Chapter 5: Writing for the Web

I worked a retail job the summer between high school and the start of college. The manager joked that she couldn’t believe she hired me to sell jewelry because I came to the interview wearing not one piece of jewelry. I didn’t love that job, but I didn’t take it because my career goals included a future in the retail business. I took the job to make money and gain job experience for my resume that showed I could work well with people, be timely and responsible, meet and exceed goals and handle challenging customer service situations.

Whether or not you plan a career in blogging, it can be a great “summer job” for a career in public relations or communication. It’s an ideal training ground for skills that you will use in many communication jobs and skills that will make you more marketable to employers. These skills include:

• Writing that is grammatically correct and readable
• Writing for the web (pretty crucial when much of the content written for companies ultimately ends up on the web)
• Developing a strong point of view
• Positioning yourself or an organization as a subject matter expert
• Understanding the basics of search engine optimization
• Using a content management system
• Building and managing an online community

There is also a good chance that you will work with blogs in some capacity throughout your career. In The New Rules of Marketing & PR, David Meerman Scott outlines the four uses of blogs for marketing and PR:

The job responsibilities for many public relations practitioners include one or more items from the above list. For additional insights, read the blogging success story from student Rachel Gaylord below.