How Blogging Can Build & Improve Your Professional Skills

For those that may not know or are new to following me, I have been blogging for about two and a half years now and as I continue to blog, I learn SO much along the way in this new and exciting industry.  Specifically, within the last year as I have put a lot more focus and time into my blog, I feel a lot more confident in my professional skills that I take with me to school and even to internships/applying for jobs after college – all that have improved SO much during my time blogging.  So today I wanted to share this post with you all how blogging really can your improve professional skills that you can take with you to the office or school.  (Little heads up, this post is a bit lengthy!)

When I first started blogging two and a half years ago, I did not consider my blog a business.  In the beginning, I just wanted an online space to write down my thoughts like an online journal.  But at the start of this year when I started to convert my little journal hobby into a business, I started to learn so much and really started to gain professional skills that helped me out SO much in the real world and this is actually one of the reasons I am SO glad and thankful for blogging as a business.  It really does have so many benefits you can take with you to the workplace, to school, and out in the real world. Another thing about the blogging industry that I never would have imagined learning from and benefitting from as much as I already have.

While blogging closely relates to communication, social media, and marketing/advertising, I really wanted to focus on the professional skills you can gain for any industry you specialize in, not just communications – because outside of the basics of the communications industry, there are still so many beneficial professional skills you can gain from blogging!

Professional Skills You Can Gain From Blogging:

1. Time Management

I’d say time management is probably one of the biggest professional skills you can gain from blogging.  Running a blog means being a self-starter, and you really have to manage your time well if you want to make something out of your blog.  For purposes of blogging as a business, time management actually can determine how much you get paid for your content and work.  If you don’t manage your time very well and don’t prioritize blogging in your schedule, then you most likely won’t be seeing the results you hope for i.e. won’t be getting paid as much as you had hoped, especially if you can’t meet deadlines for sponsored content and collaborations, this could impact your income.  Time management is a great professional skill to have in the office and you really learn how to manage your time in a self-starting industry like blogging in order to grow your brand and remain consistent with your audience.

2. Negotiation

This is something I actually really struggled with before I started blogging and while I may not be an expert, I feel like I have come a long way and have improved this skill so much with how long I have been blogging so far.  As I reflect on this, I really did not know my worth when I first started blogging as a business, I basically accepted brand collaborations (that I liked and was interested in, of course) without any negotiation at all, I basically let the brand determine my worth and considered that as my blog’s worth.  While now, I better understand my blogging business and its worth and now negotiate what I feel I think I deserve for my work and effort into collaborations while also considering my audience and engagement as well.  This is a great professional skill to have in the office, especially if you’re wanting to discuss a pay raise with your boss or even price negotiations with clients or business partners, or whoever else you may be negotiating with.

3. Organizational Skills

Being organized is a great skill to have and is a great way to increase productivity.  With organizational skills being one of the top soft skills employers look for, you definitely learn and can improve organizational skills by blogging.  Like any other business, it is very important to stay organized.  Ways that I like to stay organized with blogging is utilizing a journal and planner.  My journal is a place for me to write down ideas for content and brainstorm blog posts, how I want to go about sponsored content to produce good content, ideas for social posts, and much much more.  And my planner is a place for me to stay on track with sponsored content and deadlines.  Without these two things, I would not be very organized at all and probably would not succeed.

4. Self-Motivation

Similar to time management, self-motivation is such an important skill for blogging and also in the workplace.  Blogging is a self-starter industry and relies on you to run.  Without self-motivation and time management, your blog could fail as a business.  Blogging and the social media world is all about being consistent and relevant and a lack of these two skills could really hurt your blogging business, as it would in the workplace.

5. Management/Entrepreneurship

Running your own blog is a great way to improve management and entrepreneurship skills.  With blogging, you really are running your own business and play so many different roles in doing so.  You are a social media manager, a content creator, marketing specialist, advertiser, photographer/videographer, and much more, and with these, you learn to manage each “department” that comprise of your business that ties in to enhance each skill listed above to run a successful business.

Since I started blogging as a business, I feel SO much more confident with interviews for jobs and internships than I ever used to and feel like I have a lot more to say about my resume and the skills I have that make me valuable to a business.  I also feel a lot more confident in getting accepted to jobs/internships because of what I have to say about my skills and how blogging has really taught me what it’s like to be an entrepreneur essentially and has benefitted my professional life.

If you have made it this far through my post, thank you so much for reading!  I hope this post was helpful and has taught you something interesting about the blogging industry that you may not have known before.  There really are so many benefits to running your own blog and if that is something you are interested in, I definitely recommend going for it!  You will be so surprised with all of the outcomes blogging can have in your professional life!

 

XX
Kelsie