Blogging for bucks is not at all wrong but doing it in an unethical way is wrong. Most of the people leave there 9 to 5 jobs just for the fact that they can earn more online rather than their day job. But how far is this fact true? How many bloggers are really able to convert their blog as a source for their live hood. Earning money overnight via blogging is a myth, may be you can earn couple of dollars in a month but how to bring in those huge bucks which most of the professional bloggers brag is still a mystery for newbie. I personally have been finding ways to increase my online streams and to stabilize my earnings, in this journey I was able to meet a guy Radha Krishna who writes for many blogs, of which Techneze and 9to5blogger are what makes him stand unique apart from the crowd.
Radha Krishna, a blogger from Hyderabad, India has done his Post Graduation in Computer Science and was blogging for quite a time before he went full time. He worked for few digital marketing agencies like Zeta email solutions before he went to be a full time blogger. Radha is a certified Google Analytics professional who also does some fine SEO. He had a strategy which he applied before he left his 9 to 5 job, he kept 12 months of his salary aside as a back up and started experimenting on his blogs and was successful. Guess what today I bring him to BIG (Blog in Grace) to share his views on when is the right time for a person to kiss his 9 to 5 job good bye and start a full time blogging career. Now you will be reading words of Radha straight off from the below paragraph.
Thank You Vijesh, for inviting me to Blog in Grace, as I feel it a honour to share some happening facts and experiences one need to focus before they quit there 9 to 5 job and go for a full time blogging career.
Almost every individual who is in some or the other way related to the Blogging field would have the same goal i.e., to skip their 9 to 5 job and become a full-time blogger. However, there are several obstacles and some questions for one to consider professional blogging in India. Some of them include
• Pressure from the family side as well as relatives
• How society treats us after we leave our monthly-paying job
• Can we really earn more than what our company is offering right now?
• Will I have the same dedication to blog after I took it full-time?
• Things to take care before sending your resignation letter to the HR 😉
To be frank, I too had the same issues excluding the second one. Let’s talk about these obstacles one by one.
Pressure from the Family & Relatives:
It is obvious that you would be under pressure from your family members & relatives when you say you’re going to leave your happy paying day job and wanted to go in another direction which no one in your (their) circle attempted. So, I don’t blame them for this. It all depends on how you convince them the benefits of your new venture.
My version: I simply told them what I was going to do staying at home + showed them how much I am already making and gave them an Idea of how I could take it to the next level if I worked full-time on my blogs. Of-course, this is not easy as I said it. Do your homework before attempting this step 😉
How Society treats us if we say we’re Blogging full-time?
I strongly oppose this point because it is your family members whom you should make happy and not others. So, just ignore them as we have enough of comments to listen. Simply, tell them you’re working for Google and they pay you for the work done. Anyways it is somehow true as most of us get paid by Google through Adsense. Best way is to keep yourself calm and silent before you actually reveal anything to them. Mostly Indian’s base their online earnings via Adsense, only few professional bloggers depend on some other sources like affiliate marketing or selling their own products.
Can I earn more than what my company is paying?
This part is pretty important. If you’re planning to start from scratch after leaving your job, I don’t recommend it at all. If you’re blogging for the past 2 years or so, you would have got some idea about the pros & cons of Blogging which include
• Basic knowledge of ranking a website
• Ups and downs of Earnings
• Google algo penalties
• And much more…(hope you know most of them)
So, I would suggest you to gain some knowledge of how blogs work & the basic SEO tips after which you can think of going full-time.
Will I have the same dedication to blog after I take it full-time?
Everyone who is planning to leave their job for Blogging thinking that they can dedicate ample of time for their blogs. But in reality this won’t happen in most of the cases. There will be several disturbances like friends (outings), family works, entertainment (TV, movies) and many more which easily divert you from your work. So, prefer a separate office place instead of working from your bedroom. Treat your blogs the same way you used to treat your office work.
Read: How to turn Hindrances into a Favorable Blogging Environment
Things to take care before sending your resignation letter to the HR:
This would be the most important factor which you need to think twice before taking the decision. There are a few checklists to be taken care of before sending your resignation letter.
How much income are you getting from your blogs?
Is the income completely from a single source (say Adsense) or there are other sources of income like Affiliates, Freelancing etc…? In case you’re depending entirely on a single source of income, then think twice before taking a step forward because online income is not stable and it may either decrease or increase. Have at least two different sources of income. Currently, I am depending on 3 different sources – Advertisements, Affiliate & Shares (Online trading).
Are you earning more than your current monthly salary?
As an assumption, you should be earning at least 2x or 3x your monthly salary continuously for at least 3-4 months from your blogs in case you want to take Blogging as a full-time career.
Lastly, keep some money aside as a backup plan (just in case as a safety measure). That money will come handy in case if something worse happens. You can keep at least 6x of monthly expenses aside i.e., if your expenses are 20K per month, then you should put aside 120K-150K. Assume if unfortunately you got into any problem with your blogs and couldn’t make a single dime, then you can make use of this backup money in the meanwhile until you recover completely.
If you meet the above criteria and have a true passion towards Blogging, then it is the right time to kick your 9 to 5 job & say good bye.
