Some of us retire with a clear purpose in mind. Others of us are anxious to escape the daily grind of work, but we are less sure about how exactly we want to spend our new-found leisure time. Either way, why not blog your retirement? More and more seniors are tech-savvy enough to start their own blog with topics ranging from how to retire to chronicles of their retirement hobbies or useful information about a specific topic.
What Is a Blog?
A blog is simply a web site. They are often run by just one person and feature articles, reviews, musings, or any kind of digital content and is regularly updated. “To blog” is to write a blog.
There are tons of different resources to help individuals set up their own blog. If you can operate a computer and browse the web, you can probably start your own blog.
How to Get Started
Choosing Your Topic
Choosing your topic can be both the fun and the hard part. You might think about the audience you want to reach, what is important to you, and what you are or an expert at.
You might just have a blog entitled “all about me,” or choose a specific topic on which you are an expert, or something you are passionate about, such as:
- Gardening in New Hampshire
- My memoirs
- Everything you need to know to be a successful entrepreneur (or whatever you job from when you working)
- My journey to becoming a better golfer
- Cookbook reviews
- Travels around the world
You can choose any topic you want, just make sure your blog posts are meaningful and insightful. It would be wise to see what else you can find online on the same topic and see how you can provide some additional information in your posts. This way, you’ll ensure that your posts have greater value than anything else online.
Setting Up a Blog
Setting up a blog is easy.
1. Start by choosing a blogging platform. WordPress, Typepad, and Squarespace are popular options.
2. These platforms help you set up what your blog will look like.
3. Start writing and publishing content.
You can find more detailed instructions on how to create your blog, and you don’t even need any previous experience or coding knowledge.
Honing Your Writing Skills
Read other blog posts to see what type of writing readers respond to. Find your own writing style that people can easily go through and understand. Don’t use large walls of text, be precise and eloquent.
Promoting Your Blog
You will probably find that it is easy to get readers for your blog. Start by asking friends and family to subscribe and then be sure to share all of your entries on Facebook and other social media platforms. You might also want to reach out to other blogs covering topics similar to your own.
Reasons to Blog Your Retirement
There are so many good reasons for becoming a blogger. However, blogging in retirement may be particularly poignant.
Share Your Wealth of Knowledge
Blogging is all about sharing your experience, and as someone older, you may have a lot to say. This is an opportunity for you to teach your audience something new, and you will be appreciated for it.
It Can Be a Fulfilling Hobby
Blogging can be incredibly fulfilling. You can incite interesting debates, and people who agree with you might write to you to say how they appreciate what you’re doing. Basically, you can form your base of followers and have meaningful conversations with those people, which is really fun and great.
It Keeps You Engaged and Active
Study after study shows that it is important for people to have a purpose, community, and intellectual stimulation. Work often provides these benefits. Blogging can help you retain that vitality but on your own schedule and your own terms.
You Can Turn a Profit From a Successful Blog
Bloggers sometimes make money from ads or by contributing content to other sites. Although most bloggers are not paid authors, if you become popular, you can certainly make a profit from it.
If your blogging topics are related to what someone is selling, you can easily get paid to do reviews of those products or to feature someone’s site on your blog. Of course, you get to say your honest opinion; you don’t have to sway people to buy something that won’t be helpful.
It Allows You to Create a Legacy
Not all blogs need to be commercial enterprises. You might want to write something just for your friends and family or an organization you are involved with. Whatever and for whomever you write, your content can live forever online.
You can create a meaningful online corner you can be proud of.
Blogs Can Become Books
Many of us dream of being a published author, but writing a book can be overwhelming.
Blogging allows us to think about what we want to say in bite-sized chunks. The irony is that many bloggers end up with great books based on their blog entries.
Exercise the Mind
Once you become a blogger, you’ll need to provide valuable sources to back up your words. This will inspire you to investigate and to update your own knowledge base, which is a great mental exercise.
Create a Community Around Common Interests
As mentioned, you have an opportunity to create a community that shares the same interest, which gives you an opportunity to meet new interesting people and share your experiences.
Help or Teach Younger Generations
Lastly, you will be a mentor for those who are willing to learn, and people will love you for it.
As you can see, having a blog can be a fulfilling hobby, and if you have some extra time on your hands, you can truly excel in your field.
