Unfortunately there are many designers that have extensive knowledge but don’t share it with others. In this post, I’ll give you five reasons why every designer should be contributing to blogs and how that will help his or her career.
1) Get Exposure
Due to the digital age we’re living in, it is extremely important that you have an online presence. Contributing to a blog is a perfect way to accomplish that. You get your name out there to fellow creatives, and potential clients. If you have something important to say, you’ll definitely be noticed.
2) Establish Yourself as an Expert
Someone that is considered an expert is not only respected, but also trusted. How do you do that? Well, the question to ask is, “What information do I provide to my niche?” Again, we live in a digital world and your online presence is key. If you have no meaningful online contribution, it is as if you don’t exist. This is sad to say, but there are way too many people that haven’t caught up with this yet. As a side note, make sure the impression that you are creating is truthful; no one likes a phony.
3) Engrave Your Knowledge
As with most things, the more you talk about a given subject, the more you understand and comprehend it. Even if your knowledge is very little, you still have something to contribute. No one can say something the same exact way that you do.
4) Polish Your Skills
The famous saying goes, “Practice makes perfect”. Make a cool tutorial with an effect that you know. Kill two birds with one stone and use the pieces that you make for your portfolio and polish your skills at the same time. It’s a great way to get away from work that you have from clients and have some fun. Also, more often than not, the pieces that you make for yourself will be your best work. Why? Because you know what looks nice and you have no one else to please other than yourself.
5) Make Some Money
For many, this is the most important reason. In this tough economy, we don’t always have design work. Why not take the time to share your knowledge with others? You get to put in practice the first four reasons and make some money! That’s awesome! It won’t be enough to pay all your bills but it’ll be some extra cash that you probably weren’t counting on.
Conclusion
This post was a contribution by Tim Smith. I would love to include more voices from the design community on this blog. If you are interested in contributing to MyInkBlog because of some of the reasons described above, or you just want to help out, be sure to comment.
If this post was helpful to you, please consider sharing it with others, it's a great way of saying thanks.
CONTRIBUTE
FreelancerCrowd
April 15, 2009
True, true… a firend of mine, being a full time Java programmer was surprised to get lots of freelance work by just randomly commenting at blogs about Java he finds interesting.
FreelancerCrowd´s last post was… Re: Free Icons
Brad Choma
April 15, 2009
Blogging didn’t pull me off a ledge, but it did give me purpose when times were tough. I used it as a research tool for articling about things I should understand better and put the fire under me to do so. I’ve had a personal blog for one month, and not only has it made me smarter about what I do, it’s engaged people in ways I wouldn’t have imagined a month ago. I’ve also articled on this topic and couldn’t agree more with your points.
Nora Reed
April 16, 2009
These are good tips and I completely agree. The more well known you are, the better off you are at success. It’s exactly the concept behind branding yourself and is just what a logo does! Blogging is a great way to share information and most people check them out often nowadays.
Flash Designer
April 20, 2009
I completely agree to your proposition and in fact I find all the five mentioned reasons very true. I have personal experience of the good things that a though full and well read comment on a blog can bring.
Tom Ross
April 20, 2009
Great post Tim! I agree with all of your points, and personally feel that the biggest part of contributing to a blog is to build your personal brand. I find that if I start seeing the same names popping up on all the sites I visit then I’ll trust the person more, notice them more, and most likely start checking out their site on a regular basis.
Tom Ross´s last post was… Texture Thursday: Textile
Tim Smith
April 21, 2009
Thanks for the great comments!
Franz Jeitz
April 21, 2009
Totally agree with you Andrew and with Tom. Once I graduated and have more time on my hands I’ll definitely do some guest posts on my favourite blog.
Franz Jeitz´s last post was… 5 Free Hi-Res Grunge Nebulae Textures
Franz Jeitz
April 21, 2009
My apologies. just realised that this was a guest post. So yes, I agree with Tim :)
Franz Jeitz´s last post was… 5 Free Hi-Res Grunge Nebulae Textures
Tim Smith
April 21, 2009
@Franz: Making time to write can be a huge challenge and when you’re in school, well…that makes it even harder. But, from what I see, you already have a successful blog to build upon. Thanks for the comment.
Jahangir agha
May 8, 2009
Interesting post. I totally agree that blogging about your niche/subject definitely helps you learning and spreading ideas more. Me too used to think that blogs are boring because you talk to yourself (if no one comments) but forums are good where there are thousands of members.
But after starting my own blog about web and graphic design I realized that it is keeping me active and encouraging me to post more and post new things and share with others. I share all my knowledge with my readers.
Thanks
Jahangir agha´s last post was… Desktop Reporting For Google Analytics
RUGRLN
May 10, 2009
I wanna start a blog, any suggestions from who? Some site that offers good customizability…
Tim Smith
May 10, 2009
@Jahangir: that is the whole point, sharing the wealth(knowledge). A blogger can benefit from the blog just as much as the reader of the blog. Thanks for the comment.
@RUGRLN: if you mean what platform, I would suggest WordPress. It allows the most flexibility and allows you to make a blog in a relatively small amount of time. I hope that helps.
Tanaka13 - Créations du Net
May 28, 2009
very interesting article Andrew! i am just working on my website at the moment ;)
Tanaka13 – Créations du Net´s last post was… Digital abstract : Retro Cubes sublines 2009
Andrew Houle
May 28, 2009
@Tanaka – Actually Tim Smith wrote this article :) Looking forward to seeing your site, when are you planning to launch it?
Arron Davies
July 4, 2009
Nice resources, i have a blog running along side my on-line portfolio.
At the moment i’m looking to contribute to other peoples blogs. one problem i can find any. does any one now where i can look or if any one is interested?
Cheers Arron Davies
.-= Arron Davies´s last blog ..Static to be or not to be? what is the future? =-.
Andrew Houle
July 5, 2009
@Arron – I’m always interested in guest posts here on MyInkBlog. Check out my contribute page for all the details: http://www.myinkblog.com/contribute
stephen okoronkwo
September 11, 2009
Tim, you’ve got the brains indeed.
can you help with some list of good blogs where i can drop my comments too?
Cheers!!!
.-= stephen okoronkwo´s last blog .. =-.
Liane Carter
January 10, 2010
Great tips. In case this helps people with ideas, I have themed days Monday to Friday on my blog on my website. Monday – Fun and Laughter Day (people email me jokes or funny stories and I post them with their name) ; Tuesday – Creative Ideas Day (rapper ferret from my book starts you off with a story and you carry it on) ; Wednesday – Help Yourself Day (tip or fun thing to do to boost your day, week or way you are in the world; Thursday – Writing Tips Day; Friday – Pat on the Back Day (I update people with what I’ve been up to in the world of writing this week.
Good luck to everyone with their blogs! Liane :)