Episode 39Dec 23, 2022· 10:20
Replay - Taking the Leap From Hobby to Professional Blogger
About this episode
REPLAY
Is it time for you to go pro as a blogger my bloggy friend? Perhaps! In this episode, I'm sharing my key indicators to look out for that will tell you when it's time to take the leap from hobby blogging to professional blogging.
Thanks for listening. May your page views be high, and your bounce rate be low!
You have more than a love for writing.
When you go from enjoying the act of writing to living it,…
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Full transcript
00:00
If people are picking up all that knowledge you're laying down, then I think you might be flirting with professional blogger status.
00:05
Now you can lay the groundwork to set yourself up as an expert in the industry that you're already writing about and go after those big game articles and book deals.
00:30
What's up you guys? Famous Ashley Grant here and I know it has been a hot minute since the last time I released an episode and I am truly sorry about that.
00:39
I guess what they say is true whenever you start podcasting. If you don't stick to a schedule you can easily just miss a few weeks and before you know it, it's been a couple months.
00:49
I definitely want to bring my podcast back to life because I really enjoyed the episodes I did produce and it's definitely time to jump back on the train.
01:00
I'm here, I'm back and hopefully I can start making this a lot more regular of a thing so that I can share all my knowledge with anyone who wants to hear it.
01:09
Without further ado, let's go ahead and jump right into today's episode.
01:12
In today's episode what I want to talk about is when to take the leap from hobby to professional blogging.
01:19
One of the questions that I am asked frequently is when it's time to take that leap from going from a hobby blogger to a professional blogger.
01:29
And I got to tell you the answer is different for everyone.
01:32
However, what I thought I would do today is just share with you my key indicators that it's time to jump off the hobby blogger train and into the glorious world of professional blogging.
01:43
So let's get started.
01:45
Indicator number one, you have more than a love for writing.
01:49
When you go from enjoying the act of writing to actually living it, breathing it and not being able to imagine a single day without it,
01:56
you have found that sexy, passionate kind of love that tells you this is something real.
02:02
Perhaps you in writing started dating casually.
02:05
Then suddenly everything in your life is giving you more reasons to write.
02:10
So you bump it up to seeing each other on the regular.
02:13
Before you know it, you can't stop.
02:16
You're going steady with writing.
02:18
You don't want to do anything else but write.
02:20
You've totally found the one and you can't go back.
02:22
Do you know the love I'm talking about where everything you look at just gives you something that you want to write about?
02:29
You want to tell the world you want to write it down.
02:31
You want to put it on your blog.
02:33
Indicator number two, you catch yourself making a plan.
02:39
Now remember back when you first started hobby blogging and you just thought, oh, I'll just do this once in a while.
02:45
You used to post on your blog when the urge struck.
02:47
But then for some reason, one day you sat down and you actually created an editorial calendar in either Excel or on Google spreadsheets.
02:56
You started thinking about what topics would get your readers attention.
03:00
And oh my God, you even pondered what the best headlines were for clickability.
03:04
And you weren't even trying to do it for click bait.
03:06
You were doing it because you wanted to give them value.
03:09
When you start making a plan, my friend, you are so ready to go pro.
03:12
Indicator number three, you're making enough money from your blog to quit your day job.
03:20
Now this one might seem a little far fetched, but I know some bloggers that are making upwards of 10,000, 20,000, 30,000, even $50,000 a month from their blog.
03:31
Now I'll be honest, I'm not there yet, but I am making a full time living as a blogger and it is awesome.
03:36
And if you're already making enough money to pay the bills, why are you still working in your pesky nine to five whenever you could just do this full time and perhaps make even more money?
03:47
Another big indicator is that you have to claim blogging income on your taxes.
03:52
When you start making serious money and accountants have to get involved, dude, you're a pro.
03:58
Just make sure you don't blow this chance to work for yourself doing what you love.
04:03
Be smart about your bookkeeping.
04:04
Another key indicator is that a post or two or more has gone viral.
04:12
Now I got to be honest with you.
04:14
This might not mean it's time to go pro, but a viral post could be the perfect catalyst that you've been looking for to shift from hobby to pro blogger.
04:23
Strike while the iron is hot.
04:26
Another key indicator is that you are oozing expertise.
04:29
What happens when you become an expert on something and you start posting a bunch about what you know?
04:35
You've found your niche, my bloggy friend.
04:37
Good for you.
04:39
If people are picking up all that knowledge you're laying down, then I think you might be flirting with professional blogger status.
04:45
Now you can lay the groundwork to set yourself up as an expert in the industry that you're already writing about and go after those big game articles and book deals.
