How blogging can help you grow as a professional

When I first imagined starting a blog in 2023, the thought seemed insane. With content consumption primarily taking on video formats and billions of existing options for nearly every topic under the sun — creating something new and unique in the text format was sure to be impossible. When you look up the blogging topic online, you’ll find very few words of encouragement to start and quite a lot of arguments explaining that the money is elsewhere, and blog is not the right medium to break through with your content. But still, here we are; with me writing my very first post.

All it took is to read one book. At the start of this year, I found an inspiring read: “Show your work” by Austin Kleon. A very short and very well-written book that highlights how we all are a bunch of impostors and amateurs and that lack of mastery is nothing to fear. On the contrary, in many cases, it can actually be quite useful. So let’s explore why blogging remains valuable, even if it probably won’t earn you any money.

Show your work

Social media with its carefully curated snapshots of others’ awesome and perfect lives and achievements, often paints a distorted picture of what reality looks like. It is easy to grade our own journey as ‘not worthy’ of sharing and publishing. That’s not true. We really all are amateurs and we’re all constantly learning as we go. Blogging is a powerful way of recording your journey as you gain experience, even if you’re a total beginner (which you’re probably not even if you think so). There is a huge value in documenting and sharing your challenges and lessons learned. It can help to inspire and motivate others, and can also help you to reflect on your own growth and development.

Build your brand

Sharing your professional journey has many other perks too. Like it or not, it kinda forces you to keep progressing and getting better. With each post or article you publish, you’ll gradually become more confident in what you’ve achieved and see from there it’s only a matter of time until you become an expert in your field. You will have an archive of valuable proof that you are increasing in expert knowledge which may help to position yourself as a leader in your field and open doors to new opportunities.

Become a better writer

Blogging is a powerful tool to increase your writing capabilities — an absolutely essential asset, no matter the profession. I am constantly amazed by how much knowing how to intelligibly express yourself can impact overall performance at work, from entrepreneurship and leadership roles all the way down to day-to-day collaborations with colleagues. Moreover, if English isn’t your native language like in my case, you really couldn’t ask for a better chance to practice and improve.

Grow a pair

Everyone experiences impostor syndrome in some way or another. It can be easy to feel like any accomplishments you have made are not good enough, and the fear of being revealed for how chaotic is your creative process may hold you back from sharing your work with others. In my case, it resulted in a tendency for perfectionism and because nothing was ever good enough, it made me procrastinate like crazy. If you’re feeling stuck due to a lack of confidence or enthusiasm, you must recognize that no one is born with expert-level experience. Every single beginning starts with a horrifically messy stumble forward into the darkness. The challenge lies in taking risks so we can grow as individuals, gain more confidence by putting ourselves out there and facing what makes us uncomfortable.

Connect

That’s my first blog post, so I won’t be yet swearing my life on if that’s true. But still, this is one of the most important reasons why I am starting my blogging career: to connect with like-minded individuals and be able to help and learn from each other. We won’t build meaningful connections if we’re just be lurking here and there and occasionally liking others’ content. You have to give something from yourself. This makes it easier for you to learn from different perspectives, empathize with others and develop relationships with individuals who may be able to provide valuable insight into areas where you may need advice — and vice versa.

B,b,b… but what about money?

Yeah, I know, we would all like to earn tons of money just by sticking some words together. I’m not saying this isn’t possible, but most likely that ship has sailed and you really shouldn’t expect any form of monetization of your blogging content. I don’t, and I think it actually makes things easier. If our focus is on providing value and we can enjoy the journey in doing so then perhaps this should be considered just as rewarding — if not more.