If you aren’t a blogger or you have no interest in becoming a blogger or if your blog is really just a hobby and you aren’t interested in it becoming a ‘career’ per se, then my apologies because you’ll not find anything interesting in this post today. I promise I’ll be back with more interior related stuff for you very soon.
However, if you are a blogger and you are thinking of taking that next step or wondering how to turn your blog into something that makes you enough money to pay your bills then this one is for you. (And if you are a freelancer yourself, then I’d love to still hear from you at the end of this post!)
Why am I writing this? Well, since I went fully freelance in December, I have had a crazy amount of people asking me how they can do it too. And I’m not going to lie – freelancing is great. It affords me time to set my own schedule, go to events without having to ask for time off from my boss, I have the opportunity to work with some great brands, I set my own hours, I make every decision myself and make enough money to support myself. If I’m feeling rubbish, I can sleep a little late or if I have a lot on, I can work a long day and evening knowing it’s for my own benefit rather than someone else’s. Sometimes I’m up at 6am and sometimes I don’t get dressed until noon. Most of the time, there’s a kitty cat sleeping on my lap as I work.Β That sounds great, you’re thinking,Β Gimme a piece of that.
Here’s the thing. I’m going to be totally honest with you and I’m probably going to blow a lot of misconceptions away for you and maybe you won’t want to hear everything I have to say. But what I’m going to say is the truth – at least it’s MY TRUTH because obviously I can only tell you about my own experience. These are the things I’ve realised over the years and the things I needed to work on (and continue to work on) as I grew my blog. So here goes.
Before you can even THINK about going freelance, before you can start thinking about your blog as a career opportunity, you should already be doing these things:
Risk being different. First of all, your blog has to look good. It has to stand out. It has to be easy to navigate and simple for a reader to use. Not only that, it has to be better than a million other blogs out there all trying to say the same thing. The only way even a great blog will stand out is byΒ being different. You have to stand out for good reason. And even if you spent some money on a fancy design, if your content is a bit poor, if your images are crap, if you don’t have enough exclusive content, if your writing is filled with grammatical errors – then it’s not going to happen for you. I’m sorry to break it to you but work on your design, work on your writing style, for the love of all that is good on this earth, spell-check your posts and have a very good understanding of your own brand image. What do I mean by this? Make sure what you are saying and what your blog looks like aligns – every image you show, every discussion you have, should reinforce what you are all about. Your blog should be your brand image and when what you show on your posts doesn’t reflect what you’re all about, people will get confused, the message will get muddied. Keep it streamlined and make sure whatever you put out there is top notch and your best work and make sure it is ALWAYS a reflection of what you want people to remember about you.
Become a creator, not just a curator. There are a lot of bloggers out there that are just sharing other people’s content. And for a very long time, it was enough to curate content from elsewhere and present it to your readers. WellΒ as you’ve probably realised by now, times have changed. We’ve got Pinterest that does that for us and you better believe this meant a lot of bloggers suddenly lost their audiences. So if you are just showing other people’s pretty pictures, it’s time to up your game. You are going to have to get your own camera out. You’re going to have to shoot your own stuff. This means getting proficient enough with your camera to take great images (and no, your iPhone is probably not going to cut it in the long run). Great images lead to more people pinning and more people sharing your work. This in turn leads to more traffic. More traffic leads to brands wanting to work with you. More brands wanting to work with you means you can command more money for things like advertising and sponsored posts. Higher pricesΒ means you can start to think about quitting the day job. But it all starts with great quality, exclusive images – it’s absolutely paramount to any lifestyle blog. The internet is becoming more and more visual and you’ve got to keep up with that if you are ever going to go it on your own.
Want some tips on taking pictures? See my post here.
Lower your expectations. I’ve been writing this blog for 5 years. Two of those years were spent just trying to build up an audience, to get to know the blogging community and to figure out my own style (and blogging as a career wasn’t really a ‘thing’ at that time so it wasn’t even something I’d considered). Two more years went into projects, creative content, deciding how and what I actually wanted to do with this blog. It meant for a long time, I wasn’t really earning much at all from blogging. I spent a shitload of money paying out of my own pocket for projects and an extraordinary amount of time editing, writing and promoting with nothing in return – I did it because I loved it and that was all. You can’t go into this expecting brands to fall at your feet even if you are doing everything ‘right’ (see above). It takes time. It won’t happen overnight. This is not an easy path and you can’tΒ assume you will suddenly be ‘discovered’ out of the blue without a lot of promoting yourself – it takes dedication and hard work and total commitment. Expect to stay up late at night, to work weekends, to grow your blog with your own blood, sweat and tears, to network, to make friends, to reap the rewards eventually. But don’t think it’s going to happen the minute you publish your first, fifth or even 100th post. Most bloggers who are now supporting themselves from their blogs have been doing this for a LONG time and have done a LOT of promotion of their own blogs. Expect to put the work in.
