I have realized the amount of things that newbie bloggers don’t take into account when they start a blog in hopes of making $150,000 a year like they’ve seen in the news lately. I know I’ve equally been guilty of these things when I first attempted to start making money with my blog. Little did I know, that it would honestly turn into a full-fledged career for me. Blogging for a career is more than just “writing your thoughts and feelings and sharing them.” Here are some of the top things that need to be considered if you’re going to turn blogging into a career.
[tweetthis]There’s more to #blogging than just writing your thoughts & sharing them. #BloggingTidbits[/tweetthis]
Should You Start a Blog 4 Things to Consider First
Please pin this so others can have this information handy. Thank you.The Time Commitment
When you decide that you want to turn your blog into a career, you are honestly taking on another full-time job. My average blog post takes on average between 1-2 hours if you include the time it takes me to make quality images (which this is still a weak area for me.) That doesn’t include any research that may be involved in writing a particular blog post. Then the marketing avenue of blogging adds to several more hours’ worth of working.
You also have to consider the time involved in finding blogging opportunities. Plus there are usually loads of forms to fill out for sponsoring opportunities. Let’s not forget about the vast amount of emails we have to weed through a day.
On average I spend between 5-8 hours working on my blog at least. Sometimes it’s more and other times is less? However, without proper blogging time management skills, it’s next to impossible to get it all done.
Money Investments
Just like with any other business, you’re going to have to spend money on the tools you need to make it a success. Any blogger who has done this for any length of time, knows the value of owning your own domain names, hosting service, and also the other added tools you’re going to want to use to make your life easier. One thing that many professional bloggers have is quality virtual assistants to help them with the back end things in relation to their blogs.
Companies are not going to want to invest in your blog if you’re not willing to do it yourself. The adage of in order “to make money you have to spend money” is especially true in the blogging world.
Learning New Things Constantly
This one to me is pretty huge. I’ve been in many lines of work throughout my life, but none of them have had twists and turns as much as the blogging world. Marketing is a constantly changing thing, and, as a result, what works today may be obsolete tomorrow. A sharp blogger is going to spend a good bit of time doing research or ensure they are connected with a blogger who stays in the know. Without it, you’re going to be eating a lot of dust while the other bloggers are snatching up the opportunities along the way.
Remember Why You Started Your Blog
Blogging is not a get rich thing! You will work many moons without ever seeing a single penny for your efforts. If you do succeed early on, that’s good news, but it is a rare thing to see that happen. Most bloggers quit within their first three months of blogging once they find out how much work is involved in with little return for their time. Unless you’re into blogging for the love of it, then it’s recommended that you find another avenue of making money online.
What other things would you suggest a person consider before starting a blog in hopes of turning it into a career?
All of the above is very true. Especially the time commitment. I was indeed shocked at that part lol.
It is amazing how much time needs to go into keeping a marriage thriving and strong. I do my best to try and keep everything afloat.
It is a huge shock to those who want to make this into a business. For those who are just doing this for the fun of it, they don’t see how much goes into it.
It’s so much more than just writing posts! I had no idea of that. While I spend time writing posts, more time goes to promoting them. Just be ready for that. Just because you write it doesn’t mean people will find it and read it!!
This is so true. I honestly had no clue what I was getting myself into. I’m glad I’ve been blessed with the chance to turn this into so much more, but I do miss the blogging for fun aspect of it a lot of times.
I like Jennifer’s comment above about promoting posts, that is a good tip. A good point to bring up may be that as a blogger you will discover wonderful people along the way who will become your friend.
Like us,I’d like to think we’ve become really close friends thanks to us being on this blogging journey together.
This is great advice for a newbie. There is so much people don’t realize about blogging!
The photo editing about drives me batty. I think that takes me more time than anything. Good thoughts for new bloggers to ponder.
You’re so right about the time commitment! Writing a post is the easier part of it – getting people to read and interact takes time. I really enjoy learning all the different areas of marketing and what others do to become successful.
I would recommend doing your research beforehand and build up a month or two of posts before you start so that you can use your blog time to get it set up how you want! I started with no backlog and it’s been a struggle to work on structure and posting at the same time!
That is an amazing bit of advice. I have started recommending that myself. Glad you took the time add your experience and input to the comments. Thank you for stopping by and commenting. I hope to see you again soon.
Thanks for these things to consider. I just started my blog this week and I’m super excited about it, but also trying to keep my feet on the ground! I appreciate the tips!
For me, remembering why you started the blog is key. That will keep you on fire, when you start struggling with lack of motivation. Blogging is a long road to wealth generation and I honestly think we should just get into it because we want to share some much-needed message. The money may come. But, it would be secondary.