Should You Start A Blog in 2026?

Last updated on 26 November 2024

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So you’re thinking about starting a blog? Firstly, fantastic! Secondly, the first step to starting a blog is thinking about doing it, so you’re already on the right track. There are a lot of things to take into consideration when it comes to answering the question ‘should I start a blog?’, and we’re going to look at these things, as well as some pros and cons of starting a blog.

Hopefully, by the end of this blog post, you’ll be able to fully say yes or no to starting a blog. Let’s start by going over some basics, so we’re all on the same page.

What is a blog?

The definition of the word ‘blog’ has changed a bit over time. Thanks to Merriam-Webster, the definition we can run with today is:

Blog: noun // a regular record of your thoughts, opinions, or experiences that you put on the internet for other people to read.

Or another slightly different, definition:

Blog: noun // a record of news, people’s opinions, photos, and videos about a particular subject that someone puts on the internet and adds information, pictures, etc. to regularly

Either way, it’s pretty simple, right? It’s an online platform where people can share their life. But it’s so much more than that.

When I first started blogging I thought that’s all it was: a place where I could share my stories, however mundane or exciting. And technically, that’s correct. You can share whatever you’d like on a blog, and many people do. There’s no right topic to blog about.

What I grew to realise over the years was a blog is so much more than just a space to share what you ate for lunch today (that’s what Instagram circa 2011 was for, right? Ha).

As soon as I started sharing what I loved in a way that was not only entertaining for other people to read but was informative and helpful and something they could learn from, grow from or take pointers from, that’s when I saw my online community grow.

So, wait, should I start a blog?

I think a big juicy ‘yes’, but I’m biased because I love blogging so much. There are a few questions I want you to think about before you launch yourself into the blogging world.

What is your why? What are the reasons behind your desire to start a blog?
Do you know what you’re going to blog about? Try using the Japanese concept of Ikigai to figure out your blogging niche!
Who are you writing for? Who is your audience?
What kinds of things are your readers going to be able to take and implement from your content?
Are you committed to upkeeping it?
Do you have the patience to chip away at it? Blogging is long game!

By answering these questions, you’re going to be able to clearly see if starting a blog is right for you. Especially the last two. Blogging is a lot of work, especially if you want to monetize your blog. It’s by no means impossible – people do it all the time, obviously! – but it does take commitment, patience, and persistence.

The Pros and Cons of starting a blog

Ah, the good old pros and cons list. You either love them or hate them, but no matter where you stand, can I persuade you that they’re actually very useful? Especially when it comes to new endeavours, like blog creation.

While a Pros and Cons list is pretty self-explanatory, I want you to think about your situation in particular. I can spend an entire blog post telling you my thoughts on what exactly should go into each column, but at the end of the day, you’re not me. I’m not you. We’re not each other and our situations are likely to be quite different.

That being said, here are a few things I would put in each column from my perspective if I were starting, in the hopes that they spark a few ideas and get you going.

Pros to starting a blog

I get to share the things I love with an audience whose interests are similar

This is one of my favourite things about blogging. I get to create content about things that I love writing about (books, travel, blogging!), and share it in such a way that helps other people who love what I love and are excited about the possibilities or inspiration or education or whatever it is.

I’d have an online community and be able to meet new people

And I’m not just talking about my blogging membership for women. Every day, I’m having conversations with bloggers and business owners via various platforms (Instagram, Facebook, email) and meeting new people. All because I have a blog.

The blogging community, while it’s changed a lot since I started in 2009, is still a wonderful place to hang out in. There are lots of opportunities for community chats, support, and accountability.

I can be creative

After I started a blog, I began to see things a little differently. Most things I did could be content for my blog. And while I’m not saying that spending your life thinking about your blog and how you can turn every single situation into a blog post … I am saying that it allowed me to be creative with what I was sharing. Whether that’s the topic, or perhaps the type of images I was using, the tutorials I was sharing … it’s a wonderful creative outlet, even if that creativity is simply writing.

Cons to starting a blog

I have to maintain the blog

Yup, surprise surprise, you can’t just create a blog and then forget about it. You have to maintain it. And that not only means writing and publishing blog posts. It’s making sure your images are optimised, it’s running quickly, you’ve optimised it for search engines, you’re fixing broken links and images. You’ve also got to troubleshoot when things go wrong or be able to contact your hosting company to get them to help out.

I have to think of new things to write about

Writer’s block can get pretty darn real sometimes. Having a blog means you need to write blog posts. And to write blog posts you need blog post ideas to actually, you know … write.

It’s another thing I’m adding to my already busy life

We’re a generation and an age of busy people. Even if we don’t mean to be. Whether that be working a 9-5 job (full-time or part-time), social lives and connecting with friends and family, attending events, taking the kids to school and after-school activities, travel, meetings, life. Finding time to upkeep a blog might be a challenge.

Those points I’ve listed in the Cons column are all valid, and if you’ve listed similar Cons on list then I get it. It can be pretty full-on. But hopefully, by you working on your own list you’ll be able to see that the pros outweigh the cons.

Starting a blog is one of the best things I ever did. I am SO glad that I started a blog and now, over a decade later, get to help women with their own blogs.

After reading through this blog post, and doing some of your own thinking and processing, hopefully, you’ve decided whether you should start a blog or not. And remember that if you do start a blog, there are so many resources, courses, and help out there if you get stuck or if you need to get someone’s opinion.

Feel free to drop me a line if you need a hand, or book yourself in for some 1:1 blog coaching.