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If you’re like most academics, you’ve thought about blogging but something is preventing you from taking the next step. Perhaps you are asking yourself - Where will I find the time? What if I don’t have anything to say? Will it hurt my career?
We are here to help! Below we offer a few tips that address some of the main concerns that people have when starting to blog.
1. Time
Unlike long form essays or academic articles, blog posts can be written in very little time, especially since the posts that tend to be engaged with are those that are short and concise (we suggest a maximum of 700 words). Start with a bulleted list of ideas and give yourself one hour. While this might be difficult at first, with practice it becomes easier and easier.
2. Content
The posts that are most successful are those to which others can relate. Part of the reason that many of us started to blog was to create a sense of community and shared experience. This means that if you are a faculty member in a discipline, write about something that will resonate with those working in academia more broadly, not just those who know the peculiarities of your field. Above all, write about something that is meaningful to you -- if that comes through in your writing, others will no doubt feel the same!
3. Career
In our experience, blogging has been a boon, not drawback, to academic careers. While writing about more controversial subjects can be a challenge, we’ve seen blogging lead to employment opportunities, both in and outside of academia.
We, the editors at University of Venus, really enjoy engaging with potential writers. We’ve co-authored blog posts, gone back and forth with writers on ideas, and talked through potential topics. It starts with your passion about a topic - what do you wish you could change about higher ed? How would you go about fixing a problem? Blogging is brainstorming in a public setting - join us!
Resources:
So You Want to Blog (Academic Edition), by former UVenus Editor Liana Silva Ford
Advice for Potential Academic Bloggers, by Simon Wren-Lewis, LSE Impact Blog
