3 Good and 3 Bad Reasons to Start a Blog

Do you have the right motivation?

We’ve all heard the phrase: “blogs are dead.”

There is no point in blogging anymore. Start a Youtube channel! A few years ago, blogs were a thing, but their popularity has waned.

Looking at current numbers, this statement seems rather far-fetched.

In 2019, there were over 600 million blogs in the world.

According to Internet Live Stats, over 5.7 million blog posts are published every day. Every month, 78 million new articles are posted on Wordpress alone. And according to data from Ashref, more than 4,000 people google “how to start a blog” every day.

Blogging is certainly not dead and there are still lots of ways to attain popularity, create a business, and make money.

Nevertheless, most bloggers lose momentum after a few months and many lay down their pen altogether within a year.

The cause often resides in the wrong rationale for starting a blog in the first place.

Many rookie bloggers expect a vast audience, quick bucks, and a place under the digital sun within a couple of months.

Unfortunately, blogs don’t work that way.

Most successful bloggers started their endeavor out of a love for creating magic with words.

Over time, these passionate writers turned their blogs into successful business ventures by learning the ins and out of content marketing.

On day one, none of them said to themselves: right, I’m going to make millions, become famous, and revolutionize the world.

On this basis, here are 3 good and 3 bad reasons to start a blog in 2020.

Good reason № 1: you love writing and want to improve

In my humble opinion, this is the best reason for starting a blog. After all, you’re producing written content.

It would be rather ironic to start a blog if you are not obsessed with writing as a craft.

If you don’t love writing, you probably won’t have the mental drive to sustain a daily writing habit for long stretches.

Blogging is also a great way to become a better writer.

As such, It will offer you 3 irreplaceable exercises: regular writing, the ability to measure your audience’s response, and the possibility to tinker with the mechanics of your writing.

By implementing these over long periods, you will inevitably improve.

Consequently, blogging is the most effective way to improve your skills as a writer and to feed your passion for words at the same time.

This dual advantage is, in my view, the best reason to start a blog in 2020.

Good reason № 2: you have a new angle to an existing issue

Blogs live inside niches. Bar very few exceptions, most successful blogs adhere to one of the main niches of our time.

These include personal growth, fitness, health, food, travel, education, and personal finance — just to name a few.

In addition to the “big” niches, lots of sub-niches like minimalism, budget traveling, and keto food thrive in the modern blogging ecosystem.

When asking yourself whether you should start a blog, you probably already have a niche in mind. This brings me to good reason number 2 for starting a blog: a refreshing angle in an existing niche.

The main advantage of big niches is their size. Their audience is huge. This is, however, also their downside. Because they are so crowded, it is virtually impossible to stand out.

If you start a family travel blog today, you’ll have a very hard time climbing to the top of Google. The competition will asphyxiate you.

A family travel blog focusing on kids with disabilities, on the other hand, will have better visibility. You take an existing concept — family traveling — but add a new angle — kids with disabilities — to it.

There might be competitors, but not thousands of similar blogs stealing your readers.

The overall readership potential might be smaller, but you’ll have a much bigger chance of reaching your target audience.

You don’t need a completely new idea. To start a new blog and make an impact, find a good topic that already exists and try to approach it from a new angle.

In this context, lots of blogs that flourish today became successful by breathing new life into an existing niche. This is what people like Tim Ferriss and Chris Guillebeau did in the online business sector.

Good reason № 3: you want to express yourself and help people

Finally, the last good reason to start a blog is to express yourself.

You might have intriguing theories. You might be good at solving other people’s problems in the context of mental health or personal growth. These are valid reasons to start a blog.

This third reason, however, doesn’t work by itself. The first two points are prerequisites.

Ergo, before you can utilize your talent, you need a passion for writing and a good blogging concept.

A few reasons not to start a blog

The following are some of the worst reasons to start a blog in 2020.

If your main motivation is money, fame, or revolutionizing the world, you are better off doing something else — blogging will disappoint you fairly quickly.

