Is Blogging a Good Hobby? 11 Amazing Benefits of Blogging As A Hobby
If you are looking for a hobby that can transform your life, you should consider blogging.
Blogging has become very popular worldwide. For example, roughly 32 million Americans (or 10% of Americans) are bloggers.
This is not surprising, given all the amazing benefits that come with blogging.
In this article, I want to take you through the most important benefits of hobby blogging and show you how you can leverage them to make your life better.
In particular, I will explore:
- What makes blogging a good opportunity for making money online.
- Why blogging is great for finding out what you are passionate about.
- Why blogging can be good for your career or business.
- How blogging can make you smarter and more creative.
For this and more, stick around.
1. You Can Make Decent Money by Blogging
With blogging, you can make a decent side income or even a full-time living by writing about things you are passionate about.
According to blogger surveys, roughly 15% of bloggers make over $2,500 monthly. Top bloggers often make over $100,000 a month (see highest-earning bloggers).
If you get the fundamentals of blogging right, (see my best blogging advice for beginners) and avoid making simple mistakes when starting out, chances of success in blogging are quite high compared to other businesses.
In fact, if you follow the right strategy, it is possible to make a million dollars from blogging in roughly three years.
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Why is blogging great for making money?
Blogging is especially great for making money online because it allows you to tap into the many strengths of the internet.
#1. Blogs are cheap and easy to start
Most traditional small businesses cost an average of $3,000 to start. This discourages many people from making a living by doing something they enjoy.
You can start a blog for less than $50 a year, especially if you go with a web hosting company like ChemiCloud (check current ChemiCloud pricing).
And you don’t have to be tech-savvy to start a blog. Check out my step-by-step guide on starting a blog to see how you can start a blog even if you are a complete beginner.
Also, with blogging, you don’t need licenses or permits, and there are plenty of free and affordable tools that you can use to grow your blogging business.
#2. Blogs have a 24/7 worldwide reach
Blogging helps you to have access to a global audience 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Your blog will make money for you even when you are asleep.
And you don’t have to restrict your business to your hometown or country. Your blog can reach anyone, anywhere in the world.
#3. You can work from anywhere
You can work from home or even in any country you want. All you need is a laptop and an internet connection.
This has some significant advantages. For example, you can move to a country or state with low taxes and a higher standard of living. Also, you can have more time for your family.
#4. Blogging is easy to outsource
You can easily outsource many of the blogging tasks, such as writing. This enables you to work less and achieve more.
With the right system, you can easily build a semi-passive business. Most pro bloggers, for example, work only five hours a week or less (ConvertKit 2017).
2. Blogging Is Great for Exploring Your Passions
Having a passion or a strong interest can keep life interesting. You don’t have to get bored when there are hundreds of hobbies that you can pursue.
However, getting something that you will enjoy may need a bit of detective work. I have explored some strategies you can use to find a hobby in the articles below.
Blogging is one of the strategies I recommend for finding a hobby you will love or grow to love.
Why blogging is great for discovering your interests and passions
Blogging is great for identifying your interests because:
#1. You can gauge your level of interest in an activity
Blogging about something for 1 to 2 months enables you to immerse yourself in a topic before you fully commit. This is especially important if you are interested in an expensive hobby or interest. You want to ensure that you sustain your interest long-term before spending money.
#2. You can research your interest or hobby
Research helps you to know more about your passion and, therefore, make better decisions. Considerations like cost, time commitment, and potential challenges, can help you to choose between two or three competing interests.
#3. You can find out if you can make a living from your passion
People often hesitate to pursue their passions because they are too busy making a living. But what if you could make an income from your passion? You could cut down on your boring work and do more of what you enjoy.
Blogging can help you to discover whether you can make a living from your passion. For more on this, check out my beginner’s guide to hobby blogging, where I explain everything you need to know to start a profitable hobby blog (including costs, challenges, and monetization opportunities).
3. Blogging Is Great for Building Assets
When you think about investment assets, the first thing that comes to mind is real estate, or investing in stocks, bonds, and art.
