When Your Blog is Your Job (part-time or full-time)

My blog started out as my hobby, a place to share my writing with others. Over the past few years, however, I’ve come to view it as my part-time work-at-home job (and the only reason it’s not a full-time job is that I’m also a homeschool mom). Today, I thought I’d chat with some of my fellow bloggers about making your blog your job.

When Your Blog Is Your Job (ABCs of Blogging)

This post contains affiliate links; as an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

When Did Your Blog Become Your Job?

For me, finding a blog community was a big game changer in how I viewed my blog. When I saw that other bloggers were able to make an income doing this, I knew that I could do it too. Viewing my blog as my job helped me take it more seriously. I committed to a more regular blogging schedule. I also invested some of my initial earnings back into my blog by doing things like getting my own domain name, switching to self-hosting, and attending some blogging conferences.

Lindsay from Maman Loup’s Den says, “I started looking at it as a job when I saw there was truly income-earning potential. When I started to see that what I was doing was valuable to people with ‘real jobs’ (as in, business owners and brands), I realized it was the real deal and something worth pursuing. It’s made me more conscious of my own brand image, and made me evaluate each and every thing I do in terms of earning potential.”

Alison Tedford from Sparkly Shoes and Sweat Drops says, “My blog started as an experiment, but when I landed my first client five months later serendipitously, I started to consider it a job. Now it serves a few purposes: a creative outlet, an income stream from sponsored content and a portfolio for my freelance writing work. My best tips are:

go self-hosted early
invest in stock photos if you aren’t a stellar photographer
network, network, network (meaningful relationships in your niche can be very advantageous and personally rewarding)
don’t try to be everything to everyone.
guest post to increase invisibility and your pocket book
don’t put all your eggs in one social media basket.”

Others start their blog already intending it to be a job rather than a hobby. Rebecca Coleman says, “My main blog I viewed as a job from Day 1. The idea was to create an online space where I would share information that would make people think of me as an expert in my field, and that would lead to work (it worked as a marketing technique, BTW). When you start to view your blog as a job, I think you become more serious about posting. It’s no longer I’ll post something if I feel like it. Instead, you start to create editorial calendars and be responsible for creating content on a schedule.”

Hobby Blogging vs. Blogging for Business

And some people don’t want their blogs to be their jobs, even if it makes them an income. Duncan MacPherson from The Smart FBA Income says, “I blog somewhat infrequently to keep it feeling less like an obligation. My blog drives people to my Facebook page where I and my community can better engage. The day my blog felt like a ‘job’ I’d stop. Guest bloggers are also a great way to keep the blog going without taking too much of your time. My blog is just one income stream for me, although it’s fast becoming enough for a full time income level from the revenues it generates.”

Treating your blog like a job doesn’t have to mean it’s making money. Shawna from Simple on Purpose says, “I view mine as a hobby because I don’t monetize but I try to give it space in my life like it is a job.”

Martina from Catholic Sistas adds, “I don’t get paid to do what I do, but I do treat it like a job. Part of it is making sure your kids understand that you are not playing on the computer, haha. After that, respecting whatever schedule you have put in place is key.”

If you do view your blog as your business, Paula from Thrifty Momma’s Tips recommends making that official: “My blog has been my job for many years now. When clients began asking for my GST number and business number in order to pay me then I really began framing it more professionally as a full time living and a business. It was great that a client asked for that because then I realized I was well over the income threshold and in their eyes I was a full business. So I became a business and applied for GST number and that really sealed it for me.”

Making your blog your job doesn’t mean that you can’t make it a hobby again later, as Christine Culley from Mommy Matter says: “My blog used to be my job, but in recent years it was switched back to being a hobby as I just lost the drive; however, I didn’t want to let it go entirely. I considered my blog a job once it was earning an acceptable income that didn’t require me to be working for others.”

Tips for Making Your Blog Your Job

Viewing your blog as your job should mean becoming more serious about the time you put into it and the results you want from it. Jenny says, “I started to set goals and business hours. I talked about it with my husband so that we were on the same page and my work hours are important to both of us. We treat my blog/business hours the same as we did when I had a part-time job. I quit my job and started using the same hours for my blog. This way even with only 2-3 hours a days in the early mornings or at night I can be consistent with my content and my work.”

Finally, if you do want to turn your blog into a job, Jessie Fearon from the Budget Mama has a great tip: “Develop a business plan. I know that sounds silly but it’s a game changer. I decided to turn my blog into a business after I did some research and discovered just how much money you could make from blogging. We are on the journey to debt freedom so I knew it would be a great way to add some extra money to kill the debt monster with. Viewing my blog as a business helps me to understand that most negative comments/feedback are not personal.”