Define: The Professional Christian Blogger
Are you a blogger? Probably. Are you a professional blogger? Perhaps, but not likely. Are you a Professional Christian Blogger? … uh… what?
I’ve been rolling this idea around in my head for a while and instead of trying to wrestle it alone and by myself I thought it would be wise (and interesting) to see what other people thought. And, of course, I’ll share my opinion too.
What exactly does a “professional” Christian blogger look like? What does that actually mean?
For instance, I consider a secular/non-christian blogger “professional” when they are making an income from their blogging intentionally. We all know of hundreds of professional bloggers who do this, many whom are in our RSS Readers.
But, I have to clarify that with two things: First, the amount of money that these bloggers make has to be substantial; meaning, they have to make more than a few cents from Google Ads, and second, blogging has to be a primary vocation for the person (or in other words, their “profession”).
So, a professional blogger, in my humble opinion, is someone who’s primary vocation and profession is blogging and where they make a substantial financial living through it.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that they don’t have other jobs; it’s just that their primary job is blogging (we’re all bi-vocational to some degree anyways).
Now, with that behind us, this would mean that a professional christian blogger is someone who, again by definition, is a Christ-follower who’s primary vocation and profession is blogging and where they make a substantial financial living through it.
Makes sense, right? Now, here’s the kicker: How many professional Christian bloggers do you know?
Honestly, I’m not sure I’m familiar with anyone except, perhaps, Darren Rowse from ProBlogger.net. But, he’d never call himself, at least explicitly, a Professional Christian Blogger; he’s just a Professional Blogger (duh).
So, if we drop Darren, are there any explicitly Christian bloggers who are all-pro?
Some would call me a all-pro blogger. But, according to my definition I’m not one since blogging is not my primary vocation and I do not make a substantial financial living through it.
There are definitely a few bloggers out there that make some more than pocket change, like Carlos Whittaker, Tony Morgan, Kent Shaffer, they guys over at Church Marketing, and Michael Hyatt, but even for them blogging isn’t their primary vocation and profession; it’s an extension of what they do currently and it’s what makes them bi-vocational.
I mean, even Anne Jackson, who mentioned that she’d never take advertising now, in fact, accepts advertising.
Busted?
As one comment stated: “Whatever floats your boat.” And to that, I agree.
And, at least Ben Arment is standing strong in his convictions, and still refuses to advertise.
But what’s my point?
It’s this: Does my definition mean that these guys aren’t “professional” bloggers? I mean, they do in fact have some of the largest subscriber counts, 5-digit follower counts on Twitter, and more, right?
Yes, it does mean just that. It means that they are not professional bloggers.
But, some of them definitely could be if they wanted to be. My guess is that they have interests that are far greater than blogging alone. In fact, I know it for sure. Blogging for all of them are a way of communicating a message to their respective communities and audience.
And, they all have full time jobs (or at least the semblance of “full time” jobs, like “authors,” “speakers,” “musicians,” etc).
So, what’s your take? Will we ever truly see a “pure” Professional Christian Blogger (according to my definition)? Will you be the first? Does anyone really care? Does it even matter?
Let’s hear it.
Buzz it!
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31 Responses to “Define: The Professional Christian Blogger”
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Giveaway: 2 Tickets to Catalyst One Day 
Yep. busted. Hyatt talked me into it.
I actually don't make a "substantial" living from blog ads. maybe a couple hundred bucks a month or so.
and i don't have a full time job (i guess i am a full time author?)
i mainly make my bill paying by speaking and book writing.
but really, my husband and i cut our budget into about a half..or even a third…of what it was so we could afford for me to write full time.
because that is what i am supposed to do.
and money shouldn't get in the way of that.
(my yearly taxable income on my tax return will be about the poverty line this year)
the ads…they help me pay for health insurance now that i dont have a "normal" job
Interesting idea,
Can you not just be a professional blogger who is not ashamed to be a Christian?
It does seem that being a recognized and respected blogger leads to other opportunities
opportunities that lead the blogger to be more recognized and respected.
vicious circle I say
I do think; just as a pastor can be a 'professional' – so can a Christian Blogger don't you think,
thru ads, donations, services, books, ebooks, membership – whatever
hmmm
eh, you know i love you!
and yes, i think the world would call you an \”author\” (which is a most excellent thing!). And blogging is an extension of that. And, you just love to do it. I mean, that goes for something, right?
love it. thanks for putting your thoughts here.
oh sure. of course!
i think there are a lot of bloggers out there who are very successful but who wouldn't call themselves \”christian probloggers\”. And, that's fine! there's nothing wrong with that. I think that's good for the world and this economy.
my question, rather, is whether or not there will be a rise of \”explicitly\” christian probloggers… and what does that look like?
