I’ve Been Remiss…

…I promised to announce the winners of the external hard drive for our List Contest. Life got in the way in a big way, but it’s moving aside for me now. Expect an announcement soon.

My apologies…

 

Deb

June 5, 2008 | Filed Under Blogging Challenge | Leave a Comment 

Thinking Outside the Network Blog

Personally, I haven’t found it all that hard to find blogging work. There are a ton of blog jobs out there. Granted, some I’ve liked more than others, but it’s work. Many people I know aim for network blog jobs. Some aim for independent client blogs, some just apply to whatever they see on the job boards.

Another idea, if you happen to be seeking blogging gigs, is to convince someone to hire you to create a specialty blog just for them. All kinds of business and non-profits have blogs, but for each business or non-profit that does have one, there are more that don’t have a blog and that could possibly benefit.

Ideas of who to approach might include your local…

How to approach:

Obviously it’s best if you’re already a blogger, if you know the ins and outs of business blogging - the overall benefits it can provide, how long (honestly) it can take to build traffic, and the potential problems and solutions one might encounter with a business blog. If you don’t know any of this stuff, than this option is a less realistic way to find work. You can get started by researching these ideas though, and then later on, try pitching to a business.

Some research starting points (although there are many sources for business blogs out there):

Three Benefits of Starting an Office or Business Blog
Three More Benefits of Starting an Office or Business Blog
This whole blog: Business Blog Wire

The pitch:

Deb recently wrote, Tips for Pitching a Blog to a Network and actually, a pitch to a business is much the same, only your focus should be heavily about how this blog will bring in more customers, clients, or funds OR keep clients coming back. Another key focus is on how the blog will make the clients or customers of this business feel. Will it make the business more approachable - yes, if it’s a well done blog. Will people recommend the business because the blog is useful - most likely, if the blog is useful.

Budget:

Some businesses have budgets set aside for advertising such as blogs, they’re just not using the budget on blogs, they’re trying other advertising options. Your job is to convince them that a blog is a good fit for their business. We won’t get into pay negotiations, because frankly, that’s a long post in itself, and also, as a blogger or writer I assume you know this part. Main point, earn what your time is worth.

Pitching a blog to a business or non-profit that has not actually advertised for a blogger is an in-depth topic. It could be many posts, but I wasn’t feeling like going there. SO if you have questions just leave a comment.

June 4, 2008 | Filed Under Blogging Jobs, Blogging for Others | Leave a Comment 

Blogging Parents: What Are You Doing During the Summer?

Just curious, because I know many blogging parents. If you’re a full-time blogging parent… Do you put your kids in camp? Hire help (either for work, or for childcare)? Or do you just try to manage by working nights and weekends?

I’ve been considering camp, but today my son flipped about it. We’re a single parent homeschooling family (as I’ve noted) so I’m used to balancing work with my son Cedar. However, his dad is currently being stingy with helping out (it’s his busy season at work) and I did think day camp would give me a nice break; as in a little more work time. However, Cedar doesn’t want to go and has actually struck up a deal with me - odd for a seven year old, I know. We’re going to try out a new schedule; from 9pm to 11pm I get work time - uninterrupted work time. He says he’ll draw or sleep or play with toys and let me work. In his words, “I’ll try to remember you have to work.”

We’ll see.

Right now, we’re trying it out for a week or two, and then, simply because I need more work time, if he can’t manage being on his own for those two hours, he’ll do day camp a few days a week. Also, I’ve decided to quit one job. So, my summer schedule is semi-figured out. Is yours? If you’re a full-time blogging parent how do you manage to get it all done? Kids and work. Especially in the summer if your kids are normally in school. Let me know.

June 3, 2008 | Filed Under Stress, Time Management | 6 Comments 

Today.com Lowers its Pay Rate for Bloggers

A month or two ago we started seeing a lot of ads looking for bloggers for Today.com. They promised $5.00 per post, guaranteed for three months, plus bonuses now and again. The past couple of weeks, we noticed ads for Today.com changed from $5.00 per post, to $1.00 per post plus bonuses. So they lowered their rate of pay significantly in only a matter of weeks.

I heard from many bloggers today that Today.com sent them a note telling them their rate has been lowered to $1.00 per post plus $2.00 per thousand page views. They said this was based on a monthly review and hopefully things will change in the future.

