Name: Julia Scott
Age: 31
Location: Los Angeles
Education: B.A. in Music from Barnard College, New York City; Masters in Jazz History and Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
Job Title: Chief blogger and CEO of BargainBabe.com
What She Does: Julia writes the savvy-spending blog Bargainbabe.com, which helps people save money on everyday expenses like groceries, vacations, meals out, and more. “I’m a one-woman show, so I also run my business, network, promote myself, and try not to burn out,” she says. “It’s a ton of work, but I love being my own boss. Everything I put into it I get back.”
How She Got Her Gig: Julia worked as a print reporter and columnist for six years before launching Bargainbabe.com in January 2009. She got experience blogging at her last paper, the Los Angeles Daily News, where she created a blog that was so popular she received an offer to syndicate it for 10 years. She turned the offer down and left the world of print journalism, feeling that her future was brighter working as a self-employed blogger.
Pick a Passion: A good blogger has a focus. Julia keeps her focus on saving money and on sharing the art of successful blogging with her peers. “I love speaking to groups about saving money and about blogging. Meeting readers is always fun because they are so quirky, but we bond over our common frugality,” she says. “And I love cultivating new bloggers.”
Beyond the Blog: Running a blog is not, ironically, just about posting her thoughts online. In fact, Julia spends only about a third of her workday blogging. She blogs every morning from about 8:30 to 10 a.m., then spends the late morning and early afternoon answering e-mails, networking, and marketing herself and her blog. “In the afternoon I will block out one to two hours for an important task, like networking online to increase links to my site or crafting and sending out a press release and making follow-up calls,” she says. With the exception of a few breaks, including one for dinner with her husband, she then spends the rest of her day preparing posts for the next day.
A Moneymaker: Julia turned blogging into a career by becoming “a self-promoting machine.” She created a Facebook profile for her site, got a Twitter account, and constantly exchanges blogroll links with fellow bloggers. Then, while keeping the quality of her content high, she focused on making money by selling advertising space, freelancing, and self-syndicating her content.
Network With Like Souls: To stay involved with her peers, Julia maintains relationships with former colleagues working in the print industry. But she also reaches out to other bloggers to advance her career. “I network with everyone from strictly personal finance types to moms who share coupons. I reach out to journalists advancing the field online and connect with people whom I admire,” she says. “My philosophy is that you can learn something from almost everyone.”
This Job’s for You if: You have the ability to produce quality content, develop a niche, and are a good networker. And above all, it’s important to avoid taking life too seriously. “Bloggers are obsessive, dedicated, passionate, hardworking, but we know how to have fun,” says Julia. “ It’s a really amazing way of interacting with people and sharing your life, so I always encourage others to try it. But I’ll warn you, it’s addicting.”
