Many people with a passion for the written word would love to leave their 9-5 behind and embark on a career as a full-time blogger but don’t know how.

As someone with years of blogging and marketing experience, I would like to share some of my best kept secrets with you. So, keep reading for eleven tips on how to leave your day job behind and write full time!

Find Something You are Passionate About and Start Blogging

You’ll never learn to swim if you don’t jump in the water. As obvious as that might sound, it’s the truth. If you want to write full time, you have to start somewhere. Find the place where your passion for writing and subject matter expertise intersect and get to it. I would suggest starting with a self-hosted WordPress blog. This allows you greater flexibility in terms of site design, as well as more control over ad-hosting and monetization options.

Be Consistent

Once your blog is up and running, you must be consistent. Search engines love websites that update regularly. If you only post when you feel like it, establishing your brand will take longer and your search engine traffic will suffer. Even if you’re only getting up a short post, you should be updating your site a minimum of five days a week. If you’re able to crank out multiple posts per day, even better! Once you are able to go full time, you should increase your output exponentially.

Create Content People Will Want to Read

Sure, we would all love to only write about what is interesting to us but when you’re running a website, you need to consider what will be of interest to potential readers. Balance out what you’re truly passionate about with content that is catchy and will convert readers into repeat visitors.

Brush up on Search Engine Optimization

When you are starting a new site, few things are more important than Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Making your content search engine friendly will aid you in building your audience over time. YOAST SEO is a great WordPress plugin that will help you get started. But don’t stop there. To be successful as a blogger, you need to be an expert on how SEO works and how Google, Bing, and Yahoo rank websites and what you should and shouldn’t be doing to improve your standing. One factor is the age of your site. And that’s something you don’t have much control over. But there are plenty of other factors you can control and should be aware of.

Many people with a passion for the written word would love to leave their 9-5 behind and embark on a career as a full-time blogger but don’t know how. As someone with years of blogging and marketing experience, I would like to share some of my best kept secrets with you. So, keep reading for eleven tips on how to leave your day job behind and write full time!

Find Something You are Passionate About and Start Blogging

You’ll never learn to swim if you don’t jump in the water. As obvious as that might sound, it’s the truth. If you want to write full time, you have to start somewhere. Find the place where your passion for writing and subject matter expertise intersect and get to it. I would suggest starting with a self-hosted WordPress blog. This allows you greater flexibility in terms of site design, as well as more control over ad-hosting and monetization options.

Be Consistent

Once your blog is up and running, you must be consistent. Search engines love websites that update regularly. If you only post when you feel like it, establishing your brand will take longer and your search engine traffic will suffer. Even if you’re only getting up a short post, you should be updating your site a minimum of five days a week. If you’re able to crank out multiple posts per day, even better! Once you are able to go full time, you should increase your output exponentially.

Create Content People Will Want to Read

Sure, we would all love to only write about what is interesting to us but when you’re running a website, you need to consider what will be of interest to potential readers. Balance out what you’re truly passionate about with content that is catchy and will convert readers into repeat visitors.

Brush up on Search Engine Optimization

When you are starting a new site, few things are more important than Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Making your content search engine friendly will aid you in building your audience over time. YOAST SEO is a great WordPress plugin that will help you get started. But don’t stop there. To be successful as a blogger, you need to be an expert on how SEO works and how Google, Bing, and Yahoo rank websites and what you should and shouldn’t be doing to improve your standing. One factor is the age of your site. And that’s something you don’t have much control over. But there are plenty of other factors you can control and should be aware of.

Set a Threshold for How Much You Need to Earn from Writing Before You Can Make it a Full-Time Job

Once you’ve begun to make money off of your blog, set a gross monthly target for how much you need to be consistently bringing in before you can quit your 9-5.  I say consistently because blog traffic fluctuates. It would be ill-advised to quit your day job after one highly profitable month of blogging. You want to make sure that the income you are making from your site is sustainable and enough to support your living expenses.

Start or Increase the Dollar Amount in Your Emergency Fund

If you don’t already have an emergency fund, start one today. Being self-employed makes you much more vulnerable to the unexpected. If you already have an emergency fund, you should strongly consider increasing the dollar amount you keep in it before you quit your day job.

Also See: How to Start an Emergency Fund Today! (Insert Link)

Set Money Aside for Taxes

I may sound like a broken record at this point but don’t forget to save for quarterly taxes. When you are self-employed, you are responsible for the employer portion of Social Security and Medicare, in addition to the employee portion. A good rule of thumb is to set aside at least 30% of your gross income for taxes.  When your employer isn’t making those deductions for you, it can be tempting to spend everything you are making. Don’t. The IRS doesn’t like being trifled with and they will expect payment in full when tax time rolls around. Paying in quarterly is the best way to go and it helps keep you from having to cough up a large sum in April.