Now, if Today.com promised their writers $5.00 per month for the first three months, they’re in breach of their contract to lower the pay to $1.00. Also, many of these bloggers just started working for Today.com. Is it fair to have their rate of pay lowered after only a few weeks of blogging? Everyone knows it takes time to build up a blog and bring in the traffic.

I encourage any Today.com blogger who signed on at a rate of $5.00 per post guaranteed for the first three months to show their agreement to their editors.  I also encourage the Today.com bloggers to read their contracts. Did they say rates can be raised and lowered arbitrarily after each month’s review?

I don’t agree with the practice of raising a bloggers base pay up and down like that - and so significantly! It’s a big difference from $1 to $5. Why not $2 or $3 or $4 based on performance? Surely everyone doesn’t have the same exact traffic. Is it $1 because now Today.com is advertising for bloggers and only paying them $1?

Please, Today.com bloggers, shed some some light on this and tell us your thoughts.

June 2, 2008 | Filed Under Legal Blogging Issues | 24 Comments 

How to Tell if a Blogging Gig is Right for You

As people who blog for a living, many of us have a hard to saying no to gigs, whether we’re right for them or not. We’ve discussed this before, but if you’re going to be talking about a particular subject day in and day out, you better be right for the topic. Accepting a gig that isn’t right for you only means both you and your readers won’t enjoy what you do.

So how do you know if a blogging gig is right for you?

1. You know and love your topic - When we talk about bloggers having passion, it’s because you have to absolutely love what you write about to talk about it several times a day. You have to know almost everything there is about your niche, the pros and cons, the other blogs on that topic, and you have to be willing to continue learning and talking about said topic in the years to come. And that’s really what it’s all about…knowing you can talk about your niche for years.

2. You can meet all expectations - Networks and clients all have different expectations. Some expect a post a day for a few days a week, and some require two to three posts a day for every business day. Before saying yes to a gig, ask yourself, "can I realistically write 30 blog posts a week about this topic?" Keep in mind that most bloggers aren’t only expected to write blog posts, they’re also expected to help bring in traffic. Do you have the time and wherewithal to pimp your blog on a regular basis?

3. You don’t hesitate before applying: You know how you just look at a job and say "that’s perfect!" without hesitation? The more time you spend hemming and hawing over whether or not you can handle a particular gig, the less likely it is to be something you can do day in and day out.

When we discuss finding the perfect writing gig at my blog Freelance Writing Jobs, many writers tell me they don’t have the luxury of finding only gigs that feature their areas of expertise and have to pay the bills. I can understand this, but I also believe with blogging it’s different. You really have to love what you do to do it every day. Otherwise, why leave your boring day job?

June 2, 2008 | Filed Under Blogging Jobs | 2 Comments 

Weekend Link Love for June 1st 2008

Since you’re probably out having a life, I’ve taken it upon myself to find some links you might find interesting or useful. Have a great Sunday!

Have a great Sunday!

- Deb

June 1, 2008 | Filed Under Link Love | Leave a Comment 

Are You & Your Readers On the Same Page?

It’s my one year anniversary at one of my favorite blogs. Because of that, I’m doing this whole week long celebration deal; going back over the year, thanking people who link me, and covering the best posts of the year. This is not the first time I’ve done posts at a blog of mine that features the best posts of the year - and by best I mean the posts that get the most traffic.

Whenever I do a best of the blog type post, I’m always surprised, because the posts I actually like best almost never make it into the best posts category. What I adore, and what my readers adore is often very different. What I think will get tons of pages views, often won’t. Most ironically, it’s often the posts I don’t research or spend all sorts of time on, that get the most traffic.

Why!? It’s frustrating, no doubt. Am I that lost about the blogs I write for, or do readers just love to shock me? Honestly, I don’t know. However, recently at one of my blogs, we posted a poll asking readers what they want to see more of, and then proceeded to write more on those topics. Sure enough, traffic has increased. Supply and demand works. Or I suppose that would be demand and supply.

Now, if readers wanted to see stuff that doesn’t relate to my blog, I won’t go that far, but I will adjust to make folks happy. Will you? When was the last time you checked to see which posts are doing the best at your blogs? Can you name the five last posts that bombed? Have you asked readers lately what they want to read?

How willing are you to adjust your blog (or blogs) to meet your readers needs and wants?

June 1, 2008 | Filed Under Blog Tips, Blog Traffic | Leave a Comment 

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