Hope, I covered almost everything in detail (at least those safety measures I’ve taken). I always suggest you to think twice before you act. Happy Blogging 🙂
HI Vijesh,
Although I’m not a full time blogger but this may try to surface as time goes on depending on how blogging community treats me. Quitting our daily job for blogging is what must be properly checked and understood before any attempt like what our speaker have said, many obstacle will arise but it only takes determination and courage to listen to the voice of our heart and as well to make the family understand that we are not an idle hand which is a devil workshop but a determined person that is ready to do more than people are expecting since we are not a subject to anybody except ourself and our family at time. This really great and awesome blog motivation.
I think that in order to get to the next level you NEED to give up your full time job, if you keep your job then you will find that you don’t work as hard on your online ventures as much because you have your job check to full back on.
Am thinking twice now…Really now you make me serious Vijesh.(My elder bro have same experience:http://www.smartresidualincome.com/2012/12/)
Hi Vijesh
Thank you for introducing us to the Radha krishnan. I have heard about his blog and visited many times. 9t05blogger is a really famous blog. As you have mentioned blogging is good but it need hardwork and dedication.
Waren Buffet always says the Don’t put your eggs in one basket. This applies completely here. Blogging could be surprising sometimes. So always have a contingency plan .
I am learning new things every time I visit your blog. Have a great weekend and stay raw 🙂
Would l’ove to hear more from you
Regards 🙂
Hi Vijesh,
I believe Radha gave a great advice!
Before you quit your 9 to 5 job…make sure that you have saved 6x than what you made. Prepare for the rainy days and unexpected expenses that pops up out of the blue.
Some people do it gradually…freelancing at day while moonlighting on their blog at night. I think that’s the BEST way to do it. Plan ahead of time.
Angela
Hi, Vijesh,
Thank you to bring Radha’s view over here. It is very helpful. In India, You need to face these questions ,one cannot avoid it. Radha has given quite good suggestion over it. I am a part time blogger and want to shift it for full time. I gonna follow these suggestions. Thank You very much. Have great weekend ahead.
My opinion regarding to quit the 9 to 5 job for making a living from money made online is this:
1. In case you don’t have a family and you stay with your parents because you’re young, quit the job and get a step by step guide, after 6 months of hard work online you aren’t making $200-$300 a month than ask an expert to check what you’re doing wrong.
2. In case you’ve a family, DO NOT QUIT YOUR 9 TO 5 JOB, backup plan is a must have before doing the BIG step. I can’t add more here because things depends from family to family and spendings too.
Best regards from I. C. Daniel
Hi Vijesh,
Thanks for introducing Radha Krishna, I think important thing we have to consider is the income. Make sure that we are making at least 50% income of eight hour job from two hours blogging, that time we can see a green light other wise wait for that stage.
Always keep a separate room or arrange a home office for blogging and stick to your time.
Thanks,
Buziness Coach.
Hi Vijesh,
Thanks for the beautiful information provided. My personal view is that Earning through Blog is very difficult now a days and precisely one must has to choose the field like Exam Notification Blog, Technology Blog, Science Blog and has to work hard. If an individual id devoting 5 hours daily then he or she could turn to be a good blogger but it could be done with only Guidance of Experienced Blogger.
Regards
Siddhartha Sinha
Yes Vijesh i am imagining that , it is very hard to totally leave any job, and engaged in the race of blogging, i am happy about the thing that i have started my blog at this age when i am in college so i can plan my future priorities properly..!
Hi Amit,
Glad that you have entered blogging as you are a student but you need to learn a lot as it is not as easy as we think seeing income reports of some top bloggers. But as you said you still have time to decide your career.
Keep blogging 🙂
Hi Amit, student age is the perfect time to start Blogging as you’ll have less pressure in terms of earnings and so you can dedicate the real you 🙂 Good luck.
HI RADHA KRISHNA, This is KAPIL HEERA ,you know what i am doing job as a SEO and now i start blogging because want to earn more so can you tell me how can i increase my blog visitors as you done for 9to5blogger
THANKS & REGARDS
KAPIL HEERA
Hello Kapil, I am more into on-page optimization than off-page techniques. For 9to5, all I’ve done in terms of off-page is blog commenting (on selective blogs) and few guest posts (in niche related blogs). In my opinion, these two are more than enough for building links (in this penguin era). Except that, I’ve done nothing special in terms of getting visitor. Of-course, use don’t ignore G+.
Very well written article which every aspiring & new blogger must read.
Money is not easy to come by initially and it would be STUPID to expect hitting a gold mine.
Till you can earn enough money from your blog, no sensible person should take it up as a full time job.
Make sure you can sustain yourself for a long time from other sources of income if you are thinking of taking up blogging.
Any form of business can be a large jump and a risk from your typical ‘dead end’ job. I came straight out of school and got onto the online world with very little money just trying to make something little. Thankfully it worked out and I have not actually worked for another company as of yet. I am lucky and other people will have to work long and hard to see the same chance that I did.
These are some of the reasons why you I hate being employed since I can deliver more and get less while on my personal job am the boss and can give more and earn more. Good thought there Vijesh ~ Anetta
Hello Vijesh and Radha,
i read how you started your blogging and left your 9 to 5 job but i wish to ask that when i see your blog then i got to see that you are not updating your blog so what is reason behind this.
Hi Sushan,
The reason behind not updating the blog is due to the fact that there are few more blogs which are to be taken care of so you find a slight disturbance in the regular posting schedule…
Even Radha maintains some other micro niche blogs which is the main reason for not writing frequently, nothing more…