Become a pro blogger is a real adventure. To be paid to write, to have the freedom of one’s schedule and to achieve financial independence is the hope and the dream of many people. But, becoming a full-time blogger takes patience and hard work.
Sabine and I have been professional infopreneurs since 2012. We earn a very good living with our various blogs without having a boss and working when we want. We do not regret having embarked on the creation of a profitable blog .
Blogging like a pro is fun work. It is a real pleasure to write in our opinion. Living well requires following the right strategy and executing a plan . In order to become a professional blogger, you will need to attract enough visitors and learn how to monetize your blog.
In this article, I’ll give you a step-by-step plan that will help you become a pro blogger. I hope you find these tips based on our years of experience helpful..
Table of Contents
The first steps to becoming a pro blogger
Before getting to the heart of the matter of the actions to be taken and the skills to be developed, I present to you the 3 prerequisites for success in the field of blogging.
Adopt the right mindset
It’s only natural and logical to first focus on the tools, tactics, and strategies for becoming a pro blogger. Even though these elements are essential, I can tell you after years of practice that they are not the most important.
Even if you apply the tactics and master the technical aspects, your success will be short-lived if you don’t adopt the right mindset.
Perseverance and patience are absolutely essential qualities. The results are not instantaneous. The rewards come after months of hard work. You have to mentally prepare for it.
Success takes continuous practice. At first, you are excited and enthusiastic about posting several times a week. But the more you practice this routine, the more boring and routine it becomes. It ‘s the ability to continue when it’s not motivating that makes the difference.
Here are some recommendations for cultivating the right mindset:
- Cultivate your network. Every day spend time networking with other successful bloggers and infopreneurs. Connect with people who are successful at what you want to do.
- Read and listen to success stories. Whether through books or podcasts, these stories are always motivating and help build a positive attitude.
- Take care of yourself. One of the big disadvantages of independence is not knowing when to stop. Take time away from your computer to think about something other than your work. Exercise and eat healthy.
Hone your skills
In order to become a pro blogger and make a living from your blog, you must acquire skills and constantly improve them. The key to long-lasting results is to never stop making improvements . It is an ongoing process.
First of all, you must like to write. If writing isn’t fun, you’ll probably want to quit because blogging isn’t always easy. Also, you need to research your audience to find out what they want.
You must be open-minded and accept new ideas. You should also maintain a positive attitude even when you are being criticized. Negative comments are always interesting and should help you progress.
Finally, you will have to enjoy learning new skills because digital marketing is constantly evolving.
Find your blog topic
If you want to become a pro blogger, the topic of a blog (or niche) must have economic potential .
To find your idea, you can download our PDF with the list of 30 most profitable blog topics . Ideally, it’s an area of interest that you share with your readers.
Here are some sample topics:
- Fashion
- Online software for small businesses
- The van trip
- Bodybuilding
- The ketogenic diet
- Woodworking
Choosing a blog niche is always a difficult step. Generally, beginners have lots of ideas and they are afraid of choosing the wrong one. If the theme is too broad, it will be difficult to stand out from other bloggers. If the subject is not profitable, the blog will be very hard to monetize.
The decision should be based on your experiences, interests, passions and area of expertise. We advise you to be sufficiently precise at the beginning and not to aim too wide a target.
For ideas, here is a list with 50 examples of profitable blogs .
Create your blog
It is obvious. To become a pro blogger, you have to create a blog and start adding content.
For the creation of your blog, you must follow a number of steps:
- Choose your blogging niche
- Buy a domain name
- Choose a web hosting
- Install a theme and plugins
- Create your blog design
We are not going to detail all the steps of creating a blog. If you want to know more about the steps to follow, you can read our beginner’s guide which explains how to create a blog and make money .
The skills to become a pro blogger
Acquiring the skills necessary to become a professional blogger takes time. Writing well is an important skill, but it is not enough.
A blog with stylishly written posts but almost no traffic will bring nothing. It will be a hobby and not an online business.
Here are the essential skills you will need to perfect to be a pro blogger.
Know your audience
A very important skill to acquire to become a pro blogger has nothing to do with the technical part. It’s about knowing what your readers want .
This may seem simple to do. However, it will be necessary to carry out a real investigation to know the desires, the desires and the problems of your target. It will take time.
You need to become an expert on your audience . She should have no more secrets for you. This is essential to offer attractive content and to position yourself as an authority or an expert in your field.
Your articles will have to solve the problems of your target and answer the most pressing questions of your readers.
SEO (SEO for Search Engine Optimization)
Natural referencing (or SEO for Search Engine Optimization) is an essential skill for attracting visitors to your future blog.
SEO is defined by all the techniques used to improve the positioning of a blog on search engines (Google, Lilo, Ecosia, Bing, etc.).
Above all, it’s about optimizing your content to make it easier for search engines to crawl. If your articles are well formatted, they will be more likely to appear in search results.
