How I Became A Full-Time Blogger

Last week I shared, Becoming A Full-Time Blogger. I was really happy and inspired by the response I received. I wanted to follow-up with How I Became A Full-Time Blogger.

I have to admit I’m a little nervous about sharing this because I’ve never share this part of myself online.  It is my desire to help people achieve their own blogging success.

I feel limited that this post or series of post will only touch the tip of the iceberg.  But its my hope that this inspires someone and doesn’t come off cliché .

There’s a lot of technical application that goes into creating and managing a revenue generating website. I will share some resources that have helped me along the way below. But let’s start with a few things I credit to my blogging success. The first being consistency…

I wish, I could say I was an overnight success. And maybe I could, but I would be lying. I have been blogging 3-5 times a week since I first started Natural Hair Rules in October of 2008. I did it for no other reason than my soul needed it.

Blogging helped me discover creative fulfillment that I didn’t know I needed.  It helped me de-stress after a long day of work, going to school or both.  It all began as a creative outlet.

I really didn’t see it as anything special until people would identify me as a ‘real blogger’ because of my consistency. I didn’t think anything or it. My consistency paid off in the form of increased numbers, free hair products, and access to events around the city.

And now finally after 5 years, real money. (I thank God everyday for that.) In addition to consistency, writing GOOD Content consistently played a big role in establishing value in this saturated market. This leads me to research and its importance.

Regardless of what you set out to do research is alway important. I read haircare books for leisure. I also solicit great expert advice from stylists, dermatologists, trichologists, and hair product creators on various hair topics to share on NHR.

When I’m not researching hair, I dedicate my time to staying on top of all things social media. I’m even called on to speak at social media and blogger conferences. And it doesn’t end there.

I’m my own webmaster which requires me to know HTML and CSS. To make sure my content is relevant to my targeted audience I do a lot of search engine optimization, website analytics analyzing, and keyword research.

I’m very knowledgeable on all these subjects and can implement them for maximum pageviews & revenue. (Sounds boring, huh?)

What has really helped me to get here is my “Just do it!” attitude. I have been in a position where I was scared of success and failure which lead to procrastination or not acting. I would sit on great ideas and see someone else do the exact thing I was thinking about.

So many people tell me they want to do something whether its start a blog or business. Fear paralyzes and it never happens.

So I say “Just do it!”

Understand that your blog (your voice) is unique and so is your path of success. You have the ultimate power to define your success. Success for me is building something that affords me the opportunities to fulfill my life goals.

How will you define your success?

 

If you’re interested in becoming a full-time blog take a look at these resources.

Online Resources

Problogger
Making Money With Google Adsense

Books

31 Days To Build A Better Blog
Secret of a Six-Figure Blogger