As a hobby blogger you can be relaxed and enjoy your time spent on line with no added pressures. It’s safe. There is no fear of success or failure.
There are many hobby bloggers out there who are inspired to write about their passions, friends, family, hobbies, pets, and probably every subject you can think of. A blog can be motivating, entertaining, make you laugh, bring out every emotion you can think about and get you thinking or shouting. For the bloggers it becomes a way of life and they get great enjoyment, satisfaction and fun from blogging.
Many of these bloggers started a blog to share their ideas and feelings with the world. They started their blogs just as a hobby to tell others about their experiences. Many though, start wondering to themselves, could I do more with my blog
Many people ask me if I think their passion for blogging which at the moment is a hobby would be a good business idea to pursue. They ask ‘do I think they could make money from this’.
Actually becoming a pro blogger may sound found, and a great way to earn money, but I know enough that the process of going from a hobby blogger to a pro one sure has its benefits but also its downsides.
Going pro can be painful, challenging, and requires laser focus. That’s not to say it’s not extremely rewarding, but it isn’t always a bed of roses. You have to get into that mentality that you are going from being a hobby blogger to being serious and making a business out of it. You need the right mindset.
There’s a saying that if you do what you love, the money will follow! Everyone knows that! Alas, it doesn’t always work out like that. Of course working on a job you find personally fulfilling is absolutely great, and doing what you love is an unbeatable feeling.
But think carefully before you break away from being just a hobby blogger. Ask yourself ‘Is this really what you want to do?’ If your hobby becomes your business it could lose the joy it brings to you. It will in all probabilities turn into hard work.
I’m very fortunate I went from being a hobby blogger to a pro blogger. I still love it, and do make a good income from my online business. I am truly thankful for having the opportunity to make money by doing something I am so passionate about, but I will never take it for granted. But it is certainly true that there are many out there that aren’t making very much at all from their efforts. They end up living at their desks, trying everything imaginable, but getting nowhere. For them the fun and excitement that blogging once offered them, has long gone. Blogging becomes about the money, not about the fun.
I’ve watched other bloggers turn from hobby enthusiasts, eagerly sharing their words and thoughts with others through their blogs, start to monetize, keen to turn into ‘business’ bloggers and soon afterwards, having achieved no success, quit blogging entirely.
Once you turn your blog from a hobby into a business and you have to keep publishing content, constantly try to build traffic through marketing and networking, and experiment with a wide variety of different advertising method, affiliate programs, track income and traffic, and so much more. It is no longer a ‘want to do’ it is now a ‘must do’. You have goals and deadlines, commitments, and you have to work really hard to try and create income from your blog.
If blogging becomes your only source of income, then every minute you spend blogging and working on your blog has to count because you need to bring in an income in order to survive and pay your bills, and hopefully build a better future for you and your family. The pressure is now on!
I’m not trying to put anyone off. The switch has worked for me, but it hasn’t for everybody. Blogging is a fantastic hobby, and I know that there are many people that love everything that it brings, and what I don’t want to happen, is them to try it out as a business, fail, lose heart, and walk away from blogging for ever.
Remember a hobby is something you do for fun, relaxation, and enjoyment. It gets you away from the day-to-day mundaneness of your job. Your hobby time brings creativity and fun into your life. Hobbies are fantastic things and certainly worth hanging on to.
So think long and hard. If you decide against turning blogging into your business, then just continue to enjoy your blogging hobby. Have fun with it. It doesn’t have to make you money. Let it continue giving you enjoyment and relaxation.
If you want to turn your blog into a business, then treat it like a business, not a hobby. Be professional. Change your mindset, work hard, be dedicated and give yourself the time, so that you can create a wonderful successful business for yourself.
Being an online entrepreneur can indeed be fun and extremely rewarding. Maybe you need to find a course to help and guide you, so you can learn everything you need to improve yourself and your blog, giving you the best chance to succeed. Why don’t you take a look at our ‘All the Missing Pieces’ Course.
Think carefully before you make the cross over from hobby blogger to pro blogger.
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