How to keep your cool – getting over freelance blogger slumps

First up, a little disclaimer… To be honest, I hadn’t planned on posting about the b5media issues. I’ve worked for b5media for a long time and at this second still do. However, I’m involved because I’m knee deep in emails and Skypes and now I’ve even got a direct comment at b5media asking me if I’ve been fired, so I suppose I’ll comment here.

If you’re a blogger, I’m sure you’ve by now heard about the b5media shenanigans. But just in case you’ve been living in a cave…

Yesterday with zero notice b5media fired all of the bloggers who had been writing for their entertainment channel. Some had been with b5media for years. Later on in the day, tweets were posted that linked up two specific posts (Is this the end of b5Media’s Lifestyles channel? And, is b5Media is moving to NYC?) from Elizabeth Spiers’ site which led to speculations of course (i.e. people putting two & two together).

Here’s the deal…

Do I think it’s nice to fire people with zero notice? No, of course not. Who thinks that? I think it’s decent when a company offers a heads up to contractors and employees about what’s happening in said company because it helps to maintain a better work environment and also it’s just a basic nicety, but as a freelancer I also know that it doesn’t always happen.

In a perfect world…

• Companies, regardless of scope, would practice basic kindness and be forthcoming with the people they hire. It builds a better community and yeah, it’s nice.
• All freelance writers would be confident enough to look for work that pays decent wages not take gigs from $2 bid sites or work for free.
• There would be no more querying! Jobs would fall in your lap.
• When you’re hired as a freelancer you’d get good pay, rights to all content, rights to later buy your domain, and health care benefits.

Now, welcome to the real world. Freelance writing is far from a perfect career choice for everyone. ALL jobs, freelance or otherwise, have pros and cons. The good part is that it’s your choice what you do with your life.

As a blogger you’ve got a few choices. Freelance blogging for clients, starting your own blog projects, or signing on with a company as an employee blogger. Each one has different perks and slumps. For example, as a blogger for clients or if you blog as an employee you won’t own the domain and sometimes you won’t own the content but you also don’t usually have to deal with back-end issues like designing, fixing stuff when it breaks, or placing ads.

If you own your own blogs you will get all of the profit (if you make any) but you also have a million little things to deal with such as updating your platform, design issues, and server crashes. One major perk of owning your own blog is that minus major weirdness like Google banning you or a server loosing a year of content you can’t technically get fired from your own blog.

Pros and cons. You’ve got to weigh them for yourself and choose a path.

That said, try not to lose your cool…

If you choose to go the blogging for clients route, there are certain things you should keep in mind for the long haul.

You can lose your job. Clients can go under. You can be fired or have your pay cut. All sorts of messy stuff can happen. These are basic facts of freelancing. That’s why you need to job search even when things are swell.

Never, ever put all your eggs in one basket. Both Deb and me post about this almost to a fault in my opinion. If you put all your trust in one writing client it’s a problem due to the fact that sucky stuff can and will most likely happen. Freelancers do need to branch out. It’s not a smart move to get too comfortable.

In most cases you won’t own your domain. That can really suck because it’s easy to get attached to a site or blog when you write content for them and become attached to your readers. Personally I think it’s good to be invested because readers can tell if you are or not. However, if you’re too attached it’s not good either because again, you don’t own the domain. You are a contracted writer not a blog owner and it’s important to keep this in mind. You take a freelance job for a client for the money, not the ownership. Trust me I’ve been there. I was super attached to a blog I wrote. When I started feeling too attached to it, I quit because I knew putting more time into it might make me nuts. After I quit I felt a lot better.

In this specific case, people seem upset because b5 is (from what I hear) using the old entertainment content to redirect people to the new entertainment site they launched. Which (if it’s true) is within b5’s rights because they own the domains. They’re a business. If they want to they could sell domains to bloggers they’ve hired or fired, but they don’t have to unless it was stipulated as such in the contract. It’s like if you’re a home builder, website designer or social worker or a number of other things – if you’re contracted to build a house for someone that doesn’t mean you own it. If you work with kids at a non-profit, it’s awesome to see them do well, but it’s not all up to you.

It’s perfectly normal to love where you work or feel attached but as a freelancer for clients and even as an employee for clients you need to be able to separate yourself from ownership.

You should read your contracts carefully. Don’t ever take a gig unless you’re willing to sign and abide by the contract. If you don’t like a specific contract, no one is holding a gun to your head to sign it. You can turn down gigs, another one will come along.