Bad reason № 1: money

Surfing the internet, you’ll find hundreds of articles entitled “how to make 20,000 dollars blogging in your first year” or “how I made 8,000 dollars in a month with my blog.”

Sure, these headlines sound fantastic. They are, nonetheless, extremely deceiving.

Here’s my take on it: yes, blogs can make decent money. I’ve made quite a bit of money blogging and it paid for my first round-the-world trip.

This was, however, a long and tiring process.

I had been blogging for 3 years before making over 10,000 dollars a year. You don’t have to be a mathematician to see that this is a terrible hourly rate.

My first blog needed 2.5 years of consistent input before making more than 500 dollars a month. It never surpassed 1,500 dollars a month. My second blog reached that stage a bit more quickly, but the return on investment was still appalling.

My third blog, on the other hand, became profitable after 6 months.

You notice a learning curve here. In this context, turning a blog into a profitable business venture boils down to 2 critical factors: time and experience.

Throughout the life span of my first 2 blogs, I had countless trial and error lessons that helped me avoid the same mistakes with my third blog.

This is, in my view, the only reason why I managed to turn my latest blog into a profitable business after 6 months. I already knew the ins and out of blogging and content business. I also invested 8–12 hours per day during the launch phase.

In short, if you can treat your blog like a business from day one, it might become profitable after 6 months. If you have the stamina and expertise, your blog can make good money within a year.

Nevertheless, starting a blog for financial reasons, especially as a beginner, is a terrible idea.

If you want to start a business and make quick bucks, there are hundreds of easier ways than blogging. Caring for your neighbors’ lawn, house sitting, window cleaning, and dog walking are some activities that spring to mind.

Bad reason № 2: fame

If you are envisioning a life in the spotlight as a “star blogger”, I have some bad news for you.

Starting a blog to become famous is probably even dafter than starting a blog to become a millionaire.

How many “famous” bloggers are there? And how do you define “fame”?

The most common answer would be blogger X who sells millions of copies of his self-help book and talks at Google.

Is he truly famous? To a certain degree yes. Is that a reason to start a blog? Absolutely not.

Frankly speaking, the chance of becoming famous with a blog is smaller than the chance of becoming the next James Bond actor.

Bad reason № 3: you think you can revolutionize the world

I’ve heard this time and time again.

My idea is incredible. It will revolutionize the world. Maybe I should start a blog for people to know about it.

Seriously? And you think that blogging is the best way to get your “revolutionary” idea out into the world?

I don’t doubt the scope of your idea. It might just be the next Facebook. It might also be a lot of hot air.

Notwithstanding its magnitude, blogging is certainly not the best way to share it with people.

Blogs discuss interesting issues in pre-defined niches. They fuel debates and make people question their thinking patterns.

All well and good, but how many bloggers have revolutionized the world with their ideas?

If you’ve devised an amazing business plan, maybe you should — you know, start a business, instead of writing about it.

If you’ve developed a groundbreaking theory in medicine or science, the WHO would probably be a better stepping stone than Wordpress.

And if your project can further world peace, the United Nations should be the first address, not a small blog.

If your idea is truly revolutionary, it will certainly have an impact. And when this impact comes, you can still blog about how you changed the world.

Summary and final thoughts

• The single best reason to start a blog in 2020 is your love for writing.
• After that, sharing your fresh and thought-provoking angle to an existing issue is a good reason to launch a new site.
• The third best reason to start a blog is your love for expressing yourself and helping people. This, however, only works if you already have a passion for writing and a good niche topic.
• Starting a blog as a business is not recommendable for newbies.
• Whilst it’s possible to make money with a new blog after 6–12 months, it usually requires a lot of time and know-how — something most rookie bloggers don’t have. If your motivation is money, do something else. There are lots of easier ways to make money than by blogging.
• Becoming famous as a blogger is even more improbable.
• If you genuinely believe that your idea can revolutionize the world, become a scientist, politician, or inventor. Don’t start a blog.

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