Blog regularly. The first few years were patchy at best for my blogging schedule. Sometimes I might do 4 posts in a week, sometimes a couple weeks would go by where I’d barely blog at all. At the time, it was a hobby so I didn’t really care. Once I decided to get serious, I realised I needed to come up with a regular posting schedule that worked for me. At the moment, I post 3 times a week: Monday/Wednesday/Friday. For me, this works well. For others, they may want to post 5 times a week or 2 times a week, whatever floats your boat – just keep it regular. You won’t grow your blog if you are posting really sporadically or leaving long periods between posts. You will risk losing your audience’s attention. The more you put into your blog, the more you will get out of it. This might mean carving time out when it’s not convenient and it might mean sacrifices. The more sacrifices you make, the more time and energy you put in, the faster your growth.
Be nice to PRs, SEO and Media Agencies, Brands and other bloggers. This may seem like a no-brainer but if you are seen as being a bit ‘difficult’, people won’t want to work with you. Don’t act like a princess. Don’t slag off other bloggers. Don’t expect PRs to bend over backwards for you. Don’t command more money from companies than you are actually worth because you think you are owed it somehow (see blood, sweat, tears comment above). If your traffic is low or your social media following is low or you don’t get a lot of engagement on your posts, you won’t be able to command the same amount of money as a blogger who gets shitloads of traffic or has hundreds of thousands of social media followers. These companies are in it for what THEY get out of it. They want you to spread their message, their products, their brand to your following. If you can’t do that for them, then they will see your value as being less. Accept that you will have to start slow, accept smaller values to start with and then once your audience is big enough, you can ask for more. Be respectful and professional with everyone you come into contact with. Support your fellow bloggers. Basically, don’t be a dick.
Don’t f*ck with your audience. Here’s the thing. I love you guys. I know it may sound weird to hear that but genuinely, from the bottom of my heart, you guys are my world. Without you, I wouldn’t be able to do what I love and I’m grateful every single day that people pop by here to Swoon Worthy to hear what I’m up to. This is why I’m being so blunt on this point. If you are a blogger, don’t treat your audience like they are idiots. They are smart people, they know if you are pushing a product you don’t care about or one that doesn’t fit that brand image I spoke about above. I know it’s tempting when a company contacts you and promises you cash to promote themΒ or wants to give you things you don’t need and I know how tempting it is to accept it even if you aren’t all that crazy about it because it’s MONEY or it’s FREE. But seriously, you start doing this regularly and your readers will KNOW. And then what happens? ItΒ makes them respect your opinion less and it waters down your blog and your brand. Don’t be careless with the trust that people have in you. It will do you far more lasting harm as a blogger in the long term than a couple quidΒ or a few extra dollars in your pocket in the short term. Only work with brands you really genuinely feel you can get behind. Don’t become a blogger who will share anything even if they don’t like it. Selling out doesn’t look good on anyone, no matter what industry you’re in. Respect yourself and your audience more than that.
Keep becoming a better version of yourself. Β It is easy to look at other bloggers and get jealous when you see their success. Blogs grow at different rates and everyone has a different path. But the competition is not with other bloggers. Their success does not equate with your failure. The competition needs to be with yourself. Strive to better yourself, strive to take better pictures, to write better, to create more interesting content, to connect better with your audience.Β Just because something worked a year ago doesn’t necessarily mean it will continue to work forever. Keep evolving into the best version of yourself you can be. Listen to your audience. Keep an eye on those posts that got a lot of comments or were shared on Twitter repeatedly – those are the ones your audience liked. Decide to do more of that sort of thing because it probably means you’re good at it. Do less of the stuff where you didn’t get much engagement because maybe it didn’t work for your audience or the timing wasn’t quite right or you didn’t approach it the right way. Feedback comes in all different forms – use whatever tools you have to continue to deliver what your audience wants and create content that caters to their needs. Get better, get bigger and don’t stop evolving.