Search engine optimization is a skill to acquire from the launch of the blog and not two years later. It is always the first source of traffic for a blog. As a professional, your goal will be to attract qualified traffic to your blog, particularly via SEO.
Email Marketing
To become a pro blogger, you have to master email marketing . This is the pillar of success for a blog.
Building an email list and growing subscribers are crucial skills for a beginner blogger.
Even if it’s not easy at first, you will have to learn how to write and send e-mails to your subscriber list. This allows you to connect on a more personal level with your audience.
The higher your number of subscribers, the more opportunities you will have to monetize your blog and the less you will depend on search engines or social networks to generate traffic.
Methods to attract traffic
To become a pro blogger, you will have to learn how to attract qualified traffic to your blog. You will need to encourage your target audience to read your content and subscribe to your mailing list.
Writing skills are necessary but they will not be sufficient to become professional. You will need to master techniques to generate traffic.
This process takes time and requires perseverance. Traffic doesn’t flow as soon as a blog is created. You have to hang on at the start. All great successes have small beginnings.
If you search the net for how to drive traffic to your blog, you will find dozens of different tactics. Not long ago I found a list of 134 techniques for driving traffic to a site.
It’s way too much ! Especially since some tactics attract very few or no visitors. It’s a waste of time and energy to be active on all platforms at once (Search Engines, Email, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, etc.)
There is no single, universal way to drive traffic to a blog. After trying a lot of different tactics, we can just advise you on the following principles:
Post regularly on your blog
A professional blogger should publish articles regularly . The ideal is to create an editorial calendar and follow it. If you don’t post new content for a long time, your traffic will eventually drop and so will your subscriber count.
In terms of posting frequency, there is no rule. Regularity will have a huge impact on your success.
It is not always easy to publish articles regularly. But you have to stick to it in order to put all the chances on your side.
Create an email list on your blog
Attracting visits to your blog is not enough. You need to make sure your readers will come back to your site.
Email marketing is essential to retain your audience. By collecting your visitors’ email addresses with their permission , you can notify them when you post new content.
A list of subscribers is an indispensable asset. With a listing, you own your own traffic without relying on search engines or social media.
Share your content on social networks
In order to attract traffic to your blog, you can also use social networks. But you’ll have less control over your audience than with a email list. Less than 10% of your followers will see your Facebook post, less than 5% will see your tweet.
You can auto post to Facebook page, Twitter account, Instagram account, Pinterest and YouTube accounts. But it is not necessary to spend too much time on each platform at the risk of burning out.
Initially, it is best to focus on ONE social network depending on your target audience.
Contact other blogs
To grow your network, you will need to find other bloggers in your topic and interact with them . One of the ways to introduce yourself is to leave constructive and engaging comments on their blogs. Most blogs will allow you to leave a link to your site.
Building relationships with popular bloggers will help you get your name out there.
Interactions can include:
- Writing guest articles for other blogs
- Regular interaction in the comments
- Sharing articles from other blogs
The possibilities to monetize your blog
Monetization is the final step to becoming a pro blogger. It comes after creating the blog, publishing and promoting content. If the topic is profitable and the audience is sufficient , you will be well on your way to monetizing your blog.
A blog can make a lot of money. But this is not a get-rich-quick scheme. You should not expect to make money in the first week or in the first months.
There are always exceptions to the rule. But in the vast majority of cases, you have to wait at least six months before earning any semblance of income.
Building a profitable blog takes a lot of effort and persistence. But once your website starts getting consistent traffic, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to monetize it.
The first wins are always the hardest to get. But with the right strategy, they can grow very quickly. This is the magic of the snowball effect.
I still remember our first digital product sale that brought us $1.98 after weeks of hard work. These were our first wins. The amount was insignificant but very encouraging because we knew it was possible to make money with a blog .
Today, Sabine and I make a very good living from our blogs. We even created our own digital publishing company.
There are dozens of possibilities to monetize your blog. Depending on your desires and strengths, you can choose a monetization method that suits you best.
The most common ways to make money blogging are:
- Affiliation : you recommend a product or service in your articles and receive a commission on sales.
- Advertising : you place advertisements on your blog.
- The publication of sponsored articles : you publish content in exchange for remuneration.
- The sale of digital products : you sell a book, software or online training .
- The sale of services : you offer a service such as personalized coaching.
Conclusion on How to become a Pro Blogger
In all honesty, becoming a pro blogger takes a lot of commitment and persistence. But in the long run it is worth it.
You can make a very good living by becoming a professional blogger . Monthly earnings can be much higher than the average salary.
It is a challenge that is not impossible to achieve. All you need to do is follow an effective marketing strategy. A blog is simply a “digital information product” which must meet its market thanks to good positioning.
A key success factor is attracting a ready-to-spend audience. This target corresponds to a group of people with the same expectations vis-à-vis the product (your blog). You need to figure out who that target is from the start. Then you have to understand it to provide solutions to its problems.
If you enjoyed this article, check out our guide on how to start a blog .
