I almost called this article, ‘Why is reading blogs powerful?’ But I changed my mind as powerful can sometimes suggest something negative and I wanted the post to be wholly positive. However, blogs are powerful entities which can influence people markedly. I would hope that blogs have had nothing but positive influences over me and I definitely have loved reading such a variety of them, especially in the past year.
As a reader and writer I have no doubt that any kind of reading is good for you in terms of expanding your vocabulary and improving your language flexibility. Of course, there are some blogs that are slightly one-sided and these may drag you down a rabbit hole of negativity, but I avoid those.
Keeping It Positive
For me, I originally started reading blogs as a result of Twitter threads for writers. So yes, I was late to the party. Until then, I had only read a few blog articles and didn’t quite understand their functions. Nowadays I read probably ten blogs a day and absolutely love them.
What Are Their Benefits Of Reading Blogs (for me)?
1) They have taught me so much about subjects that I previously knew very little about. Learning more about the environment has been eye-opening for me, as a geographer who is already very interested in this topic. Similarly, I have found out facts about health and nutrition, as well as mental health and particular industries.
2) I have begun to understand how blogging itself works. Learning from more experienced writers has been wonderful, especially knowing how they started out and what drove their blogging process. I also have enjoyed finding out about ways to improve SEO and integrate into the very friendly community of blog writers.
3) I have read such brilliant poems and short stories which I would never have otherwise come across. Some poets are very talented and their work is only available on their personal blogs.
4) Blogs often draw attention to goods. Yes, they are businesses and I embrace that. I would rather see a recommendation for a product from a blogger than just read meaningless endorsements on selling websites. We all know that product reviews can be misleading on selling sites, so blog reviews from trusted bloggers are far better.
5) My eyes have been opened to new destinations through travel blogs. Rachel Foy for example, often visits places in Britain that I never thought of visiting up until now. Confidently Kayleigh also gives me plenty of ideas, such as recently with her Salford museum post.
6) Most of all, I have loved reading book reviews and this has influenced my reading heavily. The Happy Reader (from 🇨🇦 Canada) is one such blog that has given me book suggestions to follow up with. Learning about new books is one of the major benefits of reading blogs.
Why are blogs useful?
So now hopefully you will understand why blogs have become more than just a hobby to me. Blogging is brilliant and the community is embracing. Reading blogs is beneficial in so many fabulous ways.
For an article about starting a blog click here. If you enjoyed this article about the benefits of reading blogs, please consider following my blog as I want to eventually become a full time blogger.
excellent. I agree that reading blogs comes with all of these benefits — to learn about products that you wouldn’t have known otherwise, to learn how to blog, and even to just engage with the blogging community.
As a blogger, I can’t really argue against why it’s good to read blogs. They can be a source of useful information coupled with a personal perspective
Certainly
I enjoy reading other blogs. I feel like I get to travel to different destinations, get amazing makeup reviews and it’s good to engage with the blogging community.
Yes it is a fab community!
Reading other blogs has indeed opened up new worlds for me and I’ve learned things that I would never otherwise have come across. The blogging community is amazing, so friendly and helpful, and I’m always incredulous that what started out as a hobby for me has now turned into a side hustle, albeit one I still very much enjoy!
That is good to hear.
So true this is!
Great post Jamie! I agree that so many of these blogs have taught me a lot about things I didn’t think of/know before.
I like to think I read blogs to broaden my horizons. However, I’ve just finished reading a poorly reasoned and frankly offensive anti-vax post. It implied that the medical community made no effort to treat COVID and that vaccines are laziness. I’m afraid that’s one blog I won’t be reading in future. That’s one topic where I don’t want to expose myself to everyone’s thoughts – I don’t subscribe to everyone having a right to an opinion. Sometimes some people are wantonly and deliberately wrong and in those cases I don’t want to engage.
I agree, and I cast those ones aside too.
I agree, you can learn a lot from blog posts. Especially when I travel, I read other travel bloggers posts and even visit places and restaurants that they have recommended. I would not have discovered them without reading those posts.
Good points.
I learn a lot from reading blogs. I’m glad it’s beneficial, because I read many blogs. Thanks for sharing.
~Michelle
https://michellescrazybusylife.net
Good post, I love reading blogs. I think it broadens your horizons! But also they are a source of information. I particularly like reviews and blogs that set out to provide tips or solve problems.
Yes. Blogs are fab!
As the mainstream newspapers have reduced their coverage of books, I find book blogs invaluable for discovering new authors. Most of my recommendations come from blogs now.
That is good to hear.