What exactly does it mean to be a Pro Blogger?
The term has become so widely used that people rarely know what it means anymore. To be a professional means to be an expert in a particular field and to earn from your job in the said field. So, to be a Pro Blogger is to earn a living from writing and blogging.
The Pro Blogging industry is highly saturated right now and if you want to make a name for yourself and get noticed then be prepared to put in a lot of long hours and hard work. Nothing is impossible to achieve if you really set your heart and mind to it!
Before you go ahead, here are 10 important questions that you need to be asking yourself:
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Why blog?
Albeit a simple question, it is perhaps the most important one. Behind every action, there is a thought. What is your reason for wanting to blog? The amount of success you will attain is indirectly related to the answer to this question. You might want a space to share your thoughts or perhaps you want to teach the world your super skills (e.g. Instagram Makeup Artists) or maybe you just want to see what all the fuss is about.
All of these are perfectly valid answers but here are a bunch of answers that won’t get you too far – wanting to: gain immediate fame, have a large number of followers and quickly earn money. No one can stop you from blogging even if these are your motives but before you start earning for the content that you create, you must already be in love with what you are doing.
What is your passion?
While blogging, you will be catering to a specific niche. You cannot be everyone’s cup of tea! There will be people who love the work that you do and there will also be people who will think your work is absolutely useless. But to be able to cater to the people who do like your work you have to be passionate about what you’re doing. You might have to write about a certain topic for years and if you do not care about the topic then how will you find the drive to do this?
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How enthusiastic are you?
There has to be a certain level of excitement within you to want to share the content that you create. Whether it is writing, fashion, food, travel or even DIYs you must be determined to teach more and more people and another important thing is to always evolve with the times. In today’s social media era new trends are being discovered every single day and for you to remain relevant you must enthusiastically teach yourself new things as well.
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Will you study business and professional blogging?
Having a blog is similar to owning a business. Every amateur blogger waits for the day on which he/she will be able to blog for money. In order for you to achieve this goal, together with being an expert in your field you need to have some knowledge in sales, marketing, analyzing and advertising.
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How do you handle failure? Do you have a support system?
Failing is part of becoming successful. Most established Pro Bloggers have had to experience some sort of drawbacks; hence you should accept the fact that there will be times when you will feel like you aren’t getting anywhere and during these periods you should stay motivated, get plenty of sleep and then get back to work. It’s also helpful if you have strong support from your friends and family or fellow bloggers.
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Will you be happier than you are?
As mentioned above to become successful it can take many years, so if your plan is to immediately quit your current job and stay home to blog then it’s a bad idea. That’s why it’s difficult to become a Pro Blogger very quickly unless you have a massive bank balance. Ask yourself if blogging will make you happy if you feel that the extra work and long hours will just make you miserable then perhaps you should reconsider your decision.
What is your business strategy?
Let us be optimistic and assume you’ve gotten to the point where you will actually be able to make some money. How are you going to charge? Are your charges similar to what other bloggers of your standard are charging? You don’t want to overcharge and drive the client away but you don’t want to end up undercharging and decrease your value by doing so. A lot of market research is required to come to a decision.
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How are you going to fund your passion?
So, you’ve got something you’re passionate about, you have the drive and are willing to put in the work needed. But, you still need to figure out a way to fund your blog. Unless it’s something like poetry or fiction writing you need some source of income to help you become successful.
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Will you be able to stick to a schedule?
Together with your 9-5 job, it will be difficult to find time to blog. The first few days may be easy but eventually, we tend to slack off, therefore it’s important to create a schedule and then stick to it. Remember that consistency is extremely important.
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What happens if you need to pause/stop?