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You’re wondering whether or not you should write a blog. And you decided to look out for the answer on the internet.
Since English is your second language, and you’re scared of what people would think when they’d stumble upon your blog posts.
Pay attention to what I’m about to tell you.
YOU CAN DO WHAT YOU REALLY WANT TO DO.
So what if English isn’t your first language?
Neither is mine.
Did it ever stop me from blogging?
No.
We’re humans for crying out loud!
It means we can always learn new things.
Above all, giving up something you love based on others’ opinions is the dumbest thing a person could do.
So I’m telling you right off the bat: don’t you dare to quit blogging just because English is your second language.
Don’t worry if you’re bad at grammar and sentence structuring.
Who isn’t?
Except for English teachers.
So don’t overthink.
Get down to writing your first blog post on Medium or LinkedIn.
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Once you publish a dozen blog posts on those platforms, head over to a couple of blogs in your favorite niche, and pitch them a guest post idea.
If you’re ready to launch your own blog, go ahead and set it up.
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Before I jump to the tips for writing better articles, I’d like to shed some light on four reasons why you should write a blog:
4 Reasons Why You Can Write a Blog
You may hear about a dozen more benefits or reasons to start a blog, but here are my top four reasons for convincing someone to start a blog:
1. Blogging is Your Happy Place
If you’re passionate about blogging, nothing can stop you from progressing. And the reason behind this phenomenon is that blogging is your happy place. At times when you’re down, you may step away from everything including blogging, but once that period is over, you might use blogging as a channel to get back to normality. I have had such experiences in the past when I used blogging to cope with stress, anger, and frustration.
2. Make Money Blogging
I don’t have a doubt that anyone can make money with blogging. All you need is the right strategy and mental strength to work hard and figure this out. It’s often said that the majority of the blogs fail to make money, but I believe that if blogging is what makes you happy and you’re ready to put in the work, you can achieve your targets. I have the first-hand experience of making money from blogging, which is why I know it works.
3. Market Your Brand
One of the reasons why I’m a big advocate of blogging is that it has done wonders for me. I’m a full-time freelance writer, and blogging has opened up so many doors for my business. I’ve used my personal blog to attract prospects and win customers. So I can confidently tell everyone that they can market their business through blogging. A lot of entrepreneurs and brands understand this strategy, and they write blogs to attract, engage, and convert the audience.
4. Share Your Opinions, Ideas, or Thoughts
Some of you may not be interested in “making money” or “marketing your brand” through blogging; all you need a platform to express your thoughts and ideas, and it’s still worth it. WordPress is available in multiple languages, meaning you can choose a different language during the WordPress installation, and you’re good to go, but that’s not the point. I’d highly recommend going with the default English language.
5 Tips to Write Better Articles (If English is Your Second Language)
The sole purpose of this blog post is to encourage non-native English speakers to become bloggers or don’t give up just because English is your second language. Here are my five tips for you:
1. Follow American and British YouTubers
I can’t explain how just watching American and British YouTubers helped me write better articles. Some of you would think that it’s not even remotely close. Well, it works like a charm, especially if you’re a non-native speaker.
Look, I know it’s a little bit unconventional strategy, but the idea is to expose yourself to the conversations and discussions of native speakers.
I have been following many American and British YouTubers and vloggers for the past five years or so, and it has done wonders for me. Perhaps, why this works is that you try to understand the narrative of the video. Therefore, paying close attention to the native speakers does the job.
I highly recommend watching YouTube videos of native speakers.
2. Watch Netflix Series
Netflix is a streaming service that offers thousands of TV shows and movies. Usually, watching Netflix is considered time-wasting leisure. However, if you’re passionate about learning the English language, watching movies and series could turn things around for you.
I’m a FRIENDS TV show fan and have watched all ten seasons (230+ episodes) 14 times or so. Not only do I watch it for fun, but I also learn the language.
I’m not going to lie; I have picked up pronunciations, metaphors, and vocabulary just by watching the FRIENDS TV show. I believe that it’s up to you what you want to take away. I’m a learner, so I learn from everything.
3. Read Books
Reading books has been quite helpful to me. If you’re someone who doesn’t read books or don’t like reading, I understand it. I won’t push you to start reading.
If it’s going to happen, it’ll happen; I’m confident about this because I wasn’t a reader myself, but eventually, I became one of them. I remember back in 2015, I was window shopping and came across a bookstore, and randomly bought a self-help book that changed everything.
Let me tell you something interesting about my reading habit: when I start reading a book, the book must push me to read further. If I can’t get back to reading where I left, I mostly move to the next book. There were books like Unlimited Power, Rich Dad Poor Dad, Eat that Frog, and a few more that I finished in a few days.
The point is that book reading doesn’t only educate you, but it also improves your writing ability. So being a blogger, I want to keep improving my writing skill. Therefore, book reading has been so helpful to me.
4. Listen to the Podcasts
Podcast listening is part of my daily routine. I rarely miss listening to podcasts. Usually, I listen to the podcast on my phone using the hands-free, and it’s been quite interesting so far.
What happens is that when you’re listening to the podcast, the only way to understand the conversation is by listening to it carefully. So if you’re watching a movie and listening to a podcast, it won’t work out.
Podcast listening gives me a different learning experience than anything else. Plus, I mostly listen to American and British podcasters, so it helps me enunciate words better. I use the Stitcher app for listening to the podcast.
5. Practice Writing every day
It might not be easy to practice writing when you aren’t confident with your writing skill. I know this because I have been there. Grammarly, however, helped me gain confidence in my writing. If you want to become a better blogger or improve your writing, then using a grammar checker alone won’t be enough. Instead, you need to put in the work.
| Grammarly is the best grammar and spell-checking tool. I have tried a few similar tools, but Grammarly turned out to be the best among them. Try the free version! |
Whenever Grammarly or WhiteSmoke captures my writing mistakes, I pay close attention to them and try not to make those mistakes again.
I’m not showing off, but Ryan Biddulph thinks that I write like native speakers. I know he was being a good friend, but I also read on his blog that he only invites good writers to guest post on his blog. I’m happy to report that I’m a guest writer on his blog Blogging From Paradise.
So, folks, if you want to write good articles, whether or not you’re a native speaker, try to practice writing every day.
Your Thoughts
I take pride in being a non-native speaker because it’s challenging for me to learn and write the English language.
I’m friends with bloggers across the globe; they’re the most supportive people out there.
If you think writing a blog as a non-native speaker has a steep learning curve, then you’re right.
My point is that nothing should stop you from moving into the direction you want to go.
Great things come at a cost; put yourself out there and get better at it along the way.
Got a question for you:
Does blogging scare you just because English is your second language?