But did you know that a blog can also be an asset? You can buy and sell websites just like you would do with any other asset.
A website is typically valued at 30-40 times the monthly net income. If your blog regularly makes $2,000 a month, you can sell it for $60-$80,000.
So, if you have several blogs and an emergency occurs, you can quickly sell one blog and sort it out.
Why blogging is great for building investment assets
Here are some reasons why you should own blogs as assets.
#1. There are plenty of places to buy and sell blogs
Sites like Motion Invest, Flippa, and Empire Flippers enable you to buy and sell websites quickly and efficiently. Unlike many other assets, blogs are easy to sell because there is a ready market for profitable blogs.
In fact, some people flip websites much like they do in real estate. They buy a blog, improve it, and sell it later for a profit.
#2. Blogs are cheap to start or buy
Most people are locked out of investment opportunities because they cannot afford expensive assets like houses, artwork, or business machinery.
You can start a blog for less than $50 a year and grow it into a multi-million dollar asset. If you don’t want to start a blog from scratch, you can buy one cheaply from sites like Motion Invest.
#3. Blogs have a high return on investment
Blogs have high-profit margins and low operating costs. These make them attractive to people wishing to buy an asset.
For example, you can easily build a blog that makes $2,000 a month in 2-3 years and sell it later for $80,000. This is a great return on your investment.
4. You Can Promote Businesses Using Your Blog
One of the biggest challenges that most businesses face is getting customers. Common ways of acquiring customers, such as advertising, can be expensive.
Blogging, on the other hand, is a cost-effective way of promoting your products and services.
If you don’t have a business, you can promote other people’s products and services and earn a commission through affiliate marketing. This helps you learn what people want to buy, and later, you can create your own products and services.
This eliminates many of the risks associated with starting a business because you already have a ready market and a product you know will sell.
Benefits of blogging for promoting businesses
Blogs leverage SEO traffic, and this gives blogging several advantages.
#1. It is cheap
Compared to other ways of acquiring customers (such as PPC advertising) blogging is relatively cheap. If you are writing yourself, you don’t have to pay anything. If you are using an A.I tool like Writesonic to write blog posts, you can get around 30 posts that are 2,000 words long (60,000 words) for about $13 a month (find out the current Writesonic price).
#2. It is highly-targeted
With blogging, you can target the type of customer you want by using long-tail keywords. For example, if you sell car servicing parts, you can target a keyword like “How to replace your worn-out brake pads” and then pitch your products.
You can use a keyword tool like KW Finder to get hundreds of long-tail keywords that are easy to rank for in Google.
#3. You can have detailed metrics
With blogging, you can get accurate data on click-through and conversion rates. The ability to track metrics helps you to do your marketing more effectively because you know what works.
Many data tools you will need are freely available (for example, Google Analytics and Google Search Console).
5. You Can Use Blogging to Build Your Career
If you are struggling to get a job or break into a particular career, you can use blogging to build your brand.
When you are just starting out, no one knows about you or what value you can bring to the table.
Blogging is a powerful way to market yourself to potential employers and hopefully land that dream job.
Why blogging is great for getting your dream career
Blogging is a great way to market yourself because:
#1. It helps you to stand out
Most of your potential competitors probably have a resume, but how many have a blog?
A well-crafted blog can help you seem unique. When competing against others, you want to take advantage of everything you have.
#2. You can showcase your knowledge and skills
If you have hundreds of well-written articles about your industry, people will start to see you as an authority and a source of reliable information. In fact, your potential employers will have heard of you even before they meet you.
#3. You can connect with others in your industry
A blog is a great way to connect and find opportunities for collaboration with others in your industry. If you offer true value, people will approach you with opportunities.
Look for ways that you can add value to other people in your industry through your blog. For example, are there industry experts that you can interview?
#4. Entice others to market you
If people like your articles, they will share them with others. When they do this, they are indirectly marketing you, and best of all, you don’t have to pay them or even talk to them.
Also, when you attend industry events and conferences, you can share your blog, much like a digital business card.
