Jenny Demartini will intern at the national nonprofit March of Dimes in the spring, and it is partially thanks to her blog.
She said the women who hired her said her blog proved she can write so that people would be interested.
"I've only written about 10 posts, and it's already made such an impact," she said.
Demartini, a journalism student at UF, is just one example of how blogging can help your career.
Blog expert Susan Gunelius started blogging to create a platform for her first book, "Harry Potter: The Story of a Global Business Phenomenon."
"I think a blog can really help anyone," Gunelius said.
If you're interested in starting your own blog to further your career, check out these easy tips from experts:
Get the Right Site
The amount of blogging Web sites can be daunting. Fortunately, experts recommend one site more than any other: WordPress.com.
"If you want to do big things, you should use WordPress," Gunelius said.
With its customizable features, widely used widgets, thousands of theme options and easy-to-follow guides, WordPress is great for beginners and experts, Gunelius said.
It is also free.
Write Something Interesting - Correctly
Gunelius suggested picking something you are interested in that you also have authority in.
"You need to establish that you're the expert," she said.
Niche blogging is good, she said. For example, blogging about food is general, but blogging about baking cookies is a niche blog.
Mindy McAdams, an online journalism professor at UF, said to decide whether you want the blog to be more personal or professional in the beginning.
"(College students) could mix them gracefully, or they could control themselves and stick to one topic," McAdams said.
Keep a clear focus in mind, she said, and you should end up with good content.
"You want a blog that you could show to someone who's going to give you a job or an internship," she said.
Both experts agree that posts should stick to 300 words with a few updates a week.
"That's easy enough for anyone to read without getting bored," McAdams said.
When in doubt, go shorter, she said, because "it will always be better if you cut stuff out."
McAdams cautioned students about grammar, spelling and punctuation mistakes. Blogs are clearly your own writing, it's important to show potential employers that you can write correctly, she said.
Writing in a Microsoft Word document and using the spell check feature is a great way to avoid making mistakes.
"(It could) hurt you more than help you if there are careless errors," she said.
Extend Your Network
To promote your blog, you first have to support other blogs.
"Do a lot of reading," Gunelius said.
Google.com/trends, a free site, shows the most searched words that day.
"You should always blog with keywords in mind," she said.
Commenting on blogs with your URL is another way to bring in new readers, McAdams said.
Include hyperlinks in your blog posts to create more traffic, too, she said.
You Can Make Money, Too!
Once your blog gets rolling, it will move up the search lists. A popular blog is more impressive to employers, and the more hits your site gets, the more advertisers will be interested in your site.
Google AdSense, a free program, allows bloggers to displays ads relating to their content. Google will send you a check for the revenue your blog generates, McAdams said.
The free WordPress site cannot have advertising as of now, according to WordPress.com, but it will be available in the future.
Another money-maker is Tip Jar, a free service done through PayPal, which allows readers to donate money by clicking a button.
Blogging can create all kinds of networking opportunities. Don't be afraid to start, even if you write about your socks at first. As McAdams said, "It's your blog."
