Blogging for a job? (Advice needed)

ArtsieSteph · Apr 6, 2017

So it's becoming more and more apparent with my dad's chemo, the prognosis that it will probably be happening every two weeks for the foreseeable future and/or as long as he is alive, and the fact he needs constant care during and after each treatment, that I am not going to be able to have a "real" job. I hope he lives too he's 100, but so long as he has help he needs me as a caregiver at home. But I need to, want to, make some kind of money. Sadly not only from a place of wanting to help my folks while I live with them, but also that I want to have a little spending cash to be honest.

But I have heard tell of people blogging as a career??? I was thinking like Christian blog, maybe nerdy blog, plus size fashion blog??? I don't know...

ArtsieSteph · Apr 6, 2017

I had started a small couple of things like a Facebook page called "Christian safe social media" where basically I tried to show parts of the internet that are safe and fun for the nerdy Christian like myself. I never did much with it sadly.... what if I actually worked on it, and made like a real "schedule" for it?

The other things I was thinking of was a plus size fashion blog for the nerdy girl like myself. With cute jewelry, nerdy outfits, modesty, etc.

Blain · Apr 6, 2017

I also have been recommended to do blogging for a career several on this site have watched my writings and pm me personally saying that blogging would be an amazing future for me, however i don't know how it works exactly i know it takes a while to get it off the ground but i don't know the exact details on like where to do it how you begin to or when to get payed ect.

ArtsieSteph · Apr 6, 2017

I hear you can get paid either by having a PayPal "tip" button on your site, gettting paid to sponsor a website or product on your ads so that you get a commission if the buisisness gets extra orders from it, and also by having ads allowed on your site. I don't know how to do the last one though...

blue_ladybug · Apr 6, 2017

The fashion blog idea sounds like a good one to do.

Fashion is always changing, whereas there are only so many safe spaces on the internet to tell people about, before it gets repetitive..

Depleted · Apr 6, 2017

ArtsieSteph said:

Doable, but not "instant cash."

First you have to learn how to do it.

Then you have to do it at a steady pace (20-40 hours per week.)

Then you have to keep doing it.

In about 18 months from starting, (and learning doesn't count as starting, yet learning will take you roughly 6 months), you can make a profit. Give it a year or two more, and you can make a good income. Work hard and work smart, and you could make six-figures a year eventually.

Depleted · Apr 6, 2017

ArtsieSteph said:

Tipping doesn't work. (I've got a tip jar on my first site. Posted the site in 2001. Haven't received one tip since. Why pay for something you can get for free?)

I really wish I remembered the site I used to go on to learn how to make money online. I was getting there before I came up with something else. ("Write a book.") But it had webinars the last I saw. Free how-tos on YouTube.

Truth is if you want to learn, you have to be willing to do your own research. I know you need to learn "SEO" and "affiliate marketing."

If you're not into studying how to do it, you won't be into doing it either. Number one reason not many make money on blogs. It's real work!

Blain · Apr 6, 2017

I am all for blogging but to have to put in 20-40 hours and taking that long just to get it started there is no way i can do that lol

ArtsieSteph · Apr 6, 2017

Oh he means like 20-40 hours a day week like a normal job XD not like straight XDD

But that's something to think about. I would have to treat it like a job. Days off, schedule, real research. Boy...I wanna do it but I will admit my laziness makes me wince at working again.

Depleted · Apr 6, 2017

Blain said:

Why not? 168 hours in a week. The beauty of doing a blog is any 20-40 hours. Can't sleep? Work on the blog. Got half an hour to kill? Work on the blog. Waiting for the pasta to boil? Work on the blog. Eating cereal with one hand? Work on it with the other hand.

You're not just writing. Matter of fact writing is the quick part. You need to spend most of your time finding the community of people who would like such a blog and become friends.

My blog was about (big drum roll here) the lives of my stuffed animals.

I joined social media groups for stuffed animal lovers. I looked online to find other people who blogged for their stuffed animals. Found some who blogged for their pets. We enjoyed each other's work, promoted each other's blogs on our blogs, and joined in each other's ideas. (One teddy bear wanted everyone to celebrate "Talk like a Pirate Day" -- real day, just like there is a real day for Chocolate lovers, and another day for left handed people -- so everyone did a Talk Like a Pirate post that week. Spaulding did pie-crust art and we created a pie crust of a pirate. lol)

Each one of us had a link to our blogs with our signatures, so it's a great way of having fun and building community of like-minded people. Added bonus, every time we commented on a blog, we got an in-bound link to our site on a relevant site.