Don’t burn bridges. In this specific b5 case and in other cases where major companies have fired people or downsized, I’ve seen people who used to work for the company offering up their termination letters or other company secrets publicly. I.e. I’ve seen comments like, “Hey I’ll send you my termination letter” – in my opinion this is not a smart professional move. If you work for a company as a writer and you’re fired or quit, it’s fine to be upset, but it’s unprofessional to publicly offer up company letters, secrets, or other company goods. It doesn’t make you look good and is the equivalent of burning bridges before you build them. I’ve also seen name calling and other less than professional behavior.

Here’s the thing, if I needed to hire someone for one of my blogs, I sure wouldn’t hire someone who shoots around the web giving away stuff from their last company or calling names. What if our relationship didn’t work out well? Would that writer go around giving away personal info from my contract too? Being upset – normal. Being angry – fine. Being unprofessional – you’re digging your own grave. If you think a company sucks, ok, maybe they do but you can be better than that.

What you can do…

• Vent to your friends privately. It’s normal to want to vent and can make you feel a lot better but don’t let it stop you from moving on and looking for new options.
• Land some new blogging gigs.
• Land some other sorts of writing gigs.
• Start your own blog.
• Be thankful for what a company offered you while you were there. I’ve worked for companies that have come and gone. It’s sad sometimes when a job ends, but I’m usually glad that one, I got paid while I worked there and two that I learned something new.

Freelancing can be a stressful job. Stuff like the b5media issue happens all the time. Not just in freelancing either. Right now, in my neck of the woods a major video store just went bankrupt and locked out all store managers and employees with zero notice last week. Even huge companies break down. It happens and nothing is guaranteed. Like with all jobs you’ve got good and bad times. Being prepared or not prepared can make a big difference when it comes to being able to deal with a career where things change fast and often.

PS as often happens, Deb and me tend to agree on blogging issues. As I was writing this post above she posted An Open Letter to B5media Bloggers elsewhere. Go check it out; it’s a good read.

Will Work for Diggs

I hit the Digg front page a couple of times and it felt darn good. When I hit it wasn’t because I sent a shout or email to friends asking them to vote. Each time I hit, someone else (someone I didn’t know even) submitted my post and it got lucky. On the occasions I asked for Diggs for what I felt were good articles nothing happened. I stopped asking for Diggs and Stumbles, however, because I feel doing so on a regular basis turns one into a pain in the butt.

It’s no secret how I feel about people who come out of the wordwork to ask for social media loving. With that in mind, I’m sure you can already imagine how I feel about b5Media’s new policy of rewarding bloggers who hit big on Digg.

Actually I learned a little about a new bonus system before the details were announced at TechCrunch because I had the pleasure of chatting with Jeremy Wright and David Peralty in the speaker room at BlogWorld Expo. While we chatted, I agreed with Jeremy that bloggers should receive bonuses for hard work. Indeed, when I have an especially good month at FWJ I share with my bloggers. Also, when I was an editor for LovetoKnow we were allotted a monthly allowance to give bonuses to our bloggers. I feel strongly about rewarding the people who work for me and enjoy calling them out for going on and beyond. I think b5Media got it right when they put a plan in place to award bloggers bonuses in recognition of a good month or good deed.

But (and you knew there’d be a but)

The more I think about giving out bonuses for Diggs the more I’m not so sure it’s a good idea. This could just be my personal feeling but I think by doing so b5 bloggers will write more for the Digg factor and less for their readers. Don’t get me wrong. Linkbait can be fun, but I don’t want to read it every time I visit a blog.

I also feel this will turn many bloggers into social media beggars. More bloggers will be hitting up their buddies, and even people they barely know, for Diggs and Stumbles. Digg lists will be created so everyone can vote on each other and now bloggers will put much of their effort in getting Diggs rather than building community or writing good content.

Rewarding bloggers with bonuses? Good idea. Mad props to Jeremy and the team for looking for a way to give credit where it’s due. Encouraging the almighty Digg? I’m not so confident this is a good idea. Digg traffic is temporary. Instead bonuses should be awarded for community building, quality comments, great content and a good steady rise in traffic.

What do you think? Am I wrong about this? Should bloggers be encouraged to get out the Digg?

My Blog’s Stats After Adding A Co-Blogger

My previous two posts about co-bloggers covered the potential positives and negatives of having a co-blogger. Today I’ll share some results.