6. Blogging is Great for Making Connections
If you have a hobby or an interest that is not very common, for example, learning Japanese, it can be difficult to find people to share it with, especially if you live in a small town.
You can use a blog to meet and connect with people who share your interests from all over the world.
With a blog, for example, you can attract other Japanese speakers or people learning Japanese.
Why blogging is great for making connections
A blog has several advantages that make it easy to connect with others.
#1. You can build an email list
Most people who visit your blog will leave and never come back. However, if you sign them up to your email list, you can keep in contact with them, and eventually, a friendship can blossom.
A tool like Systeme.io will allow you to build an email list for free.
#2. You can build an online community
You can use WordPress plugins to build a forum where readers can interact with each other. Memberpress, for example, is a great plugin for setting up a forum.
You can also use Memberpress to offer additional services such as subscriber content or online courses.
#3. You can organize in-person meetups
If you have an email list and a forum, it will be easy for you to organize an offline meeting.
If you have built a strong community, getting people to attend your events will be easy because they will be eager to meet other members with whom they have been interacting online.
7. You Can Use Your Blog To Make An Impact On Society
You have probably spent decades accumulating useful skills, knowledge, and wisdom. Why not share these with people who might need them? That could be your legacy.
You may think that you have nothing much to offer, but if you were to sit down and write down what you have, you will be surprised at what value you can provide.
For example, if you have successfully lost weight, raised kids, gotten out of debt, or created a business, all this knowledge could be useful to someone else.
Supposing you get 2,000 visitors every month to your blog, after five years, you will have reached over 120,000 people. This is a feat that is simply not possible in your normal daily life.
And when you think about it, all impactful works began as writing– great plays, great songs, great speeches, and great movies.
How blogging can help you to make an impact
Here are different ways blogging can help you to make an impact.
#1. It is a great platform for sharing ideas and knowledge
It is convenient and free. You don’t have to look for publishers or pay others to get your message out. You can just sit down and write.
And you can get instant feedback, which will help you to provide more of what people need.
#2. It is great for motivating others
Blogging is a great way to inspire others. When you inspire others, a part of you lives through them because they will carry your ideas, beliefs, and values.
What changes would you like to see in the world? You can use your blog to help bring about those changes, even in a small way.
#3. You can start a movement
You can use your blog to bring people together and direct their efforts toward a common goal. If you are passionate about a cause, enlisting others will multiply your effectiveness.
8. You Can Build Your Creativity Through Blogging
If you have spent your entire life ignoring your creative potential, you may think that you are not creative.
However, creativity is like a muscle, the more you use it, the stronger it becomes. Conversely, the less you use it, the weaker it becomes.
But why is creativity important?
Creativity is what has helped humans to dominate the earth. Everything that you enjoy today is a product of creativity.
That is why wealth flows to those who have discovered how to tap into their creativity.
So, if you want an interesting and impactful life, you need to develop your creativity.
Why blogging is great for building creativity
Blogging is great for building creativity because:
#1. It forces your brain to work
Generating ideas for blog posts and writing them well takes a lot of effort. When you first start blogging, clearing the cobwebs of your mind can seem like a herculean task. But it gets better with time because your brain adapts.
#2. It lets you tap into other creative activities
Blogging requires that you exercise other creative activities like design, photography, and video-making. You need these skills to create logos, infographics, YouTube videos, and featured images. These activate different creative centers of your brain.
#3. It can act as a vehicle for your other creative ventures
You can use blogging to share other creative hobbies and interests you may have. For example, you can start a painting, architecture, interior design, or pottery blog (see how to start a hobby blog).
When you start a hobby blog, you can easily explore and monetize your other creative urges.
9. Blogging Can Make You Smarter
Recent research shows that you can overcome your genetic limitations and increase your IQ by doing activities like writing.
You can hack your brain to become smarter.
For example, a 2020 study from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology found that writing helps kids to learn more and remember better.
Blogging can help you to leverage the cognitive benefits of writing without spending too much time and effort.
How blogging can make you smarter
Here is how writing makes you smarter.
