Comments on: When is it time to ‘Go Pro’ as a Blogger?

By: seth

seth — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 00:37:57 +0000

“Going Pro”… I’ve heard that too much lately. Although it is doable, it is extremely hard and risky. I plan on taking my time and letting the money (if it comes) tell me when it is time to go pro.

Thanks for your ideas and I know it will save a few good bloggers from a lot of financial problems.

By: Shawn Steel

Shawn Steel — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 21:28:55 +0000

Nice post added you to my FeedReader and looking forward to more interesting posts.

By: TheWeblogZone

TheWeblogZone — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:52:29 +0000

Hi Darren.

Thank you for this useful post. I am seriously considering going PRO but I want to make sure that I’ll be secured (financially) while I go through the process. Your post made me realize a lot of important things and maybe, I need some more time to think about going PRO while at the same time continue developing my blog.

Again, thanks.

Rocky

By: Ryan McLean

Ryan McLean — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:45:43 +0000

I definately agree with you. I do blogging in my spare time at the moment and I am building up my traffic and readership on my personal finance blog. When I finish bible college in decemeber I will be working full time and hopefully be earning enough from my blogging to work one day/week on my blog. Then as readership increases so too will the time i spend on my blog.
I will only stop working if the amount I am earning on my blog is more than what I earn in my ‘real job’

By: SilverDK

SilverDK — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:12:15 +0000

A very useful and good post..

Now personally i am a very new blogger myself (20 days old or so) and i haven’t got much experience in writing either, but i still enjoy it, even though it might be full of spelling and grammar errors. *chuckles*

I really enjoy the posts on this site, because they are very informative, friendly and helpful even to those of us that are very new to blogging..

Because i have just started blogging myself, i have not really had any serious thoughts about going pro, because i just simply can’t see any serious money in blogging, at least for myself, yet but that might change in the future with more visitors and traffic..

Again i thank you for your great posts and helpful advice.

By: Vanessa

Vanessa — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 09:12:39 +0000

Great site and interesting comments/feedback. As far as being a new blogger goes, reminds me to enjoy the journey -it’s not just about the money!

By: Anup Sugunan

Anup Sugunan — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 03:07:40 +0000

I just read this entire page, including all the comments. It was inspiring. I just started blogging a few days ago, but realize that this is a process. However, I’ve been an actor/writer/director for the past seven years. I’ve always kept a journal (writing up to 100 pages/month single spaced) and started a newsletter about 3 years ago for filmmakers/actors on yahoo. There was no pay, so it was not frequent.

I love writing. I guess I should thank my college English teacher who gave us points for anything we wrote. That is was made me into a writer. I have a few produced screenplays. But I figure I’d give this blog thing a serious try as it’s great to jot down ideas and publish them immediately instead of going through a six-month revision period and then the whole process of shopping the screenplay.

This site is awesome. Thanks for the info. Hopefully, you’ll see an update from me down the road – positive or negative.

By: Javed Khalil

Javed Khalil — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 17:04:52 +0000

I have just started two blogs. After looking visits I was excited enough to be ready to go problogger. Thanks for great advice Darren. It definitely is a process and not the decision.

By: maneesh

maneesh — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 16:38:20 +0000

In my case, I quit my job.. then discovered blogging as a profession as an option that I can pursue.

I feel at 22 am at a far better position to take the risk of continuing my quest to blogging full time without a sufficient income .. at least till the time my bank balance runs dry… For if nothing else I will have an experience I wouldn’t have got with any other job…

By: Kelly

Kelly — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 13:17:23 +0000

Two things that I think get lost when calculating cost of living: taxes and health insurance.

In “mainstream” jobs, your employer not only does withholding from your pay, he/she also contributes a matching amount of a minimum of 8% of your pay (for SS and Medicare); that number goes up depending on your state and local tax rules. Add that to your own withholding and you’ll find that self-employed persons pay a lot more out of pocket in taxes – even if you’re not *making* money.

Folks who have always had their health insurance paid for by their employer will be absolutely shocked at the cost of paying your own insurance. It can easily top $1k per month for mediocre insurance – this is because large businesses get group discounts for bringing business to the insurance company. As a self-employed person, you don’t have that kind of leverage.

These issues are clearly workable – you can join organizations, etc., and get discounts for insurance, etc. But they are definitely worth calculating. When you figure that you can live off of X dollars per week, don’t forget to factor in those taxes and health insurance!

By: Bird

Bird — Mon, 07 May 2007 15:41:36 +0000

I am interested in the idea of “blogging”. I have never spent much time in the blogging world and yet I have been recommended by a friend of mine who is in the marketing industry. “Blogging is a great way to let people know that you are the expert in a particular field.” I am in sales so when you can provide information that is interesting and informative, you will see a demand either increase or decrease. Customers or clients will come to you for their purchase.

Have you experienced anything like this? How does one generate income from blogging?

By: Leo

Leo — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 16:04:54 +0000

Anyone who knows anything about how world works knows not just go from something to nothing until wagon is already rolling. Is a lot like real estate, one does not just jump right into money, is process and one must be doing something in meantime until blog start rolling.

By: 70 domande di Blogologia Sindromica | Stalkk.ed

70 domande di Blogologia Sindromica | Stalkk.ed — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 14:53:29 +0000

[...] When is it time to ‘Go Pro’ as a Blogger? [...]

By: Marc

Marc — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 03:01:42 +0000

I was wondering if maybe another way to hedge one self against the uncertainties of Google traffic is to try to diversify ones traffic sources rather than setting up lots of different blogs. Also try to generate and maintain the loyalty of a massive email list. I know it would be difficult for me to be an authority on a lot of different topics.

By: adsense money dude - mrHowTo

adsense money dude - mrHowTo — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 13:42:46 +0000

Long way off for me at the moment, but will persevere! These things take a lot of time, effort and endless will-power.

By: weight loss

weight loss — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 15:13:36 +0000

This topic is very important especially to newbies into blogging. Start as a part-timer and then go pro when the income can sustain you. Or, rather, when the anticipated extra income when you go pro is equal to or more than what you earn in your present job.

By: 18 Lessons I’ve Learnt about Blogging: Blog Tips at ProBlogger

18 Lessons I’ve Learnt about Blogging: Blog Tips at ProBlogger — Mon, 19 Dec 2005 15:14:54 +0000

[...] I’ve written on numerous occasions about the e-mails I regularly get from people telling me that they are quitting their job to become a full time blogger without much thought to how they’ll pay their bills in the year or three that it might take to build up their blogging to pay a reasonable wage. [...]

By: Cotton-Pickin’ Days » Blog Archive » ProBlogging: Feasible or Not?

Tue, 29 Nov 2005 08:33:34 +0000

[...] Yesterday, Darren wrote about how to decide when it’s time to blog full-time as a main source of income. After reading it, I realized that problogging is probably not for me. I’m not interested in writing on a variety of different topics so as to diversify my income stream and I don’t think I could crank out over 20 blog entries a day like he does. [...]

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 31 Oct 2005 09:07:36 +0000

I.5$ per day means 45 dollars per month. Damn! I can’t maximize my utility for 45 $ only. :(

By: Ambot ah! » On your way to be a Pro-Blogger?

Ambot ah! » On your way to be a Pro-Blogger? — Sun, 11 Sep 2005 05:59:18 +0000

[...] Darren has a more comprehensive post about “When is it time to ‘Go Pro’ as a Blogger?” here. [...]