Hey all. You probably noticed I’ve been gone for a while, or maybe not, but I’ve got work and life semi-organized currently, so I’m back hopefully now. With that said, I figured it was time we re-covered some basics. If you’re a new reader at Blogging for a Living it’s good to know that there are some absolute pros and cons of blogging for clients vs. owning your own blogs AND pros and cons vs. having a “real job.” Today some pros, and later this week (if my good mood holds steady) some pros…
You can be a problogger. It’s a valid career option. By the way, my definition of a problogger is someone who makes enough money blogging to actually live on. However, after having been a problogger for years now I’ve got plenty of great reasons why you might want to choose another career.
What “real job?”: My blogger pals know I have a real job and I think my son is convinced, but most of my friends and family think that blogging is a hobby. I think they keep hoping I’ll quit and get a “real job.” That gets annoying; especially after years have past.
You will be at it a while before you make decent money: I only blog and do blog related things for money now, but when I first started blogging I also wrote articles and did other writing for money too. Blogging just doesn’t pay all that well until you build up a large client base, have a decent following, and put in some major time. I suppose you could jump into blogging and make money to live on right away, but I’ve rarely seen this happen.
You won’t get paid on time: Got bills? Well, too bad. With the exception of a few select ethical clients I VERY rarely know when I’ll get my check, PayPal deposit, and so on. When I worked in the real offline world I got paid like clockwork. Not so for blogging. My contract may say I get paid the first, which would be nice since you know, rent pops up, but sometimes I won’t get paid til the 3rd, 7th, or later. In fact I’m still waiting on a September payment right now, and last year it took me about 8 months of bugging one client to get paid. It’s obnoxious, frustrating, and a total reality if you blog for a living. My tip, NEVER assume you’ll get paid on time, and save a backup collection of funds for bills.
Income is sketchy: Even if you make it as a problogger. Even if you’re pulling in really nice wages. It could all be gone tomorrow. Blog clients hate to admit their blog is going belly up so guess who is the last to know – yup, you. Blogs fail, clients change direction, there are cutbacks, and it can happen in an instant. Tip – again, save up some emergency income.
Competition is fierce: There are a ton of amazing writers who will never ever make a living at writing or blogging. Why? Because there are a ton of amazing writers out there and only so many blog jobs available. PLUS becoming a problogger is not just about the writing. You need technical blog skills, the ability to gather a following, networking skills, image editing software, and much more. Your attitude and who you know along with your ability to follow the rules all play a part in your ability (or not) to become a problogger and many people can’t cut it.
There’s almost no extra perks: A scant few blogging positions offer things like health insurance, time off, and sick days. I don’t get any of that through any of my clients. Bonuses – not likely. Holiday pay – ha. Pay raises like at a normal job – rare.
It’s more work than you’d ever imagine: Blogging is hard. It’s actual work. It’s actual work that takes up insane amounts of time. Every once in a while there’s a rush of articles in the news about blogging for a living and how it’s the next big thing. I don’t think any of these articles sufficiently cover just how hard it is. Are there pros? Of course or I’d have quit a long time ago, however, if you get into blogging you better do it because you LOVE it because doing it for the fame, money, or other imagined perks are not valid reasons to aim for blogging as a career.
Are you interested in blogging for others? What cons have you run into?
Jennifer -
All the points you list above are true, but are not just true for bloggers. They are true for anyone working for themselves. It is not the easiest life for sure, not for the faint of heart or for those who are not risk takers. I’ve been out on my own for years now, sometimes it’s great and sometimes it’s incredibly tough.
True, no matter what WAH job you have the cons can be the same or very close. It’s not for the faint of heart for sure.
I agree, if I didn’t love, and I mean LOVE, blogging and the subject I write about, there would be no way that I would continue to do it. It has been rewarding for the most part, but my frustrations, stress, and hard work are huge compared to the payoffs I’ve received. The nice thing is, is that I plan to keep on blogging and writing, no matter what…
Yeah, if you don’t LOVE it, it’s a problem to be a pro. Or to try and be pro. You really need to seriously love what you do.
Yes I agree with you. It feels annoying to hear people asking me to get real job out there, for them ‘working’ should be using uniform and go out from your house. And the words which say that blogging is one or two hours job is not true, sometimes I need more than half day for blogging, including at holiday. I think blogging is same with other business, when you decide to be serious, it needs hardworking and time to achieve success.
Sometimes I blog all flipping day – more than half a day. I’ve got a bunch of clients plus my own projects so it can get very busy. The people who are most annoying to me are the ones who say things like, “I want to blog because it’s easy” or “seems easy.” Those comments astound me and I guess makes it easy to spot an amateur blogger.
I got interested in blogging for monetizing, at first. But then it had dawned on me that basing my blogging on that reason would only make me write passionlessly. I have got to possess something or many other things to hold on to (particularly when monetizing is not as bright as we think) . After a certain period of time, I realized I love blogging because I can actualize myself there, I can befriend lots of new kind bloggers in blogosphere (who normally I can’t do offline. Acquaintances are easier to get online than offline, to me), I can show other people my personal opinion/stances on certain issues, show and offer them what I can do to make their lives more meaningful and happier, I can exchange ideas with my readers, too. One more reason why I blog is that two years ago my birthday was chosen as the Indonesian national bloggers day (Oct 27). A divine coincidence! ^_^ I wonder if there is any bloggers day in other countries.
Speaking of the cons, owhhh…I’ve got many, more than enough for someone to stop blogging. Here are some of them: lack of capital (running a blog professionally needs a certain amount of money), lack of technical skills (I’m not a savvy blogger, what I know about HTML codes and SEO is much too little), and the list goes on…That said, I thank God for giving me much time to learn day by day. It’s hard to start from the scratch but doing this patiently will certainly take me to a higher stage. So I never let myself unmotivated every day.
When I left a full time job last August (2008), I spent 5 months “hard time” looking for another day job.
I managed to land a tech sales position which allowed me to work from home – for the first time in a 20 year career in Information Technology.
Needless to say, I fell in love with the concept of working from home!
When that contract finished in July of this year (2009), I decided NOT to spend another 5 months of hard time looking for another day job. Instead I thought I’d spend the hard time investing in myself and I fulfilled a lifelong dream – I ifnally created a BLOG of my very own – http://www.donpower.ME
I’m not sure where it will lead but I’m trying to get all my fears in check and all my hopes and dreams fueling the journey to self employed success as a professional blogger.
Funny thing is, I already have an idea in mind for blog # 2!
Talk about a passion that’s been in development for 40 years (41 actually – Dec. 5 is my birthday!).
Glad I stumbled upon this site!
Cheers!
- Don
Welcome to Blogging For A Living Don
You sound pretty realistic about this blogging deal, which is good. You also have a nice friendly writing style (I visited your blog) I’m super glad you’re not planning on being the next “get rich quick guy” – those guys are so annoying and worse misleading. Having the attitude of “I did it so can you” when it comes to blogs is so not true. SOME people can do it. Plus most of the time those people sound like they’re making it all up anyhow.
Thanks Jennifer for your compliment on my style of writing!
I have a good idea for a ‘money making blog’ where my down to earth (natural) style will hopefully stand out (in a good way). The niche is now dominated by a certain tone that I dont think is inclusive of folks like me who might otherwise be involved in that community…
- Don (out to change bthe world one blog at a time!) Power
I agree with you blogging does not give us much money especially for the amateur. I still blogging until today and i will not leave blogging because Blogging is fun. I want enrich my knowledge by writing. I write any article that relate with my job as financial consultant.