How do Bloggers Continue Their Professional Development?

I have a confession to make: I was a bit of a geek at school. I was the kid who asked questions all the time. What can I say? I loved learning.

And I still do. Every part of the process is exciting for me – learning new things, meeting new people, and being inspired. So imagine how excited I was when I left school and discovered my employers would actually pay me to learn. ‘Professional Development’ quickly became my two favourite words.

Unfortunately, being paid to attend conferences and stay in nice hotels so I could learn and network ended when I left the corporate world. And who pays for your professional development when you’re a blogger? That’s right – you.

Working for yourself means there’s no training and development are who’ll pay to keep your skills up to date. But because I value it so much, I’ve kept investing in my own professional development since going solo. And in this blog post I’m going to share some of the learning opportunities the ProBlogger team and I recommend.

Blogging Courses and Resources

Of course, a big part of what we do here at ProBlogger is provide access to free and affordable content to help you with your blogging. ProBlogger has more than 8,000 free blog posts and a full curriculum of 9 courses covering everything from Starting a Blog to Creating Content, Finding Readers, Building Community and Making Money blogging. We’ve also got a collection of useful resources available in our ProBlogger PLUS Member’s Library (free to join if you’re not already a member).

However, we are the first to acknowledge and embrace the fact that you can’t be an expert at everything and that within the world of blogging there’s so many different people with their own remarkable zones of genius. That’s why at ProBlogger, we love the Genius Blogger’s Toolkit, which is a collaborative bunlde of resources from some of the most knowledgable blogging experts.

The Genius Blogger’s Toolkit

ProBlogger has contributed to (and been an affiliate for) The Genius Blogger’s Toolkit for years because it represents such amazing value and provides a really accessible way for bloggers to continue to develop professionally.

The team at Ultimate Bundles has put together the best resources on all the topics that matter to bloggers – mastering social media, monetization, creating and selling products, time management and productivity, growing an email list, and so much more.

All-up there are 76 resources in the toolkit. The eBooks, eCourses, templates and workbooks alone are worth a combined $6,309.98. And on top of that you get $300+ worth of bonuses help you run your blog better.

But the best part (and one of the main reasons we take part each year) is that you can get the lot for just $97. That’s about the same as a course or a few eBooks.

There’s even a full 30-day happiness guarantee, which means you can try it out without any risk.

This year Problogger has contributed a product called “Workshops & Masterclasses” which is a collection of 27 presentations from blogging experts on their best, most practical strategies and tactics recorded live at ProBlogger Event.

• Ruth Soukup – Pinterest Marketing 101: the three elements of the perfect pin
• Jeff Goins – How to Find Your Blogging Voice
• Jadah Sellner – How to Create a Challenge For Your Community
• Pat Flynn – A Peek Inside Pat Flynn’s Master Content and Promotional Calendar (& How to Create One, Too!)
• Pamela Wilson – How to Create a Content Event That Builds Your Email List
• Nathan Chan – Next-Level List-Building Tactics
• Natalie Sisson – How to Build a Sexy Sales Funnel That Sells
• James Schramko – Selling into Your Membership or Online Course

To give you an idea of the incredible value in The Genius Blogger’s Toolkit, you can purchase ProBlogger’s Workshops & Masterclasses separately for $99 USD (and it’s WORTH IT!). Or you can get it and the 75 other eBooks, eCourses, templates and workbooks alone for only $97 USD (but for a strictly limited time only).

Here’s where you can learn more and buy the bundle. But be quick – it’s only available until 11:59pm EST Monday 27th September 2021.

Further Education

A more traditional and probably a larger undertaking When I realised my traditional sales and marketing skills were in danger of being superseded in a digital world, I enrolled in a Diploma in Digital Marketing. It wasn’t strictly blogging related, but it covered content marketing, social media, advertising, PR, acquisition/conversion/retention strategies and much more.

Do those skills sound familiar? They should – I use them pretty much every day to manage the ProBlogger and Digital Photography School blogs. I studied online for a year to get my Diploma in Digital Marketing through the Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing in the UK. It’s fairly intensive, requires two assessments, and you even need to physically sit two exams despite being an online course. (My writing hand was almost dead after writing with pen and paper for six hours.)

Would I do it again? Yes. Sure, it was expensive. But being taught industry best practice by qualified professionals and getting a formal certification at a Bachelor Degree level was definitely worth it.

Conferences

The last 18 months, with the advent of Covid-19, has seen conferences and live events largely curtailed. Certainly in Australia, given lockdowns and border closures, ProBlogger’s annual event has been impossible. However some events have proceeded overseas and as online summits instead.

Usually, when you can travel, but have to pay for your ticket, airfares, transport, accommodation and room service, you become very picky about the conferences you go to. Which is why ‘looking local’ is your best first option.

I was lucky. One of the first blogging events I went to (a ProBlogger event, where I met Darren for the first time) was right here in Melbourne, Australia. Of course, there have been other great local events, but I’m proud to say I’ve been involved with the ProBlogger Events here in Australia for the past five years. If you want to get a taste for ProBlogger Event you can actually watch Darren deliver his “Evolve don’t Revolve” keynote presentation from our ProBlogger PLUS Member’s Library.

If there isn’t much happening in your local area, you may need to look further abroad. My first international blogging conference was BlogHer in New York in 2012. It was quite an experience for me. I got to meet a lot of bloggers, and be exposed to new ideas and new ways of doing things. I also learned about sponsored content trends (which was new to me at the time) that would soon be heading to Australia.

One I wish I could get to more often is Mike Stelzner’s Social Media Marketing World in San Diego. I was there in 2015, and appreciated the focus on social media, which was becoming more and more a part of a blogger’s online environment. In recent years the agenda has expanded to include more content marketing and a dedicated stream for ‘creators’ such as bloggers and podcasters. You’ll usually find Darren speaking at this event – it’s one his favourites, too.

There’s another one that isn’t strictly blogging, but can give you insights about the kinds of marketing skills you can consider – Hubspot’s Inbound in Boston. It’s the one where I flew to the other side of the world only to get locked out of Seth Godin’s keynote. (Oops!)

If you’re looking for conferences, Social Media Examiner has a list of events being held around the world. There’s also a comprehensive directory of 400+ worldwide digital marketing events at marketingterms.com.

Blogger Groups

If you’re looking for more free advice and support, Facebook Groups can be a fantastic resource for new and advanced bloggers alike. While many Facebook groups are set up for paid courses (and therefore restricted), there are still plenty of free ones.

ProBlogger Community is our free closed Facebook Group where Darren and I hang out with nearly 10,000 bloggers. It’s a great place to ask questions, offer valuable tips, and help each other. It costs nothing to join – you just need to answer three simple questions). And we have guidelines on taking part in the conversation that help stop it from becoming spammy and self-promotional.

It’s also a great place to get direct input from Darren. We direct most enquiries we get via our contact form to the group, so you’re more likely to get his attention this way.

Original Post published Oct 6, 2017 updated 23 Sep 2021.

What are some other ways you’ve progressed your professional development since becoming a blogger?