Wait, Should I Start A Blog This Year? Here's The Truth
Trust me, blogging is tight.
I started blogging around 2019. That first blog was pretty bad and it failed. But I learned stuff. And I kept doing it.
Now here I am (3 blogs and hundreds of thousands of views later) still writing and sharing everything I’ve learned along the way. Because I’m not stopping anytime soon——the blog is not dead.
So if you’ve been wondering: should I start a blog? You’re in the right place.
But spoiler, I totally think you should start a blog (especially if you’ve been thinking about it for a while).
Because it’s not too late and there are still tons of amazing benefits.
So let’s get to it!
Psst, quick heads up that some links in this post may be affiliate links. This is at no extra cost to you, but helps me keep the lights on. Thanks for your support!
Why You Should Totally Start A Blog (5 reasons)
It’s Evergreen
This is my favorite part about blogging: the posts can lasts for years.
If I write a good article targeting a good keyword, those blogs can work for me behind the scenes with little to no maintenance. Sometimes for years.
Blogging is evergreen (lasts a while) and it’s the closest thing to passive content.
Authority
Long-form content optimized for search and LLMs builds long-lasting brand authority and reputation.
Anyone can go viral. But it takes time and strategy to show up in Google, Perplexity or ChatGPT organically.
And speaking of…
Future-proof Your Brand——Show Up In AI
AI doesn’t have access to social media data due to strict third-party restrictions on those platforms.
So platforms like ChatGPT rely on long-form content like blogs and other publicly available data.
If you’re keen to show up in AI (and future-proof your brand), then long-form blogging is a fantastic strategy for that.
Get Good At Writing
Writing is a foundation for everything. Good marketing, clear branding and messaging, sales…copywriting is the common thread.
I’m far from perfect and I’m constantly improving, but when I read old posts from even just 1 year ago, I’m sometimes embarrassed.
Writing is the art of communication. It’s getting people to care about the things you’re passionate about (in your unique voice).
It’s a great skill (even with AI, this helps with prompting and adding the human touch).
Figure Yourself Out
Writing isn’t just cathartic. It’s self development
And if you’re trying to start or grow a brand (personal or otherwise), blogging is an awesome way to fine-tune your messaging and discover yourself more deeply.
Explore more:
➤ Branding for Creatives (full guide)
So, Who Is Blogging For?
Honestly, blogging is for anyone who wants it.
But here’s my shortlist of people who thrive with it:
Artists
Writers
Builders
Solopreneurs
Personal brands
Creators and influencers
Anyone wanting to grow online (but not ready show up on camera)
How to Start A Kick-Ass Blog (7 core tips)
Choose A Good Blog Home
Soooo, your blog needs a place to live.
Most website builders have a native CMS (content management system) so you can easily publish blogs. But some don’t.
For example, Readymag is great for designs and magazine-style sites, but they have a way to blog. So just be sure to double check before signing up for a platform.
Medium or Substack are good if you don’t want your own website. But if you want a custom domain (which I recommend you get), you’ll want your own site; I use Squarespace.
I also like to build custom sites using AI and vibe coding, connecting to a headless CMS or WordPress for the blogging backend (this is cheaper, but a fun skill to learn if you’re into techie stuff!).
Check out my post on the best website builders for creatives for more!
Explore more:
➤ Blogging vs. Vlogging
➤ Social Blogging 101
Going Niche Is Easier
If you spread yourself too thin, you’ll struggle to build trust, authority or consistency. It’s not impossible, just harder.
The personal brand lets us be multi-passionate (woo!), but narrow sites are still easier for LLMs and Google to understand exactly what you do.
If you do cover multiple niches, at least start small and expand slowly at the right time. Or choose related sub-niches and layer niches in a unique way.
To be fair, my main personal blog (No Compass) is multi-niche. And it took me years to organize things.
Check out the explore more link below for more on all this.
Explore more:
➤ How to Start A Multi-niche Blog
Do Good Keyword Research
Keywords are the topics you talk about and the phrases you use to optimize your website. They describe who you are and what you do or know about.
For personal blogging, this means you can basically turn yourself into keywords.
The goal with keyword research is to:
Identify the most relevant keywords people actually search for
Find opportunities and gaps in your niche
Turn one pillar keyword into multiple ideas for topical depth
You can learn about my full keyword research strategy here.
Create Topical Clusters
Topical clusters are groups of related sub-topics, which together, cover a pillar topic in full.
They form the backbone of your content architecture and strategy. They’re also required to build sustainable authority and actually rank (especially for more competitive terms).
For example, I didn’t write just one random article on how to start a blog for creatives. I covered all possible related topics around personal blogging, including keyword research, SEO, the benefits of blogging, the best websites for blogging…and so on.
The more you cover a topic in depth, the more authority and trust you build. Over time, this leads to brand reputation and better ranking.
Make Blogging A Habit
There’s nothing sadder than stumbling onto a cool blog project, only to find their latest post is 3 years old.
Blogging isn’t passive. You need to keep your site active. Even if it’s just one post a month.
Eventually, you can even outsource this part of it or train an AI to capture your voice fully to streamline your workflow.
The bottom line is this. Blogging is a long-game. So think in years (not months) and make it a habit.
Commit to a realistic posting schedule and love the journey.
Diversify Your Traffic
My biggest blogging mistake (besides going too broad early on) was relying on Google for all of my traffic.
In my defense though, this is what worked for two decades!
But then came AI.
Within months, I lost over 80% of my traffic.
I felt deflated. Demotivated.
Miffed!
But then again, with great disruption comes great opportunity. And I’m stoked to report that the blog is back!
It’s just changed a bit; part of that change is traffic diversification.
For example, I’m focusing most of my efforts in 2026 on Pinterest for blogging. I still optimize for Google by default, but I’ve sort of moved on from them.
But if you’re keen to learn more, check out my post on the top blog traffic sources (that aren’t Google).
Make It Human
I’m not against AI writing completely. It depends on the project you’re working on.
For example, I have a portfolio of calculator sites and micro apps. The core value proposition here is a tool, not the content. Plus, these projects are not attached to my personal brand.
So I’m using more AI to streamline the content for these projects.
But all website that have my name attached to them are human-written.
But even if you use AI, review the material and add your unique voice into the mix. We can all spot AI slop.
So that’s all I’ve got for you here.
If you’re ready to take the next step, check out my post on Squarespace for blogging!
Otherwise, later ✌️
Want more? Nice. Here’s more.
