As the days of summer wind down, many around the world are packing up cars, vans and SUV’s to head back to campus. Most 18 to 24-year-olds will begin the fall as poor college students and head home next spring as even poorer college students.
That, fortunately, does not have to be the case. Aside from the usual part-time jobs and monthly stipends from Mom and Dad, there are other ways for college students to make extra cash to get through the school year.
One of those ways is blogging. Blogging presents college students with a unique opportunity to not only make some extra money, but to practice writing, research and develop ideas in a real-world setting.
Why College Students Should Blog
As a college student myself, I know that blogging is an outlet. It can be an escape from college life with real benefits.
Presented here are five reasons why college students should blog:
- It’s Fun
Blogging is awesome. It is by far the easiest way for people – especially students – to express their opinions, have them contested and respond in an orderly manner.
You can write about what you love or what you hate or both. There are no limits to what you can and can’t blog about. No matter what, you will always love what you’re writing about because you get to decide.Blogging will also provide real-life feedback from those around the world. Your opinions – if interesting enough – will spark debate and encourage discussion. It is way more interesting than a cognitive psych class, trust me.
- It doesn’t take much time
College students are busy. We have lectures, discussions, activities, clubs and of course, parties, to attend. Blogging won’t slow down your life in the way that 12-page paper on the effects of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity in the 20th century will.
You can blog for five minutes a day or five hours a day. You can link your Twitter account to your blog and even blog from your cell phone.
If you blog on something you follow regularly or something you’re studying, that makes it even easier.
- It’s easy
Blogging doesn’t take much work – relative to the 150 pages of reading and the 8 short answer questions assigned for homework in 13th Century Literature.
Getting started is simple enough and most blogging platforms require little to know technical knowledge.
I tell people this – if you can e-mail and use Facebook, more than likely you can run a simple blog. Don’t be scared away by HyperText Markup Language or SQL queries or File Transfer Protocol. None of that is absolutely necessary. You can get a free blog at wordpress.com or blogger.com and you won’t have to know anything more than point and click.
- It’s cheap
Blogging is very affordable. Most of the time, it can be free. If you want to make money, you might have to invest a little bit, but the costs are only marginal. There are free platforms, free blog designs and free add-ons. There are free help forums and free communities.
The phrase it takes money to make money generally applies to blogging, but it takes pennies compared to what you can make blogging. A domain and hosting can be bought for less than the cost of the pizza and french fries you shouldn’t have had for lunch cost.
- You can make money
Perhaps the most important part and perhaps why you’re still reading is the fact that blogging is an income opportunity. Considering the four points mentioned previously, it’s a fairly small investment for what you can get in return.
Chances are you won’t make millions, or even thousands of dollars blogging. In all likelihood, only those with real resolve and desire will make hundreds in a month or semester’s time. But it’s possible.
If you start your own blog, you’re going to have to work a lot harder – but you can still make good money. Through advertising programs and commission sales, you can put enough loose chain in your pocket to pay for gas to and from home each month.
If you choose to look for a blogging job you’re going to have more competition, but you might reap more benefits. Some blogs pay hundreds of dollars for solid, 1,000 to 1,500 word posts on any number of subjects. Some pay $10 or $20. You just have to find what’s right for you.
Conclusion
You can do it. If you want to have fun, learn more and make some extra cash – blogging could be the thing for you.
It’s a relatively small investment compared to what you can get in return. The least you can do for yourself is give it a shot.
Nice article. Being a college student my views are similar with the author
Can I suggest other reasons, important ones I guess
1- Improves your skills:
Especially if you blog about something you study..
A blog can motivate you to exercise those very-conceptual stuff you get taught in college.. also to experience real world examples!
A blog can motivate you to do more research on those very-shallow topics we usually get taught in college..
2- Promote yourself:
A blog can be your portfolio that helps you to promote yourself when applying for a new job!
Mike – those are great additions… Keep the feedback coming.
Very nice. Yes those are very true.
My second language is English and I know a little basic, Blogging can also improve my english language skills. Hope to know more knowledge by just blogging.
Great view, I am a student and I run a blog as well. but there are lot of points you didn't cover. You may check my site for more.
I believe blogging is a good training ground for discipline and responsibility. It can mold you intellectually which can extend up to your personality. No age limit required just your skills and perspective. It's a good activity for students not only that it will broaden their perspectives but also have the opportunity to hear their own. Lots of benefits and you’ll only be able to reap those up once you took an effort to apply your skills and share your knowledge. ss
Awesome post! Too bad blogging wasn't around when I was a kid or I could have actually really benefited from it. Today's college students who do blog regularly seem to be much more influential around their piers and more socially active.