How to Be a Full-time Blogger

Ready to be a full-time blogger?

I quit my job to blog two months ago. Now, I spend my days with my three little girls, working out, blogging, keeping up with the house, and more. It’s amazing. Yes, I miss my coworkers and some other aspects of my job, but nothing beats freedom. Nothing.

I want to teach you how to be a full-time blogger, too.

But first, please note that I do NOT actually spend full-time hours on my blog; instead, I just make a full-time income.

Ready to do the same?!

How to Be a Full-time Blogger

Step 1: Start a Blog in a Niche You Will Make Money In

Luckily, your niche does not have to be decided right away; and with my next tip, you can change your niche as you please without having to buy a new URL or hosting plan.

Use your name as your blog name. This is something I wish I would have done and I’ve seen SO many bloggers switch over to their own name. This way, YOU are your brand and you can write about anything you please. One day, I will no longer be thefrugalmillionaireblog.com but instead will be sarahbrooks.com.

I highly recommend Bluehost for your hosting. Through my link, you’ll receive your domain name for free plus a discount on the monthly price. And, once you make your purchase, I’ll send you a copy of my book – The Beginner’s Guide to Blogging – for free. Just send me an email at sbrooks52111 @ gmail.com (no spaces).

Here’s my tutorial on how to start a profitable blog >>

Step 2: Write Quality Content and Grow Your Audience

You do NOT need a huge audience to make a full-time income, but you do need an audience 🙂 I get an average of 40,000 pageviews per month and make $3,000+ per month.

Google (and readers) like long content where they can learn something. I would strive to always write more than 1,000 words per post. If you can hit 2,000 words, great! My posts typically range between 800-1500 words.

Once you have a decent amount of content on your blog (I’d say about 10 posts), you need to work on growing your audience and getting your content out there. Social media is a fantastic place to start. I share my posts on the following platforms:

• Pinterest
• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Google Plus
• Stumbleupon
• Instagram

Here are 10 ways to increase your blog traffic immediately >>

Step 3: Start a Newsletter / Email List

This is another thing I wish I would have done differently. I didn’t start a newsletter until I had been blogging for about a year.

Did you know that each newsletter subscriber is worth $1-$2 in revenue every single month?! That means if you have 1,000 newsletter subscribers, you can expect to make $1,000-$2,000 each and every month just from your list! 10,000 subscribers? That’s $10K-$20K a MONTH in revenue (if done correctly!).

I use MailerLite for my newsletter and couldn’t be happier. The service is free for the first 1,000 subscribers and then just $10-$25+/month as your subscribers grow. It’s one of the most affordable services and it’s super easy to use.

I currently have three areas throughout my blog where I get subscribers. The first is a pop-up ad. It pops up after a user is on my blog for 30 seconds. If the user exits out, it doesn’t pop up again for that user for one month.

The second is this landing page I created for readers to receive my free guide on how to start a blog. (Again, this is super, super easy to do in MailerLite.) This link is used in multiple posts throughout my blog and gets me about 300 new subscribers per month!

And finally, I created a guide on five blog post ideas that will make you money and made this form below to get subscribers. If you want this guide, just enter your email list below!

Step 4: Treat Your Blog Like a Business

…because it is one. I never set out to create a hobby blog. Yes, at first it will feel like a hobby because you won’t quite know what you’re doing nor will you be making money. But over time, it will start to feel more and more like a business and you’ll start to see your hard work pay off.

My best advice for treating your blog like a business is to do one blog-related task every single day. When I first started my blog, I would spend anywhere from 10 minutes to 3+ hours per day on it. This was always at night when my kids were in bed. I sacrificed some time with my husband in the beginning, but my efforts have paid off and it has been worth it. Now, I usually blog for 30 minutes in the evening and at various times throughout the day.

If you can, set specific blog (“work”) hours. I have three little kids so my hours aren’t set, but I do still do one blogging task every day and I do have certain times I prefer to work. Figure out what works with you and your current phase of life and go from there! Just because some bloggers wake up early doesn’t mean you have to!

Step 5: Do Not Give Up!!!

Want to know why most bloggers fail?! It’s simply because they give up! I know for a fact that anyone can turn the blog into a full-time business. But what separates those that do from those that don’t boils down to commitment. Blogging takes time, especially at the beginning.

Like I said, I used to spend hours at night tweaking my blog, writing posts and growing my audience. Now, most of that is second nature to me and a lot of my income is passive. It took me 2 1/2 years to be able to quit my job. Some bloggers can do this in just a few months; others it takes years (like me). But, everyone who continually puts in effort day after day will eventually get to that point. And it feels fantastic.

Here is my complete guide on how to make money blogging and start earning thousands from home >>

What questions do you have for me? Feel free to leave a comment or send me an email at sbrooks52111 @ gmail.com (no spaces).