So… let’s say you are reading this thinking, ‘yep, yep, yep, I do all of that stuff so why am I not making enough?’ Well, come back next week and I’m going to share with you some of my tips for working with brands and agencies and making some cash out of all your hard work and experience.
What do you think? Are there things you feel you need to work on? Or perhaps you already are a freelancer and can add to the discussion? Are there things you had to work on before you were able to earn enough money to quit your day job? I’d love to hear from you too.
Read How to Become a Freelance Blogger Part II here.
Such a great post dear friend, and you DEF hit the nail on the head with everything. Im JUST now finding my sweet spot and im in my 3rd year of blogging. It was all hobby at first, but now im seeing the potential for it to be more. This gig is hard as hell though, and i think for me its all about being in it for the love. As a blogger i can easily detect when a fellow blogger isnt in it with their heart. It makes a huge difference. My biggest challenge is absolutely the posting schedule. I need to work on that. Its all about consistency and the transition from hobby blogger to mommas tryna feed her family has proven difficult for me. I love it though, so thats a enough to keep me motivated.
I couldn’t agree with you more – you HAVE to be in it for the love because monetary rewards come so much later that unless you have that sheer joy from blogging keeping you going, you’re going to lose steam. It just can’t be the only motivation ;) And yes, it’s so easy to tell when a blogger doesn’t love it! Mwah! xxx
@Redlilocks great post. Im just starting out and aim trying to stay true to me! Would love it if you coukd take a look at mine and give me some feedback pls x
Thank you Maxine! Good luck with your site (feedback sent – you’re doing great!) ;) xxx
Great post. I look forward to hearing more about working with brands.
Thanks Marty! Will be expanding on this soon :) xxx
Excellent post! There are so many advice posts that aren’t actually helpful, or skirt around honesty. Love it. Couldn’t have written it better myself. It is really hard work but very rewarding.
I also spend most of my working day with a dog on my lap.
Aww thanks so much Phoebe! Agree, I felt like some of this needed to be said – and yes, it’s hard but totally worth the struggle :) Yay to furry hot water bottles!! LOL! xxx
This is my first time reading Swoonworthy I am vey much new to blogging in general. As a site Swoonworthy look’s… well swoonworthy! I guess is the idea!… I was wondering if you could suggest a good place to buy theme templates? Still working on mine not sure if the free one I am currently using conveys my message.
My blog is just two weeks old so really I am a baby when it comes to blogging… I’m also trying to stick to a posting schedule. Like yourself I have chosen Monday’s Wednesday’s and Fridays lets see how it goes…
Kira x
Hi Kira, thanks so much and welcome!! I hope you stick around ;) I think you will figure out what is working for your theme and what you don’t like as you go. It would be difficult for me to suggest something without really knowing what direction you want to go as this comes with time. I changed the look of my blog probably 6 times since I started so there’s nothing wrong with trying something for a while and seeing what is and isn’t working for you. I invested in a theme (Prophoto) but obviously this was once I knew what I wanted my design to DO. So keep at it hun and best of luck – I promise you’ll figure it all out over time ;) xxx
Thanks for your response Kimberly very helpfull i’m sure I will be sticking around… subcribed to you blog but dont have the code for the 10 tips for boho chic xx
Oh no! Sorry about that (not sure what went wrong there, will look into it!) – send me an email on [email protected] and I’ll get the code to you :) xxx
Love this article! I have said this before…I love how HONEST you are! I know as I go through my blogging journey the better I get at it. Freelancing is something I definitely would love to do and something I have thought about. I agree with you, your blog has to stand out. At the moment mine does not and I am hoping in the next couple of years it will. Thanks Kimberly for ALWAYS being honest and full of personality.
Aww thanks so much Jessica – what can I say, I’m a straight talker! lol Ya know, we all have things to work on (I still do too!) and so hopefully this has helped identify where you might want to concentrate your efforts :D Best of luck hun! xxx
Thanks for the great post Kimberley, I love your blog and it’s so interesting to get some insight from someone who’s “made it”! :) I’m just starting out with mine, and I’m currently doing it just to have a creative outlet really, but I still want it to look as professional as possible. I think my content is pretty good but I know I need to work on my site to make it more polished. I know my photo’s aren’t up to much and that’s a worry for me but I just can’t justify forking out for a proper camera at the moment (I’m going straight to your photography post after this!). I know you’re really busy and you’ll probably get inundated with requests, but if you ever have a spare minute to give a little feedback to a newbiw that you’ve inspired I would LOVE a visit from you, it’s http://www.makedoanddiy.com.
