Many large and small companies start business blogs to help drive sales and boost profits. Follow these six tips to help turn your blog into a sales tool.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
How to Find Blog Networks That Pay You to Blog
Finding a job as a blogger for a blog network can be a great way to enter the world of professional blogging. Determine your area of expertise or the topic where you can add value to readers then market yourself to blog networks as the best person to blog about that topic to drive traffic to the network.
Many blog networks post blogging jobs on job boards, so take some time to search for and apply to open positions.
Following is an overview of some of the most popular blogging networks:
b5media
b5media is one of the Internet's largest new media networks with over 300 blogs in 15 channels and over 10 million visitors each month.Creative weblogging
Creative Weblogging receives over 5 million visitors per month for its 100+ blogs.Weblogs inc.
Weblogs Inc. owns some of the most popular blogs online including Engadget, TVSquad andCinematical.Hubpages
Hubpages allows bloggers to create their own 'hubs' and earn revenue through advertising efforts.451 Press
451 Press is a growing blog network including hundreds of blogs in a wide variety of topics.Simply good media
Simply Good Media focuses on blogs with budget-conscious topics.Today.com
Today.com offers a paid VIP Blogger Program where bloggers can apply to write a blog on the topic of their choice for the network.Content quake
Content Quake accepts applications from bloggers looking to be paid for writing content on a variety of specific topics.Families.com
Families.com maintains a variety of blogs dedicated to topics important to families.Preschoolrock.com
PreschoolRock.com offers a variety of blogs for families with preschool-aged children.Sheknows.com
SheKnows.com employs professional bloggers to write a handful of blogs on issues of interest to women.Should You Join a Blog Network or Go It Alone?
The decision to join a blog network as a professional, paid blogger versus going it alone as an independent blogger can be a difficult one. There are pros and cons to both paths, and each individual blogger needs to evaluate those issues to determine what is the best choice for them personally.
What's at Stake?
One of the biggest issues related to choosing between joining a blog network and going it alone is related to money. Bloggers give up potential ad revenue when they join a blog network, but in return, they are likely to get significantly more traffic very quickly as part of a blog network. What's a blogger to do?
Following are some factors to consider when choosing between joining a blog network as a professional blogger versus remaining independent
Pros of Joining a Blog Network
Blog networks offer the following benefits to bloggers:
- Consistent income: Blog networks typically pay professional bloggers a monthly fee or fee per post plus a portion of ad revenues based on the number of page views the blog gets each month. Of course, this can vary from one blog network to another, so it's important to do your homework to make sure the blog network you're considering joining offers a pay structure that meets your needs. A stable income is very attractive to some bloggers.
- Build an online presence: Blog networks have the ability to drive traffic to a blog quickly. That traffic can help a blogger develop a strong presence in the blogosphere and the Internet as a whole.
- Establish the blogger as an expert: The thought is if a blog network recognized your knowledge about a given topic as good enough to hire you to blog for them, then you must be a great resource on that topic. As you build your online presence and the quality content of your blog grows, you will also build your brand image as an expert in your field.
- Be part of a larger community: Blog networks offer bloggers the opportunity to be part of a larger online community of like-minded individuals. The opportunities for learning and networking are vast to members of blog networks.
Cons of Joining a Blog Network
Blog networks can be viewed negatively based on the following factors:
- Low pay: Blog networks traditionally offer low pay to professional bloggers. Incentives are generally provided based on monthly page views, which motivates the blogger to spend a significant amount of time promoting the blog as well as writing blog posts. A blog usually needs to generate traffic in the hundreds of thousands of page views per month for a blogger to make more than a small amount of money relative to their efforts.
- Big time commitment: Professional blogging requires a massive time commitment. Not only do members of blog networks have to promote their blogs to generate traffic and income, but they also usually have monthly requirements to meet in terms of post length, number of posts and more.
- Your work may be edited: Some blog networks employ editors who can make changes to a professional blogger's writing. Often the blogger may disagree with those changes. This could be an issue for a blogger who uses their blog as a platform for other writing jobs.
- Negative attacks: Being part of a blog network can boost traffic to a blog very quickly. With more traffic comes a greater potential for readers to negatively attack the blogger through derogatory or offensive comments. Additionally, attacks could come in the form of the blogger's content being copied and used without permission on other websites. Blog networks are particularly susceptible to these types of attacks.
Resolution
Should you join a blog network or stay independent? That decision is up to each individual blogger. First, determine your long term goals for your blog. Then review the pros and cons of joining a blog network.
Remember, while blog networks can bring a steady income and large amounts of traffic, you'll have to give up a large portion of the ad revenue generated from the site. Could you have grown your blog to receive the same amount of traffic to generate enough ad revenue to match your pay as part of a blog network?
Think about your monetary goals as well as your non-monetary goals for your blog before you decide which path to pursue.
Top 5 Tips for Professional Bloggers
If you're ready to move from personal blogging to become a professional blogger, where someone else pays you to author a blog for them, then you need to familiarize yourself with the following 5 success tips for professional bloggers to ensure you're positioned for a long and prosperous career.
1. Specialize
In order to have a chance at becoming a successful professional blogger who is capable of becoming a well-known paid blogger, you need to identify where your areas of expertise lie then focus on them. Position yourself across the blogosphere as an expert in that area by focusing your blogging efforts in 1-3 subjects then look for blogging jobs related to those subjects.2. Diversify Income Sources
To succeed as a professional blogger, you need to start out by diversifying your income sources. You never know what might happen to a blog you're writing for another person or company. Unfortunately, the blogosphere is turbulent and a blogging job that seemed solid one day could disappear the next. Give yourself added security by finding income sources from more than one blogging source.3. Provide Original Content
As you diversify your blogging jobs to multiple employers, it's critical that the content you provide to each is unique. Even if your blogging contract doesn't explicitly state that content you provide should be original and not copied elsewhere, it's a good practice to follow if you want to develop a reputation as a first-rate professional blogger.4. Plan Ahead
One of the biggest downsides to professional blogging is the lack of time off. Professional bloggers are expected to be available and working 365 days of the year. With that in mind, your success as a professional blogger hinges on your ability to plan ahead in terms of taking time off for vacations, illnesses or emergencies. Regardless of what is going on in your personal life, you'll still have to meet the requirements in your blogging contract.5. Don't Undervalue Yourself
Bloggers who are just starting out in paid blogging have a tendency to undervalue themselves and accept paid blogging jobs that pay less than minimum wage. Take a moment to calculate the per hour pay rate for each blogging job you pursue. Make sure the pay is truly adequate. Think of it this way - time spent blogging for too little pay could be better invested in searching for a blogging job that does pay well. Of course, all professional bloggers have to start somewhere, but as you gain more experience and develop your online reputation as an expert in your blogging niche, additional opportunities to diversify will present themselves to you if you look for them. Don't sell yourself short.
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