5 Tips to Go from Hobby Blogger to Professional Blogger

Moving your blog from a hobby to a business is a very serious decision, a lot of work and may require you to do things with your blog that you don’t really want to do. At a recent Toronto Travel Massive workshop in partnership with Hostelling International, Toronto community member and award-winning publisher Ayngelina Brogan of Bacon is Magic shared her industry knowledge about monetization strategies and how to go from hobby blogger to professional blogger.

Ayngelina shared her story of how she turned her passion for food and travelling into a successful business with a full-time income.

Ayngelina points out that there is nothing wrong with that. In fact, she said “having a professional travel blog does not necessarily mean it is a better blog.” However, if you want to turn your blog into a professional business here are some tips.

1. Be a Boss

Remember this is a business and you have to make business decisions. Take the personal component of blogging out of it. You are going to have to learn a lot of things that you didn’t want to do that are not fun, but will move your business to the next level.

She does not consider her site as a blog – it is a website about food around the world and she is the publisher of that site. This was an actual mental decision she had to make to move her blog from hobby to business.

2. Be Patient

The first year of your blog is terrible and boring. It takes time to discover your voice and what you are all about. Once you figure this out then you have to decide what is your value and when you are ready to monetize their sites. She warned about people who monetized too soon and start chasing income making projects which leads their audience to believe they sold out and suddenly they lose their momentum. Ayngelina recommends that being patient and having a side business is a great way to balance the transition. Freelance work in a “side hustle” will help keep you from making all the wrong decisions and taking on projects that devalue your blog.

3. Be Adaptable

Things change in blogging and you need to be prepared for this. In the past man bloggers used black hat SEO marketing selling links on their site until Google stopped them all in their tracks. Many bloggers who relied on this to make money saw it disappear in a flash. Ayngelina spoke about how you need to diversify your income strategies for your business. Have a business plan for your blog and understand the different ways your blog can make money. If things don’t work out – “do something else.”

4. Be Fearless

Being an entrepreneur is scary, there is a lot of risk and you often don’t know how your are going to make money. You can’t act if you are afraid. You can’t take money because you want to get paid and don’t know where other money is going to come from.

Don’t be afraid to say no to things that don’t feel right for you. If it is not a great fit or not enough money then you can’t be afraid to say no. Working for free or very little money can actually discourage you or just burn you out. However, Ayngelina cautions us to be professional about when you do say no, because you may be able to rekindle that relationship in the future. Just because they can’t afford you now doesn’t mean they won’t have another opportunity in the future.

5. Be Original

You don’t have to be everything for everyone. Write about what you like and what matters to you. It is scary to narrow down your niche, but at some point you will have to make a decision about what your site is about.

Watch Angelina’s FULL presentation below then be sure to follow her on Travel Massive.

Sharon Mendelaoui is a co-organizer of Toronto Travel Massive and has been a member since 2013. She is a travel writer, and photographer based in Toronto and founder of Dream Travel Magazine, an online travel magazine dedicated to sharing dream travel destinations and experiences.