Make Money With Your Pet Blog: Treat It Like A Business
Post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess
What is one of the number one questions we hear from the bloggers in the BlogPaws Community? “How can I make money with my blog, or make money blogging?” It’s a great question and one for which there isn’t a single one-size-fits-all answer. As this November has been proclaimed, National Entrepreneur Month, we offer three ways in which you, as a pet blogger can support the month and those who are involved in entrepreneurial endeavors.
- Support pet bloggers in your community. Everyone benefits if we all work together. While there are pet bloggers out there who may be your direct competition, perhaps you can collaborate with them to help both of your pet blogs flourish. Share the successes of others and when you have a success they will be more inclined to help you tout yours.
- Mentor an up and coming blogger. Pet your super pet blogging powers to work for the good of others! Paying it forward is never a bad motto to embrace.
- Be thankful for your successes. Toward that end, take time before the end of November to look at where you started and
where you are today. If you only just started, take time to chart the trajectory of your pet blogging endeavors.
As part of National Entrepreneur Month, here are some ways you can make money with your blog:
- Treat it like a business not a hobby. If you act as though you’re simply “dabbling at blogging” it will show in your dedication to your blog and in your dedication to pursuing money-making pet blogging opportunities.
- Keep track of your income and expenses. Even if you are self hosting your site or if you designed your own logo. You should know how much your time is worth and write that down. Whether you use an excel spreadsheet or a notebook, keeping track of how much time (aka dollars) you’re spending to make a financial go of your blog, will let you know when you begin earning an income from it.
- Be accountable, whether to yourself or to an accountability partner. Working with an accountability partner may actually help you achieve your goals even more quickly. If you can’t find anyone with whom to partner then you need to hold yourself to blogging standards. These blogging accountability standards could include how often you blog, what you blog about, setting social media goals. Write down daily, weekly, monthly and yearly goals and hold yourself accountable.
- Be cognizant of your time. If you work outside of the home, you need to make your pet blogging a priority. Whether you have to get up a bit earlier, stay up a bit later or blog on the weekends, if you want to make money with your pet blog you need to prioritize it.
- You have to spend money to make money. You don’t have to dip into your retirement savings, but you need to be willing to hire someone to build your website if you don’t know how, you want to look professional and that might mean you need to pay for a logo or graphics for your site. If you want a robust website, you may want to pay for some plug ins or widgets to offer you the functionality you desire. Make an investment in yourself and your continued learning by attending networking
events, attending a pet blogging conference, signing up for continuing education classes, etc. - Goals. Goals. Goals. If you don’t have goals and don’t have a metric by which to measure your success you could be meandering along for years and be no closer to making money with your blog. If you’re determined that being a paid pet blogger is what you want to become, then you have to treat everything that goes into your blog as a business endeavor.
Pet bloggers who have great traffic to their blogs and who are active and have a following on social media sites may find themselves able to work with a pet brand as a way to make money with their blog. Being active in the BlogPaws Community and following the threads of conversations in the community as well as on the blog and our Facebook page is an ideal way to understand how to make your blog a business!
(Photo Shutterstock Dachshund on computer)