#1. It forces you to learn
To write well, you need to get ideas from others, otherwise, you will quickly run out of things to write. That is why great writers are also voracious readers. Also, when you share your knowledge with others, they will inform you of what you don’t know and correct you when you go wrong.
#2. It helps you to think better
Writing forces you to slow down your thinking and activate your System 2 thinking process. When you write, you can explore an idea from different perspectives. Also, it helps you to keep track of any additional ideas you may come across.
#3. It teaches you to communicate
You can appear smarter by simply learning how to communicate better. For example, if you go for a job interview, you can beat a more knowledgeable person by being a better communicator.
#4. You learn to solve problems
When blogging, you will encounter many challenges (technical, marketing, and creative problems) that you will need to solve. Much of what you will encounter (such as setting up WordPress, SEO, and copywriting) will be new. Your brain will have to work overtime to catch up, and this is good because it starts a virtuous cycle.
10. Blogging Will Teach You Valuable Skills
Life can be challenging if you lack the skills that can help you to provide value to others.
Skills make you potent. Skills pay the bills. The more skills you stack up, the more opportunities you can create for yourself.
Blogging can help you to develop some valuable and transferable skills that are useful in different sectors of the economy.
For example, skills like writing, design, and SEO can be used in diverse sectors like health, tech, education, and the military.
Important Skills You Get From Blogging
Here are some important skills you get from blogging.
#1. Technical (hard) skills
Hard skills are specialized skills that help you to perform a task. They often involve some degree of technical or industry-specific knowledge.
Some of the technical skills that you gain from blogging include SEO, graphic design, web design, photography, photo editing, data analytics, and using computer programs.
#2. Soft skills
Soft skills are interpersonal (people) skills that make you more effective at working with others.
Some common soft skills that you get from blogging include communication, collaboration, delegation, ownership, persuasion, and negotiation.
#3. Life skills
Life skills are skills that enable you to navigate through life successfully. These skills are often gained through experience. You have to put yourself in situations that force you to learn them.
Life skills that you get from blogging include perseverance, patience, risk-taking, self-motivation, dealing with criticism, and dealing with stress.
11. Blogging is Great for Personal Development
You need to invest in personal growth so that you can solve the tough challenges that life throws at you. If you don’t do this, you may get overwhelmed and discouraged.
The great thing about life is that you can solve many of your problems if you get the right resources and take the time to think through your challenges logically.
A blog can help you do this.
Why blogging is great for personal development
Blogging is great for personal development because:
#1. It helps you to think through problems
You can use your blog as a journal where you keep track of your best ideas on solving problems you encounter in life.
Also, writing down your goals, ideals, values, and dreams will ensure that you focus on them and try to actualize them.
The advantage of using a blog as a journal is that you get enhanced security features (such as passwords), 24/7 access, and the ability to get feedback anonymously.
#2. It provides emotional support.
Blogging can be a form of therapy where you write to get things out of your system. If you make your blog public, others can also share how they overcame their problems with you.
#3. Blogging can help you to achieve your goals.
When you publicly share your goals and your journey toward achieving those goals, you feel accountable to your audience. You do your best to achieve your goals because you don’t want to disappoint people.
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner (see top bloggers), for example, created a million-dollar blog by sharing her progress in paying a $30,000 student debt.
Wrapping Up
Hopefully, you have found some compelling reasons for starting a blog.
All that remains is for you to try it out for yourself because it is hard to explain the life-changing benefits that blogging can bring.
Starting a blog is not difficult, you simply need to:
- Choose your niche. This is what you want to write about.
- Register a domain name and get web hosting. You can use a company like ChemiCloud for this.
- Install WordPress, a WordPress theme, and plugins. WordPress is a great platform for blogging.
- Consistently write high-quality content.
If you want to start a blog, you can check out my step-by-step guide, where I go through the entire process of setting up a blog.
Also, check out my article on the best blogging advice for beginner bloggers, where I go through everything you need to be a successful blogger.
Further Reading
If you are finding it difficult to find something that you are passionate about, you can check out the following articles:
