A lot of people go into blogging these days with the intention of turning it into a full or part time job and making a regular income from it. Which personally, I don’t think there’s ANYTHING wrong with. People go into creative industries all the time with the aim and hope they can turn it into a career and lifestyle. Why should blogging be any different? Blogging has become such a well known career choice that many people want to know how to become a full time blogger.
A little while ago, money was ALWAYS supposed to be the afterthought to having a blog. Hobby first, money second. And if you made any money through your blog, fab. But don’t make that a priority or a reason for continuing.
Oh how times have changed.
I was never a fan of that attitude. And I’m glad people’s views and opinions on blogging and money have shifted. There are many more bloggers talking openly about money, how they make money and how they gain blogging opportunities at all. And why the hell not? There’s enough to go around.
Related reads:
- Getting Your First Collab As a Blogger – 8 Things You Should Do
- How To Start A Blog and Make Money
- How To Get Sponsored Blog Post Opportunities Regularly
I also think it’s important to get DIFFERENT views and and advice on the matter. It’s alright for me to sit here and bang on about how I became a full-time blogger but if my story doesn’t vibe with you, you’re not going to gain much from it.
Which is where this post comes in! Today I have 3 other full-time bloggers to introduce you to today as we answer some questions about becoming full-time bloggers and what it entails to help beginners out there who want to head in that direction. Let’s meet the bloggers!
How to become a full time blogger featuring:
Please briefly introduce yourself, what your blog is about and what you do:
Jenny: Hello, I’m Jenny! Full-time blogger at Jenny in Neverland here I predominantly cover well-being, self growth and blogging tips/advice. I’ve been blogging since 2013 and have been a full-time blogger for over a year now. I’m passionate about helping bloggers make their blogs a success and I currently have 2 eBooks and my own course.
Related resources:
- A Beginners Guide To Blogging
- A Beginners Guide To Growing Your Blog Following
- Blogging Mindset Mastery eCourse
Chloe: My name is Chloe and I’m the affordable luxury travel blogger behind I’m Just a Girl where I share honest and real life travel guides and accounts of my trip around the world, travel tips and advice as well as accommodation and restaurant reviews. I’m also a full time traveler and freelance writer.
Michael: Hello, I am Michael, and I blog over at Your Money Geek (YMG). Professionally I worked in personal finance and was talked into creating a blog to promote my planning business. The company that talked me into starting a blog was producing horrible content, so I fired them and took over the blog. We cover everything from how to make money tutoring to movie reviews. I live in rural PA (USA) with my supportive wife, two children, and way too many animals.
Sam: I’m Sam, a 20-something freelance graphic designer living in Yorkshire. I’m a computer geek, gaming nerd and huge foodie. I’m also partial to movie marathons, Netflix binges and theatrical productions. However, above all, I enjoy the occasional staycation (I have a flying phobia!) and lazing around in bed all day (I wish…)
Modern Guy was established in 2014. The name is a mash-up of my Twitch user as well as my love for graphic design. I post on an array of topics such as business, finance, gaming and technology, as well as home DIY & decor, motors and general life (entertainment, food and more!)
What would be your main piece of advice you’d give new bloggers who want to know how to become a full time blogger?
Chloe: My number one piece of advice is that you have to have passion. If you’re wanting to make money from something that ultimately started as a hobby, you have to be passionate, determined and dedicated to it. You also need to implement some actionable goals that you want to achieve; I find that this helps me so much when planning out where I want to be in my blogging career.
Michael: Treat your blog like a business from day one! I think a lot of bloggers want to make money with their blogs; however, instead of creating a blog like a business, they treat it like a hobby. You must treat your blog as a real brick and mortar business. If you opened a retail business, what are some of the things you would do?
Sam: You have to be passionate about blogging and choose a topic you really love! In my 6+ years of blogging, I’ve seen far too many new bloggers getting into blogging for easy money only to give up due to the vast amount of time that goes into making a successful blog!
