12 Reasons Why People Blog

Written by Jeff Bullas - View Comments
Categories: Blog, Social Media


Ten years ago blogs were small and personal and people wrote about their hobbies, interests and just their life.

2 Reasons Why People Blog

There was no thoughts of becoming a millionaire via a blog or even turning famous.

Today we have blogs where 50 million people turn up every month to read news, watch videos and share their comments about the latest post. There are individual online video blogs that reach millions globally every year.

Earlier this year I started a poll to ask people “Why Do You Blog?” and 492 votes later we have some hard facts and figures on why people really do blog. (here is the screen shot of the results)

12 Reasons Why People Blog
The top 5 are in ranking order are.

  1. Passion
  2. Share  with others
  3. Business
  4. Self Expression
  5. Put forward new ideas

Not surprisingly the number one reason is “passion” for their topic. In fact of all the top bloggers I know that I have reviewed  and researched, this would have to be the number one reason for posting every day year after year.

The third placed reason for blogging I would expect to grow over time as corporate blogging continues to evolve is blogging for business. The other reason for blogging that received more votes than I expected was for “improving writing”

Why do you blog?



Tags: , , , , , ,
  • http://scottgould.me Scott Gould

    I blogged for passion and self expression.

    Now I blog because I love the community and comments on my blog. I get few retweets, but loads of comments.

    Scott

  • http://www.good-folk.com Dave Folkerson

    Blogging also helps to organize one’s thoughts and arguments on a subject. Maybe that falls under “self-documentation”?

  • http://askaaronlee.com Aaron

    Thanks for the insights mate, for me the main purpose of blogging is passion and branding. I had the passion for the topic for a while and I decided that the only way I can get more out of it was to brand myself via a blog and also to improve my writing :)

  • http://askaaronlee.com/5-reasons-why-i-started-blogging/ 5 Reasons Why I Started Blogging | Ask Aaron Lee

    [...] reading 12 reasons why people blog by Jeff bullas who did a survey on why people blog, I went to think on the reasons on why I started [...]

  • http://virtualphotographystudio.com/photographyblog Andrew

    I blog to teach others in my field of photography. Our industry has been over-run with new competition which hurts seasoned professionals bottom line. Followers can interact with subject of interest and learn about issues or new ideas.

  • http://coberlycommunications.com/2010/07/23/and-so-it-begins/ And so it begins… « Coberly Communications

    [...] 12 Reasons Why People Blog [...]

  • http://bdentzy.com/ Bryan Entzminger

    Passion and sharing with others. Definitely. Thank YOU for sharing.

  • http://berapa-harga.com Helenarosette

    Really wonderful post!…ll your reasons are acceptable by every one and I ll be visiting you more frequently, here is very interesting information. Thanks for sharing with us …

    insight

  • http://www.toddweisscfa.com ToddWeissCFA

    Jeff:

    I blog for business, branding and like to share ideas. It’s a great way to let people understand the type of person you are and how you think. TW

  • http://eazyclass.com/ charnchai lersbantornkul

    I blogged for a business reason with passion in it. Great statistics here/ thank you

  • http://www.healthandwellnessconsultants.com Kathy Garolsky

    Very wonderful post.So interesting and reliable.Thanks for sharing this.

  • http://www.socialwizz.com Praz

    The one and only reason I run my blogs….passion :) ! Sadly, no one has ever been able to answer, what’s the value of passion?

    http://socialwizz.com/?p=811

  • http://utweet.it/partner-feeds/ask-aaron-lee/5-reasons-why-i-started-blogging/ 5 Reasons Why I Started Blogging | uTweet.it |

    [...] reading 12 reasons why people blog by Jeff bullas who did a survey on why people blog, I went to think on the reasons on why I started [...]

  • http://webmarketersa.wordpress.com/2010/07/26/12-reasons-why-people-blog-jeff-bullas/ 12 Reasons Why People Blog – Jeff Bullas « Web.Marketer

    [...] via 12 Reasons Why People Blog. [...]

  • Morten Krarup Kristensen

    Nice small post mate i like the idea.. But ill have to point out that a poll hardly turn out as facts, and often ppl answer what they believe is right and not the “truth” even tho its annomynous.. To be honest i think loads of ppl say “passion” because its what we would like ppl to blog about, where the truth very well could be fame or money..

  • http://blog.austinhutchison.com Austin Hutchison

    One of the main reasons I blog is out of a desire to improve my writing. It’s a critical skill that I don’t practice enough. I also consider it a wise investment to have a strong online “brand”. Not to mention that it’s a cool way to network with people you’d never talk to otherwise.

  • http://marianlibrarian.com Marian Schembari

    LOVE THIS. Passion and business are my big two – though sometimes I feel a little less love for my business than my blog ;-)

  • TriciaRecruiter

    RT @jeffbullas: 12 Reasons Why People Blog http://www.jeffbullas.com/2010/07/23/12-...

  • http://twitter.com/DanaAAllen Dana Allen

    I blog photos primarily to stay current in the search results.

  • http://www.FritzieGM.com FritzieGM

    I blog mainly because I want to improve my writing and express myself. It feels good when you were able to express yourself and share your feelings, ideas, stories and the like through blogging.

  • http://daleod.com Dale O’Donnell

    I’m currently blogging with passion, for my favorite football team, Manchester United. I think it’s important you have passion for whatever your blogging about because you’ll obviously put more work and effort into it which is very imporant.

    I also have a personal site which I’ll be using to impress clients in hiring me ;)

  • http://www.tmorita.com Tim Morita

    While I created a blog to write about my passions, I wish to share my thoughts with others as well. The real goal, however, is to combine that passion with business — that’s where the gold is, in my opinion.

  • http://twitter.com/corvedacosta Corve DaCosta

    I blog because of passion. I’ve gotten so much out of it that sometimes its my therapy. I like sharing my experiences on my blog and reaching out to more people.

  • http://www.myshoppinggenie.com/pstd Lisa Ann Landry

    These are excellent suggestions. I love your blog posts, they are consistently relevant, content rich, and easy to apply.

    Lisa Ann Landry
    Vibrating positive energy…what are you vibrating?
    http://www.imagedevelopmentgroup.com/index.html

  • http://thebusinessglue.com/2010/08/06/friday-link-roundup-2/ Friday Link Roundup! | The Business Glue

    [...] Blogging & why people blog – This site will gives you 12 reasons why people blog… [...]

  • http://www.facebook.com/cherylhollisallbritton Cheri Allbritton

    to write. it’s cathartic.

  • http://janurva.wordpress.com/2011/09/13/ajaveebide-kasutamise-motiivid/ Ajaveebide kasutamise motiivid « Jan "sau" Urva

    [...] meedia ja online-turunduse teemade kajastamisele, on ajaveebide kasutamise motiive jaotanud kaheteistkümneks, millest 5 peamist on: kirg, millegi/kellegi vastu (Passion); jagamisvajadus (Share with Others); [...]

  • hjkramer

    I am trying to understand why people like to blog. I am a web designer and have clients that want blogs but I don’t really get it? I am a very private person by nature and I need to understand the blogging concept so I can give the best service to my clients. I’ve searched this topic and can’t really find anything useful. Can anyone help me understand?

    Thanks!

  • http://www.laviera.com/ jinnellys

    Because its a way to speak even if no one is listening. You still get it out your system

blog comments powered by Disqus