Traffic
Writing is what adds value to a blog. Traffic is a result of that writing. So you need to focus your energy on creating value than the after effects of that value creation. Publish 10 good articles on your blog and if no one reads it, you are allowed to accept defeat and not blog anymore.
If you worry about having traffic and readership, then it becomes very hard to motivate yourself to continue blogging consistently.
Those who do not care about traffic and readership are then ones who end up getting it – because they focus on the most important thing: writing
An artist within you!
Blogging is the fastest and easiest way to get your hands dirty in creating something that people will admire. But you may ask, why create something in the first place? Humans have an inbuilt need to express themselves and be unique. That expression can only come from being an artist. Real artists express their uniqueness through creation rather than possession & consumption. When they have felt the rewards of creation and its admiration, they will never fall into the earthly trap of owning more and different things again.
Better writing and communication skills
When you keep writing a lot of content, you learn to organize the thoughts in your mind better and bring it out in a consistent flow. The improvement reflects in speaking. That’s why most published authors are almost always good speakers. They speak naturally and effortlessly even in front of large audiences.
When you start writing great blogs, you become a good narrator. When you become a great narrator, you become a good mentor. When you become a great mentor you become a leader in your field.
Expansion of network
When you write and people visit your blog to read, share and comment you have the opportunity to expand your network. As your network expands, your brand value increases.
Blogging is not just about publishing. It is more of a conversation – a one-to-many conversation channel. Since blogging happens in real time, the comments you get on your blog is a discussion. You are not writing a column in a newspaper where you don’t get any responses at all.
Source of additional income
Many blogs today are less of blogs and more of online publications with newspaper or magazine style publishing. I am not talking about blogging as a business model here. This post is mostly about personal blogging. It is not about making your blog as a primary source of income. That’s why it is last on the list.
Though your blog can be an additional source of income, it need not be small.