Aww thanks so much for your comment Linda! I think if you are a hobby blogger, you have so much more leeway to just please yourself and do what you like/have time to do so don’t worry too much about it being ‘perfect’ ;) This is really just for those who want to make blogging a career. Of course I understand you wanting it to look as professional as possible though (I always did too!). Your projects are great! The only thing I would suggest is to not centre align your text – it makes it more difficult to read as your eye tries to find the start of each sentence and where it’s at a different spot every line – this actually ‘tires’ the eye. So it’s better to have it left justified – it’s just better ‘UX’ (User Experience in Web Language) ;) Best of luck whatever you do! xxx
Thanks a million for taking the time to have a look, I really appreciate it, and I’ll definitely do what you suggested! Of course I’d love it to become a career…some day, but I’m not deluded enough to think that I’m anywhere near that right now. I just want to get as much right as I can now, from the start, so hopefully that might be an option for me in the future ;)
Thanks again, I look forward to the next installment!
You’re very welcome and I totally understand! No time like the present, right? Good luck darling! xxx
A huge thank you for sharing your knowledge. I’m soaking it all up as I’d like to start a blog in the future. Looking forward to part 2.
Thanks so much Bruni! I’m so happy you found it helpful! xxx
I’ll be honest and say I started reading your blog recently because you like boho, and because your blog is beautiful. Having said that, I have been blogging since 2008. The currents of change have been abundant in that time. I agree with everything you wrote, and particularly that you’re not competing with other bloggers. I read somewhere the other day that it’s no longer good enough to do projects and slap them on your blog. People come back again and again due to the writer’s personality and how they engage with them. It’s the blogger, not the projects. What do you think about that statement?
Brenda
Hi Brenda, thanks so much for your comment especially as a seasoned blogger! I totally agree that there needs to be a balance between great content and a great personality. The blogs I’ve been reading for years are the ones where I feel like I ‘know’ the writer and like them. But of course, I also want to be inspired and I want to learn from the blogs I read so I think you need to have both things. I think this is why it’s so important to find your voice and to convey your personality in your posts – this is certainly what keeps readers coming back for more :) xxx
I agree that it’s about the personality. Your style is quite a bit more glamorous than mine and I hate leopard print, but I come back anyway almost every week because I like your voice. Also, you’re one of the few bloggers in the UK (that I’ve found, liked the blog of, and posts regularly), and it makes such a nice change when you say you got something in B&Q or John Lewis, because US bloggers that get everything from Target make me jealous and then grumpy. This is really helpful, I’m swithering about starting a blog – I have two ideas and I’m not sure they can be one blog but I’m sure I wouldn’t manage to update two!
This is exciting that you’re sharing your knowledge. You’re answering a bunch of questions ive had in. I totally appreciate your don’t sugarcoat it approach.. I look forward to reading more
Thanks so much Jamala! I’m a straight talker so figured it all needed to be said ;) Pleased you found it helpful! xxx
i love this post! and i especially love be a creator not a curator. :) nail, hit on head. boom.
Thanks so much Cassie! Mwah! xxx
I love this, can really relate to it. I am in the first few months of my blog and having just started im taking time to find my feet. I can barely imagine that the blog would ever lead to a career – one day maybe that would be amazing – but for now I’m just happy with the giddiness I feel when someone (who isnt my mum) comments on a post. The idea that someone else, anyone out there is actually interested in what I have to say. That’s amazing to me. Maybe one day the blog will make it and evolve into something more substantial but for now im going to keep staying up the late nights and spending my weekends planning the week’s post. Just because I love it.
