The Criteria for Being a Pro Blogger is Money?
01. Nov, 2007 
4 Comments - Leave your comment
When Bes wrote about his opinions on what makes a blogger a pro, he received some very insightful comments that I’d like to address.
First things first: the argument that making a living from blogging automatically equates one to a pro is flawed. The argument, when applied to other industries, assumes that if one makes a living doing something, one is automatically a pro.
Using the monetary logic, that makes the Walgreens clerk I interact with a professional cashier. And the maintenance people who take my trash are professional garbage collectors. Or what about those delivering the newspapers? Would they be professional publication distribution officials?
Let’s look at the word professional in a sports setting. A person playing for the National Football League is a professional football player, but may not necessarily make his entire living from football. Same goes for a professional baseball player in Major League Baseball. Would the guy making money from Triple-A baseball be a professional? Not really.
Let’s move onto the corporate world. Lawyers and doctors don’t have to have the “pro” in front of their name. However, lawyers and doctors are seen as professionals. However, what about the doctor or lawyer working pro bono and not making their living from their job? Would they be any less of a professional since they no longer make a living with their profession?
My point out of this whole argument is that just because someone makes their entire income doing something doesn’t automatically make them a pro. And blogging is no exception.
I would argue that making money “may” be one of the criteria for being a professional blogger, and I believe Bes covered his bases when he listed all of the other factors too. Bloggers that I admit to being a pro typically share some of the following traits:
- They have authority in their niche.
- They are approachable, objective, and friendly.
- They interact with other readers/bloggers.
- They exhibit a natural ability to market themselves.
- They are humble.
- They aren’t all about blogging. Blogging is the tip of the iceberg.
- And yes, some make money at blogging.
Two bloggers that I think exhibit these characteristics of the top of my head are Darren Rowse and Liz Strauss.
Conclusion: Money Alone Doesn’t Make One Professional
In conclusion, I’d like to point out that making money doesn’t make someone professional in my book. There are other factors to weigh in here.
Other RA Project Articles
Author Info
The term profession technically means an occupation that requires significant training and learned skills. Hence a doctor could be a professional, but a cashier could not.
The term professional is also used as a description of behaviour, i.e. acting as though the person were a professional, which means acting with skill and authority.
So I agree that making money does not define someone as ‘a professional’, but acting with skill and authority can constitute ‘being professional’.
Well said. Money isn’t everything!
I’m beginning to see a new definition of the word “professional” – when you’re good at something, you must be a pro.