Blogging for a Living: Don’t Enter into it Blind
Last weekend I placed an ad here for a blogger for FWJ. What surprised me was how many applications I received from people who have never blogged, have no idea of what it entails and figure it’s just a bunch of writing. If you’re going to apply for any gig, it’s probably not a good idea to tell a potential client you have no clue of what you’re doing. If you’re going to apply to blogging gigs, you should know what you’re doing first. Blogging may seem like an easy job but there’s a lot to learn beyond the writing part.
Here are just a few things you should know if you’re going to apply for a blogging gig.
How to use various blogging platforms
Anyone wishing to blog for a living should know how to use the various blogging platforms. WordPress is generally the platform of choice but there’s also Blogger, TypePad, Moveable Type, Drupal and several others. If a blogger doesn’t know how to maintain a blog on a potential client’s platform, she’ll either be passed over in favor of someone more experienced.
How to build traffic and Community
Bloggers are expected to build traffic and foster community. What good is it to have a blog if no one is going to read it. The clients who are hiring bloggers are doing so because they either want to bring in advertising dollars or raise awareness and build a community around a product or service. Not knowing how to do these things can mess with your clients livihood.
Comment policies
Do you understand what it takes to maintain a peaceful, congenial, yet active community? Can you create a comment policy everyone can live with. Do you know what it takes to keep the comments coming while avoiding negativity?
SEO
Many writers who have backgrounds in print markets or business or advertising copywriting try blogging but don’t know anything about using keywords or implementing Search Engine Optimization. A potential client will probably not want to take the time out to teach and would prefer to higher someone who already knows how to find and use the proper keywords.
Basic HTML
I’m not a techie but I know a little basic HTML. Not enough to build a website, but enough so that I can do some simple formatiing. Blogging clients expects bloggers to know a little about coding.
So what do you think? Are you still preapred to apply for a blogging job?
Thank YOU! I am so tired of having people come up to me and ask what I do and then having them say, “Oh! I like to write, I should do that!”
By the way, applying for the gig was awfully tempting but the other thing people need to know about blogging is when they are over extended. I am over extended. :/
@Marye – You so would have made the short list.
DANG, Deb, I always make the short list. I am vertically challenged, you know.
List? What list?
Blogging truly is an art, and right now I’m getting more paint on my damn shoes than the canvas.