initio their first reaction is to search that thing in Google. Blogging is a perfect way for you to decide what people see about you or your business when they search you on Google. I have written a couple of posts on my blog. All of those posts are so valuable that people visit today and want to visit tomorrow. I even have to write a post on myself. Chances are that if you type the name ‘Kachi Ogbonna’ on Google now, on the first page you will see one of the contents I wrote by myself.

But without a blog others will write about you – and that if if you are worth writing about at all. And when others write about you, you are not in control of the way they choose to present you. So one of the important benefits of blogging is that it allows you to build and manage your own online identity

2. You will improve your writing skills

I used to be a very terrible writer until I set out to write my first book. But you see once I realize that I am writing a book that will get into many hands I started paying attention to what I write and how I write it. I discovered that the more I write the more I was getting better in writing.

The same thing applies to blogging. Knowing that your blog posts will be read by millions of people across the world you unconsciously start working on how to improve your writings. You learn to pay more attention to details that you ordinarily would want to ignore. If you have the time, you can even get a grammar checker, like Grammarly. It will help you to crosscheck basic writing errors such as, punctuation, spelling, sentence structure, and style while you write.

3. You will establish yourself as an expert

One of the biggest benefits of blogging is that you will soon be proclaimed an expert in your field. This is particularly true for consultants, thought leaders, business coaches and authors.

Remember I told you there are over 500 million blogs in the world today. So when you first launch your blog everyone including Google will see it as just another blog.

But over time, as you write more posts and share more of your expertise consistently, your blog will change from ‘just another blog’ into a powerful demonstration of your knowledge in that field. People will visit your blog and see the deep insights you share on a particular topic. They will equally see how people seek, respect and respond to the insights you share and it will become clear to them that you are a genuine expert in that field.  This has worked well for me.

Please note that one of the keys to gaining expert recognition is by always being helpful. While I am not asking you to go out and start offering your consulting services for free, you will however need to help out as many people as possible in different small ways.  This post is one key way I am offering help to you.

As people recognizes you in your field, you will get invitation to speak in events or to appear on TV programmes for interviews.

If you are a consultant, an author, a thought leader or business coach and you don’t have a blog I think you are not helping yourself.

4. Blogging will help you become better in your niche

Whereas most people see blogging as a way of teaching ad displaying authority and yes it is. But it is a two-edge sword actually. As you teach others you also learn. And sometimes you even learn more.  You learn as well.

A true professional or blogger cannot write on any topic without doing enough research. And in the process of that research you get to learn more about your niche or that particular topic you want to write about. Personally, the more I blog, the more I learn. As a matter of fact I learn everyday – thanks to blogging.

5. Blogging will help you learn new skills

One other key one in the list of benefits of blogging is that you learn new and digital skills. As a blogger it is imperative that you learn about digital marketing.

Whether you like it or not, there’s a certain amount of marketing knowledge you will need to drive traffic to your blog. And you know that without enough traffic your blog is useless no matter how valuable your contents may be. Your knowledge of email marketing, search engine marketing, and social media marketing will continue to grow as you blog. You also learn things like keyword research, Google Analytics, SEO practice etc.

Personally I did not know jack about SEO when I started blogging. But today, the result speaks for itself.

6. You can also gain some get technical skills or knowledge

Intentionally or not, you will get to learn new jargons. Even if someone else build you blog for you, you will still have to learn how to manage it on a daily basis. So one day at a time you will gradually be becoming more techy as you blog and you never know the feeling of seeing yourself do those things you used to see as very technical in the past.

The good news is that none of these will require you to write a single line of code. Today semi-automated as well as drag and drop tools are all available to help you do all those tech things with ease.

7. You will connect with new people

One of the greatest benefits of blogging is connecting with others. Blogging increases your network and in Robert Kiyosaki’s words “your net worth is equal to your network”. And remember these are people from continents you have never been to and you probably would never have met.

You can also develop some fan base from your blog. You occasionally get emails or gifts from people you don’t know appreciating you for the work you do through your blog.

8. You will get invitation to speak at events

Like we have said repeatedly blogging projects you as an authority in your industry. And people want experts to deliver keynote at various functions. If you are affordable you will get lots of invitations as you continue your blogging journey. And do I need to remind you that speaking can help you continue to boost your reputation as an expert in that industry. In fact there is a reverse technology at work here. Speaking at major events can actually make more people to notice and visit your blog. Remember it was the blog that got you the invitation in the first place. But now the invitation is getting you more blog visitors. Isn’t that amazing? And public speaking at major or popular events is one way of gaining instant credibility as a thought leader.

9. You could become proficient in a new language

Still in line with learning and improving your skills, blogging can be a way for you to learn a second language. If you are blogging in a language that is not your first language you will become more proficient in that language as you blog. This is one of the benefits of blogging.

10. You can become an author

One powerful way of becoming a published author without stress is through blogging. With a simple app like designer you can pull together your daily blog contents as a book and forward it to your publisher. And if you large large audience in your blog publishing companies will be the ones looking for you. For those looking for ways to make money from blogging this is a big one. I think this is one of the biggest benefits of blogging.

