Get Serious And Become A Full-time Blogger: 12 Steps

Do you want to become a full-time blogger and replace your 9-5 income with blogging money?

If so, this post is for you and you are in good hands.

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I was able to retire from my office job within less than 24 months after launching my blog. I hit 7 figures and retired my husband from his construction career as well.

It takes effort and dedication, and everyone’s timeline for success will be different.

But if you are ready to start getting serious about your blog so that you can become a full-time blogger, read on. As I’m sharing 12 tips with you today that will help speed up your journey.

How To Get Serious And Become A Full-time Blogger

10 years ago, the idea of blogging for a living was nothing but a distant dream for me. I wanted to work from home, but I didn’t even know you could become a full-time blogger back then!

And let’s be honest: Isn’t that every blogger’s dream?

To work from home, be your own boss, and do something you love for a living?

If you’re new to HerPaperRoute, you might not know that I managed to achieve this dream.

Within 2 years of launching this blog, I was earning a full-time income from it. And now 6 years in, I’m living my dream life, I’m my own boss, and I finally have the freedom I’ve wanted for years.

When I think back on all the roadblocks, bumps, and hurdles I’ve overcome, it actually makes perfect sense.

Because the thing is, I didn’t just sit around waiting for my blog and business to become successful. I worked. Hard.

I jumped over every obstacle in my way. I didn’t give up when things got tough. 

And you know what else? You can do the exact same thing! 

You can do the work to turn your blog into a profitable business, just like I have.

The secret? You need to get serious about blogging.

You need to go into it with a strategy. 

Success doesn’t come without hard work. You have to be willing to put in the hours to make things happen.

That’s what I did, and that’s what I urge you to do as well: Dream big, and keep working hard!

If you’re ready to get serious about blogging so you can go full-time, I’ve compiled a list of 12 things you should incorporate into your blogging and business routine a.s.a.p.

12 ways to get serious about blogging

Before we dive into these tips, are you a member of HerPaperRoute yet?

It’s our FREE membership for bloggers where you get a weekly motivational love letter from me, and a toolkit packed with resources to help you become a successful full-time blogger.

1. Have a consistent posting schedule

In the early days of blogging, bloggers used to publish a new article on the same day, at the same time every week.

Back then, blog readers would come to expect a new article and they would be anticipating it coming out. So posting on a consistent schedule was important.

Well, times have changed.

No one is sitting on a website anxiously waiting for a new article anymore!

People are busy, and if they are online, they are on social media randomly scrolling for content these days.

There is no longer any pressure to meet reader demands or feel guilty at the risk of disappointing your readers if you miss a day.

So, publishing a blog post at a specific time/day is no longer relevant for the reader’s convenience, but publishing on a consistent schedule is still important for you, the website owner.

This is because having a consistent posting schedule helps you hold yourself accountable.

I like to publish at least 4 articles a week, and I do it for the purpose of:

• sending signals to Google that my site is active with fresh content
• increasing my domain authority
• keeping my writing skills honed
• giving people more things to click on and read here when they arrive from SERPs and social media

When you know you need to get your posts ready to go live on that day, it’s a lot easier to plan your routine.

Speaking of consistency, you should also be posting on your blog at least once a week when you’re relatively new – and that’s at the very minimum!

Once or twice a month isn’t enough.

You need to be posting new, original content on your blog at least once a week until you’ve built up an archive of relevant, valuable, core content that your readers can explore and refer back to.

2. Invest in social media scheduling tools

There are a lot of amazing free tools I’ve used to grow my blog.

However, when it comes to Pinterest (a premier source of social media traffic), I’m not afraid to splash out a bit of cash. My current scheduling tool for Pinterest is Tailwind.

It’s affordable, easy to use, and has been a huge help in growing my account, expanding my reach, and making more sales.

The last thing you want to be doing is sitting around every day waiting to share your content on Pinterest.

That’s where a scheduler comes in handy!

Take a look at all of the tools I use to run my 7-figure blog.

3. Hire a coach / mentor

A good coach will do so many amazing things for you, including:

• Sharing tips, advice, and wisdom to help you grow
• Keeping you motivated and on track
• Helping you speed up your blog and business processes
• Creating a step-by-step game plan for success

This is hands-down one of the best investments you can make in yourself, your business, and your growth.

Find a coach you really connect with and look up to, and reach out to them about working together 1:1.

If you are curious about working with me, I offer 3 types of mentorship:

• 1:1 in-person VIP days where I fly to you
• Hybrid virtual 1:1 and group programs
• Self-study courses

4. Cut out time-zapping activities

When you’re blogging while working a full-time job, you don’t have a lot of time to waste.

With that being said, I’d be willing to bet there are a few (unnecessary) blogging-related activities eating up a ton of your time without you even realizing it. 

For example…

• Scrolling through your Facebook or Instagram feed
• Commenting on other people’s blogs
• Tinkering with your theme design trying to get it “perfect”

These activities might be fun, but if you’re ready to get serious about blogging, you need to cut back on them to make room for more important activities. 

