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This is my weekly installment of “writing about writing,” in which I scan the world for material to help other writers. Today I discuss why you might want to become a monkey bar blogger…
Do you want to be a full-time blogger who makes good money at the job?
Understand, this is not something you can do overnight. As successful blogger Darren Rowse puts it: “It takes time to build a profitable blog. You do not just become a Professional Blogger anymore than you just become a Professional Golfer. It is not a decision you make, it is something you work towards over time.”
In a recent post, Darren describes what he calls “monkey bar blogging.” If you want to get across the monkey bars, from one end to the other, he writes, “the safest way to do it is to grab hold of the first bar and swing to the next without letting go of the first until you have a firm grip of the second one.
“As you let go of the first, you propel yourself to the third without letting go of the second until you have a strong grip on the next one,” he adds.
With blogging, you don’t want to let go of all your supports (your full-time job with health benefits, your lucrative side hussle) until you’re certain you can actually make a go of it as a blogger. Yes, this will mean working long hours — temporarily — while you continue with your existing job(s) and also do the new blogging one.
But the sense of certainty — and security — you’ll get from this hand-over-hand system is invaluable. Here’s the rest of Darren’s story:
“There came a time when I let go of one of those part time jobs – when it became realistic that I would be able to earn enough from my blogging to make up for the loss of that income – but I did keep hold of one of the jobs. Later on I was able to relinquish the second part time job and go full time with my blogging.”
Slow and steady wins the race. Hand over hand.