Three Ways Starting an Academic Blog Can Transform Your University Experience

When I started my first academic blog, I had no idea what I was doing. I came up with a blog name, signed up to a free blogging site, and started writing about my experience as a new university student. 

I didn’t understand the first thing about SEO or any other strategy that helps you get your content in front of your target audience. In fact, the method I used to share my first blog consisted entirely of stapling hand-drawn posters all over the University of Alberta campus.

When I started I had no idea how blogging would forever change my experience as a student and researcher. 

Ten years later, I feel like I’ve learned more about my field of study—educational administration and leadership—than I ever expected. I’ve gained so much through the research questions I’ve chased in pursuit of writing my next blog post. Blogging also helped me to combat imposter syndrome—you know, that feeling that you’re not good enough to be doing what you’re doing? But more on that later.

I started blogging because I wanted to connect with others about my academic experience, which could be isolating. Perhaps you can relate? Maybe you’re a graduate student wondering, “Why start an academic blog? Won’t this just be more work?” 

While there are many reasons to start a blog, I think something that doesn’t get talked about enough is the way academic blogging is inherently reflective. Blogging helps you to develop your voice in a way that academic writing doesn’t and it creates community. 

Develop a reflective practice within your field of study.

Writing an academic blog is a great way to create a space to share your knowledge with others and also learn about and reflect on your own research practice. You learn from experience, so by writing on topics that are important to you, you’ll be able to reflect on your practice.

Let me illustrate this point with an example: I wrote a post titled “The Beginner’s Guide to Writing an Educational Administration Research Paper.” Putting myself in the shoes of a newbie to teach an essential skill forced me to reflect on how I write research papers. It’s a topic I hadn’t thought about for years, much less tried to break down into simple steps for someone just starting out. 

Other posts I’ve written include selecting a research approach, choosing a research topic, or things to consider when applying to graduate program. Each has caused me to reflect on my own practice. Creating these posts encouraged me to go back and learn more before writing.

If you haven’t started a blog yet, a great way to jump in is by writing a post that teaches an essential tool or skill to someone new in your field. What do you wish you knew when you were just starting out? If you’re really not sure what to write about, try this great tip from Chris from GradBlogger—write quick paper summaries. They will help you to generate ideas, establish your blog, and stay on top of new and innovative research.

Writing helped me address my imposter syndrome.

Like so many academics, I didn’t feel like I was enough of an expert to start a blog. After years of struggling with this fear, I’ve come to realize it doesn’t matter. In fact, being an expert is kind of overrated. 

Writing about where you are in your research journey and sharing what you’ve learned along the way is much more relatable and interesting than reading about an expert who has it all figured out.

Whether you’re a new or experienced researcher, you have something valuable that you can teach to others. You’re likely at least one step ahead of someone just beginning. You can start your blog now with the knowledge you have. Your own experience is good enough—and no one can fault you for writing from your own perspective.

Share your ideas in an accessible format over multiple platforms.

Another benefit of blogging is sharing your ideas with a broader audience. Blog posts are written in a much more conversational style and can be read by more people. Both the average layman and professional in your field can benefit from your research. And your posts can be written with a level of authority since links act as your references to further academic reading. Through your academic blog, you can contribute to informing professional practice, keep connected to the real-world implications of your research, and develop your authentic voice in the process. 

Of course, writing blog posts may be a bit of a learning curve for those of us who are used to academic writing. With online content, you need to get to the point quickly, which is a different style of writing for those of us used to publishing lengthy publications. 

Learning to share your knowledge more broadly is increasingly important in a time when the media is full of uninformed opinions and important academic findings are locked behind paywalls. While open access publishing is making strides in the academic world, journal articles are jargon-filled and not readily understandable to most people. In contrast, blog posts are highly readable, focus on conveying a few main points, and can easily be shared through social media.

Collaborate with your peers.

Perhaps one of the most rewarding benefits of starting an academic blog is the opportunity to collaborate with your peers. Other researchers may be just as interested in sharing their ideas in an accessible format. If you have a blog with a specific academic focus, then guest posting or interviews might be an appealing opportunity for them. Your blog can give you a reason to reach out to researchers you may not have otherwise tried to connect with.

An important tip to keep in mind is to be patient. Your emails may go unanswered, especially if you’re trying to contact researchers who have some level of celebrity. Try LinkedIn instead, as your emails may wind up in their junk mail. 

It may also be helpful to start with someone you know, like a professor, your supervisor, or a colleague. Reach out to authors of journal articles you loved and let them know you would like to interview them about their research. You never know what could happen and how that initial interaction with your blog could transform into future collaborations.

Here are a few more ideas for connecting with other academics:

• Share your blog posts via social media, e.g. on Twitter using the a discipline specific hashtag (do a quick Google search to figure out what that is) as well as #AcademicTwitter, #OpenAcademics, #AcademicChatter, and #gradblog.
• Have your blog URL ready (I printed mine on mini business cards) to hand out at poster fairs, research days, conferences, and other social events where you’re likely to encounter other academics in your field.
• Seek out guest post/appearance opportunities on other academics’ websites, podcasts, YouTube channels, etc.

Start where you are, today.

One of the best decisions I’ve ever made as a burgeoning academic was to start a blog. Blogging is an important medium that I think is under-utilized in academia. Perhaps there is a perception that blog posts don’t “count” as academic writing, but in the age of alt-metrics, I don’t think we should discount the power of a blog to freely share ideas. There are few better ways to develop a distinctive voice, reflect on our practice, combat imposter syndrome, and join the conversation than blogging.

If you’re new to blogging, you may be happy to know that there is an active group of academics expanding their presence online, breaking down barriers, and sharing their research with the world right here in the Gradblogger community. 

Connecting with others can be encouraging, and I hope the advice in this article has convinced you that a blog is a great tool to support you in building confidence as a researcher. Start where you are—there’s something kind of wonderful about not having it all figured out.