6 Reasons Why Every College Student Should Blog

If you’re a college student and don’t have a blog you should seriously consider starting one today. Blogging is such an incredibly powerful way to make connections, learn skills, demonstrate your knowledge, and become a force in your industry that by not blogging you’re doing yourself a complete disservice. Although I may be a bit bias since I am a blogger there are six convincing reasons why every college student should start a blog.

1. Learn through teaching

One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned through teaching others is that you actually learn more teaching than you do being taught. Imagine you’re one of two people; A professor in a course or a student. The professor has to be completely prepared, understand the course materials, and be ready to teach, the student, on the other hand, doesn’t have to be prepared, and is only graded in the end by what they can retain. Who gains more knowledge in the process? The professor, because the professor has more accountability and responsibility.

We learn by teaching.
-James Howell-

There are many reasons to start a blog, but through writing and teaching others you’re indirectly going to learn more about the subject you’re writing about, and in doing so you’ll become smarter about the topic of your blog.

2. Networking

I like to write about personal finance, money management, and specific tools such as Roth IRA or mutual fund investment tools. It’s something that I enjoy and do as a hobby, but it also means that I get to discuss it with other bloggers and folks in the industry. This means that I get to discuss my hobby with folks who are out there making it happen in the industry which makes me learn even more.

It was pretty cool the other day when on Twitter I got a message saying that David Bach, a 7 time new york times best seller, was following me! If I didn’t have a blog I wouldn’t have the relationship I now have to a new york times best selling author. Without an online presence you won’t be able to connect with others who are actively engaged online in your field of study.

3. Place to market your resume

By having a blog with plenty of backlinks you’ve got power to get indexed in Google for certain search terms. If you’re a real estate analyst you can literally create a page on your blog with the keywords “real estate analyst for hire” and rank well in Google since it’s a longtail keyword. Your resume might get more exposure from Google than being buried under the massive piles of applicants on job boards and when a potential employer sees your portfolio and demonstrated knowledge via your blog you’re going to have an edge.

4. Control your online presence

You can control what people find when they look for you online. I’ve heard of some companies not even interviewing applicants because they don’t control their online presence. For my generation, Generation Y, if you don’t exist online, you’re not real, it’s that simple. Ranking for your own name really isn’t all that hard and by doing so you’ll impress a potential employer and have say on what they find when they Google your name.

5. Learn a skill

Blogging in itself is a skill that entails many different qualities. You’ll learn to become a better writer, become better with technology, become a better marketer, and have more networking experience. These are all valuable things that only add to your arsenal of abilities which make you a more qualified employee or experienced business owner.

6. Create a side income

You’re most likely going to have college debt, so why not chisel away at it? The costs associated with running a blog are incredibly low and for $100 a year and you can easily be running a top notch blog. The thing that matter most in your blog is content anyways, not how fancy the site is and if it runs adobe flash.

Remember, your blog doesn’t have to go off on a tangent and express your inner most thoughts, all it has to do is be informative about a subject matter. For example, if you’re studying physics, you can create a website about great physicists, new topics in physics, and even create a network of physicists so that you can more easily collaborate and share ideas. The possibilities are endless.

If you don’t necessarily enjoy the topic of your studies (you should probably choose a new degree), you can write about a hobby, or even the community you live in. You also don’t have to show your face so you can do it under a pen name while gaining experience. If your blog becomes successful and you decide you want to reap the benefits of being known, you could then expose yourself as the blogger.

If you’re currently a college student I strongly urge you to consider adding a blog to your to do list. If you’re serious about gaining contacts in your field, marketing yourself, and learning more about your industry a blog is the perfect place to start.