10 Lessons I Learned From Blogging Full Time

Last Updated on May 3, 2020 by ellduclos

If you are reading this then you must be interested in hearing everything I have learned from blogging full time! Let me tell you a little about me. My name is Ell and you might know me as the creator of the Boss Girl Bloggers Community, you may also recognize me from my first ever blog EllDuclos. I started my blogging journey April 2017. Since then I managed to turn my blog into my full time job and quit a job that made me miserable! You can read how I was able to do that here! 

I have officially quit my waitressing job this past January 2019. Blogging has been a huge turning point in my life. Before I started my blog I was at the lowest point of my life. I felt stuck and I hated my full time job. Going after my dream of working for myself and from home was probably the scariest but best thing I ever did for myself.

Today I wanted to share with you 10 lessons I learned from blogging full time. Hoping this helps someone who is getting ready to take that leap of faith to quit their job and become a full time blogger! So before you quit your job, read this!

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SIDE NOTE: *I am participating in Blogtober! It’s when you blog everyday in the month of October. I am doing every other day between my two blogs! So yesterday was day one on Ellduclos and then today is day 2 on Boss Girl Bloggers! I hope you will follow along!

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Disclaimer: Affiliate links are used – you can read my full disclosure here.

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10 Lessons I Learned From Blogging Full Time

 

1. Blogging full time can be draining

I can’t stress this enough. I think a lot of people underestimate the work it takes to actually make money blogging. The money doesn’t just fall into your lap, unless you are lucky. Blogging full time takes some serious hustle especially in the beginning! I talk a little bit about what a day in the life of a full time blogger is like here if you are interested.

2. The cash flow isn’t always consistent

Don’t get me wrong, it eventually can become consistent BUT in the beginning it was pretty inconsistent. I am not going to sit here and tell you I make 6 figures from my blog because I don’t. BUT, I do make 5 figures. The first few months my income was pretty up and down from blogging. Some months are better than others. Tracking my income would be pretty difficult if it wasn’t for Paypal business. Although Paypal takes a fee which annoys me, BUT they do have awesome income insights to help you track how much you are making each month. You can also compare your income to the previous months/years as well! Before I decided to quit my job to blog full time I made sure to have 2 months worth of bills saved up just in case anything took a turn for the worst. Luckily, I was okay, but it’s best to be prepared!

3. Make time for social interaction

If you are anything like me then you might start to go stir crazy after a few months of blogging full time. I find it super inspiring to switch up my work space! Whether it’s working from a coffee shop for the day or rearranging the space where I work at home. You should also make sure to make time to hang out with friends and family because working from home all day, everyday, can become extremely lonely.

4. Plan your taxes in advance

Working for yourself means you have to pay taxes and it’s not as simple as having a W2. I have to make sure to budget so that I can afford my taxes. A lot of self-employed people like to do quarterly taxes. I like to make sure I have 25% of my income put away for taxes. This helps me to make sure I am saving enough so that I am not struggling to pay my taxes. I also suggest investing in a local tax guy to help you when filing. They can usually save you the most money and help make sure you are filing legally.

5. Track your expenses

Tracking your expenses goes along with planning your taxes in advance. You can write off your business expenses come tax season which can help you save money! Some things you can write off are services you paid for, scheduling membership fees like tailwind, any ads or marketing, your blog host membership fees, these are just a few examples. This is another reason you want to invest in a tax guy because they can make sure you are writing off everything possible to save you money.

6. Set boundaries

This is something I struggle with! If I could work on my blog and business 24/7 I would. I have honestly never loved a job so much. BUT… that is so unhealthy. It is so important to set boundaries. I even set an alarm that tells me to close my computer and get off my phone. I think it’s healthy to set a time when you start working and a time when you stop working. Just like any other job. However, sometimes I had to work late hours of the night when I was first pursuing my dream. Blogging full time is a lot of work regardless of what anyone else says. It’s not easy. Make sure you are still taking care of yourself.

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7. When blogging full time it’s easy to lose yourself

I have a confession to make…when I first started pursuing my blog full time, I lost myself. My self care went right down the drain. Since I was also waitressing at the time when I first started pursuing the full time blogger dream, I had to work on my blog late hours of the night. I was working on my blog any chance I got. This also lead to me forgetting to eat. I would get so caught up in my work that I wouldn’t realize I hadn’t eaten all day until it was 7pm. I became extremely skinny. I remember my friends and family being concerned. I didn’t look healthy. You could tell I was exhausted because I would stay up late working on my blog, wake up go to work, and repeat the process. I really let myself go. If there is one thing I have learned from blogging full time it’s that it is so important to put your health, both physical and mental, first. I have tons of self care tips on my other blog!

8. Set deadlines

Blogging full time requires a lot of self discipline. It takes a self determined person to turn a blog into a full time job. I always recommend to set deadlines for yourself and stick to them as much as possible! If you want your blog to be your job, you need to treat it like one. Show up everyday, don’t take really long breaks away, give yourself the weekends off if you’d like, and meet your deadlines! Yes you are your own boss, BUT you still need to be somewhat strict with your goals. I share 5 ways to accomplish your goals here.

9. Don’t compare your blog

Comparing your blog to someone else’s can be the downfall of your blogging career. It’s so easy to read someone else’s blogging success journey and feel like your blog isn’t good enough because you aren’t making 5 or 6 figures yet. Trust me. It’s so easy to compare, BUT DON’T! Read those success stories and get inspired by them. Know that if they can do it SO CAN YOU. Plus, don’t believe everything you read. You still don’t really know if they are making all that money unless they have proof to back it up. Everyone has their own blogging success timeline. If you are self-disciplined enough and have the patience to learn and implement strategies everyday…you will get there! 

10. Scheduling tools + Pinterest strategies are game changing

I have to say, without Pinterest and Tailwind I probably wouldn’t be where I am right now. Pinterest exploded my blog traffic for me! If you haven’t heard of Tailwind it is a Pinterest scheduling tool that helped my pinning strategies be so successful! If you haven’t invested in Pinterest strategies and Tailwind you are missing out on income! I share 4 easy ways you can make money with Pinterest here. PLUS I have an affordable Pinterest course that shares how I grew my blog traffic from 5k monthly to over 80k monthly with Pinterest!

 

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I hope you found this blog post eye opening and helpful! I love blogging full time so much but these are just a few lessons I have learned since taking that leap of faith and quitting my job!