11. You can receive job offers from blogging

Multiple studies show that 90% of recruiters now search online before they make a hire. And like we have said earlier blogging is one powerful way of managing your online identity. It is even more important than your social media handles. So if you are looking for a job, just know that you can’t go about posting anything negative.

Also, if you are blogging in a business-related niche can help you land a job by virtue of your posts. Businesses that recognize the benefits of content marketing always looking for employees who can create compelling content. As you network with others in your niche, you will likely run into people who are looking for people with your skill. And of course with your blog visibility many people will surely notice you.

12. You can start a new business through blogging

In some situations, a blog may start out as a hobby only to mature into a full-time, and well-paying business. A very popular example of this is Linda Ikeji’s story. She started her blog just as a way of practicing journalism and reaching out to the world with her stories. But after 4 years someone offered to pay her to promote her business and from there she discovered she could make money from the business. Today, Linda Ikeji Blog is a multi-million dollar business.

Another example is Pat Flynn who created the Green Exam Academy blog just to share his opinion and thoughts on architecture.As at when he started he never knew he will one day lose his job. But he did. So when that happened, he simply decided to become more serious with his blogging. Today, his blog has turned into a real business.

13. Blogging can help you make more sales

If you blog is a business blog then you can be guaranteed of making more sales. All you have to do is create contents that leads readers to get interested in your products and services. Promote your content to your ideal customers, and you will find that you start capturing leads and closing more sales. This is a far cheaper way of promoting your products and services compared to other methods of advert.

14. You can make Affiliate sales

You can sign up as an Affiliate with products or services you trust. Write an honest review about those products on your blog and include your affiliate links. As people read through your posts they are convinced enough to click the links and make purchases. You can make good affiliate commissions from this.

15. You can get immediate feedback

It doesn’t matter if you are running a personal brand blog or your personal business blog or even a blog for the company where you are just an employee, blogging will help you to get the opinion of your readers or/and customers. It could be negative or positive. that doesn’t matter also. But it is important to know what people think about the content you put out. And that can help you to know where to do better.

Just like on social media, as a blogger your feedback and response can be instant if you are always logged in. This is far better than in the case of an author where you have to spend months or years to write the book, proofread and publish before you get feedback. And even when the feedback come and there is a need to review the book you still have to wait for several years to do so.

16. You can create more blogs or write on other blogs

I will have to think very hard to remember any blogger I know whose blog is up to 12 months and he or she has not created another blog. In fact, I can’t think of any such right now. If blogging is such a terrible idea most bloggers would have stopped at just one. Personally my blog was barely 2 months old when I created the second one. Three months later I bought the third domain.

Once you start blogging and experience the fun, the freedom and the financial reward you will want to do more. In fact one repeated pattern I have observed is that no matter the niche you start with, when your blog succeeds you are almost always forced to create another blog focusing on how to blog.

17. Blogging can give you freedom

Blogging is not a location based business. You can blog from anywhere in the world as long as you have your internet enabled device. It also allows you to blog when you want to. Unlike the regular 9 to 5 jobs, you can decide to wake up and start blogging by 12 mid night or by 2am. It is all up to you.

If you have a job like this and it still pays your bills it means you will have the freedom to do those things that truly matters to you. You can participate in your church activities when you want to. You can go play or watch football when you have to. And if you are passionate about volunteering you can do that as well. And if travelling is part of your life goals you can travel to anywhere in the world when you want to without waiting to obtain permission from any boss.

18. Blogging is an easy way to collect emails

Another important one among the benefits of blogging is that it helps you to get peoples’ email for free.

There’s a lot of talk about social media today, but email marketing is still the most reliable means of digital marketing.

Getting people to give you their primary email isn’t easy, but once you have it you have a direct connection with that person. You’ll then be able to get their attention whenever you find something that you think will benefit them or if there’s something important regarding your business or blog that you want to inform them about. And a blog is an easy way of getting people to release their email addresses to you especially if you have a lead magnet to offer your readers.

19. Blogging helps you learn more about a group of people

There must be a reason companies spend so much money and time testing out their products in focus groups.

If you listen carefully, you’ll find that your readers share a lot with you in their comments. From that you can know what contents to publish or what information to feed the companies targeting your audience with.

20. You can change the world or create a better world

What’s the fastest way to change or destroy the world?

Number two is to become a politician: Take for example the president of a country like Nigeria can completely recreate or destroy it.

Number three is to become an activist: Yes, men like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr, Gani Fawehinmi are renowned activists. And they made notable difference in the world they met.

So what is the number one way to change the world?

Become a blogger. Yes, I have told you that blogging is similar to journalism. With your blog you can influence opinion and create a narrative. So if you notice any ill in the society, without going to the secrets with crowds chanting war songs you can alter it from behind your laptop through blogging.

FINALLY on the benefits of blogging…

We all know that trust is a very expensive commodity that cannot be bought with naira, dollar, euro nor pounds. Yet, you can earn trust by your consistent demonstration of your sincere desire to help others through your blog.

I have given you 20 of the numerous benefits of blessing. And I have showed you that you have all it takes to start blogging. Now tell me why you still can’t start your own blog today.

If you are ready to take action immediately and start your own blog then let me help you start here.