I am so excited about an event that’s coming up this August — Taste of the Nation Orlando! It’s far and away one of my favorite parties of the year, because it combines two of my favorite things: eating/drinking and giving back.
I’ve attended three TOTN events before and blogged about two of them:
Lucas always comes with me:
The event supports Share our Strength, which works to end childhood hunger. And I’m thrilled to be partnering with TOTN Orlando this year — and will be offering discount codes and maybe even a few giveaways in connection with the event!
If you want to join me and Lucas this year and stuff your face like a rockstar, you can get use the discount code ORLDAD between now and June 20th for 10% of the VIP tickets. Let ‘em know you heard about it here!
A few days ago, one of my favorite bloggers asked me this very simple yet very complex question:
And given the fact that so many of you read my post on money (“The Ultimate Hornet’s Nest“) but only a few of you left comments, I’m guessing that a lot of you have the same question but are afraid to ask, right?
Fear is a tough thing, because it can be caused by a number of factors. Guilt that going after such a big goal might put your current work in jeopardy. Anxiety that you will take the leap and fail. Worry that great emotional success could come at great financial collapse.
I get all of that, and I’m not here to tell you that you’ll succeed on faith and good wishes alone. You won’t! Like I said in that money post — you’re not all destined to become professional bloggers, despite your private desires. It’s a very risky and often heartbreaking venture, whether you’re talking about blogging for a living, changing careers or any other goals.
In fact, the toughest part about answering Bobby’s question is defining what makes an amateur blogger vs. a professional blogger. Is it in number of page views? Amount of money made? Whether or not someone else pays you to blog? Whether or not you have other jobs outside of the blog?
For the purposes of this post, I’m considering an “professional” blogger to be someone who considers it full-time (or close to) work, where an “amateur” blogger would not.
Here are five things that I think you can do to prepare for and mitigate any real risks so that taking that leap isn’t nearly as scary.
1. PLAN.
I could not in good conscience advise you to put your emotional or financial life at risk without some kind of plan for both. I highly recommend setting a target date or deadline about 6 months in advance, and starting to get those plans made. Will you be operating as a small business? What tax forms do you need to file? What are your options for health insurance? How much money do you need to save to have a 3-month cushion? Will you be able to work at home or do you have to rent space?
What steps can you take NOW to really make the transition smooth? Can you tweak your blog design so it starts to reflect your more professional job title? Can you contact potential sponsors or advertisers now to let them know about your plans? What kind of editorial calendar will you have?
Homework:
2. STUDY.
You don’t need to be an expert on anything to be a professional blogger. But if you ARE going to blog in a specific niche; say, healthy living or social media, you need to have some street cred. Make sure that you know all there is to know about your topic area, and come up with a plan for continuing education. Are there books you need to read? Blogs you need to subscribe to? Conventions to attend? Certificates to earn? Make sure that when you post, it’s not only authentic, but backed up by SOME kind of legitimate know-how.
Homework:
3. WORK REALLY HARD.
Yes, it sounds amazing to blog about your life and get paid for it. You bet I’d love to make money for traveling, eating and training for triathlon. But the truth is, you will work harder than you expect if you blog as a professional (I only know this from talking with the pros — I don’t consider myself a professional blogger) and you’ll get less credit than you often deserve for that work. 9-5 days won’t exist. Weekends will be workends (at least for a while). And you may need to do extra to keep the readers who started following you when you were an “amateur.”
Homework:
4. ASK FOR FEEDBACK.
When blogging is just a fun hobby, you might not care about what your readers think. But when it’s your most important product, you will become (like it or not!) a salesperson. You’re selling yourself. So you’ll need to find ways to connect with your audience (clients) and make sure that they’re getting what they need. Find ways to ask for feedback and then USE IT (or explain why you’re not). Track your analytics. If someone unsubscribes from your newsletter, follow up and ask why. If your page views drop off, try and figure out what changes may be turning people off.
Homework:
- Audit Your Own Blog
- How to Pitch (Without Striking Out)
- Full Disclosure: What it is and How to do it Right
- Crisis Response (a Marie Claire Case Study)
- Inspiration vs. Imitation
5. GO BACK TO #1.
Sorry, friends. The planning never stops. Because the minute that you stop thinking of the blog as a job and an income provider, you’re back to being an amateur. Only a very, very, VERY select group of bloggers can afford to post without acknowledging the vital roles that their readers play. And those readers can disappear at any time. So you need to make sure that you are constantly evaluating your work and being your harshest critic.
