Is your blog job sucking the fun out of blogging?

I’ve been blogging professionally (i.e. making money at this blogging deal) for a long while now. However, before I blogged for pay I blogged for me. For fun. For the sheer need of saying what was on my mind. I had a blog with zero ads so comments and freedom of speech were my big rewards, not cold hard cash.

There’s a big difference between blogging for yourself and blogging because it’s your job, but it doesn’t mean the two paths can’t connect. For example, when you blog for clients, for cash, there are some issues that can super suck the fun out of blogging, such as…

• Clients who pay late (or not at all).
• Blog scrapers – who seem to come out of the woodwork once you’re a working blogger.
• Having to blog about topics you don’t love or having to add in obnoxious extras like keywords, images, and company links when really you just want to say your piece and get out of there.
• Blog stalkers and trolls – which granted can happen if you blog for no pay too, but in my experience the more well known you are the more these freaks come at you.
• Being on a client’s schedule vs. your own schedule.
• Co-worker and editor dynamics – you may think these issues only pop up in brick and mortar workplaces but weird, frustrating, and sometimes really annoying dynamics can happen in the virtual workplace as well.

That said, I’m betting (or hoping) that you got into blogging for a career because you love blogging and if that’s the case a paycheck doesn’t have to ruin blogging for you. Blogging for pay can still be blogging for fun if you use the following strategies…

Blog what you love – as a new blogger looking for paid gigs, blogging what you love is harder to come by, but if you stick with it and build up your resume these fun opportunities will come eventually. When I first started blogging for pay I’d blog about almost anything, but now I’m in a better position where I get to blog about what I love and still get paid. Just keep your chin up because it’ll come in time. One good option is to have a blog that’s all your own so that some of the time you can blog what you adore.

Read other blogs regularly - part of why I loved blogging way back in the day was because I loved reading blogs and interacting with other blog communities. If you’re so focused on your own thing that you ignore other blogs you’re missing a big piece of the blog puzzle. I don’t comment as often at other blogs now because of time constraints but I do make sure to read my faves regularly still.

Don’t overextend – this is a double edged sword because most bloggers do have to overextend their time and efforts in order to make a living wage. The downside is that blogging becomes harder, a total chore, and yeah, not as much fun when you’re scrambling to get everything done. As soon as you can find some higher paying gigs or take on an extra (higher paying) non-blog project or two so that you have the time to enjoy the blogs you do write for.

Look on the bright side – for example you can learn to ignore trolls and scrapers or even consider how they may benefit you. When people say bad things about you it sucks, but keep in mind that people talk about you because something you said made them feel something – bad or not if you’re making people feel mad it’s better than writing posts that leave people emotion free.

Dump bad clients asap – hard when you need money I know, but trust me you’re better off looking for a new gig then staying with an obnoxious client. Bad clients and flaky clients can ruin your mood, frustrate you to the extreme and worse ruin the whole experience of blogging.

Remind yourself of the alternative – when you first look for blogging gigs it’s frustrating. It’s a hard career to break into. If you’ve made it and you’re frustrated remind yourself of what you could be doing instead. Yes, blogging for a job is very different than blogging for yourself, but ALL jobs have pros and cons. Would you rather be dealing with blogging job pros and cons or another job’s pros and cons? I do have bad days at work but I still love my job and have fun, especially when I remind myself that this is what I worked for.

Are you blogging for clients? What are you doing to keep blogging fun?

Who is making a living as a blogger

Who is actually making a living blogging?

Short and sweet; very few bloggers are making a living blogging.

The longer story is that when folks read posts and articles about people such as Darren at Problogger, our own Deb Ng, and the bloggers on Paula’s top earning blogger list, it can make some people think that anyone can make a living blogging, but it’s not true. All of these bloggers work smart, work hard, and have put in long hours to get where they are.

There’s not great research on bloggers who do make an actual living, and of course an actual living depends on who you are and how you live, but what the research we do have points to is that only 2% of bloggers actually make a living blogging. Problogger runs an annual poll about blogging income and the last one had more favorable numbers (sort of) showing that about 9% of bloggers reported an income of $20,000+.

That said, $20,000+ is pretty vague. I for sure couldn’t live on $20,000 a year. I have a son to support so for me that’s not even close to a living wage, especially not after you consider taxes. It doesn’t really matter though, 2%, 9%; both are small figures. All those “Make a million dollar” and “Anyone can blog for a great living” posts you read are stories, not the truth.

I absolutely have friends who make a living blogging. I have many friends who make a good living blogging. That said, I know many more bloggers who make nothing blogging, almost nothing blogging, very little blogging, or who make enough for maybe half the bills but if something happened to their partner (or whatever other source of income they have) they’d be sunk.

Should you give up now? No but you should be realistic. I get frustrated when I read comments or emails from people who want to quit their current job so they can blog FT with no back-up plan. Some of the reasons why people don’t make a living blogging are based on issues you can change such as only taking gigs that pay a livable wage or learning how to query job ads better. Some of it though, is based on luck, the right attitude and perseverance which I really believe some people have in them as related to blogging and some don’t.

The point. There are benefits to blogging as your career and you can make decent money blogging, but just don’t jump into it because you read a get rick quick article about it. Blogging is hard work. It’s time consuming and you will put in long hours before reaping the cash rewards.

