Turning Your Blog Writing Into A Professional Career

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When most people start something like a blog, they won’t be imagining that they will be able to make a living out of it. People tend to go down this sort of route for fun, with the idea that they will have the chance to write about things they love being a good enough reason to get started. Of course, though, as time goes on and your audience grows, you will have the opportunity to start making money out of your blog. There are a few different paths you can take with this, and some of them can land you in a professional career.

News & Journalism

Becoming a journalist can be much trickier than you might expect. While you don’t need to speak perfect English for this sort of role anymore, there is a lot of competition, and this means that those who start out on their own blog can often give themselves a head start. It will be a challenge, but you need to make sure that you’re following the same strict standards that large publications will follow to ensure that people respect and value your content. It’s usually best to choose a niche topic when you’re doing this, or you may struggle to cover enough on your own.

Copywriting & Creative Writing

Writing exquisite copy and crafting intricate stories can be a lot harder than a lot of people realize. This has opened a huge market for writing services on the web, making it easy to pick up roles that will enable you to write. Of course, though, you need to make sure that you have the right skills before you can take on a role like this one. Copywriting workshops have been becoming increasingly popular over the last few years, and you can find loads of great options with a quick search around the web. This will be an incredibly satisfying role to have, while also giving you a lot of freedom.

Reviews & Opinion Pieces

Finally, as the last type of content to consider, it’s time to think about reviews and opinion pieces. Much like news and journalism, you have to be careful to make sure that the content you’re writing in this category is well-informed. You can write reviews for products and services, music and movies, and just about anything else that people have to spend money on. Writing a piece like this can be tricky, and it’s always worth spending some time reading other reviews before you get started, ensuring that you know exactly how to format your work. Of course, though, this doesn’t mean that you should copy other people.

With all of this in mind, you should be feeling ready to start making your blog into a professional career. A lot of people like the idea of making money from their blog, but it can be hard to know what sort of content to make when you’re doing this. Each of the roles above can be taken on as a professional career, but you will need to get some practice in your free time before you can get started.

Why You Need A Mentor

When you started your first serious job, did you have someone that you learned the most from? Did someone help you out in your career path, and you consistently went to them for advice? Do you still seek them out for advice?

That's your mentor.

In many different professions, mentors are an important part of what makes a business great. I had a mentor when I first decided to quit law and get serious about my life and work. My mentor talked me into pursuing my writing, and helped me with so many decisions along the way. I found my mentor's advice so useful that I still keep in contact with him today, to still ask for advice and what he thinks about certain choices I have.

He is invaluable. Priceless.

Matt Redhawk has been an entrepreneur, an executive producer, a philanthropist, and most importantly, a mentor.

Matt Redhawk has had success in multiple ventures and his main priority is to help families become self-sufficient by teaching them to live off the grid. Some great photos of people living their simple life off the grid by Parker Michels-Boyce with The Washington Post can be found by clicking here. Redhawk also wrote Drought And Dreams: Stories of Self-Reliance During America's Darkest Times, a project that came about from his studies of The Great Depression. It's great and full of information! He wants everyone to have easy access to the supplies they need to be prepared for anything. His inspiration came from his own experience of living in the mountains in Northern Idaho. The more self sufficient you become, the more confidence you have in yourself. This helps you work through any critical problems that may arise on your own.

Matt’s dedication to the preparedness movement has led to him becoming a prominent authority within the community. In recent years, he has produced several movies. His first movie, Radioflash, showed what it could be like to live and survive after a natural disaster or other disruptive event. The incredible success of this movie led to him creating Home, a brand-new short movie touching on similar subjects.

He always has his hands in numerous projects, but he's never too busy to mentor up and coming entrepreneurs and philanthropists! He is based in Salt Lake City, but does a lot of work in Northern Idaho. 

Mentors are invaluable and can help you grow as an entrepreneur and philanthropist. When you first start out in any industry, it's always nice to meet someone who knows the ropes. The resources and help you receive from your mentor are inestimable and should help you with anything that may come up for years to come. Mentorship is a great way to put your best foot forward and focus on the future of your venture.  I know I wouldn't have been able to make it without my mentor!

Who is your mentor? How did they help you? Tell me about your mentor in the comments below!

8 Ways A Writing Career Benefits Your Kids

Today, I am honored to bring you a guest post from Samara over at TinyFry! Samara Kamenecka is a Virtual Assistant specializing in SEO and writing, based in Madrid. When she’s not chained to her computer, she likes to explore the city with her boyfriend, their two kids, and their dog. You can find her blogging about everything from pregnancy tips to parenting hacks over at Tiny Fry. 

8 Ways A Writing Career Benefits Your Kids

Some people think that writing is an easy way to make a living working from home, but if it was easy everyone would do it. The truth is that making a living from writing can be challenging, but if you’re good at it, many rewards come along with writing as a career. My favorite part of being able to work from home is how it benefits my kids.

       No Daycare

Not having to pay a daycare provider is two benefits in one. First of all, daycare is not cheap, and many parents seem to work just to pay for someone else to care for their kid(s). Secondly, you know exactly who is raising your child, and you never have to worry about what the daycare provider may or may not be teaching them.

 Flexible Schedule

Having a flexible schedule is the best benefit for you and your kids. There are not many people in this world who have the flexibility to pick up and drop off their kids from school, attend mid-day school events, and still be around to have family dinner and help with homework at night. It also doesn’t force you into a panic whenever your kid has a sick day, or the daycare cancels out of nowhere.

      

Grow Together

Working as a writer takes a lot of hard work and growth which can get a bit  frustrating at times, especially when there are little ones tugging at your pant legs while you’re trying to focus. Though some days can be tough, it allows you and your kids to grow together and understand each other better. You will both probably learn lessons in patience and time management while building a stronger bond.

       They See a Role Model

A lot of kids don’t understand the importance of work because they simply don’t see it. By seeing you working to provide for your family you are setting a good example for work ethic and helping them understand an important part of life as an adult. As a work from home mom, you are also setting the example that women are an equally important part of the workforce as men.

      No Commute

Some people spend two hours or more of their day commuting to and from work. Not having to commute is a benefit for anyone who works from home, but especially parents who get to spend that extra time with their kids. It also saves money and the environment, which is yet another benefit to your children.

       Financial Contributions

Some parents decide to start writing after they have decided to stay at home. So hopefully, that income can be used in surplus to the budget to do things like save for a child’s education or enroll them in enrichment classes. The money could even be used for a vacation potentially, and since you’re a writer, you won’t have to worry about taking time off!

       A Safe and Clean Home

One of my favorite benefits of being a writing mom is that I can take a break from work to clean a room or throw in a load of laundry. Being able to care for the home while working helps keep a strong work/life balance and also keeps my home cleaner and safer for my kids to play.

      Mental Wellbeing

This is perhaps the subtlest benefit for children with work at home parents. Just knowing that there is going to be someone home to talk to when they need it offers confidence and lowers stress. Being around all the time to offer a hug for a scraped knee or an emotional bruise goes a long way in the happiness of a kid. I can’t tell you how many times my kids have come and sat by me in silence while I worked just to be around me. Being this available builds an unbreakable bond between parent and child that not every parent gets to experience.

If you are choosing to pull double duty as a parent and a writer, make sure you are prepared with everything you’ll need to keep your babies and kids safe and occupied. Writing from home benefits your kids in many ways, but it is still a job and one that can get a little tricky to balance if you’re not careful. At the end of the day, it is one of the best careers in the world to have when it comes to the perfect balance between finance and family.

Could A Hobby Turn Into Something More?

Having a hobby is a great way to spend extra time and work on skills that you already have, but sometimes a hobby can turn into something more. It can be a great way to hone your skills and make something more like turning into a career or making money from something you enjoy doing. I wanted to explore some of the options you could consider if you have a hobby or a skill in any of the areas below. 

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Writing

Many people enjoy the creative outlet that writing can offer. It may be that you have a blog inline just so that you can keep those creative juices flowing, but a lot of people like the idea of writing a book. But where do you start if you have an idea and don’t know where to go with it? This is when websites like Jericho Writers could help you get started. A blog could also be something that turns into a book or even be monetized in some way to eventually become your job. People also take their writing skills to other levels such as working on freelance projects to earn extra money alongside their day jobs. So, grab your pen, paper and a gorgeous pair of Silhouette glasses and start writing.

Being artistic

Maybe you find that you are a little artistic, perhaps enjoying drawing or being creative in art classes. It can be a great hobby to have, and it can be one of those things that are really helpful for your mindset. You can choose things like attending art classes, or putting your creativity to good use in other forms like drawing and painting at home. There is much to learn so it can actually be a real diverse hobby to have and with technology today you can even use your art skills in terms of web developments and logo branding. 

Keeping fit and healthy

Many people love to exercise and keep fit, and while it can be a great hobby, you may also find that it becomes a way of life as it can have positive impacts on your lifestyle. You have more energy, you look and feel better about yourself and this as a hobby could turn into so much more. People have gone on to create livelihoods from their health and fitness passions, perhaps starting a blog or a youtube channel sharing hints and tips, or it may even have pushed you to train as a personal trainer to help specific people. 

Photography

Finally, do you have a passion for taking pictures? Do you like to capture your family life as well as scenes and images of beauty? Photography can start off as a hobby such as learning to shoot not in automatic mode on your camera, etc. But it could turn into a job where you use this passion to capture other people's memories such as special occasions like weddings or family portraits. 

I hope that this has given you some ideas on how you can turn what was a hobby that you enjoy into something more. 

What are your hobbies? Let me know in the comments below!