Inbound links organically. That's SEO stuff. That's how you optimize your blog on the search engines. (SEO = Search Engine Optimizing.)

It isn't build-it-and-they-will-come. It's find who is interested and join in the same interest with them. THAT's your audience. That's how more and more find your blog. Keep doing that, and you need to hit the 10,000 view mark. (At least it was 10,000 views back in the 2000s. Don't know what it is anymore.)

Once you get that high, then you go to companies that are connected to your interest. If Steph wants to do fashion, then she goes to which manufacturers or stores carry the fashion she likes and ask them if they'd like a banner ad or a side ad on her site. (It's cheap advertising for them, and it hits the people they want for customers.) You'd probably want to advertise related books on your site, or maybe some online communities.

One thing for sure, you have to keep working it. At least twice a week add a new post, so it's always worth coming back. Most of my posts were adventures of teddy bears with pictures. (How do you think I keep coming up with more and more pictures of my bears? I've got thousands. lol) So, since I also garden they liked to work in the garden. At Christmas time, they decorated the house and wrote their list for Santa and Sandy Paws. Give me a snowstorm, and they went out sledding. (Got a Christmas decoration that's a sled and can fit three teddies. lol) Go on a picnic, go up town, go to the library, and instant excuse to take teddies for more pictures.

Always, always being friends with others doing the same thing. That's why it's good to pick a subject you like enough that you can spend years writing about it. If you like it, you can also spend years reading similar stuff from others who like it the same amount and become friends with them.

To me it's like a gamer telling me they don't want to game for a whole 20-40 hours a week. I have to wonder then -- why are they gamers? Pick something you're passionate about and you don't need to think of it as a 9-5 job. Just keep doing it, and the money comes in... eventually. The main thing is to keep working it to have enough visiting it that it's worth it to businesses to advertise on your blog. (My main visitors came through by finding the photos of my animals. All they had to do was type "stuffed dog swimming" and my stuffed dog showed up on the early links. "Teddy bear gardening." "Teddy bear fishing." You name it, and chances are I have such a picture.)

It's one of very few business that only cost $10 to start. (You do need your own URL, and you do need to have it connect to your topic closely.) That's all you need to invest with -- $10 a year. The rest is you working it.

Depleted · Apr 6, 2017

ArtsieSteph said:

Real research definitely.

Schedules? No way, no how! Two posts a week. While you're researching it, take some time to write some posts. 100-200 words. (Pictures are good. There are free stock picture sites online, or, better yet, take your own.) No more. And stockpile them for a rainy day. If you go visit Blain for a week, and don't have time to write a new piece, take a couple out of the stockpile and post them. Most of the time you'd be doing what you're probably doing with your phone already -- finding stuff you like. When blogging you'll be looking for others who are into fashion tips too. You like looking at fashion, right? You get to do it for a living! lol Just drop a comment to the writer to let them know how much you liked what they wrote and why. Or tell a story about what happened to you connected to their article. Form a relationship. And when you have the blog just make sure you always add your URL address. Chances are good that blogger will get nosy and check you out. If not that blogger, someone else who reads that blog.

And how much time off do you need when you only have to "work" 3-4 hours a day, and most of your work is doing exactly what you like to do when you're not working.

This idea won't make you family's finances any better in the near future, but it most certainly can earn you and Blaine a comfortable lief style within a few years. It doesn't sound like either one of you are ever going to be managers, but you can do just as well out of your own home... and doing exactly what you already love doing!

ArtsieSteph · Apr 7, 2017

Hahaha I decided to make a blog called The Modest Nerd. I also am working on one called "Christian Safe Social Media" that I've had but never turned into a blog. I have literally been setting things up and posting like for 7 hours now while I care for dad.

i wanna make posts about being able to navigate the internet as a Christian (and lover of nerdy things), and also modest fashion for pus size gals.

Depleted · Apr 8, 2017

ArtsieSteph said:

Good start, but learn what "key words" mean and why you want to have them. And go admire other people's blogs, because you have something in common.

Which kind of nerdy stuff? I'm a teddy bear nerd, a writing nerd, and a marketing nerd. (snortsnort.)