Background:

The blog I’ve been discussing in the last two posts is Tree Hugging Family. It launched in August 2007, so it’s somewhat new. Being a green family blog, it’s in a smaller niche, then say, pop stars or tech. Being in a smaller niche was one reason I was worried about getting a co-blogger; I wasn’t sure a co-blogger would reap large enough traffic benefits to make a difference.

I blogged at THF solo for about 5.5 months and then decided to find a co-blogger. Peggy has been co-blogging with me since February.

Stats:

THF is a network blog, so I won’t be giving away exact stats, since it doesn’t belong to me. That said, I figured the best way to illustrate the difference between me blogging solo vs. the co-blogger addition was to create a graph. I only included unique visitors and page views to keep it tidy.

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Positives of Having A Co-Blogger

Yesterday we looked at cons of co-bloggers. Today; the potential positives of having a really good co-blogger. In case you missed it, I’d read yesterday’s post first, or you may start wondering who Peggy is.

You finally… FINALLY can take a sick day: Since Peggy came on it’s not like I’ve taken days off – maybe one or two. What I like, is that the option is there now. The same goes for posting amount though. If I can only write one post a day for a couple of days because my son is sick, traffic won’t slow, because I know Peggy posted at least once as well. It’s really nice to have an extra blogger on bad days.

Chores are split: Tasks like blogroll upkeep, moderating comments, contests, and other blah tasks you need to do to keep a blog rolling, are split up. My most favorite thing to do is send Peggy sponsor emails! Now I’m not alone in dealing with them. It’s a huge relief.

You can sign off topics: At Tree Hugging Family, it would be nice to have a post about animals once in a while. Animals are actually a big green issue – one that bores me to write about. Animals are so not my thing. They are however Peggy’s thing. If you have a co-blogger there’s a good chance their knowledge base is different than your knowledge base and it can really round out your blog.

You don’t get stuck anymore: I love green issues. It’s rare I get suck on what or how to write about a topic. However, we all have an off day. When I do, I can email Peggy for advice. Since I know she knows the topics, I trust her judgment.

You know more people: When you start a blog, and you’re already an established blogger, one big perk is many of your readers will follow you to your new blog. Get two bloggers you’ve got 2 sets of readers. It’s not just old school readers either. There may have been people reading Tree Hugging Family who just plain didn’t like me – but, they might like Peggy. Sponsors and other bloggers also relate to each of you differently. You could end up with a wider range of pals, readers, and sponsors.

Your post amount, traffic, and pay can soar upwards:  I’ll leave my actual examples for my post tomorrow, but I will say that two bloggers make for much better traffic than one blogger alone. It’s insane the difference Tree Hugging Family has seen.

It’s fun: This was not a perk I expected. However, having the right co-blogger is a lot of fun. We can laugh about the anti tree-hugger emails and chat about green issues and other stuff. For me talking to any blogger is fun – but having another green blogger to talk to is super keen.

It’s supportive: It’s really cool to have someone around who gets the blog like you get the blog. You can discuss ways to pump traffic, rant about mean emails from the loony folks who love global warming, and vent when no one comments on your (assumed) brilliant post.

What are some pros you’ve seen related to co-bloggers?  

Co-Bloggers – One Cure for the Lazy Blogger

Deb’s last post was a good one. Did you miss it? Well, here it is – Why I’m a Lazy Blogger – And How I Can Improve.

Deb noted issues with the blogroll, minimum post schedule, and time to visit other blogs. I’m big time into blogrolls so no issues there. However, I totally get her deal with scheduling to increase posting quotas and finding the time to visit other blogs. Most network or client bloggers I know do have time issues; as in there’s never enough time, not ever. There’s always something you can do to improve your blog, and often it comes down to you vs. the clock. Sadly, the clock tends to win, especially when life gets fun and tosses you a sick kid, your network shuts down due to technical issues, or a storm kicks off your power.

One thing that can help is a co-blogger. Co-bloggers don’t relieve you of all your duties, but having an extra set of typing hands can help. A co-blogger is an especially efficient way to pump up post quotas.

Recently I took on a co-blogger myself at a network blog, Tree Hugging Family. My new co-blogger was, well is, Peggy. Based on this experience, I can give you some actual examples of how this has improved my blog, along with some pros and cons you may encounter. This is a longish topic. So, first in this post I’ll cover co-blogger cons. Then in my next few posts we’ll look at pros of co-bloggers, how to find a good co-blogger, and example results of having one.

Hopefully this co-blogger series as a whole will help you decide if a co-blogger is right for you.

Negatives of taking on a co-blogger:

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