Jenny: I think passion is a very common theme among our answers. And that’s probably my main piece of advice too. Of course you have to be passionate about writing and your niche but you also have to be passionate about ALL THE OTHER STUFF TOO. Like Michael said, you need to treat your blog like a business. So you need to be passionate about the boring side of business too.
Related read: 6 Pieces Of Advice I Wish All New Bloggers Knew
What do you find are the most common misconceptions about blogging full-time?
Chloe: I think the main misconceptions about full time blogging would be that it’s really not that much hard work; which is in fact far from the truth! SO much time, effort and resources goes into blogging full time and writing the posts is actually just a small part of the bigger picture.
Michael: That it’s a passive activity. If you google passive income, almost every article in Google top ten lists “start a blog” to build passive income. We all certainly have latitude in how we wish to define “passive,” however, blogging stretches even the most liberal interpretations of the term.
I don’t want to discourage anyone from blogging. If I can do it, you can too. However, you should be prepared that blogging full times is not a ten-hour or less work week like some may suggest.
Sam: People seem to think blogging full-time is the easiest job in the world – I probably start my day at noon and sit in my PJ’s watching the telly, tweeting here and writing a bit of rubbish there. If only…I think I work 24/7 sometimes and even when I’m supposed to be having a day off, I can’t switch off!
Jenny: I think the whole “blogging isn’t a real job” thing is a huge misconception and also a really annoying one. But that’s more of an outsiders perspective. I think for bloggers who want to go into blogging full-time, the biggest misconception is how “easy” it is. By all means, it’s not the hardest job ever. But there’s much more involved than what you’d originally think.
I decided to cut this post short and split it into 2, as I was aware of how long it was getting and didn’t want y’all to get bored and click off before reading ALL of our advice. You can find part 2 of this interview right here!
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A newbie here getting some great tips. Thank you
You’re welcome!
Thank you.. Have a quick look on any of my blog if you can and give some inspiration please
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I would love to be a full-time, or even part-time blogger, but I just don’t seem to be able to land the paid collaborations. My audience and reach seems a bit stuck where it is at the moment and isn’t growing, despite that fact I’ve been blogging for 2.5 years now! Any advice much appreciated!
Abi | https://whatabigailsays.co.uk/
Ah sorry to hear that, some periods are slower than others. I certainly go through times where my views are down and I don’t feel like I’m growing as much. Do you actively look for blogging opportunities and apply for them?
It’s weird, across all platforms my follower count had just stayed the same for months.
I do, but 99% of the time they have DA or follower requirement much higher than mine,so its tricky
It’s definitely worth working on your DA cos that’s a pretty annoying factor than you can’t really avoid most of the time, sadly. Although I would suggest pitching even though your DA might be a little lower, especially if your engagement is decent!
Yeah, I got hit badly by the update last year, lost 12 points and never got it back up much! Any advice?
Yeah that’s a good idea to still pitch, I’ve never really thought of doing that despite accepting it at work myself!
Ahhh that sucks, so many people got hit hard by that. Have you read my post about DA?
I think so yeah, a while back though so I’ll revisit it!
this is so helpful for new bloggers like me ! i have always had an interest in literature and writing and hence blogging helps me persue my interest. However being a new blogger, my exposure is low…….i want more and more people to read stuff that i write…..thats all that upsets me…
Your audience will grow if you’re new, it takes time. My ebook might help you!
thank you so much 🙂
how do i go through it, btw?
How do you go through what, sorry?
how do i get to read your ebook?
I have a page under “resources” which will give you more information on both my ebooks and where to buy 😌
As a newbie blogger, I can attest to these misconceptions: I did think it would be easy but boy was I wrong! But, I am hoping that all my effort pays off in the long run!
They will 🙂 Keep at it! x
I learnt that passion and effort is the key!
Whats stopping me is ideas to write on, but as I gain experience, I believe it won’t be a problem.
Great post, I would be interested to hear some feed back on my posts. I’m a newbie to this wonderful and confusing world 🙂
Great post! Thanks for putting so much time into this- always looking for tips from other bloggers.
