There are four main reasons why you should start blogging about local history, and none of the reasons involve money.
If you are looking to make quick money, this is not the field for you. The big money making topics are health, wealth, and fitness.
However, if you are looking to build a reputation, learn new skills, and help out your community, local history blogging may be what you need.
1. Hobby
It might seem like a lame idea at first, but hear me out.
Start blogging about local history as just a hobby. Set aside an hour or two a week to do some local research and write an article to post to your blog.
It’s a slow, but low pressure way to start building a meaningful resource for your community and tourists.
The benefits of this approach is that it will help you improve your writing skills and it will prevent you from experiencing burnout from hyper focusing on your niche.
2. Gain Research Experience
The number one time sucker when it comes to creating a history blog is the research. You want your research to be as exact and accurate as possible, and this means you will have to pull your information from multiple sources, past and present.
You will need to learn how to use the online newspaper archives at The Library of Congress, how to search through Google Books, and which websites provide the best, most accurate information.
As you increase your research skills, you will soon find that there is simply no topic you can’t write about with the proper amount of research.
3. To Become a Local Historian
The first step to becoming a historian is to dive into the research. Take what you learn and create content for your blog.
Next, get the word out that you are studying and recording local history. Talk to the old timers, read the archives for the local newspaper, and get involved with the community.
It is a slow process, but you can become a local historian for your community and gain new contacts.
4. To Bring Tourists to the Area
Local history brings tourists to a town/city/village, no matter how small that area is.
By writing about local places and putting the information online, you will be taking an active part in bringing new people to your area.
There are numerous local historians online. They run their own blogs, and many of them write articles about their community for their local papers and history magazines.
It is one of those fields that can easily branch out into other areas, including making documentaries, giving ghost walks, and as a tie-in for a family-run hotel.