Enjoy it Hannah – when your blog is new, it’s such a great time to experiment and see what feels right and what doesn’t :) And you totally have to do it for the love – I think it really comes out in your posts when you do! Best of luck hun xxx
What a great post! And you are absolutely right, it takes really hard work. I have published 41 posts now. My traffic is ok, but does anyone have tipps on how to get feedback from people who are reading my blog? xo Sophia
http://www.littlesewingmachine.blogspot.de
Hi Sophia and thank you! It’s hard to get interaction but I think asking questions at the end of your posts is always a good one – or discussing something that may seem a little controversial and asking your readers what they think to express their opinion. I also think it’s important to find your ‘blogging tribe’ – bloggers who are of a similar style/size to your own and supporting one another by leaving comments on their blog and vice versa. Comments tend to breed other comments (ie no one likes to be the first to leave a comment) so having a few people who always comment is a great way to do this and leaving comments on their blog starts that conversation/community going :) Best of luck! xxx
I totally can relate to all the points you mentioned, Kimberly. I started blogging 20 months ago and only now finding my own purpose, audience and the direction of my blog. So I guess, I’m on track! I think blogging has changed dramatically over the years and as you said creating your own content is the way to go these days which I didn’t realise at the beginning. I think one needs to go through the first year or so and experiment to work it all out. I was hearing all the advice but I wasn’t taking it until I tried everything myself and learned what worked and what didn’t. I find “finding your own voice” hard. That’s why after 6 months in I decided to blog everyday, just to practice and “find it”. I recently changed to blogging 3 times a week because I reached the stage where I think I know what I’m doing. I also made a dramatic decision last week to remove commenting from my blog because I figured mostly other bloggers comment on blogs and my audience which I want to attract are not them. Since then I noticed more shares and interaction on social media but also more email enquiries regarding my work. So if you’re just starting out, don’t worry about traffic or lack of comments. As you said well, Kimberly, working on your own style that sets you apart is the key!
Thanks so much for you insights Karolina! Interesting what you found on commenting – I have heard of other bloggers doing this as well as they found their ‘conversation’ was happening on social media rather than their own blog. It’s really about experimenting and finding what works for you :) xxx
Perfect timing, I am another baby blogger (just starting out) – thanks for the great advice! I’ve just started posting, after putting it off for ages. It’s not perfect and I am working on the design now, but I decided to jump in and refine as I go. I hope that’s not the wrong move…? Usually I’m such a perfectionist I don’t do something until I’ve agonised over it for weeks. I hope this new found wrecklessness pays off! Thanks for the great writing, I’m looking forward to the next post, as ever. Helen
Not the wrong move at all Helen! I think I’ve had about 5 different redesigns since I started blogging (maybe more, I’ve lost count! lol). It’s never something that’s really DONE per se regardless and you can always tweak as you go ;) xxx
This is so good Kimberly, I completely agree with it all. You hit the nail on the head. I just realized I have been blogging for 3 years now in June and it totally passed me by! I usually make it a point to do something on the blog and I was so busy I missed it! I wish I could support myself solely off my blog but I can’t right now. I’m definitely still in the building phase at this point. I don’t even think the first year of my blog even counts because I really wasn’t serious about it. I hope I can get it to that point and be completely freelance but it is so competitive. xo
Aww thank you darling! The thing is, I’m going to be talking about that in Part II ;) Not to spoil it but you almost can’t be totally reliant on your blog for your income… sort of. It’ll make sense I promise! lol And no, I think the first couple years I was blogging almost ‘don’t count’ for me either because it was just totally a hobby and nothing more! xxx
KIMBERLY. You literally are like writing this for me, and for seriously, hurry the hell up and publish the second post. I think I’ve told you before at how hopeless I am at making the move to contact companies and even promote myself. I am so painfully awkward. Lawd have mercy.
Everything you wrote here is ON POINT. And our stories are so similar! Minus the success on my end. Welp ;) My blog will be 5 this year too, and the first year I shared nothing but other peoples photos. It took me YEARS to get my photography game up to a reasonable level. So many mistakes. And hell yes about being me. Or, trying to. Comparison really is the death of all things and I struggle with it every damn day. But I’m learning to be kinder to myself. Through wine.
xxxxxx
Awww blog twinsies!!! And shush about the success, I know you remember! I shared my own photographs from the start but WOW they were SO. BAD. Be kind to yourself my love and DRINK MORE WINE. xxx
Great post Kimberley! I finally got around to reading it, and I am so glad I did! Looking forward to Part 2!! :)
Thank you June!! Part II coming soon… ;) xxx
Just catching up with Post I after starting with Post II… just wanted to say this has been uber helpful. Thank you! I’ve always been freelance but have taken a completely new career path after having my son. Only 5 months into blogging and learning so much along the way. Twitter is something I hated at first but i’m getting into it now, things are starting to make sense. Am giving myself a year to find my feet and then start pushing things forward towards the earning bit. Finger’s crossed.
I wonder if in a few year’s time “Blogging” will be something you can study? I wouldn’t be surprised. It’s a mega multitasking role which is partly what I love about it and I get to be creative which is the best thing ever.
Anyway – rambling now. Thanks again for the info, advice and support!x