Thank you 😌
This is such a lovely idea for a post and really helpful to me as a fledgeling blogger, thank you!
So glad you found it helpful!
It’s so interesting seeing how similar the fundamentals of full-time blogging are, even when compared across such vastly different niches! I don’t see my blog as ever being good enough to even go part-time to be honest, but I find it really interesting to see how full-timers manage it, you guys are a huge inspiration to me!
Brilliant posts and great advice.
I’ve had a bit of time off this year and I’m struggling to get back into the swing of things. I wish I wasn’t but I often think of throwing the towel in now.
http://littlemissmelanie.com/
Oh no don’t! It can be so hard to get back into the swing of things though x
I’m not surprised to see so many common themes here. But it’s interesting to read, especially from people with such different content. Looking forward to the second part x
Sophie
Absolutely- it doesn’t really matter what the content it, fundamentally you need the same things!
I’m desperate to become a full time blogger and the main thing stopping me is fear of making the jump and the general reaction of family and friends – I get the feeling that I’ll be classed as silly for giving up my job to write full time. Money is also the main worry too – I have a some savings aside but I worry that by the time it runs out I still wouldn’t have gotten anywhere. I think it’s a long way off for me, but I’m determined to get there! Loving these tips, looking forward to reading part 2! X
I totally get those worries. I’d recommend going slowly – aiming for part time first before you make the big jump x
Excellent advice thus far! I agree with all of the bloggers who mentioned that passion should be the root of your blog, or any business, for that matter.
Thank you – I think that’s always the main thing tbh! x
Such a great idea for a blog series – I bet this will be so helpful for anyone out there looking to take to leap to full time blogging! X
Kate | http://www.katelovesx.co.uk/
Thank you, I hope so x
Such great advice, looking forward to part 2! 🙂
Sarah 🌺 || Boxnip || Latest Post
How did I miss this post? Great post and great comments. I have been blogging for almost 10 years. Started as a fun thing sharing my nightly dinner, GiangisKitchen.com, and now turning it full time. The work is immense in so many levels, however the gratification is 10 folds and over-compass the 24/7/12 that it involves. Doing 2 blogs is crazy, however a good planning schedule, determination and consistency, which are keys to me, keeps me having fun, coming up with new materials and recipes and money in my pocket.
Cannot wait to read part 2
xoxo
I always find it interesting that people blog full time as for me it’s just a hobby x
This was an AMAZING read! I definitely want to do full-time blogging at some point in the near future, and this post has definitely given me some nuggets + gems of knowledge to think about.
Thank you for sharing!
Ashlee | ashleemoyo.com
So glad it was helpful! Part 2 is outnow 😌
Passion is so important to have within your writing! SUCH a good post!
Erin || MakeErinOver
It really is! Thank you x
There are some amazing pieces of advice here my lovely!
Love, Amie ❤
The Curvaceous Vegan
Thank you x
Such an interesting post! x
Thanks x
Can’t wait for part 2! I’ve always known I want to eventually make money off of my blog, even if it’s just to cover the costs of running it. Even now I find myself working on my blog from 6:30 am to past 7 pm, which to be fair in my case could be a certain amount of time management skills needed haha!
Bella x
Ah that old time management nugget 😂 x
Great post Jenny! I love the advice from the other bloggers too! So helpful! Thank you for sharing! Lauren xxx
I think it’s amazing that, over time, blogging being pursued as a career has become more attainable and acceptable for the average individual who has passion and purpose. Whilst I personally still view my blog as a hobby, and will be psyched if I make any money/get any sponsorships in the process, I love that other people go all in for it. Looking forward to reading part 2!!