Improving the job market for bloggers and online writers

Improving the job market for bloggers and online writers is a big task. Since I started posting gigs here daily I’ve noticed a slew of terrible jobs and a much smaller selection of decent jobs that actually pay a fair wage. I don’t think the fault is all on the lame clients who offer low-pay jobs though. A lot of it is dependent on us, the folks who want said jobs.

For example…

1. Apply for work IF you’re qualified: I was chatting with Deb yesterday and she noted that she was shocked by the amount of people who applied for a blog job she posted who had no experience blogging at all. Worse many told her this straight up when they applied. If you’re not a blogger or have no idea about what a blogging gig entails make sure you learn something about it before wasting the client’s time, and all the other qualified applicant’s time. It’s lame to have to sort through crap applications to have to find the qualified apps – it’s no wonder potential clients end up writing ads with all sorts of bogus rules. Blogging and online writing gigs are very different from other sorts of writing gigs. To improve the market, we need more qualified applicants and less junk applicants. To learn about blogging and online writing gigs (BEFORE you apply) start your own blog and read:

• Blogging for a Living: Don’t Enter into it Blind
• Can you blog your way to a writing job?
• Beyond Blogging: Using Your Blogging Skills for Bigger and Better Things
• Do You Need to Be a Good Writer to be a Good Blogger?
• The Warm & Fuzzy Side of Blogging for Others
• Top 11 Reasons Why I Might Quit Blogging & Open A Candy Store

2. Be confident: If you apply for a job, apply with confidence. I’ve talked to way too many blog clients who say they get non-cofident applicants which one, makes them uncertain that competent bloggers and online writers exisit and two, lets them know that lower wages are a-ok. You’d never go to a job interview in person and say, “Oh, well I’m not sure I know what I’m doing, and I’m not that good at my job, but hey, hire me anyhow.” At least I hope you wouldn’t. Be confident. If you’ve got the skills – show that you know it. For help read:

• Pros & Cons of Being A Confident Blogger
• Admit what makes you a good blogger

3. Work for good clients: There’s more to a good client than pay. If a client pulls sneaky suspicious acts or never pays on time, they’re just going to keep right on doing this if there are writers willing to write for them. Put your foot down when clients treat you like crap. This benefits all bloggers and online writers.

4. Only accept decent wages: I almost don’t want to mention this, because we mention it ALL the time here, and still it seems people aren’t listening. That said, I’ll say it anyhow; don’t work for pennies. A recent job listing (bid gig) shows that people are willing to work FT (30 hrs a week) for anywhere from $2.22 – $3.11 AN HOUR. Really? People are also taking up clients on all those crappy revenue only gigs. I’ve personally talked to clients who say that to get a gig, bloggers and online writers will offer to work for free. It’s totally insane and makes the market a very bad place.

If you went job searching for a job outside of your home (a non-writing job) would you seriously take $2.22 per hour? Even tax free that’s a crap living. It’s not even a living. Aren’t you better than that? If you think, “No, I’m not” then quit applying for writing gigs. Your time is more important than this. Other writers time is more important than this. Clients will NEVER offer fair wages for work if the workers are willing to do it for free or cheap. And keep in mind that real bloggers and online writer don’t work for nothing. Most of us have learned to score decent paying gigs and top bloggers are paid even more. To learn more about fair blogging and online writing wages read:

• Typical Blog Wages – How Much Money You Should Make Blogging
• Calculate your hourly blogging rate
• Dealing With Blog Compensation Offers – Clients Who Offer Too Much Money

Now, what do you think will help to improve the job market for bloggers and online writers? Let us know in the comments.

Note: Sorry if you came by earlier and the links were not working – not sure what’s up with the site, but it should be fixed now.

The New b5media Pay Structure

As you may have heard, b5media has a new pay structure in the works, soon to be implemented. Since we aim to cover network news, following are some links if you’d like to learn more…

Tech Crunch posted all the new pay structure stats from a personal email sent out to b5 staff. Is it right to post emails like this – maybe not; in fact, I’d be kind of pissy if someone snagged my emails and posted them on the web. However, on the flip side, if you’ve thought about joining (applying for work) at b5, it’s best to have all the facts. Also, it’s a business, and business news breaking out into the world is hardly unheard of. If you’re interested read: Big Blogger Pay Cuts At b5Media

Here’s the Blog Herald coverage of the issue: B5media Revamps Pay Model, Bloggers Lose Money

Jeremy Wright responded at his own blog: Initial (3am) Response to TechCrunch

I work at b5, and honestly have no concrete comment yet. I’m still considering my own options; trying to work out the math and pay per time spent part of this new structure. That said, I’m sure I’ll be back with some thoughts soon. What I do know is that one of my favorite blogs won’t be worth writing for anymore. Meaning, I’d have to put in too much time for too little pay, which blows, seeing as how I adore this blog. On the upside, that’s not how it’ll be across the board.

Do you work at b5? Do you have an initial take on the the pay structure?

What do you miss from your pre-pro-blogging days?

I’ve only been blogging for money for about two years now give or take. Before that, I still blogged, I just blogged for me alone, and for no pay. I still wrote, I just did so in other writing venues.

Since I started blogging for pay, I’ve noticed that I miss a couple of things from before; when I only blogged for fun.

What I miss…

I miss reading blogs: I know, that sounds kind of funny; a blogger who doesn’t read blogs. I DO read some blogs, but not as many as before, and also, I sometimes feel like I’m more searching for topics or leads or networking than actually reading for fun. