Have you updated your blog lately?
In the last few months I’ve been neglecting my own projects in exchange for client projects. Not smart. I mean I have excuses; job cuts in the writers market, fewer jobs around, and just because I’ve been busy in general, but if you’ve got some personal projects going it’s not wise to ignore them. Why not?
If you pay for hosting for your own blogs, that’s money down the drain if you’re not making money with your blogs. While some of my blogs make a little money just sitting around, they could make a lot more if I actually worked at it.
Your blogs represent you to a point. I have my links to a couple of my own blogs in bios of mine online and in the sig line of my work email. If a potential client clicks on that link, they may not realize that it’s my blog, and mistake it for a client blog. No updates is a BAD sign of my productivity level.
It’s good practice. You can make mistakes on your own blog, play around, see what works best, and mess with ideas that you can’t screw with at client blogs. Why not use your own blogs as a learning experience?
Your blogs, when well done can drive traffic to your client’s blogs which one, clients like, and two, if you’re paid in any sort of page view revenue, can increase your paycheck.
When you don’t update you lose any traffic base you’ve built. It’s like starting all over from scratch – blah.
If you can learn to make money with your own blog, you’ve got some back-up for when client blogs go belly-up. It takes a long time to create some decent income with your own blogs. The only way to make it happen is to keep up with your blogs. While blog income is unstable there’s still a chance you’ll hit on a good niche and make some money. However, when you ignore said blogs you lose any shot at making some of your own blogging income.
So… when times get tough, are your own projects the first to lose your attention, or do you try to make time for them anyhow?
FYI – I may be back with some new blog and online writing gigs later today if time permits so stay tuned.
Can you blog your way to a writing job?
Maybe… Forbes recently ran a piece on setting up your authority related to a given career with a blog. However, the Forbes piece appears to be talking about careers outside of writing but on the flip side, this can work just as well if you do happen to want to be a FT writer or blogger. As noted in the piece:
“Recruiters will always try to find out more about you… They Google you. You want to stack the deck in your favor. If you’re competing with someone who has equal skills and experience, a blog can be the tie-breaker. Having that little bit extra can tip the scales in your favor.”
If you think of “recruiters” as clients, you can see how this works in your favor as a writer or blogger as well; probally even more so, because obviously, if you’re up for an online writing or blog gig, clients like to see that you know what you’re doing.
I’ve gotten gigs from my personal blogs by two different means. One, I’ve had blog clients find my blog, like it, and offer me a gig. Two, I’ve made blogging contacts with other bloggers that eventually resulted in a gig (i.e. someone recommending me for a job based on knowing me or networking with me.)
If you’re going to score any sort of a gig off your blog, you need to follow some basic rules though.
- Update frequently or at the very least on some sort of schedule.
- Build an attractive blog. I’ve worked with some clients with truly horrible looking blogs but in an ironic twist some of these clients will note, “We like the look of your blog – it’s so attractive – you’re hired.” Looks can matter in blogging.
- If you’re aiming for writing and blogging gigs in the cooking realm, don’t blog pets for pete’s sake. Set yourself up as an authority in the niche you’re interested in.
- Don’t make image and linking mistakes. Many clients want bloggers and writers who not only have writing skills, but who can also handle not only finding images, but also take care of all the image editing, image placement, linking, and other basic blog requirements. By linking mistake, I mean don’t place links that look like this: http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/10/blog-jobs-start-leadership-careers-networking.html link the actual text: Blogging Your Way Into A Job. It looks nicer and it’s more search-friendly.
- Know something about SEO and make sure your blog incorporates some SEO qualities.
Have you ever scored a writing gig (or other job) from your blog? OR are you currently using your blog to try to snag a job?
Blogging & Online Writing Gigs for May 21, 2009
May 21, 2009 by Jennifer
Filed under Blogging Jobs
Blogging and online writing leads that I think are worth your time have been slim lately – plus I’m in sort of a rush today – blah. Below are some gigs that look decent…
Blogging gig tip o’ the day: When looking for blogging and online gigs, you don’t just have to stick to the job boards. You can also sometimes find jobs by heading directly to the website source – i.e. the website or blog you’d like to blog for, look for an editor/manager email, and send them your bio / cover letter.
Anywhere gigs:
ZUG.com Contributing Writers – they’re saying this “is a place to get noticed” so not sure if there’s pay, you’ll have to ask. It’s at a decent job board so I took a chance posting it.
Luxury Handbags/Jewelry Ring Blogger Wanted – low pay but super short pieces so might be worth it.