ArtsieSteph · Apr 8, 2017

Mostly geek centered around video games, anime, manga, comics, cartoons, and Japanese cute things. I know what keywords are on terms of what you use to search for things, liked tagged content and the like. The reason it has been taking so long is because I also created social media content to go with it such is a Pinterest and Instagram and Twitter for the modest nerd one

ArtsieSteph · Apr 8, 2017

i'm wondering if I should instead just make a blog where I just kinda talk about my life and my art stuff and faith are part of it? Pfffff.

I think I'm putting too much on my plate without knowing what to do. I made the modest nerd one and also the christian safe social media one. Then I wondered if I should have reviews of social media things on youtube as well.

It's like....I think I need to make a plan, on paper, and have God lead my hands because I know on my own I can't really do it "right."

ArtsieSteph · Apr 8, 2017

Now adays people make blogs all about themselves, but I don't wanna do that... Is there a way for me to make a blog and it be me praising God and also being nerdy?

Hm........

Depleted · Apr 9, 2017

ArtsieSteph said:

Honestly, you being you and all, I would think the things that make you you would sell. You're an artist! You're kind of like a younger version of Joi. (Can't pronounce her full name, so can't spell it, but the woman who had an ongoing post in the Misc. section of her paintings.) You do digital art with cutesy little things on it (I'm guessing Pokemon kind of stuff, but not my world, so I'm never sure) and pictures of young love. When I was your age, it was in to have those kinds of things as posters. (Hey, don't laugh. I was your age a few years ago according to my brain. lol) Your art often includes your thoughts. Why not both?

I've got friends who decided to get into photography after retirement. They're good! Really good. (So is your artwork, btw.) They put it in contests and win. Not a lot, maybe $200, but they win. And they sell some to the sites that sell OP's digital photos to use in mags and newspapers at cheap prices. One just got excited because his photo of Belfast just made it into a huge daily publication. (Can't remember if it was like the NY Times or Time magazine, but leaning to a big newspaper.) Every time his photo is used, he gets some money. Not enough to buy a coffee, but if he has a bunch and they all keep getting used, it adds up.

One thing you can do. Another might be sell them on your site. (You'll want to thumbnail them and protect them from people just taking them, of course.)

I don't think the life of a young woman people don't know will ever bring you money. (Hey, my teddy bear stories are for free, so not like blogging for fun isn't a bad hobby. Here's my favorite post -- http://www.teddybearstories.org/search/label/Valentine) You'll have to do a lot of artwork for that to ever pan out more than pocket change, but if you learn how to do a blog on fashions, anime, manga, etc., there is a niche market for that. Just as there is a niche market for teddy bear stories.

ArtsieSteph · Apr 13, 2017

hmmmmm artwork eh? that's a good idea. I have artwork on there as it is, but it's not showcased per say. Maybe I can add a gallery! This is the page so far:

https://artsiestephlife.wordpress.com/

Fortunately there have been a lot of things about how to make your wordpress look nice, but as far as content it's still a little bare bones.

Depleted · Apr 16, 2017

ArtsieSteph said:

You will really need to learn what SEO is and why you need it. Much of it has to do with key words. Key words are what people search for with search engines. Notice the title of my blog isn't "Lynnteddybearnerd." Granted, it would fit me, but who is going to google "Lynn's teddy bears" compared to googling "teddy bears," "teddy bear stories," or "teddy bear pictures?" I bought that domain (well, rent it really, since I have to keep paying for it each year) specifically because I know more people will search for "teddy bear stories" than will search for "Lynn's teddy bears."

That's the part your missing without doing the research first. (There is so much more to it than that too.) BUT, you really can keep sprucing up your site and increasing what's in it until you learn what you're doing. And, when you get to the part where you're sold on finding the right URL name for your site, you can take what you have and have it connected to the new URL, or start from scratch -- depending on which way you want to keep going. (I've started from scratch since then, but haven't converted that to the new site yet. Want to learn more about making it about my novel first.)

AbigailZeke · Apr 19, 2017

Everything mentioned here + (since you're already using wordpress) a few good SEO plugins to get you started: Yoast SEO plugin, they're very helpful in that they provide checklists for each post to maximise your SEO ranking.

Basically, to earn by blogging, just focus on

content - that's your blog posts, could be specific, but could also be life in general, you'd be surprised how overloaded with information our generation is

SEO - how your blog shows up in search engines (google search results and stuff), try going with an SEO wordpress plugin

Social Networking! - you need people to visit your site, so yeah, you'll have to let the world know your site exists.

Blogging for a job? (Advice needed)

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