Blogging Gigs: Are They For You?
August 28th 2008 20:19
What's Your Pleasure: A Blogging Career or a Little Moonlighting?
Do you love blogging so much that you'd like to make a career of it? Perhaps you'd rather simply find a blogging gig or two that would allow you to express yourself in a more personal setting while picking up a few extra bucks to supplement your other freelance writing income. You might even hope to use your new-found blogging gig to underwrite or help promote your current AdSense-revenue-only blog. These are all great reasons for seeking work as a blogger.
Blogging Gigs: Regular--But Not Always Substantial--Income
One nice thing about blogging gigs is that they can provide a writer with regular income--a handy commodity in the uncertain, feast-or-famine world of freelance writing. But, though regular, often blogging income isn't very substantial. This is one of the realities of the Internet culture in which we ply our writing craft. Blogs are everywhere! Yet, there are companies that understand and want to capitalize on the booming popularity of blogs and are therefore willing to pay fairly decent to quite lucrative compensation amounts for regular blog posts on virtually unlimited topics--particularly from seasoned and/or popluar bloggers.
Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Paid Blogger?
If you enjoy blogging and have a fair amount of knowledge about one or more topics (or an area of personal interest, coupled with some great research skills), if you can express yourself clearly and explain your topic well, and if you have the ability to make your topic come alive via an engaging writing style, these elements can add up to opportunity for you. Every company requires a different level of expertise of its bloggers. In fact, some don't require anything more than the "gift of gab," a real interest in your topic, the ability to write about it in an engaging manner, and some proof that you have the ability to post consistently on your topic (i.e., a regularly-updated past or current blog).
Blogging Gigs: What Are You Looking For?
Every blogger is looking for something different in a blogging gig, and available opportunities vary widely. Some offer only a share of advertising revenues, some "pay" you by providing a forum whereby you can promote and link to your current website or blog, others pay token amounts, and still others offer reasonable to excellent compensation for your posts. You'll need to assess your own needs, wants, talents, experience, availability, temperament, and current financial situation and weigh these against the opportunities available if you hope to make professional blogging a realistic part of your writing business.
Caution: Blogging Gigs Can Raise Your Blood Pressure!
Before considering a blogging gig, be sure you're prepared to face the sometimes stressful requirement of providing fresh, new, interesting content on a recurring basis. Some companies require 3-5 posts a week, others, daily posting, and still others, multiple posts per day. Be sure you'll be up to the task and able to think clearly under the incessant pressure of daily or weekly blogging quotas and deadlines. If you have a tendency to experience a disproportionate amount of stress under deadline pressure or become excessively anxious over impending projects, paid blogging may not be the gig for you.
(Now and then, you'll actually find companies that require less-frequent posting--e.g., once per week. Periodically, you'll even run across ads seeking individual blog posts as contributions to already-existing blogs. This is a great way to take the pressure off and might prove the ideal answer for those who enjoy blogging yet prefer to avoid the stress of assuming the entire responsibility for administering a blog.)
Always Remember That a Blog Is a Community
Another factor to consider where blogging gigs are concerned is that, whereas most freelance writing simply requires writing an article or other type of copy and submitting/selling it to a publisher or website, a successful blog requires interaction with its readers. Be sure you're prepared to spend the time it takes to reply to comments and build a rapport with your readers before you accept a blogging gig. Figure in the time you'll inevitably spend in this activity when considering whether or not the compensation you'll receive will be sufficient for the time, energy, and effort expended.
Follow-Up Post: Blogging Job Sites
Stay tuned for my next post, in which I'll provide links to some websites that list blogging gigs. In the meantime, give a little thought to the question of whether these are the kinds of writing gigs you should focus on, whether you should simply consider them as an adjunct to other types of writing, or whether you should, perhaps, avoid them completely--except, possibly, for submitting an occasional post to an already active blog. Only you can answer that question--though it might take you a bit more time and experience to figure it out!
Happy blogging!
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Have any insights on paid blogging to share? Have you ever seriously considered focusing exclusively on blogging gigs? Perhaps you already do. If the only blog you currently write is your own, how different do you think it would be to write a blog for someone else? Would you consider it? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
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Comment by cherylwright
I've seen blogging gigs and have been tempted but I just don't know if I could do it right, do it well and do it as consistently as expected.
Thanks for providing all sides of the issue by which I can gage my suitable for such jobs.
Thanks for this comprehensive post.
Cheryl
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
It's definitely important for us to honestly assess our likelihood of following through and providing consistent, quality content before we decide to actively pursue blogging gigs.
That said, I really believe it would be much easier to stay on target with a paid blogging gig--which is, after all, a job--than it often is with our own blogs, where we tend to give ourselves permission not to post when life or work gets in the way. After all, for many of us, our personal blogs are more a labor of love than a job--even if they do have a business focus of one kind or other.
Writers lives, abilities, and preferences do evolve over time, though; so one never really knows in which direction one might be drawn at some future time.
My advice? "Always keep your mind open; your eyes peeled for opportunities; your focus on intellectual, emotional, and spiritual growth; and your heart ready to embark on whatever exciting new adventures may await you a little farther down the road of life." If you do those things, everything will work out OK in the end.
Great to see you!
Thanks for your comment!
Jeanne
Comment by cherylwright
You're so right. We take liberties with our personal blogs that we dare not take with a blogging gig if we want to maintain our professional credibility.
To achieve our writing dreams we must be willing to step out of our self-imposed boxes, spread our wings and expand our borders.
Of course we must also keep a keen eye out for those subtle scams that appear tempting.
Thanks again for always sharing timely information.
Have a good night.
Cheryl
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
Aside from maintaining our professional credibility, it's always nice to get that regular paycheck--which is one thing we don't get from our personal blogs!
I like your choice of the phrase "self-imposed boxes," because more often than we'd like to admit, that's precisely what they are! Very insightful description!
Your caution about keeping an eye out for subtle scams is well-taken. This is something we must always be careful to do as we peruse the writing/blogging job boards and respond to a variety of ads from individuals about whom we know nothing. If an ad seems too good to be true, it usually is!
Thanks for stopping back to continue our chat!
Jeanne
Comment by Brad Shorr
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
Thanks for passing on that great advice! Getting the unique perspective of an experienced pro blogger can really help us as we embark on our journey into a territory that may be unfamiliar to many.
Few realize just how time-consuming it can be to consistently (and thoughtfully) reply to comments; yet comments are the lifeblood of a blog. And, as you mention, social media can also be important to a blog's success. Writing blog posts is only one dimension of blogging.
Thanks for stopping by!
Jeanne