Online Freelance Writer, US Nationwide
Location specific gigs:
News and content writers wanted - (Boston – financial district)
Online News Producer - (Seattle, WA)
Blogger Needed – (Los Angeles)
Staff Editor/Digital Media Editor – Ball Horticultural Company- West Chicago, Illinois
Food Writer for eco online mag (Toronto) – pay TBD – BUT this gig would be really cool – I’d apply if I lived in Toronto.
Social Networking and Branding Interns – (Westport CT , Manhattan NYC) – paid internship.
Medical Copywriter/Website Content Manager – (Irvine, CA)
Copywriter – Web, Print, Ads, Broadcast - (Clearwater – Tampa Bay)
Of course, Deb posts writing gigs too – check them out.
Choose a blog challenge or mix up your blog routine this week
I’m doing both; I’m choosing a blog challenge and mixing it up. Since it’s the start of a new year, and I have some blog issues, I figured I’d challenge myself.
My blog challenge: PR post catch-up.
My biggest blog challenge right now is playing catch-up with holiday PR. I have all these products, tips, and news-like bits that I’ve been meaning to post. People send me a lot of stuff and it tends to build up quickly in my email inbox. Once I get too many saved items, I freak and avoid them. Not to mention that I’d rather post my own tips. That said, I do get some pretty nice tips and ideas from various PR people and companies, and I should post them to offer my readers something different.
The goal: Work my way through the list. I think I’m going to start at the end which starts somewhere last November, and work my way up to date. I’m giving myself until Mid February and then, I’m just going to have to delete what’s left to free my mind. BUT I’d rather not delete any good stuff, so I’m going to try to fit it all in.
My mix-it-up goal: Get out somewhere new to work. Read more
It’s not too late for blog spring cleaning
At one of my blog networks my channel editor decided that all of the bloggers in the channel should complete some blog spring cleaning. It’s a good plan. I completely cleaned up one blog, and it looks (and feels) much better, and posting runs a little smoother now.
My editor’s suggestions included items like:
- Clearing out your spam cache.
- Checking said spam for any comments that passed though and vice vs. checking comments for spam.
- Being sure to have an “About” page in place.
- Picking up your blogroll – or maybe creating one if you don’t already have one.
- Adding a new poll (at this network we do use polls often – and some are fairly old).
All good stuff to do.
There’s more you can do to spiffy up your blog and post content. Such as…
Set a blog clean-up schedule. Once a year is not usually good enough, especially if you have an intense blogroll. I add basic blog clean-up tasks to my schedule at least once every four months. Personally, I alternate blogs so that I’m not cleaning eight plus blogs at once.
Clean up your categories. Push like topics together, such as combine eco books, coloring books, and green books into one category – books. I tend to gage my categories on how difficult it is for me to find the right slug, quickly, when I need it. If I can’t find what I need fast, there’s a good chance my readers can’t either. Some people think you should have no more than 10 blog categories. I think that’s pushing it. At some of my blogs it would make no sense to have just 10 categories, it would be too vague.
Make sure you have some other pages as well, besides the “About” page. A “Contact me” page is good, and it’s also nice to make pages that highlight popular posts.
Do some back reading. Then read your “About” page or what was written into your contract regarding topic. If your current posts seem to be swaying off track from the original intent of the blog, you may need to jump back on track. One good way to do this is to make a list of keywords and phrases for you topic. You don’t have to fill your posts with keywords, but I’ve found that keeping a short list by my desk can keep me focused and help me work faster.
Do an, “Ask the readers” post or poll. Over time your readers change; their minds change, you get new readers, and it’s hard to tell what everyone is interested in. You could pull some of this info from stats, but it’s not the whole story, especially if you have some posts that have hit it big on Stumble Upon or another social media site. The best thing to do is ask your readers what they’d like to see more of from now on. I’ve asked readers what they’re interested in reading in posts, but currently I’m running a poll about this at one blog, and getting way more responses. If you go with the poll option, I’d set it up so that the poll contains some basic topics relevant to your blog and also set it up so that readers can fill in an answer.
What other spring cleaning blog tasks do you do to keep your blog in top notch shape?
It’s not too late for blog spring cleaning
At one of my blog networks my channel editor decided that all of the bloggers in the channel should complete some blog spring cleaning. It’s a good plan. I completely cleaned up one blog, and it looks (and feels) much better, and posting runs a little smoother now.
My editor’s suggestions included items like:
- Clearing out your spam cache.
