This post was written by Jennifer
The Warm & Fuzzy Side of Blogging for Others
The other day I posted what I think the negatives of blogging for others are. Today - the nicer side of blogging. All the positives about blogging for someone else.
- I get to do something I love every day - blog. I’d blog anyhow, but the fact that people actually give me money to blog amazes me. Most days I feel pretty lucky.
- What other job would allow me, a single mama, to work from home like this? I get to homeschool my son Cedar, and if I blog at night we can hang at the park all day if we want. I guess there are other work-at-home jobs, but none I’d have as much fun with.
- I can make a decent living. I made more when I wrote other mediums, but the perk of being happier with blogging outweighs that right now.
- On top of blogging paying my bills, it’s far more regular than when I’d wait six months for a magazine to pay me. It’s steadier and feels a little more secure, at least as secure as freelancing can feel.
- No advertising! I love blogging but I don’t love dealing with the advertising side of blogging, and at blogs other people own, I don’t have to.
- I don’t have to pay for hosting, themes, or invest time in setting a blog up. Once in a while, at a cool network, they’ll ask you to help choose colors, or names if a blog was your idea, but mostly I don’t deal with any of the blog set-up.
- Know what’s funny. Tonight one of my networks had some unexpected downtime due to tech issues. Ironically so did this blog. For this blog, I had to mess around, call tech support, deal with it. My network blogs - well, the network tech support was busy making it all better while I did absolutely nothing. Ah nice.
- Once you’re a little more well established it’s fairly easy to get new work, if you want it. You know people who know people. Other clients can view your work online, see that you’re established, and they want to hire you. It’s no longer a life of everyday queries. That to me, is a huge perk. I hated querying all the time.
- Personally blogging has allowed me to be more involved in my work. When I wrote in other areas, I always felt like I was handing off someone else’s needs and ideas. Sure I’ll post issues that a client or editor wants me to at some of my blogs, but the telling part, the how I feel about it part, that’s all my voice. My voice was never so loud in other forms of paid writing.
Then of course there are the social aspects.
- Some people do well with work-at-home jobs. Not me. Not even with Cedar around, and friends, I still missed co-worker interactions. Blogging is one work-at-home gig that’s never lonely. There’s always someone to talk to.
- I really adore other bloggers. Really. Even the ones I don’t like, I like. Know why - at least not liking them gives me something to blog about. Ha. Seriously though, I like how bloggers think. I like how they surprise me, how they get me so mad, make me laugh, and force me to consider new things every day. Bloggers, most bloggers anyhow, are cool kids. When you blog for a network, you’re surrounded by these cool folks all the time.
- I also really like my readers. It’s cool to make bank with grant writing. It’s really fun to see your name in a glossy, no doubt. But in the months after being in a glossy, you know what I wanted - to be one of those articles people write in about. You know, the magazine puts readers letters in the front. I don’t know if I ever got a letter. Maybe. Maybe the magazine didn’t print it. Who knows. My point - I never knew what anyone thought about what I had to say. With blogging I get instant gratification from readers. What they like, what they hate; it’s pretty cool.
- Lastly, again… they pay me to do this. Seriously, do you believe it? To have all these perks. That’s so nuts.
I’m sure I’m forgetting stuff. There’s a lot that’s good about blogging for others. If you work as a blogger, let me know what your favorite perks are.
April 1, 2008 | Filed Under Blogging for Others
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