So, you love to blog, but you have one little problem: your website isn’t generating enough income to be your full-time gig just yet. Fortunately, this doesn’t lead you to a fork in the road where you have to choose between a traditional 9-to-5 or taking a chance on building your blog into your day job — you can totally do both!
All you have to do is find the right daytime position that allows you time and energy to create after work. There are plenty of bloggers who have done it before you and who continue to excel simultaneously in both an in-person and online position. You just have to make sure that the field you choose is one that’s going to allow you the time you need to pursue your passion on the side.
Need a little help figuring out what the best careers for bloggers are? Fortunately for you, we’ve done some of the legwork on that one already! Here are five of the best careers for bloggers like you.
1 | Photographer
If you keep a more visual blog — think: fashion or lifestyle journal — you probably already know how to snap a good photo. These photos keep readers coming back because, well, they’re nice to look at. And there are plenty of businesses that would love their websites and social media to have that kind of effect on visitors, too.
In order to become a photographer, you might need to invest in equipment and training in order to pick up work. However, the price could be worth the reward: you’ll find your day job is just as creatively satisfying as your blog. You could even go out on your own as an event and personal photographer and use your pre-existing blog skills to run a photo website to draw in more clients.
2 | Social Media Manager
Here’s another one where your online experience will again come in handy: social media management. With your expertise in online promotion, building a readership, etc., you could easily help a business with their social media presence, too. Use your own successes to craft the perfect cover letter for the social media job at hand. Then, tailor your skills to the business’s voice, which should be simple for a professional blogger like yourself to do!
3 | Interior Designer
The way your blog looks is important to both you and your readers: no one wants to come back and read from a site that’s uneasy on the eye. If you’ve enjoyed piecing together your blog template and making sure each post goes well with the overall design scheme, you might have an eye for design in general.
As an interior designer, you could spend your days putting together fabric swatches, flooring samples and paint samples to create the perfect space, just as you have on your website. And, because you set appointments with clients, you could easily ensure you’d have your evenings free to blog to your heart’s content.
4 | Copywriter
You clearly have honed writing skills, but you also have a voice. You’re creative, witty and you can make up your own pun-ny catchphrases at the drop of a hat. Therefore, you shouldn’t reserve your talents to your blog only. Let them make you even more money with a career in copywriting.
In order to get a copywriting job, you can create a portfolio of sample work known as “specs,” which should be similar to the kind of copywriting you envision yourself doing. As long as these samples show your creative side and stand out from the run-of-the-mill submissions, hiring managers will likely be willing to give you a chance even if you don’t have experience in the field: you know all too well that creativity can’t be taught, and so do they.
5 | Video Editor
Every blog is different—some are even based entirely in video. And, if you’re one of the many vloggers who share stories about their day-to-day lives, disclose make-up tips or teach viewers how to cook, you can transfer those skills into the professional world as a video editor.
Again, even content that’s seemingly banal can be interesting to cut, edit and meld into one long video. Depending on your skillset and the resources available at your new job, you could even be responsible for shooting the footage that you’ll eventually splice together, making your work even more creative.
Strike Your Balance
Of course, these are only a few examples of the many careers that will suit someone who’s already pursuing a creative outlet on his or her own. Every blogger is different, though, so as you look to obtain a new job, it’s important to reconsider why you blog in the first place and why it’s important to you. You’ll only be successful in both your career and your blog if you remain passionate about both, but you’ll be so fulfilled when you strike that balance.
Kate Harveston is a freelance political writer and blogger. Her work deals mainly in issues of social justice, equality and human rights. When she’s not writing, she can usually be found relaxing with a book or exploring the city. To follow her writing, you can check out her blog, Only Slightly Biased.
