What Is a Blog Writer and How to Become One

By ZipRecruiter Marketplace Research Team

A blog writer is a writer who creates online content for their personal website or contributes content for an online newspaper or existing blog. Bloggers can write about any topic, but some of the most popular include fashion, gardening, tech, health care, news, and real estate. Your duties depend on whether you are writing for yourself or part of a larger organization. If you blog on a personal website, you have to come up with new content and blog titles that help you develop a following. You also use social media or email marketing campaigns to build interest in your work. If you work for a larger organization, you may have more strict deadlines and other obligations. While quality content must come first, many blog writers use search engine optimization (SEO) to increase traffic to their posts.

The most important step to becoming a blog writer is to simply start writing. This can be a personal blog, or you can find entry-level freelancing work. There are no universal qualifications to become a blog writer. Many bloggers have a degree in journalism or creative writing, but no education is needed to start a blog. To write for an established online property, you need a portfolio that demonstrates your skills. Some bloggers also have experience in the field in which they write about, using their background to make their writing more compelling or authoritative. Building a following around your own blog requires marketing and basic business management skills as well.

To be a good blog writer, you need to write for the audience you have. That means paying special attention to the types of content or posts to which your readers react strongly or promote on their own social media channels. You also need to read and research extensively so each blog post will have compelling, original content that has potential to go viral. You must pay close attention to detail because any mistakes, whether they are proofreading, editorial, or factual, are your responsibility. Learning web writing practices like SEO can significantly improve your success as a blog writer.

There are several ways that bloggers make money. If you work for an established company, your employer pays you per article or per hour. If you write for your own website, you can make money by selling ad space or by using a service like Patreon. Patreon is a site through which your readers can donate money to your writing. Especially if you run a niche blog with a small but loyal following, this can often be more profitable than generically populated ad space, as the price per click is usually low. Once you have gained a following, your ads can garner you more income, and you can establish sponsorships with companies directly. Some blog writers also make money through affiliate programs, in which they advertise a product on their blog, and if readers buy it through the special link, the writer will receive a percentage of the sale.