Having said ALL of that…I think many of you should take a deep breath, assess the risks and rewards of making a change, and take that leap. I have a job I absolutely freaking love at Growing Bolder. Every day we talk about how important it is to pursue your passions, make a difference and follow your dreams. So there’s no way I can be your dream assassin. I believe in each one of you and in so many cases, that anxiety and guilt that you’re feeling is based in the fear of failure. I know that I’d rather be a fabulous failure at something I gave my all to than an amazing success at something I hated but kept doing.
About Katy
What an excellent post, Katy!
I am ready to take my blog to the next level but one thing that does worry me is feeling like I have “sold out”.
My current blog is enjoyable and fun, but it is also my street cred for my next business adventure in my life.
Which is why I think another point should be to STAY AUTHENTIC. Everyone is different and I feel that owning that and wrapping your OWN voice around everything you do is critical!
YES. To all of this. That’s the message of the presentation I’ll be making at Healthy Living Summit, too.
Great post! Thanks for taking the time to break down the details…from microscopic up. Keep up the good work!
YES to the PLAN step
I just shot a video for the POP ladies last week about how I took the leap to go back to school fulltime and that was my exact first point as well
but it was scary as hell the whole time!
Great post, Katy! I think its really scary to take the leap to professional, but as you said, professional greatly depends on how YOU define it. It’s something I personally have been thinking about for some time, so thank you so much for the tips!
Love this post! I will get there some day
TOTN Orlando sounds AWESOME! How did I not know this existed? I might have to get in on this…checking the dates
Thanks for the discount code – woo!
Michelle,
Let me know if you’re going — Lucas and I have VIP tickets (oooh la la!) which means we can check out the tables and give you a status report
GREAT GREAT GREAT! Bookmarked for the homework. Katy I’m sooooo impressed with your knowledge and info that you share. THANK. YOU. SO. MUCH.
The irony of blogging is that most of the “professional” bloggers say over and over again that they got there through a series of hard work and a larger series of dumb luck.
I think it’s really important to look what makes people come back to your website over and over again. One of the things that I think people are intrigued by with me is the fact that I am a 26 year old female working as a senior pastor of a medium-sized church. You don’t see that very often and people are curious about my life. Being a pastor is part of who I am as a blogger. If I tried to become a professional blogger, I would be missing a huge piece of the puzzle.
Sarah,
That is SO true — it’s about good timing (and then working hard).
I think you have such a unique point of view, and it’s a great reminder that just by being yourself, you get a passionate, loyal community!
“Dream Assassin” would be a fun full-time gig, no?
Luckily I don’t expect to ever be a full-time or professional blogger. I just blog to blog, and my dreams lie elsewhere.
This is such a comprehensive post. Thanks for taking the time to put it together and give such awesome advice to everyone. You are right–it is a LOT of work. It is pretty overwhelming and makes me glad I have a day job, actually. As rad as being a professional blogger would be.. it is VERY overwhelming.
Yeah, I hate to squash people’s dreams, but I think the reality is that it’s extremely hard. And since your work is usually based on your LIFE, it takes a lot of guts to put it all on the line at the same time.
Thanks for this Katy!
I’m passing it along to a few others who could use the insight.
For others, I’m new to blogging. It’s a hobby more than anything (no money right now, but it did aid me in landing this rockin’ new job!).
It definitely takes time and dedication.
My biggest tip (besides reading Katy’s blog) is to always take more photos than you think is necessary. Blogs need images! I’ve taken more photos in the past few months than the previous year, I believe. Google Photos, awesome place to store them for upload to your blog – especially if you write from various computers.
I love this post and have definitely bookmarked it. Even though I dont really plan on becoming a professional blogger (although i’d love to quit my job wiping butt as a nurse and write about my life and dogs sometimes) but your posts on how to become a better blogger are really awesome and I think I can learn a ton from you
Great post, Katy! I think planning is key in any career venture you take. I am living through it right now
Those are great tips, Katy.
One thing I would add is that the question is about addressing the emotions (guilt and anxiety) of “taking the leap.” Identify that guilt and anxiety — where does it come from? How does staying put serve you? What would it take to move forward and what would that look like?
It’s no use having a plan if you’re feeling guilty and self-sabotage your success.
YES — great points! I love the message that self-sabotage can break your spirit more than any haters can. So you need to have a thick skin for your own doubts as well as any people may project onto you.