As a blogger of 10+ years, I agree. A few more benefits:<p>* "Serializing" your thoughts. You (2013) can explain an idea that you (2014 onward) won't remember. I try to explain "gotcha" moments to myself, in language that works for me, so I won't have difficulties later on. This began in college, and developed into the blog I run today.<p>* Putting in your hours. I don't believe in 10k hours exactly, but practice helps. In the past decade I've written 100+ essays of 1-2k words that I wouldn't have otherwise. I can visibly see my writing improving. Take a look at the first Garfield strip: <a href="http://history.howstuffworks.com/american-history/garfield.htm" rel="nofollow">http://history.howstuffworks.com/american-history/garfield.h...</a> or Calvin and Hobbes: <a href="http://calvinethobbes.free.fr/english/c_prem.html" rel="nofollow">http://calvinethobbes.free.fr/english/c_prem.html</a><p>* You're writing anyway. Most tech people are writing at least 1-2k words a week in email, forums, etc. anyway. You might was well capture some of that in an archived, searchable format that can benefit you with contacts and new opportunities.
Author here. You may also want to check out a more recent post I wrote about blogging that focuses on those "side benefits": <a href="http://nathanmarz.com/blog/break-into-silicon-valley-with-a-blog-1.html" rel="nofollow">http://nathanmarz.com/blog/break-into-silicon-valley-with-a-...</a>
Couldn't agree more. I've been writing a lot lately, and the exercise has forced me to research things, clarify my own understanding and thinking, and really think about the big picture of how a lot of things tie together. Also, I keep finding new connections between "topic A" and "topic B" that I had not thought about before, OR discovering "topic C" that I didn't even <i>know</i> about before.<p>So, as a side effect of writing, I've actually generated quite a few new ideas, from ideas about marketing and branding, to product feature ideas, etc.<p>My nominal purpose in a lot of this writing has been to engage in some "content based marketing" and drive more traffic to our website, establish credibility, etc. But as nathanmarz points out, those things become (or almost become) just side benefits.<p>Now if I just had more time to write...
I blogged for months pre-launch with very few readers. It felt ridiculous to put so much into something that wasn't directly related to the brand I was building and was taking away from my sw dev time.<p>But when I launched, a surprising number of key industry folks read a significant amt. of the blog when they went to check out my site. Most didn't know me prior to my launch announcement, but after reading the blog they were convinced of my expertise in the area and a few have been working overtime to open doors for me. Likewise, a number of new users got to know me through the blog and came to champion the site after personally connecting w/ me & my background in the field through my writing.<p>It turned out to have been the best marketing / biz dev dollars I never spent.<p>I got advice many years ago from a VC that you should proclaim yourself the expert in whatever field you are entering. It turns out that the blog permitted me to do that successfully in a very low-key way.
I mostly agree, but I also think it's worth doing it for the "side benefits" since they can be so huge, even if you can't predict what they may be.<p>Cutting a long story short, if it wasn't for tirelessly blogging in the early 2000s, I'd not have gotten a book deal which led to me creating a blog which became my main source of income and led to the e-mail newsletter network I now run. Nor would I have luckily became result #2 for a popular route planner and made $2-3k per month in Adsense over 2 years by accident. And.. a lot of things like that. And I barely had any readers, it's just that certain posts hit the spot with people Googling for very specific things.
I've mostly found blogging saves me time by allowing me to link myself. Plus longform writing allows one to transcend mere comment-box arrogance and ascend to the heady heights of bounteous pomposity.
I've been blogging for about a year now, and I have been getting a consistant growing readership. The best advice I ever read about blogging was have a scheduled post.<p>I do one post every friday, even if I have very little going on.<p>I still write blog posts throughout the week, but it's only when I want too.<p>My Friday post is a have-to commitment I've made. It makes it easier for my readers to know when to come to my site.
having recently started a blog for several of the reasons mentioned I'm interested as to what HN's opinion on comments are? my site's current incarnation doesn't have any, and I've considered adding them, but I'm not sure they'll really add anything given the low traffic<p>I do like the idea of Svbtle's 'kudos' system as a measure of leaving positive feedback or an indication of a post's popularity. I guess my main worry is that someone might actually enjoy a post but find it difficult to let me know, is an email link really enough in this instance? seems like a rather high barrier to entry<p><a href="http://ocfinn.com" rel="nofollow">http://ocfinn.com</a> [in case anyone was wondering]
"Writing reveals holes in your thinking. When your ideas are written and looking back at you, they're a lot less convincing than when they're just in your head. Writing forces you to mature your ideas by thinking through counterarguments."<p>Totally agree.<p>I'd also add that writing publicly (blogging) forces you to evaluate and really consider your true convictions with regard to whatever it is you're writing. Because you're going on the record with something - for all to see. And there's bound to be people out there that disagree with you. If and when they come, will you still be proud of and confident in what you wrote? If not, reconsider your stands.
Another good development path is to write Wikipedia articles. You get to see someone "kill your darlings" and perhaps learn from it. Plenty of readers too. But there is no opportunity for blog-like self promotion. You only get better writing and analyzing skills.
Editing popular articles vs. starting a new one are completely different experiences.
Totally agree - I'd like to add one huge benefit more: you create great longterm value for your future customers. Sometimes people encounter blogposts which are couple of years old and contact you - it's an awesome felling to help people in the long run. If you keep on blogging readers will follow!
I completely agree with this. Not only is blogging a great exercise for getting you in a routine of committing to something it can eventually lead to bigger things like job opportunities, author offers and money via affiliate links.<p>I ran a blog that had low readership for about a year and a half, I would write everyday and then all of a sudden I started ranking for common keywords and the traffic started flowing. I then put up some CPA links for various things and made $2000 one month from those survey popups (done tastefully). I eventually shut the blog down because I wanted to do something else, but it proves that big things grow from the littlest of seeds.
I too have learned a lot from blogging. When I started out, it was discouraging, and still is, when you spend time in writing good posts and no one bothers to read them. But with time, you get better at it and actually start writing in a better way which others find easy to understand. And yes, sometimes google does recognize your good posts and sends you tons of traffic, even when your posts don't get shared on social media.
Writing is thinking, about both what we are thinking about and how we are communicating it ourselves and others.<p>My journal, which confers opportunity to benefit from writing without the distractions of the screen, like my various blogs, has at least one reader. As a writer, I have an obligation to entertain and inform him, even though he is me.
i have a blog with no readers! it's my notes from attempts to write my PhD thesis. Heroku makes it a cinch to self-publish <a href="http://mrcactu5.herokuapp.com/blog" rel="nofollow">http://mrcactu5.herokuapp.com/blog</a> You're no longer restricted to WordPress either since you can use MathJax CDN.<p>Another good source of material are e-mails... take out all the personal stuff (or leave it in). This material is convincing since I am writing to another person. 3rd parties may have something in comment with the person you are writing to. that blog has not been created yet since my 1st blog is devoted to math.<p>for the data scientists: blog comments are often more revealing than the article itself, since they are (usually) unfiltered. They are also a bit harder to process -- since usually don't go in the direction you had in mind.
Blogging is cathartic, and is a great way to keep track of how your thought process has progressed over time. But yes... totally agree that the process helps you to distill your thoughts and be a better critical thinker.
I found a great site that has improved my life: 750words.com<p>Forces you to write 750 words every day. It can be nonsense, it can be a story, or it can be like a diary. It's helped me structure my thoughts a lot.
12 year prolific bloguer here:<p>Writing has become my catharsis.<p>It did a lot for me and I never regret the day I started to blog.<p>I started posting link, short news and now I just write rants. 10 min reading format is what I love to write.