04:53
Another big key indicator that you should go pro is if ideas are constantly fluttering into your brain like migrating monarchs.
05:02
Even though it may not seem like it, just the fact that your mind keeps churning out blog ideas is huge.
05:09
Some of the biggest and best professional bloggers that I know have trouble coming up with blog ideas.
05:14
So if they're coming to you non-stop, this could mean that it's time for you to really up your game and start professionally doing this.
05:23
Here's what I will tell you though. If you are coming up with a bunch of ideas, write them all down.
05:28
You will regret it if you don't write them down.
05:31
At some point you're going to get dry on ideas, so if you have a list that you can go back to at some point, that'll just help you keep going with your pro status.
05:38
Now I gotta share with you one of the biggest indicators that it's time to go pro.
05:44
Self-starting is not a problem for you.
05:47
If you are the type of person who can just get up and start working without having a real boss telling you what to do and your only boss being you, then it might be time to go pro.
05:59
You could post today, you could post tomorrow, you could go on hiatus for a month or longer.
06:03
The problem is that the less frequently that you post, the closer you move back to hobby blogger status.
06:09
And that's honestly one of the big problems I'm having with podcasting right now.
06:13
Yes, I do want to go pro, but I keep setting this up as a hobby. I keep treating it like a hobby.
06:19
And every time you treat your blog as a hobby, that's what it is. It becomes just a hobby.
06:25
But if you have the self-discipline to create a schedule and stick to it, you've got pro status, my friend.
06:30
Another indicator that it's time to go pro is that you're good at interacting with your readers and other bloggers.
06:36
Because here's the thing, the more you're engaging with your community, the more traffic you're going to drive to your blog, period.
06:43
Hobby bloggers will comment on a few blogs. They might like some sites on Facebook.
06:49
They might engage occasionally with people.
06:52
But professional bloggers, they use every single interaction as a tool to build their credibility and forge real connections while subtly marketing their page just by putting themselves out there.
07:04
The final key indicator that it's time for you to go pro is words like branding, marketing, and reach are in your vocabulary.
07:13
When you start trading your blog like a business, you have definitely gone pro.
07:16
Before you know it, you'll be creating more spreadsheets, spreadsheets of income, expenses.
07:22
You'll be building lists of potential sponsors and reviews that you want to pitch.
07:27
You'll be thinking of guest post ideas for other blogs and even having meetings with people to develop your blog into a household name.
07:34
The coolest part about these meetings is that you can join them on Skype or Zoom and you don't even have to do it in person with anyone.
07:40
Imagine being able to do your business while you're still wearing pajama pants beneath your professional facade.
07:47
I do want to say one very important thing.
07:50
Obviously, this is by no means a complete list of indicators that it's time to take a leap from hobby to professional blogging.
07:58
But to me, most of the items that I've covered today, they scream pro to me.
08:03
But I want to know what you think.
08:05
What do you think about what makes you a pro?
08:07
What makes you a professional blogger?
08:10
Is it just the fact that you post every day?
08:13
Is it just the fact that you make money?
08:15
What is it that really sets a person apart as a pro?
08:19
I'd love for you to hit me up on Twitter, tweet me at Ashley is Famous and let me know what it is that you think makes a professional blogger.
08:28
And I also want to know if you have plans on going pro with your blog.
08:32
Is this something that you want to just keep doing as a hobby to see what happens with it?
08:34
Or are you planning on taking your blog to a household name status?
08:40
I'd love to hear from you.
08:42
I'm also crazy excited to report that Bloggy Friends is now on Google Podcasts and we're also going to be putting ourselves on Spotify.
08:50
And I'm going to add myself anywhere else that I can think of.
08:53
So hopefully, like I said, I can take myself from a hobby to a pro podcaster.
08:58
But for now, I will just stick to my professional blogging since I know I'm good at that.
09:02
But in the meantime, I'll keep playing with my hobby status and see what happens next.
09:07
If you're thinking about going pro, but you're not quite sure if you're ready to do that yet with your blog, head over to the show notes for this episode at bloggyfriends.com backslash episode six.
09:19
And I'll be sharing all kinds of resources you can use to decide if you're ready to go pro.
09:24
And I'll also share some different resources that you might want to consider if you're thinking about starting a podcast as well.
09:30
If you made it this far in this episode, I just want to let you know that I really appreciate that you're listening.
09:36
Hopefully it won't be too long before I release my next episode.
09:40
Until next time, may your page views be high and your bounce rate below.
09:43
Thanks for listening. Catch y'all next time.
10:13
Bye.
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