How to (Attempt to) Launch an Enormously Successful Blogging Career in 15 Steps
I recently decided — like much of the rest of the world, apparently — that freelance writing (specifically, blogging) would be a fantastic career path. After all, I’ve been an employed writer at nonprofit organizations for well over a decade; why not go it alone with my own Super Successful Freelancing Business?
The following are the steps I took to launch this next (undoubtedly lucrative) stage in my career.
Give them a try and let me know how they work out for you!
Step 1. Open a new entry for your blog.
Step 2. Begin typing. Erase everything you just wrote. Start anew.
Step 3. Mull over your first sentence. Is it hitting the right tone? Will it reach the appropriate audience? Is your writing funny/smart/entertaining/technical enough to sustain your readers’ interest?
Step 4. Continue mulling while scrolling through Facebook.
Step 4a. Read three news articles posted on Facebook about the atrocities of the world. Get depressed. Close the tab and make an oath to shut down your Facebook account once and for all.
Step 5. Back to your blog. Review sentence. Delete. Rewrite. Add two more sentences. Wonder if you should keep your day job.
Step 6. Open Pexels and Unsplash and pore through hundreds of photos that will make your blog colorful and engaging.
Step 7. Back to your blog. Continue writing. Hate every word emanating from your fingertips.
Step 8. Open another tab on your Internet browser. Look for inspiration. Read post after post about how to be a successful blogger. Like this one. And this one. And this one. And this one. And this one.
Step 9. While in each post, click on links that bring you to other posts. Soon find yourself falling down a rabbit hole of confusion and panic.
Step 10. Take a break from the computer. Lie down for a short nap. Dream of writing niches and SEO and landing pages and whether WordPress is more optimal than Squarespace.
Step 11. Wake in a pool of sweat.
Step 12. Head back to your computer. Check your email. Find a long list of How To’s and Lessons and Free E-books on making it in today’s freelancing world.
Step 12a. Download the e-books to read later. Forget to read them.
Step 13. Go back to your blog. Review the three sentences you’ve written. Cry.
Step 14. Shut down your Internet browser and head to the kitchen for a dinner of potato chips and humble pie.
Photo by Josh Couch on Unsplash
Step 15. Decide maybe to launch your enormously successful blogging career tomorrow.
As you can see, I’m still working at it. But I wish you the best of luck! Please comment to let me know how the tips worked for you, and feel free to add your own!
A version of this post also appears on Medium