I've written a couple of blog posts here already, and with each one, I notice more and more advantages of having a blog. In this post, I'll share some of them, and hopefully convince you to start your own.

You learn more about the topics

A lot of the time, I write a blog post not to teach others, but to learn about the topic myself. When I want to understand something better, writing a post forces me to slow down, break things apart, and go deeper into the details.

If I just read about the topic I might skim it and move on. But when I know I'm going to explain it to others, I have to really understand what is it about. And another bonus: once you write about something, you remember it better, it sticks. Trying to explain an idea clearly to someone else, forces you to organize your thoughts, and that makes learning way more effective.

You learn how to express yourself

I’m not a native English speaker, so for me this one is huge. Writing blog posts has been an amazing way to practice putting my thoughts together in a way that’s clear and (hopefully) fun to read. Even if you are a native speaker, though, writing helps you sharpen that skill.

It's one thing to know something in your head, but it's another to explain it so someone else can understand it without confusion. That’s a skill a lot of people (especially software engineers) overlook, but being able to communicate your ideas well can set you apart.

You grow your presence and reputation

A great side effect is that putting your writing out there builds a presence. I like the idea of being part of a community, and blogging is one of the easiest ways to add to it. Your words stick around, and they can reach way more people than you’d expect.

In my opinion, creating new stuff feels really rewarding. There’s the excitement of knowing someone might stumble across your post through a Google search or recommendation. It’s a great feeling to know you’ve helped someone or taught them something new.

It can also even help professionally. Think about it: if you’re a recruiter choosing between two candidates with the same technical skills, and one of them has a blog full of engaging posts, wouldn’t you lean toward the one who clearly loves what they do? It shows passion, consistency, and a willingness to share knowledge.

That said, don’t fall into the “content trap”. It’s tempting to think more is better, but blasting out AI-generated slop won’t do you any favors. Authenticity matters. It’s better to publish fewer posts that genuinely reflect your thoughts and experiences.

So, how to start?

If you’re a developer, I’d definitely recommend building your own blog. Otherwise there are countless tools that make it ridiculously easy to get started: WordPress, Ghost, Medium, Substack, heck, even LinkedIn posts can count as blogging.

Keep a running list of blog ideas, topics you want to learn about or knowledge you want to share. Whenever an idea comes, just add it to the note. And whenever you find some free time… just write!

It doesn’t need to be perfect, polished, or even particularly good at first. You’ll learn, you’ll practice, and you’ll slowly get better without even noticing.

And a year from now, you might scroll back to your very first post, cringe a little, and then smile at how far you’ve come. That’s the journey, and blogging lets you see it in real time.