Do Professional Bloggers Exist?

Yes, there really is a job title called "blogger." A professional blogger is someone who gets paid to blog, perhaps for a company website, or for blogging about specific products and services as a way of advertising them via the Web. Others might be making a good living off their personal blog that started out as a journal or information resource about a certain topic. Once a blog becomes popular enough and has a solid audience, its owner can support the blog through affiliate ads, product sales, and/or donations in order to generate a steady stream of revenue.

So you've found your niche topic and found a domain for your website, now how do you turn your blog from hobby into full-time paying job? First off, time investment is key. You will have to spend a lot of time writing content, since a blog is only as fresh as its latest post. But you will also need to invest time interacting with other bloggers, perhaps through a blogging resource, social bookmarking site, or search engine, such as Digg, Technorati, and Slashdot. Getting your blog listed and featured on one of these sites can increase traffic to your site by the thousands.

You will also need to have the writing chops to engage your audience and keep them coming back for more. Having passion for your subject as well as extensive knowledge of it, will give you the necessary credibility and build your following. Whether your subject is celebrity gossip (like the wildly popular Gawker.com, The Superficial.com, and Defamer.com) or technology news (Metafilter.com, Techcrunch.com, Engadget.com), you must be able to offer readers something they can't find elsewhere. Bringing innovation and creativity to your subject matter is the fun and challenging part of writing a blog, and seems to be the key to success.

Lastly, you must have some technical knowledge to keep your blog running. Although it is easy enough to get started by using a blog hosting service such as Blogger or Wordpress, these sites have the disadvantage of not being completely customizable nor having advanced features. It is also valuable to have some knowledge of how to get your blog noticed and read. There are many ways to do this including search engine optimization (SEO), trackbacks, ping services, and social bookmarking sites. Read up on these tactics and use them.

Now we get down to the nitty-gritty: how does one monetize a blog? The simple answer is there's no way to do this without commercializing it. Some bloggers are reluctant to do this, reasoning that it takes away from the integrity of sharing information with people. But if you're committed to the idea that your blog provides value to people, then it follows that it's perfectly acceptable to be compensated for this value. Some of the most common ways to do this are putting up affiliate ads through ad programs such as Google AdSense, or asking readers for donations. You can also sell products through your blog, such as downloadable ebooks about your area of expertise. There is an art to writing ebooks, but anyone can research how to write one and offer it for sale. Your monetization strategy will also have to work in tandem with your design principles. So if you are selling a product, you will have to decide if you will direct your readers to an order form, or have ads for that product all over the site.

It may take time and experimentation to find a monetization strategy that works, but once you do you will be joining the ranks of professional blogging. Here's some statistics for inspiration: personal development guru Steve Pavlina makes $1000/month from his blog stevepavlina.com. It only took him two years to reach this goal.

Heidi Anspaugh is a writer/editor from the Bay Area who has been writing exclusively for the Internet for the past 9 years. She has written content for many different types of web sites, including search directories, technology news sites, music magazines, retail companies, consumer-facing lead generation sites, business resources, and software products.