Is it Really Possible to Earn a Living as a Professional Blogger?

If you’re creative and you love writing, the idea of writing a few blog posts per week and turning them into a full-time income might seem like a dream. But this dream is actually a reality for thousands of people around the globe. Making money from a blog is not only possible, but one of the most effective ways to make money online as a beginner.

There are a few misconceptions about professional blogging you need to dispel if you want to be successful, however. Being successful as a blogger does not happen overnight and demands a lot of work. Only those who are ready to put the effort in and be consistent have a chance in this business. Let’s take a look at what you’ll need to become a professional blogger.

Understand How Blogs Make Money

You may be wondering how bloggers make money from their words. The truth is that there are tons of different monetization methods and successful bloggers tend to use a large variety of them. The most obvious method is advertising, but there are tons of other ways that you could make money from your blog.

A very common option is to use affiliate marketing. You could add text or banner ads to your site for products you think will pique your audience’s interest. You could also mention these links casually in your posts and earn commission every time someone makes a purchase after clicking on that link.

You could also be clever and allow people to get deals on items they like by adding a special widget to your site. You have plugins like CouponPlugin IO that allow you to post generic deals or deals in a specific category. You could then earn money every time someone uses a code. If this is something that would interest you and would like to learn more about the app, you can get it here.

Understanding How to Build an Audience

Another thing you have to know about blogging is that you can’t advertise a blog as you would any online business. Things like PPC and banner advertising don’t work as well for blogs, so you’ll need to use different techniques.

One of the things you should start familiarizing yourself with is SEO or Search Engine Optimization. You need to know what search engines like if you want to get traffic from them. In the beginning, learn about good semantics, clean navigation, and how to make your site perform as well as possible on all platforms.

You also have to know that blogs are very social by nature and that the best way to build an audience for a blog is to connect directly with the people. If you learn how to build relationships with other bloggers in your niche, you’ll get guest post opportunities, which are like the holy grail for blog marketing. You could also start making a name for yourself on subreddits or discussion groups related to your niche. This will allow you to start building an audience that will eventually grow if you are consistent with your posting and become a great resource.

Building a Content Create Strategy

You should also know that professional bloggers don’t just get up in the morning and post blogs. They usually have a clear strategy based on the type of content they release or what’s trending at the moment. They will use specific keywords and post their content at just the right time to get enough traction. Most will also create content in advance and publish it at specific times and intervals through automation. So, know that building and publishing content requires a lot of planning and that you’ll need to monitor your site’s metrics closely to know exactly what type of content you should release and when.

These are all things you’ll need to know before you think about becoming a professional blogger. Know the reality of the job and learn what it takes to start a blogging business and not just a hobby.