Try tracking the time you spend on each task for the next week.

Next, figure out which activities are eating up the majority of your time without creating results in your business, and make a game plan to reduce or eliminate them.

5. Automate what you can’t eliminate

If there’s a task that’s eating up a lot of your time but it’s a task that’s directly related to your blog’s success, look into automating it.

I’m a huge fan of automation. Anything I can automate, I will.

Here are a few things you can automate:

• Scheduling social media posts with a tool like Tailwind
• Evergreen recycling of posts using this
• Using IFTT to share new posts across multiple platforms
• Lead magnet nurture sequences and sales funnels

You could also look into hiring a Virtual Assistant to help you with the blog-related tasks that don’t necessarily require your personal touch. For example:

• Formatting your blog posts
• Filling up your Twitter scheduler
• Answering emails with standard, stock responses

Outsourcing these tasks allows you to focus on the things that are most essential for your growth, success, and income.

6. Invest in your blog’s design

The design of your website is the first impression people have of you and your business, and it forms from the minute they land on your homepage.

Don’t skimp on your design! 

Whether it’s time or money you’ll be investing for this step, I promise it’ll be worth it.

There are a ton of gorgeous website themes you can choose from.

However, if you’re really struggling, I suggest working with a professional designer.

A designer will put your website light years ahead of where it is now, which will only benefit you in the long run.

7. have consistent visual branding

Consistency is what makes you memorable and recognizable online.

Notice how you see the same colors and fonts repeated over and over again on my website?

That’s not by accident!

Those fonts and colors are part of my style guide, and they’re the only fonts and colors I use.

Your readers will come to recognize you by your fonts and colors.

8. Join or create a Mastermind group

When you want to turn your blog into a full-time business, you need to surround yourself with people who will fuel, motivate, and inspire you.

Joining a Mastermind group for bloggers is an amazing way to connect with like-minded bloggers who’ll help you grow.

Masterminds can include meeting up on Zoom, chatting in a private Facebook group, or even meeting up in person.

Use your time together to ask questions and get feedback, bounce ideas off each other, and see what you can do to support your fellow masterminders. In return, they’ll do the same for you!

9. Create and grow an email list

I’ve talked about the importance of email lists many times before, but it’s so important that I’m going to mention it again.

If you want to turn your blog into a sustainable source of income, you need to have an email list and you need to use it effectively. 

I could talk about email lists for days, so instead I’ll leave with you some of my best resources on the topic. Read through and explore these posts over the next few days.

10. create a Business Plan for your blog.

Why do Business Plans work so well for bloggers?

Because having a game plan for how you’ll grow and make money from your blog will be a huge factor in your success (or lack of success). 

Not only does a good Business Plan outline a step-by-step plan for your blog’s growth, but it’ll also help you decide on the things you won’t be spending your time on, which is just as important.

As busy ladies, we have limited time to work on our blogs, so we need to make sure every single minute is well-spent.

Read this post to learn how to start thinking about your blog as a business.

11. Invest in online courses

For such a long time, I steered clear of blogging courses and ebooks.

I was convinced that I could learn absolutely everything on my own. But you know what? I was dead wrong.

It wasn’t until I started investing in my learning that things really took off.

I’ve taken hundreds of blogging-related courses to date, and I’ve learned a ton from each and every one of them.

Online courses will save you months of trying to “figure it all out” on your own and getting nowhere.

Plus, when you invest in a course you have more skin in the game.

When you invest money in yourself, your training, and your business, you’re more willing to put in the extra work to make it successful.

12. Use the Pomodoro Technique to maximize your productivity

Have you heard of the Pomodoro Technique before?

Maybe you’ve heard that many of the “big” bloggers use it to manage their time.

Or maybe you’re sitting there thinking, “Wait, the Poma-what-now?” 

Don’t worry, it’s actually really simple.

The Pomodoro Technique is a way of managing your time that involves 25 minutes of high-intensity work followed by a 5-minute break, which you repeat over and over again. 

Think of the Pomodoro Technique as like the High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) you do at the gym: bursts of high-intensity exercise followed by brief breaks where you catch your breath.

And we all know that HIIT workouts are amazing for our fitness, right? 

The Pomodoro Technique is amazing for productivity.

This technique forces you to work quickly as you “race against the clock”, and then gives you a few minutes to relax and recharge before moving on to your next burst of activity. 

Want to try out the Pomodoro Technique? Here’s my favorite Pomodoro timer.

Get Serious And Become A Full-time Blogger – Conclusion

So there you have it! 12 ways to get serious about blogging so you can turn your blog into a business and become a full-time blogger. 

You don’t have to jump on every single one of these 12 items right away.

Instead, choose a few to focus on this week, and then a few more to work on the following week, and so on until you’ve crossed everything off the list.

Which of these 12 things will you use to become a fulltime blogger?

Do you already do some of these things for your blog? Let me know!  

Make sure you have joined our FREE membership for bloggers to get a toolkit packed with resources to help you become a successful full-time blogger.

Read this next: My Daily Blogging Routine Step-By-Step

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