What does being a professional blogger look like? What makes a blogger a professional blogger? Can you make money while blogging? How do you even start a professional blog? These are just some questions I get daily, and they’re all legitimate questions.
I’ve done a few blog posts in the past (linked way down at the bottom of this post), but today I wanted to break down what I do.
A couple of weeks ago, (or maybe it was last week) I shared a post on how to manage your time, and I mentioned my business. I was surprised that there were several of you that asked me what my business was. So to break it down, today I wanted to give you a small glimpse of what it looks like to run Uptown with Elly Brown.
The easiest way that I can break down what I do without overwhelming you with too much information is to break it down in a list. Let’s see how it goes…
- Manage the backend of Uptown with Elly Brown.
- Update plugins, make sure everything is working smoothly, that links are working, and there are no issues. Issues can potentially hinder my site ranking on Google, which is no good.
- Create an editorial calendar.
- This is ever evolving and changing, but my editorial calendar (where I plan future posts, shoots, brand collaborations) are planned out a month in advance. My editorial calendar is based off trends, seasons, and again brand collaborations. Think Back to School season, Holidays, sales, Easter… the list goes on.
- Shoot and edit pictures/videos.
- My husband is the man behind the camera for me, but I edit all my pictures. I shoot once a week and usually, we shoot three looks (or posts) each time. I thankfully found Ginsa, who is also a boss babe herself and runs an editing company, she edits my videos for me. Editing videos for me took about 4 hours PER video; I had to get smart here and hire out and use my time wisely. I never looked back too!
- Manage social media.
- Instagram alone is full time, between stories, posting, responding to everyone- that alone will keep you busy! Imagine adding Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest to that ?. I thankfully have help in this area too; I hire out a few girls to help me with social media as far as planning posts and to keep things moving for me!
- Research. ALLLL the research!
- Part of being a professional blogger is being able to share products with you, the new and latest of everything. I can’t do that unless I know what I am actually talking about.
- Manage brand contracts and campaigns.
- One of the ways I keep Uptown running is by securing brand sponsorships, and that means I will work with brands to share their products, or about the brand itself. Note- I also make an income by affiliate links or ads. Affiliate links are when you purchase something by clicking on a link that I share either here on the site, or on social media. I also have a brand manager that secures collaborations and writes out contracts for me to make sure everything is legit.
- Last but not least, blog posts.
- One blog post can take from 3 to 4 hours. Between shooting, editing, research, typing, adding links, SEO, and making sure everything else is good, it’ll be 3 hours in the making. The other thing about writing a blog post is being creative with your posts. Thinking outside the box, being unique, creating something true to the brand, something that my readers like- those are all things I need to think about.
There are a lot of different things that also comes up, and needs to be taken care, but this is the base of what I do. You also have events to attend to, meetings and phone calls, and occasional travel. Every day is different, and the more you grow, the more there is to do.
If you want to be a professional blogger, here is THE BIGGEST TIP I have- get help. I started off doing this all by myself; I didn’t have a brand manager, someone to help me with social media, or even Chloé Digital (they are the ladies AND MEN that help me with the technical and the projectile growth of this blog, like where I want to be ten years from now).
Five years in, I need all the help and support I can get. I run a business and manage a small brand. I pay taxes as a small business, my blog name is trademarked, and I LOVE what I get to do! I’ve also learned A LOT about my self. I’ve grown so much, and I’ve TBH- I am so proud of this small space.
I’ll close off with this- THANK YOU, thank you to those who read every blog post, who buy from my affiliate links, and who support Uptown. It’s because of you that I also get to support others and their business and their dreams (like Ginsa), along with keeping Uptown up and running. I could not do this without you!
Thank you so much for stopping by, have a great day!
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Thank you for this post! It’s always nice to see the behind-the-scenes of a fellow blogger. Love your work, Elly. Keep it up! ❤️✨
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com