There are thousands of people writing blogs who do it as a hobby. They enjoy writing, sharing stories, showcasing their photography, or connecting with others. There dozens of reasons to blog and they don’t have to have anything to do with making an income. However, blogging can be a profitable industry so today we are sharing with you 4 tips for making your blog your job.

1.Do not blog simply for the money

We will get this one out of the way first, and we realize that it does sound contradictory when we are offering tips on blogging as a business. However, stay with us, it will make sense. If you start your blog purely to make money from it or in a bid to get ‘freebies’ then it will probably come across to your readers. Your readers will then tail off and you will no longer have a marketable blog as blogs need reader numbers to make money. You need to blog because you genuinely have a passion for it. Write about something that you know a lot about or thoroughly enjoy and your content should flow. Quality content is everything on your blog, you need to aim to write consistently and not just feature paid collaborations. 

2.Treat is a you would a full time job

If you want to make a success of your blog then you are going to need to treat it as you would a full time job. You will need to put the hours into it, you will need to remain professional when working with agencies and brands, you need to communicate effectively and you need to ensure that you deliver to all deadlines. If your blog is your business, then treat it as such as you have a reputation to build and maintain. 

3.Think about your branding carefully

A blog can be branded very quickly by the content that it shares. You will probably have an About Me page and mini bios across your social media channels. In all of these places, you are building up your branding, along with what you say on social media.If you are constantly moaning, swearing or arguing on your social media you are unlikely to appeal to many companies, though that’s not to say there isn’t a market for this. It’s simply a narrow and niche market. You need to think about the image that you are seeking to project and ensure that your content represents this consistently.

4.You might need to use the experts

In order to cover all bases as a blogger, you might find that you need to use the experts from time to time. From ensuring that your blog security is tight to improving your search engine optimization to scheduling to social media to taking amazing photographs, there is plenty to think about and do when you are a blogger. From time to time you might find that you need a little extra help or guidance and there is plenty out there so make use of it when you need to. You might find that you need to use the services of a variety of professionals, such as social media managers, virtual assistants and SEO experts such as ignitedigital.com. You will also need to look into your business and tax responsibilities as soon as you are earning an income. 

This is a contributed post.