Lately I was asked by many people about my blogging: does it make me money; when do I find time to do it; how do I choose what to blog about; etc. These questions got me thinking and I realized that ever since I started blogging my life has changed for the better. Blogging did a lot for me and one of the most important changes is that it helped me take better decisions. Why? Because every time I have to decide whether or not I should do something, I ask myself: “Would I blog about this and suggest that others do it too?”
But that’s not all – blogging also helped me remember what truly matters in life. At the very beginning just like other bloggers I was tempted by the idea that the blog can turn out to be a source of income. I considered adding multiple affiliate product links in the hope of receiving some commission, but my inner self disagreed and I decided I am not worth $5 or $10 and will not be recommending anything I wouldn’t recommend to my best friend. And I love this decision. Myself and I are finally aligned with the universe and at peace: a feeling I had almost forgotten.
But my life isn’t the only one that changed because of blogging. I present to you 7 amazing bloggers whose stories and comments will definitely inspire you to start blogging! Definitely a must read!
Maria Haase from Maria Abroad
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest
I first started Blogging when I moved to China in 2007 for a 6 month internship. Instead of sending mass emails to my friends and family back home in Germany, I decided to set up a blog, so they could read along on my adventures in the Middle Kingdom. (Un-)fortunately, my internship did not keep me very busy during the day, so I had 6 months to concentrate on my blog and sharing my stories. As I am a total numbers girl, I soon got sucked into the universe of Blog stats and every new reader was cause for a little dance around the office – very much to the amusement of my Chinese colleagues, I assume. When Chris Brogan, who had an unreachable 7k Followers on Twitter at the time, retweeted one of my links and sent me 53 visitor IN ONE DAY, I dropped everything to learn the secrets of Social Media and Content Marketing. Slowly, my little Blog slowly grew and grew. I shared tips on studying and living abroad and helped students make their dreams of moving to another country come true.
After my internship in China, I returned to San Diego to get my Masters in Business (I had already completed my Bachelor there) and kept on blogging. All of a sudden, friends and friends of friends asked me to help them with their Online Marketing for their startups and companies. Before I knew it, I started my own company and was working blogging for companies, creating Social Media strategies for clients and designing websites, all the while studying full time. Before I started my Blog, I would have never thought that writing a little diary online would lead to a job one day. But it didn’t just lead to a job, it lead me to start my own company and help clients to be more successful with their Online Marketing strategy. Not every blogger will be a star blogger with hundreds of thousands of followers or making a fortune with passive income through their blog. But blogging will teach you usable skills for your future, that you can use to get a job down the line and earn some money on the side. Maybe you discover your talent in writing or graphic design, maybe you even fall in love with the geeky backend of coding and systems administration. So if Blogging is something that interests you, do it and I am sure, you’ll take something useful from that experience.
Kaley Portier from Communication is Difficult
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest
I’ve always enjoyed telling stories to my friends, and I picked up blogging about my life in Japan as a way to do just that. Once I moved back to America from Japan, however, I found myself in that weird “in-between” that a lot of people my age these days face. What do I do now that I’m trying to start a career? How can I make myself productive between jobs? I threw myself into my blog and my travel writing, and I found myself a community and a way to feel like I am doing something worthwhile. It’s been a great outlet for me to still feel busy even though I am currently, well, not. So glad I have this outlet!
Nikoleta from The Bonfire Dream
Facebook | Twitter
Blogging changed my life in various ways. It taught me basics of marketing, increased my writing skills and made me look for the interesting elements of my trips. Something worth writing about. Something, that people look through although it’s worth their attention. It made me look around and see how wonderful life can be.
Laura Fairbourn from Grassroots Nomad
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Oh you feel like staying in and watching cat videos on YouTube all day? Not today, Laura! I love how travel blogging prevents me from procrastinating (as much). When travelling quite slowly and living somewhere for months at a time I tend to become a bit of a hermit, especially when I have lots of work to do and am spending 5 hours a day learning Spanish! Having my site, Grassroots Nomad, means that I can’t have those excuses – I need to get out there and experience things and get some great blog content for my readers! The more colorful and adventurous the better! Even if you start a blog to share your stories with friends and family back home, you will be surprised how it changes you and forces you to get out there and see more of the world!
Natasha from Live Learn Venture
Instagram | Twitter
Travel blogging has changed my life in many ways! It has allowed me to meet and interact with many wonderful and inspiring people who all share a love of adventure and seeing new places. It has also allowed me to grow as a person — I have become more confident with my writing, have learned valuable marketing skills, and have continued to set and reach new goals for myself. It has also given me the chance to partner with brands and share my experiences with others. I’m excited to see where blogging takes me in the next year!
Yvonne Derksen from The Tourist of Life
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
‘I think blogging has helped me to live more in the present. As a blogger I automatically followed more bloggers and started reading more blogs which has taught me that you should live life now. The thing is that you see bloggers do all these amazing things around the world and the only thing you think is ‘god I want to do that as well, now please!’. It inspired me to do more and it inspired me to think more (I’m very annoyed with myself that I am going to use this word) ‘yolo’. I also think that I am taking more risks since I blog. I want to do more exciting and scary things while I travel because I want to share more stories and that has helped me to say yes to more new things. It made me bolder – I definitely live in the present more.
Sarah Harding from Hopping RTW
Facebook | Instagram
Since my first round the world trip I have realized how travelling has literally changed my life for the better. I’ve always been an anxious person and get scared of doing things that most people wouldn’t even think twice about. It’s a bit of a cliché but I’ve learnt a lot about myself from just having to continuously be out of my comfort zone, so much so that I’m finding myself in situations now that I’m comfortable with yet would have bothered me in the past.
4 replies on “How blogging changes your life (and is good for you)”
I quote; “…blogging also helped me remember what truly matters in life…”
I think that perfectly describes how we feel about blogging. It’s a diary, an outlet, something to entertain or help others, particularly those who we care about.
And that’s a wonderful thing to have.
this inspires me make me want to blog but i`m abit nervose
Thank you for stopping by Talica. There’s really nothing to be nervous about – just give it a go. It doesn’t have to be perfect, all it needs to be is honest 🙂 If you have any questions about how to start or need a tip – drop us a line. We’ll be happy to help!
Very interesting to read about the other bloggers