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 7 Things That Contributed to Allow Me to Be a Full Time Blogger
Today 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 Time
In 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 advertisers
thinking more strategically about content
thinking about diversifying traffic streams
starting new blogs/projects
looking what others were doing
learning more about SEO
Setting a deadline and treating my blog like a business


Diversifying 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 Blogging
Episode 48: How to Make $30,000 a year Blogging
How to Make Money Blogging
Episode 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.