- Checking said spam for any comments that passed though and vice vs. checking comments for spam.
- Being sure to have an “About” page in place.
- Picking up your blogroll – or maybe creating one if you don’t already have one.
- Adding a new poll (at this network we do use polls often – and some are fairly old).
All good stuff to do.
There’s more you can do to spiffy up your blog and post content. Such as…
Set a blog clean-up schedule. Once a year is not usually good enough, especially if you have an intense blogroll. I add basic blog clean-up tasks to my schedule at least once every four months. Personally, I alternate blogs so that I’m not cleaning eight plus blogs at once.
Clean up your categories. Push like topics together, such as combine eco books, coloring books, and green books into one category – books. I tend to gage my categories on how difficult it is for me to find the right slug, quickly, when I need it. If I can’t find what I need fast, there’s a good chance my readers can’t either. Some people think you should have no more than 10 blog categories. I think that’s pushing it. At some of my blogs it would make no sense to have just 10 categories, it would be too vague.
Make sure you have some other pages as well, besides the “About” page. A “Contact me” page is good, and it’s also nice to make pages that highlight popular posts.
Do some back reading. Then read your “About” page or what was written into your contract regarding topic. If your current posts seem to be swaying off track from the original intent of the blog, you may need to jump back on track. One good way to do this is to make a list of keywords and phrases for you topic. You don’t have to fill your posts with keywords, but I’ve found that keeping a short list by my desk can keep me focused and help me work faster.
Do an, “Ask the readers” post or poll. Over time your readers change; their minds change, you get new readers, and it’s hard to tell what everyone is interested in. You could pull some of this info from stats, but it’s not the whole story, especially if you have some posts that have hit it big on Stumble Upon or another social media site. The best thing to do is ask your readers what they’d like to see more of from now on. I’ve asked readers what they’re interested in reading in posts, but currently I’m running a poll about this at one blog, and getting way more responses. If you go with the poll option, I’d set it up so that the poll contains some basic topics relevant to your blog and also set it up so that readers can fill in an answer.
What other spring cleaning blog tasks do you do to keep your blog in top notch shape?
It’s not too late for blog spring cleaning
At one of my blog networks my channel editor decided that all of the bloggers in the channel should complete some blog spring cleaning. It’s a good plan. I completely cleaned up one blog, and it looks (and feels) much better, and posting runs a little smoother now.
My editor’s suggestions included items like:
- Clearing out your spam cache.
- Checking said spam for any comments that passed though and vice vs. checking comments for spam.
- Being sure to have an “About” page in place.
- Picking up your blogroll – or maybe creating one if you don’t already have one.
- Adding a new poll (at this network we do use polls often – and some are fairly old).
All good stuff to do.
There’s more you can do to spiffy up your blog and post content. Such as…
Set a blog clean-up schedule. Once a year is not usually good enough, especially if you have an intense blogroll. I add basic blog clean-up tasks to my schedule at least once every four months. Personally, I alternate blogs so that I’m not cleaning eight plus blogs at once.
Clean up your categories. Push like topics together, such as combine eco books, coloring books, and green books into one category – books. I tend to gage my categories on how difficult it is for me to find the right slug, quickly, when I need it. If I can’t find what I need fast, there’s a good chance my readers can’t either. Some people think you should have no more than 10 blog categories. I think that’s pushing it. At some of my blogs it would make no sense to have just 10 categories, it would be too vague.
Make sure you have some other pages as well, besides the “About” page. A “Contact me” page is good, and it’s also nice to make pages that highlight popular posts.
Do some back reading. Then read your “About” page or what was written into your contract regarding topic. If your current posts seem to be swaying off track from the original intent of the blog, you may need to jump back on track. One good way to do this is to make a list of keywords and phrases for you topic. You don’t have to fill your posts with keywords, but I’ve found that keeping a short list by my desk can keep me focused and help me work faster.
Do an, “Ask the readers” post or poll. Over time your readers change; their minds change, you get new readers, and it’s hard to tell what everyone is interested in. You could pull some of this info from stats, but it’s not the whole story, especially if you have some posts that have hit it big on Stumble Upon or another social media site. The best thing to do is ask your readers what they’d like to see more of from now on. I’ve asked readers what they’re interested in reading in posts, but currently I’m running a poll about this at one blog, and getting way more responses. If you go with the poll option, I’d set it up so that the poll contains some basic topics relevant to your blog and also set it up so that readers can fill in an answer.
What other spring cleaning blog tasks do you do to keep your blog in top notch shape?
