Why Making a Career As A Blogger is More Realistic Than Ever in 2019

Today I want to talk about careers. What do YOU do for a living? What do you WISH you did for a living? Want to hear my theory? Going full time as a blogger is more possible than ever in 2019, and you don't need half a million followers to do it. 

I got to thinking about this after chatting with my friend Lily from Dallasites101. Two lovely ladies run this account, Lily and Kara. They host tons of events and are a wealth of knowledge for what to do in Dallas on any given week. Their e-mail blasts are always my go-to, not to mention they're always so helpful with promoting Adolphus events without us even asking! The reason I bring this up, is because their account is doing so great - nearly 95k followers - and even though there are two of them on the account, they're going FULL TIME with their account this year. 

I have tons of friends who have worked hard enough to have the ability to run their blog as their full-time job, Helene and Jessica are a couple who come to mind. I have countless other friends here in Dallas who run their blog AND have a few social media clients on the side, providing them more than enough money to make a great living. 

When I first started blogging, it felt like the only people who could EVER make enough money to do this full time were fashion bloggers or people who sold a product on their blog like a class on how to grow a blog or social media or photography. 

Only just a few years ago, Fashion Bloggers were the only ones making substantial money. They were not only getting campaigns left and right from big brands like Nordstrom or skin care products, they were also making a killing on Reward Style affiliate links. 

Side Note: I'm going to be completely transparent with you guys, I think I've made like $140 LIFETIME on Reward Style affiliate links. It just isn't worth my time (and boy does it take a lot of it) to link to what I'm wearing on instagram for one or two people to screenshot it and to RARELY have someone click purchase. For a while there I thought, man this is going to be my ticket to MONEY. NAW, naw it wasn't. 

Back to my point, though. NOW, now it seems ANYONE can go full time with blogging. I'd like to thank the over saturation of the market for that. Yes, I'm the first to complain that there are SO MANY BLOGGERS (read also: influencers who don't even have a blog) that it is near impossible to stand out. Because of that that, so many brands have turned their financial resources to investing in influencer marketing. 

YOU NO LONGER NEED TO BE A FASHION BLOGGER TO GO FULL TIME WITH BLOGGING. Even crazier to me, localized bloggers can now go full time, like my two friends with Dallasites101. That would have never been a possibility just two years ago, simply because BRANDS didn't yet embrace the power of influencer marketing. 

Let's take a step back to when I first began to take on sponsored blog posts. I had to go apply for them in places like social fabric. They generally had nothing to do with my brand and I just wanted some extra money. The vast majority of the campaigns centered around a grocery store or Walmart, so I'd cook something and post my recipe.

GUYS - I HATE COOKING. Like, I hate it. I don't want to cook, I only cook so I won't starve and need to eat healthy from time to time. 

I hate that I did that, but it was the only way to justify the amount of time I put into blogging back then. 

Again though, everything is totally different now. I can make money now from brand partnerships I actually care about. In the past I've worked with some of my favorites like the NFL and Rent the Runway. Brands that made me jump up and down with excitement that they wanted ME to represent them. 

Even locally, the way I make money from sponsored instagram posts rarely comes across as a blatant #AD. I partnered on Dallas Love List recently with 7-Eleven to announce their new delivery service in Dallas. In the past, my first thought would be 7-eleven, I'll be a sell out. But honestly, because it was so localized and relevant to my audience, everyone was so excited to find out they could now have beer delivered to their door. The campaign was effective for 7-eleven and ended up being excellent content that performed so well for me. 

With all of this said though, I 100% work full time as the Social Media Manager for The Adolphus in Downtown Dallas. I love love LOVE my job. I'm good at it too, I've taken The Adolphus Instagram page from 1500 followers to 14,700 followers in just over a year. 

I do NOT have a job where I can do blog stuff at work, all of my blog content is generated on my own free time after work or on the weekends. I am CONSTANTLY declining opportunities - particularly of the travel variety - due to time constraints. 

As far as going full time, I'm not currently there. I am not a hard enough worker in my free time to get there. What can I say, I love hanging with Drew and going to breweries. Also, I love The Adolphus - I got married there after all! 

I just wanted to talk about how fascinating it is how things have changed so drastically, and how many doors have been opened. People are quitting their careers - careers as lawyers and nurses - to take on their passion of building their own brand. 

2019 I think is the year that any blogger can do absolutely anything they want to work hard at. I am going to use 2019 to find out what I'm good at on this platform of mine. I started this blog six years ago and I've changed a lot as a person in six years. What can I do on here that a million other ladies aren't doing on their platforms??? 

If you can find your own unique voice, or brand, or niche that makes YOU relatable or helpful in 2019, the sky is the limit. HOW COOL IS THAT????