Tips From A Prolific Problogger
By Annalyn S. Jusay (now blogging at www.annalyn.net)
Yes, it is possible to make a four figure income from blogging, and we’re talking here of US $. The following is our interview with IT consultant Noel Bautista who writes and maintains more than a dozen blogs, making him one of the most prolific Filipino probloggers around. He shares with us some precious tips on making it as a successful problogger. In a nutshell, you really have to have the passion, energy and dedication for it.
Q. Can you share with us the story on how you started blogging and how you got into writing professionally online.
A. I first started using blogs for SEO purposes (Search Engine Optimization). It was relatively easy back then to get decent rankings using a blog as a Content Management System (CMS). The real start of my problogging career was in 2005.
Last April 2005, I saw a post at yugatech.com about BlogMedia looking for bloggers. I applied for gadzooki (a gadget blog) and was accepted. Then after a week or so, I attended the iBlog Conference at UP which gave me a better understanding of problogging and its potential as a career alternative, and another source of income.
I was already earning on the internet back then but not as a problogger, but I knew the power of the internet, blogging, internet marketing, and eCommerce. I knew it well enough not to disregard the possiblity of another good source of income.
That event was probably the starting point of my problogging career, and my first attempt to get to know other bloggers and probloggers offline.
Q. How many blogs do you maintain and how tough is it blogging for a living?
A. I write for 6 blogs, namely: searchegine-weblog.com - news, commentary, tips about search engines and SEO; 2minutecommute.com - home business blog; simplythrifty.com - about personal finance, saving money, spending wisely; unpluggedliving.com - this one is about alternative energy sources such as solar energy, wind energy, all sorts of solar powered gadgets, energy conservation; onlineaswami.com - about adsense, and other ways to earn income via internet ads; and mobilitywatch.com - anything about mobile phones.
The tough part about blogging for a living and working at home is discipline. One really needs to set a block of time and spend it to do research and writing your content.
In my case, what I did was I converted one room into a home office (no TV and other distractions). The important part is I have to report to work everyday, just like a job. What’s nice is that my workplace is just a few steps away from my bedroom and dining area.
Q. In your opinion, what does it take it to be a successful problogger? What qualities should one possess?
A. To be a successful problogger, you really have to love the work. One doesn’t need to be a good writer; you just have to know how to write (and type).
Qualities of a good problogger? I believe the top quality you need to have is discipline. You have to be professional. Remember, it is still a job, and you have to meet your deadlines and other tasks expected of you.
10 things you need to become successful in problogging
1. Know your target audience
2. Find out what’s the latest buzz
3. Network with other bloggers. Establish offline relationships with other bloggers/readers.
4. Research and read a lot about your blog topic
5. Get a decent internet connection. It will help you a lot.
6. Answer the comments of your readers
7. Create a community in your blog
8. Get to know your readers
9. Learn from other bloggers and probloggers.
10. Promote your blog to everyone (friends, family, officemates, everyone you know)
Q. What’s your daily routine? In the case of your personal blog, how frequently do you post updates?
A. My normal routine is this: I wake up when I’m done sleeping (oh this feels so good), eat breakfast, then proceed to my home office and start working.
In the afternoon, I do some IT consultancy work. Then late at night, once my kid goes to sleep, I can sneak out of the bedroom and head to my home office again for work, or just to browse the internet looking for new material I can use.
As for my personal blog at http://noelbautista.com I haven’t given much time to it these past few days. I think most probloggers maintain their personal blogs much less than their other paid blogs.
Q. Being a problogger already, why do you still feel the need to write a personal blog?
A. It feels a bit awkward not to have a personal blog. I have all these blogs that I write for and then I don’t own one myself? The feeling is probably like a house contractor that doesn’t have his own house, or probably a guitar player who doesn’t own a guitar, or a photographer who doesn’t own a camera. Somehow it doesn’t feel right.
Having a personal blog also allows me to write anything and everything I want. Plus it’s nice to buy your own domain name (yourname.com).
Q. I am sure other bloggers are curious, but how does one get into the problogging market?
A. First you have to find out your interests. If you are interested in gadgets, then create your own gadget blog. You need to have an existing blog where your employers can check out examples of your blog posts. There are many free blogging platforms out there such as blogger.com
Blog employers need to be assured that you know what you are talking about, and you have enough writing skills for the task.
At first one may probably be tempted to accept any kind of blogging job even if the topic is not familiar. My suggestion is to go for only those topics that you are familiar with. It would be easier for you in the long term as you will definitely encounter some days when you can’t seem to think of anything to write about that topic.
Once you are ready, you can just search for "blogger jobs" in Google and you’ll find lots of it.
Q. Advantages/disadvantages of being a stay-at-home problogger as opposed to doing a 9 to 5 job.
A. The advantage of being able to work at home is the control of time. You can even blog during Monday to Wednesday only and take long weekends from Thursday to Sunday.
Problogging allowed me to spend time doing things I like and just weave my problogging jobs around my schedule.
The disadvantage is that you’re at home and a lot of times, you don’t feel like working. The temptation to just watch TV or plug in your favorite DVD, or just bum around is too great.
However, I believe most people would agree that being able to work from home is truly wonderful--lots of advantages really. There’s more time for my family, I’m no longer stuck in traffic during rush hours, and so on. In fact, just being able to wake up when I’m done sleeping is something that most people would wish for. I wouldn’t trade any 9-5 job for that.
Q. In your opinion, how promising is the market for Filipino probloggers?
A. I strongly believe that there is a big market for Filipino probloggers. There’s a lot of opportunity out there. One just has to start blogging and keep their eyes open for opportunity.
The Philippines has relatively good internet connections compared to some of our Asian neighbors, English is the second language for most Filipinos and labor is cheap. What more can blog employers ask for?
Q. Your plans as a blogger. Do you still see yourself blogging five, ten years from now?
A. Five to ten years from now, I may no longer be writing for a lot of blogs. I would be on the other side of the business model, running a huge blog network and employing other Filipino ProBloggers writing for blogs targeted at the Filipino audience.
In fact it is now in its early stages. You can visit chikamuna.com, gadgetmetro.com, manicmobile.com, hilarywatch.com, conquerasia.com, hoopwatch.com, hiltonbuzz.com, lindsaywatch.com, fashionempress.com, and a couple more blogs.
Apart from that, I would also be running other internet and eCommerce businesses.
(For comments and inquiries, email annalyn.jusay@gmail.com)
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