Balancing a Blog and Day Job
February 15, 2015
Last week, our #createlounge topic was on how to balance a blog and day job. Full-time blogging has become the end goal for many bloggers, but what about those of us who blog for a hobby or as a side hustle?
It’s important to note that you can be a successful blogger without having quit your day job. It doesn’t have to be one or the other. You can rock both commitments if you know how to juggle blogging and working. Here are some tips to help you along the way.
It’s all in how you spend the time you have
Even though it would be great to have more than 24 hours in a day, it’s just not possible. Although you have a limited schedule with working a day job, there are things you can do to be sure the time spent on your blog is done in the most productive way possible.
Look at how you spend the hours you devote to your blog. Do you browse through other random blogs or scroll aimlessly through your social media feed? This can be majorly unproductive but we have all been guilty of this. It’s important to have an output for the time you spend on your blog. For example, turn the posts you read on other blogs into tweets to share with your audience. Then it’s valuable for you and your audience.
Tip: Define specific goals before doing any task and eliminate anything that could be a distraction. If you need to spend a half hour digging through your inbox, don’t reach for your phone to check your notifications every few minutes. If you block out an hour of time to learn from a keynote presentation posted on YouTube, don’t click on cat videos in the sidebar. Difficult, I know, but I believe your ability to stay focused.
Consistency is still important
Sure, a full-time blogger might have more time in their day to devote to content, but you still must create a consistent content schedule. Whether you post monthly, weekly, or daily, you must set the standard so your audience knows when to expect content.
A common misconception about blogging is that you have to publish content every day to be successful. It’s just not true. Your audience would rather have one great, actionable blog post a week than five “eh” posts. For me, I publish a blog post every Monday. It’s a schedule that works for me and my audience.
Tip: Look at the analytics of your blog. What days attract the most amount of traffic? What times to visitors come to read your posts? Data can be your best friend in finding when you should publish your content.
Stay committed to your audience
It doesn’t matter if you blog full-time or part-time: your audience is everything. I know part-time bloggers that have grown their blogs faster than full-time bloggers based only on how highly they value their audience.
It takes time to build a loyal community. Don’t expect to be an overnight success. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither is a dynamite following. Nurture your audience by investing time in them in any way that you can.
Tip: Rank these five things from most to least important: replying back to comments, emailing promptly, answering replies on social media, commenting on other blogs, and participating other online communities. Now when you have extra time, you’ll know where to focus your attention first.
BONUS tips from awesome part-time bloggers
Some of Wednesday night’s #createlounge participants had excellent tips on how to juggle a blog and full-time job. Here are five golden pieces of advice they had on the subject.
Emma Dahl: “Remember why you starting blogging in the first place and channel that.”
Jenna Arak: “1. Keep a running list of ideas 2. Write before work 3. Be kind to yourself”
Betsy Gettis: “Write ahead and schedule those posts out!”
Melanie Craft: “Use up every minute you can towards social media!”
Meredith Davis: “Don’t be so hard on yourself. Take breaks. Use your time wisely. Travel for inspiration.”
