Blogging with Purpose, Lesson 5
Passion + Profession
This post is part of the 7 Days to Blogging with Purpose e-course, originally delivered via email, one lesson a day. All lessons are now available here on the blog for readers who prefer taking the course at their own pace.
ICYMI—
- Blogging with Purpose E-course Overview
- Blogging with Purpose, Introductions
- Blogging with Purpose, Lesson 1: Your Blog’s Purpose
- Blogging with Purpose, Lesson 2: Blog Content Audit
- Blogging with Purpose, Lesson 3: Blog Vision Casting
- Blogging with Purpose, Lesson 4: Blogging Your Passion
- Blogging with Purpose, Lesson 5: Blogging as a Profession — you are here!
- Blogging with Purpose, Lesson 6: Blogging for Your People
- Blogging with Purpose, Lesson 7: Choosing a Profitable Niche
Link to the next lesson is at the end of this one.
Previously, I discussed why following your passion is one of the best and most natural ways to start blogging. But passion is not going to be enough to sustain a blog (or any passion project or business for that matter). At some point, you’re going to have to generate income from your blog and establish a career out of it if you want to keep blogging purposefully.
There are two ways wherein you can pursue a career in blogging.
First, you can get hired as a professional blogger
In the past two decades, we’ve seen blogging become an in-demand profession. Look around LinkedIn and you’ll find many professionals doing work as “Content Marketers” or “Content Strategists” or “Digital Content Creators”. In this digital age, brands and companies are always on the lookout for writers and content creators both in full-time or part-time capacities.
The usual career path for bloggers is Content, SEO, or Digital Marketing.
As I mentioned, I didn’t really pursue full-time blogging for most part of my 15-year career. My profession has been in the field of Digital Marketing and SEO where I develop content operations, content platforms, and marketing strategies for my clients/employers.
If you’re passionate about the creative and technical aspects of blogging, as well as the marketing disciplines that blogging comes with (Social Media, Search Engine Marketing, Email Marketing, etc.), this path makes a lot of sense for you.
Or, you can be your own boss and blog for a living
One of the things that make blogging appeal to multi-passionate creatives, mothers, and entrepreneurs (and millennials, hello!) is the luxury of becoming your own boss, having a flexible schedule, and not being confined to an office cubicle.
Blogging is a viable career path for multi-passionate creatives simply because it lends itself well to our natural tendency to create and to break the status quo. Click To TweetAs creatives, the desire to create runs in our blood. There’s this restlessness in us to express ourselves through words, stories, and imagery—and to do that on our own terms.
We can’t help it, it’s just who we are!
If you can relate to this restlessness, I can already tell that your future in blogging is bright!
The truth is, as creatives, we already have the most essential skill to become bloggers: the gift of creating something out of whatever we already have.
We just have to be strategic and do the work.
This is the part where you have to do an inventory of your creative giftings and skillset.
Let’s go back to the Purpose Formula for Blogging
After identifying your passions, it’s time to identify the specific ones that you can confidently blog about and teach others.
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Profession
What can you teach others?
Take note that you don’t have to be an “expert” at something to make a living blogging. You just need an ample amount of experience, the willingness to learn as you go, and the confidence to teach, help, and inspire others in that area.
Consider a mommy blog, for example. As a mother myself, I don’t think any of us can specifically claim to be “experts” at motherhood. I mean, is there a certification on motherhood I can get somewhere? Let me know. I’ll wait.
Mothers, first-time moms included, only gain knowledge and experience as they journey through motherhood. And if they’re confident enough to share what they know, surely they can create content that can help and inspire other moms too.
And by the way, can we just give a slow clap and a standing ovation to all the mommy bloggers out there? They’re the real proof that blogging for a living is possible, no matter how clueless you are when you started, and how sleep-deprived and busy you are in life!
The same goes for all the successful travel bloggers, beauty bloggers, and lifestyle bloggers you see out there. All of them started with a simple passion for something and the desire to create content and teach others about those passions.
Your turn
Remember the passions you identified earlier? Don’t stop there. Zone in on what you’re actually good at and what you can confidently teach others.
Here are some questions to guide you:
- What are you naturally good at?
- What are your professional experiences, certifications (if any), or educational background?
- What are the topics you can teach or would love to learn more about?
Start the list purge. You may be passionate about many things but not necessarily confident about teaching them.
For example, I love makeup! Like, tell me the next sale at Sephora and I’m so there. But I’m not really keen on learning the best makeup techniques or teaching others how to put on makeup. In fact, I’m not even sure I’m applying makeup on my own face the right way! And while we’re on the subject, I also love shopping and styling clothes but I’m not exactly confident taking photos of myself wearing said clothes, neither am I thrilled about being in front of the camera.
If that’s the case for you too then, my friend, you and I shouldn’t be blogging about makeup and fashion! There are people who are perfect for this niche. Let’s leave the fashion and beauty blogging to them, shall we? 🙂
Alrighty! On your list of passions, highlight the ones you can consider a profession or can grow into a profession, whether you’re certified at it or self-taught, whether you’ve been doing it for a year or 10 years.
And if you’re struggling with seeing yourself as an expert at anything, just think of them rockstar mommy bloggers. If they can do it, so can you.
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