I totally agree, I love that’s it’s a more acceptable career now too! x
This is definitely insightful! I am too scared to take it up full time because it is getting harder and harder to get eyeballs on the content. I honestly want to help people and produce meaningful content rather than money but mass attitude is weird. Everyone wants to see a product being sold instead. Nonetheless, encouragement from people who are far ahead in the game, is motivating! so thank you for that! Great post❤
Not everybody. Every blog is valuable in their own right 🙂 x
I love Michael’s advice about treating your blog like a business from day one! I do this with my blog and Instagram and find it’s helped me grow a lot quicker than if I treated it just like a casual hobby. I loved reading this post – so inspirational and motivating! 🙂
Soph – https://girlvsworldblog.com x
I totally agree with him! I wish I had done that a lot sooner too x
Loved this! Seeing the blogging life from different eyes, and seeing what works for different people gives so much more value to the meaning of finding what works for you.
I would love to make writing my living one day and seeing how other people do it is very inspiring to me.
I agree 🙂 I hope one day you manage to! Have you considered turning your poetry into a book?
I have, but it has not come together quite yet!
Great article – and so true about the misconception that full-time blogging isn’t hard work. It’s incredibly grueling at times and hectic can be the norm.
It certainly can! It’s hectic for me right now!
We’d love to make money from our blog but never really thought about doing so, so this is something we’ve been thinking about recently! Look forward to part 2!
Jessica & James | http://www.foodandbaker.co.uk
I’m very interested in growing my blog and really considering in making it a full time job. I like what Michael said, treat your blog like a business. This attitude is definitely something I will try to obtain. I’m ready for part 2👏🏾
Natonya | https://justnatonya.wordpress.com
You could definitely make money from your blog! Your blog is incredible! x
I’ve only had my current blog for a couple of months, but I would love to become a full-time blogger one day. I found this post really insightful and informative, and I can’t wait to read the second part!
Glad you found it helpful! x
It is great that you got full-time bloggers to share their experiences, including yourself. Pretty cool to see how people make money out of their blogs. I do agree that passion is important. Oh man, I already have a hard time putting out my weekly blog posts; making it a full-time gig is even harder because you need the hustle for the money. Thanks for sharing!
Nancy ♥ exquisitely.me
You really do need to hustle! It can be pretty draining at times but it’s necessary! x
Excited to read part 2! I would one day love to go full time with my blog so this is super useful for me! xx
So glad it’s useful! x
I can’t wait for part 2! Love the advice about choosing what you are passionate about and definitely it’s not a passive thing and takes a lot of work!
I’ve struggled to stay as engaged and also keep up with posting content with some life events and a mental health crash and it’s shocking just how quickly all the stats dive down :-/ but I have faith that with the guidance from bloggers like you that I’ll swiftly manage to get back on track again as I stabilise once more!
That happens to most of us sadly! When I have some time off iif I’m away or whatever and I’m not online as much, my stats definitely suffer! x
Great post, I definitely agree with the advice shared. Especially being passionate in all areas of blogging. From your niche to the business aspect of it. The first question all new bloggers should ask is, will I get tired of my niche or will it always spark an interest?
Tx. // Tajinder Kaur
A good question to ask. But also important to remember that you CAN switch things up! x
Such great advice – already looking forward to part 2! I don’t know if I#d ever become a full-time blogger, but it is definitely something I want to take further.
Ellyn x | Life Of A Beauty Nerd
Thank you! Part 2 coming on Thursday! x
One thing I’ve been seeing a lot of are bloggers being more open on how they gain opportunities and make money and I for one love it! I recently got my domain in October and it’s all been amazing to gather tips and see how I can best go about seeking opportunities. Your blogging advice related posts are always my favorites to read, have so many in my favorites to look back on!
Actionable goals is so so important and treating your blog like a business if you aim to make some money from it. And one thing that can’t be faked is passion for your blog and what you create, if you aren’t passionate about what you’re creating, then it shows.
Definitely can relate to having people think that it’s the easiest thing/not realizing how much work goes into maintaining and even writing posts – or some just don’t understand the concept of a blog. At the moment, I blog on the side as for would I consider full time,I’m not actually sure! At the moment it’s a hobby! Super looking forward to part 2!
It definitely shows! A half-assed post shows and passion is so damn important! x
Oooo I loved this! And I can’t wait for part two! Though I personally am not looking to take my blog full time, I’m always curious about how people do it! Can’t wait to see what the four of you discuss in the next part!
