Starting a blog helps you grow personally and professionally as a Software Developer.
Why you should blog as a developer
The best experts write clearly.
If your thinking is clear about complex topics, your writing will also be clear.
Writing is thinking
Not only as a developer, but writing is also a great way to organize your own thoughts in a linear way.
You will learn how to think better, communicate better, and explain better.
All the skills you need to become an effective writer are also skills to become an effective developer.
By effective developer, I mean more than just writing good code that works.
In a professional setting, you, as a developer, will work on a team, communicate to your peers and sell your ideas to others.
Writing helps you level up in all these areas.
Writing is the most common way of communicating, especially if you work remotely.
You might have to do tons of video calls on a tool like Zoom.
But I’m sure you don’t spend nearly as much time on video calls as you do writing.
Don’t believe me?
- E-mails
- Comments in code
- Comments in code commits
- Team communication tools: Google Chat, Slack, Discord, etc.
- Creating/Updating
README.mdfiles for your repositories - Documentation, technical and non-technical
- Creating presentations
And, if you are in a position where you are more Senior or have a role where code is not 90% or more of your day, these writing tasks are even more important.
So yeah, I think you should get your writing in place.
Become a better developer
To teach is to learn twice – Joseph Joubert
By writing an article about a topic, you can solidify your knowledge about it.
If you think learning a topic is hard, try teaching it.
You will find gaps in things you do regularly and were sure you were a master of.
You will learn faster and be more confident in your skills.
Another benefit is to document things you are learning yourself.
I can not count the number of times I had to do something and found the information I needed on my own blog because I had to do the same thing before but didn’t remember how.
Standout in the crowd
If you are looking for a job, having a good blog that shows up your skills can count as bonus points.
I have been offered opportunities just because someone found my blog and liked the content.
As stated before, your communication skills will get better, and you need to be a better communicator to go from junior to senior positions.
Another aspect of standing out is that a blog helps build a personal brand, especially if you write under your own name.
Your blog is your business card.
Remember to link other social media to your blog, so people can connect.
What should I write about?
This is something that concerns many people.
If you Google this topic "what should I do in life?" or "Which career path should I pursue?".
You will find time and time again the same advice "Do what you love" or "Follow your passion".
Well, with content, you will find the same advice from many people in many places, but not here 🙂
Let’s get real.
I mean, if you can find this intersection of something "You know", "You love", and "Others want", that is great! You should totally go for it!
That is what I call "Utopia Entrepreneurship" and is represented in the image below.
Buuuuut, for the majority of people, this is the formula for frustration and inertia.
You might spend your life looking for this shiny object, the Graal, and never find it.
My advice is: replace this with Action.
This concept can also be called "Entrepreneurship does not care about you" and can be summarized in this image.
To create something, even content, you just need to know something that other people also want to know.
This is the only intersection you need.
Your experience, your unique perspective is unique and your greatest leverage.
And before you ask: "Why didn’t you use the same Venn Diagram where the 3 circles intersect instead of this second one where the ‘You Love’ never intersects?"
Because you might don’t have this thing you love that can also be monetized, so stop looking for it like crazy.
If it comes to you, good, but don’t expect this ray of light from the sky with answers, this is the formula for frustration.
Also, don’t fall for The Modern Trap of Turning Hobbies Into Hustles.
It’s like the general idea in Cal Newport’s book "So Good They Can’t Ignore You", people are passionate about things they are good at. Get really good at something, and you will become passionate about it.
And remember, any decision you make now is not final.
You can change your niche later or you can use your first idea to provide for you while you work on something you love in your free time.
Pick your crowd
Blogging, as it with any content creation, is about the consumers, in this case, your readers.
So, for starters, pick your crowd,
Who do you serve?
Who is looking for what you are writing?
To help you not overthink it, I suggest you write for:
- People like you: if you are a Python developer, write for Python developers
- People who want to be you: if you are a Python developer, write for aspiring Python developers
The difference is subtle but it is there.
When you write for people on your level or similar in a professional setting, your content tends to be more advanced by nature because that’s the kind of people you will attract.
When you write for beginners, especially absolute beginners, you will have to position yourself differently for those who will have more difficulty understanding even the simplest of the topics in your niche.
Remember, starting out is always hard.
This article is a sample chapter from the book Blogging as a Developer.