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Going Pro as a Blogger – Turning Blogging From a Hobby to a Career

Posted By Darren Rowse 9th of July 2007 Miscellaneous Blog Tips 0 Comments

Richard MacManus reflects today upon an article that appeared in a local site which featured his story of turning blogging from a hobby into a Career.

Richard says some very worthwhile stuff about the keys to his success – particularly the amount of work and time that’s gone into building his very successful blog.

There were two key quotes for me in Richard’s post:

“Basically it takes a whole lot of hard work, knowledge and passion about the topic you’re blogging about, patience, and some ‘being in the right place at the right time’ luck.”

and

“So really, it took 3 whole years for Read/WriteWeb to go from ‘hobby’ to full-time job. The bottom line: blogging is a very difficult, and highly competitive, way to make a living. If I didn’t have a true passion for the topic of Web technology, I would not have been able to put in the ‘hard yards’ (I think that is a kiwi or rugby expression, meaning hard work).”

Congratulations to Richard on the article and his amazing success over the last year or so particularly! It’s great to see another local(ish) blogger (he’s in New Zealand) going full time and seeing real success in the blogging space.

About Darren Rowse
Darren Rowse is the founder and editor of ProBlogger Blog Tips and Digital Photography School. Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Comments
  1. I am on the verge of going full time with my site. The amount of effort it takes is really tremendous – not so much in terms of monster days of effort, but the day-in day-out consistency that it requires.

  2. Interesting Article. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be able to be a career blogger. Right now my site it in the process of building traffic and has hardly any monetary value, but I still enjoy it. I guess that’s a dream of everyone that starts a blog but it definitely takes dedication to get there it sounds like.

  3. Alas, another someone who doesn’t flower up professional blogging.

    One part that struck me was: ‘being in the right place at the right time’ luck.”

  4. I think that this is a realistic and truthful assessment. Blogging is hard work. That is why so many people start and quit.

    It seems it’s as much about endurance as it is about anything else.

  5. I’m glad that blogging/creating a website is hard work. Because that basically weeds out those people who think they can make a quick buck from this endeavour. Stay the course and win the race. It’s good news for those who persist…

    Cheers, Ellesse

  6. I have been waiting for this topic for a while. Thanks! *=)

  7. Very interesting. I still have a long way to go before I go pro. Right now, I am still interested in blogging as a hobby.

  8. Can’t agree more… New to blogging and I’m learning to find a balance. It takes time to write a quality post, to walk around to see what others are blogging about, to build traffic. It’s hard work and it’s real fun too. Thank you Darren for bring up this topic, and many others, which lead to so many interesting discussion and reflections.

  9. yes, after starting to blog for awhile now, the difficulties and challenges about consistency are becoming more and more real. Passion is really key and on one can make it without it. Wished that luck didn’t have a role, but unfortunately, it does. Sometimes, even after following all the ‘rules’ and ‘guides’ of blogging, one may still not be successful even some luck. Nevertheless, i’m still plodding along and sometimes when I feel weary in blogging, I rest during the weekends to recharge, which I think is more important rather than burning out and abandoning your blog.

  10. I think one of the hardest things to do is change your mindset about the online world. I am attempting to do this at the moment. So far the only way I have been able to change from a hobby to a business is to invest money into my projects. This means that there is a risk involved, so I have to focus more.

  11. I had the pleasure of hearing Richard speak at a Web 2.0 event in Sydney last month. Knowing how much success he has achieved and his ‘ranking’ in the blogosphere, I was impressed with both his unpretentious manner and the acuteness of his comments and observations. No tickets. Glad to see his local mainstream media giving him the recognition he deserves.

  12. like i was also a hobbyist turned into blogger however, i am not really successful as what he did.

  13. Think the most important thing to take from this is the fact it was originally a hobby. I’ve been blogging for five years and only recently began monetizing my site. Of course, I wouldn’t blog for five years if I wasn’t enjoying it. I’ve met some great people on the way :)

  14. Congrats to Richard for sticking with it. It certainly does take a whole lot of work to make it to where you have.

    It’s probably a good thing that it’s difficult to become a very popular blogger, it helps keep the quality of popular blogs high. It also gives us young bloggers something to strive for.

    – Mason

  15. good info , it takes time to become a pro , i am happy to practice as a hobby

  16. Consistency is definitely the key but passion is what fuels my blogging. Sure I would like to turn pro but I temper my hard work with realism. At the end of the day, The Rock and Roll Report is a creative outlet for me and that gives me great pleasure. When that stops, so does the blog, monetization be damned!

    Thanks for the consistently informative read Darren. Always inspirational!

  17. I’m still a part time blogger. I work full time and just blog on the side and I’m finding quick just how much work goes into blogging. I enjoy what I write about, so hopefully that will assist me in staying in the game.

  18. I am also part time blogger..
    I agree that consistency is the key to make sure you get huge traffic..
    It ain’t easy for us part time blogger but I’ll try my best to make good blog of mine..

  19. Being at the start of this journey, it’s really interesting to hear what more seasoned bloggers have to say. I don’t know what blogging holds for me in time, but I do know that I’ve really been enjoying it for these first couple of months.

  20. love richards’ statement’ about successful blogging:

    “Basically it takes a whole lot of hard work, knowledge and passion about the topic you’re blogging about, patience, and some ‘being in the right place at the right time’ luck.”

    great to read all the comments. i still have a lot to say about hawaii in my blog. hope i can keep the passion and hard work up to see the light at the end of the tunnel. pua

  21. Well said…

    Blogging is definently not easy, be it consistency be it luck and everything in between…it all plays a part in making a blog successful. I’m a part time blogger too with small traffic and the more i immerse myself into blogging, the more i find myself respecting the effort and hardwork needed to sustain a successful blog.

    Hats off to all the bloggers out there!!!

    CHeers.

  22. Darren,
    Cool finding, i did take a look of his blog, and it is not bad, very much usefull stuff!

  23. i agree with you Darren…first is hobby…then full time blogger…

  24. AngryJed is starting to get read and I hope within time it will actually make a little money. the problem with my blog is that I cover a lot of ground, everything from political science and world events to whatever gets me mad that day. I have a feeling though that once people know about it, it will get popular.

  25. Blogging is a lot of work, it truly has to be a love and passion of yours to turn it into something profitable; but making money while doing something you love is one of the most rewarding experiences one could ever enjoy.

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