Anything is possible, and it’s not unimaginable for a professional Christian blogger to come onto the scene. There are quite a number of businesses (i.e. money making ventures), even industries, that exist to serve the Christian population.
I have a similar blogging stance as Ben Arment, though I’ve not gone on record with it, in that I will not have any ads on my blog. (exception noted for web pages on my personal website, which do have Google ads, ahem)
When I hear the word "professional," I first think of its context and definition of earning money as a career for livelihood.
But when it comes to blogging, particularly in the church blogs niche, I think professional bloggers are measured by the other common definition of "professional" – engaging in a profession and conforming to its technical and ethical standards.
I measure the professionalism of a blogger in two ways:
(1) How consistently do they blog good content.
(2) How much attention and influence have they earned.
Good content builds large audiences which attracts advertisers. However, in the world of mission-oriented church blogging, some professional bloggers would rather not have ads.
thanks for the post. in regard to what kent says below, i hope to keep it professional in manner, but also inline with me. i am going to be a professional anne jackson. how's that?
Now there's a professional position that nobody can ever aspire to… haha. A little elitist don't you think? That said… I'm going to be a "professional Graham Brenna"!
love the thoughts here. i agree that there probably is going to be a sliding scale in terms of the definition… and no definition is probably perfect nor complete.
i'm working with what I consider the \”classical\” definition of \”problogger,\” which was the \”Wow!!! YOU MAKE MONEY VIA BLOGGING?!?!?! WOW!!!!!1111111111\”
thanks kent.
love it. that's some branding advice right there.
This is a very interesting conversation and I will let the "professionals" weigh in with their opinion.
Interested to see what they have to say
I guess it all comes back to content?
If you have good content people will want to read?
I wish that were true.
Ultimately it is; for the blogger who calls him/herself professional Content is what makes the blog look good,
but in truth the community that engages with the content is why the blog ( and hence the blogger) does well.
Just like Chris Brogan's post on Content is not King (Relationships are).
The Professional Blogger is the blogger who earns his/her keep from the Community.
what came first for you Anne, blogging viewers and a platform from your blog, or your book which in turn led to getting more blog readers?
Hope that made sense?
love it. this, my friend, is a blog post. thanks.
I'm a professional blogger in the sense that my livelihood – from conferences to writing columns to books to job offers – comes indirectly from blogging.
But woe to any of us for making a living directly from social media. That's like Paris Hilton getting paid for being Paris Hilton. ugh.
But some people have….and have done it well. Pioneer Woman for example. Dooce.
I see it as all arms of me. My books are me, my blogs are me, my speaking events are me. I get paid to do those things. God's gifted me as a communicator. I'll never exploit any of my platforms, but when there are organizations I align with who want to share their brand with my readers because it makes sense…why not?
Think of my blog as a conference and the ads as the exhibitors…different…how?
Very interesting conversation.
I've recently started blogging and have never considered ads – I simply want to help/teach those who are in ministry more about creativity/communications.
I think at the core that is what most Christian bloggers want to do too. It seems to me those who have large traffic have the opportunity to advertise so why not take it. Most of the Ad's I see are for parachurch organisations or firms that service the church "market" which are run by those who are actually passionate about the cause of the local church anyway.
Unlike Anne I receive a regular income from a full time paid position. Anne – I totally "get" the reason why you advertise.
Human3rror, The irony in this post is that I read it first in my RSS reader in outlook and your post finished… with… well… an ad… even if it the ad spot hadn't been filled – it made me chuckle that belly chuckle that happens from time to time. Thanks.
stevefogg.typepad.com
there is definitely some irony there.
Thanks for defining this John… but in my humble opinion, who cares what anyone
thinks on the issue of advertising? I don't understand why people slam it? Ministry
is tough enough… and some of us might be able to supplement our income (ie: like
Anne Jackson) through these means. Sheesh!
–Terrace Crawford
http://www.terracecrawford.com
http://www.twitter.com/terracecrawford
I *could* do blogging professionally with Mobile Mnistry Magazine; however, I cannot do that. Blogging would leave me more on the reporting side of things, rather than having the current dual role of applying and reporting on mobile ministry trends.
Don't get me wrong though, I've been thinking very hard about doing MMM full-time. But even then, it would not look like professional blogging. It would be more professional consulting, where blogging is the means to talk more loosly about the application of mobile at the intersection of it and faith.
love how we want to paste our Christian label on stuff …i don't have any ads on my new site, but it's not about the traffic anymore, it's about the select few who read and those have turned into important relationships for me. at the moment, i am processing the advertising thing, but i honestly don't want another piece to manage.
you don't have to if you've got a good system in place.
word up.