PB106: How to Go Full Time as a Blogger - a podcast by Darren Rowse: Blogger, Speaker, Author and Online Entrepreneur

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 7 Things That Contributed to Allow Me to Be a Full Time BloggerToday I’m going to talk about going full time as a blogger. I received this question from Charlotte.

“When did you make the transition from blogging being just a hobby to blogging as a profitable business?  What was the turning point for you and/or what were the major changes you made to get where you are now?”Today I’m going to share the 7 things that happened when I went full time. These aren’t a blueprint or a step-by-step, these are just what happened with me and my blog.

For a little context, I started blogging in 2002 as an experiment and a hobby. After a while, I got hooked on the idea of creating content and interacting with readers.After about 12 months, I started dabbling with AdSense and Amazon ads. Gradually after about another 12 months, it became a part-time job. Two years in things started to escalate, and I knew this was going to be a full-time job for me.
In Today’s Episode The 7 Things That Contributed to Going Full TimeIn this episode I want to share 7 things that contributed to me taking my blog from part time to full time.

Note: I also highly recommend you listen to episode #48 How to Make $30,000 a year Blogging in which I talk in very practical terms about building different income streams up to make a living from blogging.Partly it was a tipping point in traffic - Once I started making money, I became more pro-active about traffic. Growing your traffic is important.
Thinking more about my readers than me - I started to write for my readers, instead of writing for self expression. I started paying attention to what they are searching for and tried to anticipate their needs.There was also a bit of a mind shift - If you want your blog to be a business, you have to treat it as one.

pushing harder with finding advertisersthinking more strategically about content
thinking about diversifying traffic streamsstarting new blogs/projects
looking what others were doinglearning more about SEO
Setting a deadline and treating my blog like a businessDiversifying income streams - I decided not to just rely on AdSense, and added other networks like Amazon. I also started exploring direct ad sales and affiliate marketing. Later on, I even created my own products to sell. Work towards finding a second income stream.
Another thing that I think contributed was that I focused more on what others were doing, collaborating with other bloggers - I became more of a collaborator with other bloggers. I went to conferences, invested in my learning, and started partnering with other bloggers. I partnered with Andy Wibbels on Six Figure Blogging. There are still opportunities for other bloggers to promote each other.Having a product to sell - My income streams really began to escalate when I had a product to sell. My first product with Andy didn’t last that long, but it was a great learning experience. Think about how you can create something to sell on your blog.
Thinking not just about search traffic, but about a longer term connected reader strategy - Nothing wrong with SEO, but it is risky. The customer is also gone forever once they leave. Building a relationship that keeps readers coming back is a great strategy. Search strategy can open the traffic door. The next step is to hook your reader in some way.Further Resources on How to Go Full Time As a Blogger

Episode 103: How to Blog Smart - 9 Areas to Think Strategically About in Your BloggingEpisode 48: How to Make $30,000 a year BloggingHow to Make Money BloggingEpisode 67: Why You Should Create a Product to Sell On Your Blog (and Tips on How to Do It)

How did you go with today’s episode?I hope these tips were helpful in going full time. If you have made the transition, we would love to hear your story.

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