Jas xx
Thank you! x
Thank you so much for sharing this post, and bringing together different opinions/perspectives from different bloggers from all sorts of backgrounds! Full-time blogging isn’t really on the horizon for me as I do it more as a hobby, but I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t want to one day be earning money from it! Can’t wait to read part 2 xx
Perhaps part time would be a good option for you? 🙂 All this advice would still stand! x
These are some really great tips, I’ve Walsh been interested with how people actually go full tome blogging. I can’t wait to see the next part of this post! X
Thank you! x
This is a great post! I’ve never really thought about taking blogging full time because I enjoy it too much as a hobby on the side (I’ve already had to take breaks because it stressed me out as a hobby, I don’t think I’d do well with it as full time!). It’s great reading the different perspectives and advice from those who have made it work for them though. Looking forward to part 2!
Yeah you definitely need to be in a different mindset if it’s full or part time! x
Loved this post and the interview kind of style here and that we got to hear from three different bloggers and their advice on the blogging world and also get a little peek into how they started. I’m already excited for part 2 and the undoubtedly great tips that will feature xx
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it! x
This is such great advice! Blogging is currently a hobby for me but it’s great to know what is needed to make your blog a success x
https://t.co/tyHgS4EBKj?amp=1
Thank you! x
This post is so well done! I love how you are having the opinions and advice of other people it definitely makes it more interesting. Can’t wait for the second part!
Nikki O
Thank you – I agree, I love hearing from other people too x
This is such a brilliant post! It’s great to see more advice about going full time from people that already do it! It used to be so shrouded in mystery xx
Thank you! It really did didn’t it? No idea why! x
I want to turn blogging into a full-time business. I have a long way to go. I do what I can to promote my work and write about topics that interest me. I am hoping to increase my stats next year
Best of luck! If you need any help or advice, you know where I am! x
I love this Jenny, I love the style of this post and the other bloggers included. I genuinely can’t wait to read the other parts of this post! I’m sure if will be so helpful x
Thank you! x
such a helpful post can’t wait to read the rest of them! love that you take the time to help others in their blogging journey x
Thanks so much Katy x
Great tips! Like the idea of this and having a chat themed article. Really useful!
Thanks
Thank you! x
Such useful tips and such a fun series of posts x
Thank you x
Such a brilliant post! Loved hearing everyone’s opinions. There’s always a misconception that blogging is easy and whilst it’s not the hardest job in the world, so much more goes into than people realise. I think hearing from different full time bloggers is such a good idea, I can’t wait for part 2! xx
Tiffany x http://www.foodandotherloves.co.uk
Thank you! And totally agree x
Really enjoyed reading this post, was just scrolling through Twitter on my lunch break and it interested me! I think for me it’s trying to work a full time job while trying to get my blog started as a business – it’s absolutely draining trying to put in enough hours after working all day, but I know it’s doable! Great post 🙂
Chloe xx
http://www.chloechats.com
Crikey, I don’t know how you do it! Hats off to you! x
Great idea for a post and looking forward to part 2! What’s stopping me is a lack of time and money – it’s hard to build up a business when you work full-time and can’t invest.
I don’t know how anyone even runs a blog full stop with a full time job so it’s amazing that you are! x
great post Jenny! Some really useful stuff in here!
kenna, lifeoflilyblog.com
Thank you x
This is a great idea for a series! Blogging definitely isn’t quick and easy money, growing a DA high enough for sponsored posts and getting enough views tobget monitized is a very long journey (mines only 3 so I’ve a long way to go until working nearly 24/7 pays off a bit)
Ash | https://thisdreamsalive.com
It sure is a long journey – I don’t think people realise that x
Amazing post. Looking forward to part 2
Thank you!
Great post Jenny.
It’s so valuable to hear from other people about their own experiences with blogging and their successes.
Look forward to part 2 x
Thank you! x
Thanks Jenny for a very informative post. I look forward to part 2.
Thank you! x
As an avid reader of your blog, I appreciate the posts on blogging advice 🙂
So glad to hear that! x