Writing a blog -
the unexpected benefits

by Bruce Beckett

For many people, writing a blog is about getting key messages out to a wider audience.

It’s a convenient means of letting the world know who you are and what you're up to.

There are definitely some benefits a blogger can gain from doing this. And most of these are things you’d probably expect.

Writing a weekly blog
However, there are also some unexpected advantages of blogging. Many, I have to admit, came as a pleasant surprise to me when I first started to write a regular blog.

I'll tell you about these in just a moment. But first let me talk about the more obvious benefits.

A major attraction of blogging
For me a major attraction of blogging is that it allows you to express yourself in a relatively informal and light-hearted way.

This makes a blog easy to write. Easier in my view than a web page, magazine article or press release.

You can set out your thoughts in your own words, without worrying too much about what your English teacher might have said, if they'd been marking your work.

Yes, you still have to spell words correctly and write sentences that are reasonably logical and grammatical. But in a blog you can loosen up a little and let your personality shine through.

Blogging in your own voice
Blogging gives you a chance to use your own voice, rather than the sometimes narrow and stilted voice specified in a corporate style guide.

Another obvious advantage of blogging is that it enables you to reach large numbers of people.

If you have products and services to publicise, you have the possibility of bringing them to the attention of thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands, of readers.

Promote your blog
That means you can use a blog to bypass more conventional communication media - such as TV, radio and newspapers.

In no time at all your thoughts and ideas can be placed directly in front of internet users around the world.

Without doubt, if you know how to promote your blog and optimise it for the search engines, you have a powerful tool at your disposal.

My career as a blogger
So when I began my career as a blogger, those were some of the main incentives for me.

I saw blogging as a relatively easy way of connecting with a potential global audience.

Writing a blog, I felt, was a good idea and I was keen to give it my best shot.

A writer's journey
In fact the reality has proved even better than I could have imagined.

Besides all the benefits I've listed, writing a blog has benefited me in at least two other important ways.

For a start, it's done a power of good for my writing. Of course, like every writer, I still feel I have a long way to go.

But I can definitely see progress.

Strengths and weaknesses
The act of producing perhaps 500 words a week, every week without fail, has a way of concentrating the mind.

You very quickly discover where your strengths and weaknesses lie. You soon spot the personal clichés and unnecessary verbiage in your writing and learn how to eliminate them.

And here’s another advantage.

Writing a blog every week
One of the challenges you face as a regular blogger is how to keep your writing fresh and original.

Writing a blog every week forces you to do that.

As a result, your creative powers are strengthened and generating new ideas becomes much easier.

Develop your writing skills
I originally saw blogging as a promotional tool, one that I knew could be highly effective, if handled correctly.

But over the time that I’ve been producing my blog I’ve come to see it as an aid to writing and creativity.

So, if you’re looking to develop your skills as an effective and creative writer, my message is simple: start writing a regular blog.

Contact details
Strawberry Training runs a bespoke course on blogging. For more details, please call: 020 8773 4718.

Or email: margaret@strawberrytraining.co.uk

I’ve finished reading about the benefits of writing a blog. Now take me to the Strawberry Training home page