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Ever wonder what the heck a blogger does all day? (Yea, my mom does, too 😅) There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes of a blog. Truthfully, bloggers wear many hats as they balance all of the moving parts. While the job of a blogger can vary depending on their blog’s niche as well as their personal monetization strategy, most of us have many tasks in common. Read on to find out what running a blog entails and what a professional blogger does all day.
Content Creation & Publishing
When you imagine what a blogger does, content creation is probably the first thing on your mind. For me, at least, this is what occupies the majority of my time. Bloggers write blog posts, of course, and these posts need to be regularly evaluated, updated, and optimized for better performance. We pay a lot of attention to something called SEO—search engine optimization. In simple terms, this means making sure that our content will show up in search results on Google and on other platforms.
Bloggers also write copy across platforms, like on social media (Instagram, Facebook, etc) and for marketing campaigns (email newsletters, Pinterest, etc). Even if the same content is being presented, it needs to be adapted to each platform in terms of the style that will be received best by that community and the formatting (like the number of characters allowed!).
Taking and editing photos, producing videos, and creating graphics are all also included under the umbrella of content creation.
An editorial calendar is essential to help bloggers stay on track with our content and marketing plans. We take into consideration the best posting times to maximize engagement from our community, often scheduling content to be published automatically. Kit is an email service provider and one of the many tools I use to automate my work and keep things organized.
Content Research and Planning
Writing a blog post and creating content aren’t as simple as they seem. There is a great deal of research that goes on before and during content creation.
First and foremost, bloggers need to make sure that the topic they’re writing about is of interest. Otherwise, they’re just writing for themselves! Keyword and hashtag research helps us know what kind of information people are searching for on the internet.
As we create content, we may take notes, find sources we can link to, and verify information to boost our credibility. Depending on the subject, research can happen on-site or in our workspace.
Community Engagement
Connecting with the community is such an important part of blogging, and it’s what brings me the biggest reward. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for YOU! Responding to messages, emails, and comments across social channels can be quite time consuming, but it is invaluable for keeping community members interested and engaged.
Many members of this community contact me to ask questions or look to me for advice. Whether via email, DM, or comments, I take the time to respond to the best of my ability. This sometimes involves researching on their behalf and providing resources. Helping others is why I started my blog in the first place.
Unfortunately, not everyone loves my content as much as YOU do. It’s essential to moderate comments, filtering out any nasty ones that can be seen by the public, in order to maintain a safe and respectful environment. Occasionally, I also get direct, private messages of this unsavory sort. For my personal mental health, this sometimes means blocking people from social media channels.
Business Strategy & Accounting
Every professional blogger has a unique business strategy. What they do to monetize their blog varies depending on their streams of income. Each income stream needs to be maintained and nurtured.
For example, one of the ways that I’ve monetized my blog is through offering 1:1 consultations. Based on the type of session that my client has booked me for, I share my expertise on travel in Paris and/or answer questions about moving abroad to France. In order to find clients, I have to promote my services across platforms and create content that will draw in people who would benefit from my services.
Another way that I make money is through sponsored collaborations with businesses. I pitch brands through email, negotiate contracts (deliverables/timelines/payment), send invoices, and provide analytic data on completed marketing campaigns. Additionally, I regularly receive emails from businesses, including restaurants and PR agencies, asking me to work with them in some capacity. There is a lot of sorting to be done in order to find the serious offers!
Read More: How Do Bloggers Actually Make Money?
Many professional bloggers are self-employed, so they need to manage the accounting aspect of their business. This includes keeping track of income and expenses and setting aside money to pay taxes. In France, I’ve opted to declare my income on a quarterly basis (as opposed to monthly), and at that time, I pay my social charges at a rate of 22%. These are contributions that help fund many public programs in France like healthcare, for example. (This is not the full amount of taxes I pay, but I won’t get into more detail here!)
Professional Development
Bloggers regularly seek to improve skills and expand knowledge based on their business’s needs. There is always room to grow!
For me, blogging has been a huge learning curve. I think that my former life as a teacher prepared me for many of the challenges I’ve faced, but there are definitely areas that I’ve needed to learn more about. I’ve taken classes, attended sessions, and read extensively on optimizing blog posts, creating Pinterest graphics, making money as a blogger, leveraging Instagram and social media, etc. I would love to take a photography class to learn more about taking photos and editing.
As you can see, there is a lot of work that goes into blogging (and truly, I’ve only just scratched the surface!). Each day, I typically only concentrate on one or two aspects of blogging, as I certainly wouldn’t be able to fit all these tasks into one day.
Are you a fellow blogger or have you ever considered blogging? Is there anything from your to-do list that I missed?
