My Experience of Blogging

[This article was originally published in the University of Chester Student News, Issue 1 2018/19. View the magazine online here: http://www.chester.ac.uk/sites/files/chester/Student_News_Autumn_2018.PDF]

Writing is something that I have always enjoyed and being able to produce pieces that can be shared with others is fantastic. My writing varies in genre from music journalism, including reviews and interviews, to literary related articles, poetry and blog posts sharing my thoughts on a range of subjects.

Blogging has the added benefit of providing experience for a future career. The combination of different genres I cover has helped in the development of my writing skills to produce work for a specific purpose or audience. All of the pieces I produce across different mediums, with some published online and others in print form, function as a portfolio which I can use for job interviews as evidence for my writing skills. This make a huge difference as I want to stand out from other applicants when applying for jobs.

Blogging and article writing is great for developing a wide range of skills. Along with written communication and grammar it can also help with creativity, expression and learning to work to a deadline. For example, music journalism in particular has tight deadlines to produce reviews and report on new releases as quickly as possible. My writing has enabled me to network and find out about working in industries including music, poetry, PR, marketing and events management. It is amazing what opportunities can be discovered.

For those of you interested in blogging here are some tips for getting started:

1. Go for it! This may appear somewhat strange advice but it is easy to put things off if you feel nervous or do not know where to start. Once you sit down and write a blog post or article it will begin to feel more comfortable to do.
2. Write about topics that interest you. The quality of a piece of writing is far greater if the individual enjoys the subject matter. Your enthusiasm will come across in your writing and create a far more interesting read. It is easy to worry about whether other people will be interested or not but it will be far more enjoyable for you to focus on your interests. Write about something you love, and the readers will come.
3. Where to post your writing? There are so many free websites on which you can post your work. If you want to create your own blogging website WordPress is a popular choice, or you could use social media such as the notes function on Facebook. Another alternative is to approach an existing website and enquire if you can write for them. This is an approach I have taken with music journalism.
4. Work at a pace that suits you. You may decide to write an article once a week – something like this is a fairly easy schedule to keep to and you can always stockpile articles ahead of publishing them. Try to avoid creating pressure for yourself by aiming to post once a day, for example. This will make the experience less enjoyable and may affect the quality of your content.
5. Be supportive of other bloggers. Forming relationships with other writers can open up a world of opportunities for you which can turn into paid work. It is also a great way to make new friends with shared interests.