Writing Online--Can it Earn you a Living?

When I think of a full time career as a writer what first comes to mind is freelancing for famous magazines, such as Runner's World. Or having a regular column in a popular newspaper. While I have always loved writing as a hobby or for therapeutic reasons, making a living as a writer seemed about as attainable as becoming a Hollywood star. That is until I started researching how some writers have made a full time income writing blogs. So I have become obsessed with finding out not only if this is possible, but how and could this work for me?

Here are the things I have discovered so far:

• You have to put in a lot of "free labor" before you can expect to get any compensation.
• You need a a back up source of income while you are putting in the days, weeks, and hours necessary to pursue your dream of a full time writing career. This is hard, because if you are like me you have to complete the 9 to 5 grind and still come home and find time to write and have time for family. Something has to be sacrificed and for me that thing is sleep. I have become a midnight writer and researcher of sorts.
• You have to make the study of keywords and search engine optimization a priority to the point where you talk about them in your sleep.
• You need to learn all you can about Google Adsense, affiliate links, and other ways to monetize your blog.
• You need to become a traffic director. It's all about getting traffic to your site and if you can't do that you are just writing for a hobby, there is nothing wrong with that if that is what you want to do, but if your dream is to make money or better I yet make a living from your writing than you survive or die from traffic or the lack thereof.

This is not an article where I tell you that I have arrived and this is what you need to do to get there. I wish it was, believe me. Rather here I am holding open the door and inviting you to travel with me on this voyage as I pursue my dream to become a full time writer. Will I ever be able to escape the 9 to 5 grind and work from home doing what I love while having more time for my family? Stay tuned, my friend and join me on this journey. At the very least we will learn together and knowledge will make us all richer, despite the financial outcome, whatever it may be. One thing can be certain and that is this: any secrets I learn along the way I will post here to share with you. So fasten your seat belt, it's going to be a wild ride and I have no idea where this will go from here.