I have been blogging since the heydays of Live Journal. Then I started this blog after I was diagnosed with bipolar and my therapist told me to get involved with a hobby so that I will get out of bed and I wouldn’t fall into the whole woe s I trap. So for quite a few years, this was a hobby blog. Then about three years ago I started seeing people being successful in turn a hobby blog to a source of income. I still remember when Problogger told how e makes a living with his blog and it blew..my..mind..for a year I went back and forth with the idea of monetizing this blog until about 2 years ago I decided to give it a try, and yes it still blows my mind when I see actual money from my blogging. It wasn’t an easy road to get to this point though. People seem to think if you just write then the masses will show up, and you will be bombarded with sponsorships posts, and you will set for life. I will repeat it again that this is NOT an easy way to get money. It requires sacrifice and hard work. If you aw willing to put n the time and effort blogging can be a very rewarding job.
Get dressed as if you were going to a traditional office, Get out of those pajamas!!
This was one one of the harder things for me to follow but once I started working out away from g=home the after I shower to get into “athleisure” clothes my productivity went through the roof. It’s not the clothes makeup or anything that holds special magical powers, but instead, it sets you up for the rest of the day. If you look like shit, you are going to fill like shit and working for yourself u can’t afford to take to many days off.
Do your morning routine
The reason I hate working out at home is that I feel there is nothing to signal to my brain that now is work time. I prefer to go to a gym the come home and fix my hair and makeup and dressed in street clothes. It all about getting in a work frame of mind. And that almost always me being super productive and able to crush all my goals for the day.
Make sure your blog looks professional
I can hear you now, Hillary your blog is purple! Yes, it is, and I am saving up to get it a complete overhaul. As soon as I figure out what I want and find a designer that I like you won’t see all purple. This s true of many people who make the switch from hobby blog to the blog being your business is that hobby blogs tend to go for overkill with the design and pictures and all of that. If you just started making your blog your business don’t worry too much and start shopping around for a legit designer.
Narrow your blog focus down to one topic and 3 to 5 subtopics
I know that this is a sore topic for many. I have seen some blogs that seem to have no cohesive theme and instead have a million different issues but are filled with sponsorship posts and the like. Honestly, I am not a fan of such a method. Yes, there are bloggers who do this and make some serious cash but to be honest if all you are posting is sponsorship stuff with no overlying theme people are going to stop coming to your site. People want a SOLUTION to their problems, and most people don’t want to wade through hundreds of sponsorships to find the post they were looking for. One thing to keep in mind when you are attempting to monetize your blog that this is not your diary. when you become established you can sprinkle in some personal stuff but it a very thin line between a Dairy and a business.
Get an email that has your domain in it.
I have had people email me from [email protected] I am not here to try and stifle anyone creative but honestly when I see an email like that my first thought is spam. I then add it to the filter that makes it go straight to spam if that person ever tries to email me again. It could very well be a real live professional on the other end, but I don’t have the time or inclination to investigate. If you want to make damn sure that your email lands in the appropriate email box then get an email that follows the formula [email protected] You will be far less likely to find yourself in the proverbial trash heap.
This is just a drop in the bucket as to how to make your blog your business. The above are simple fixes that almost anyone can implement now. While there are and lot more tips to take a hobby blog to a blog that is a small business the tips I have listed above will put you on the right track. It took me around three years of trial and error before I could make a steady income from this blog. I hope to spare you a lot of the grief and headaches that many other bloggers and I went through before we discovered what worked for us income wise.
Helpful tips! I monetized my blog at the beginning of this year. So far, I’ve made $3. I don’t think I’ll ever make a living at blogging. Not enough people click ads or donate.
LOL… Yeah, ads are not really profitable unless you have so many visitors and charge people to advertise on your site. The money is mostly is sponsored posts these days.
Helpful tips! I monetized my blog at the beginning of this year. So far, I’ve made $3. I don’t think I’ll ever make a living at blogging. Not enough people click ads or donate.
LOL… Yeah, ads are not really profitable unless you have so many visitors and charge people to advertise on your site. The money is mostly is sponsored posts these days.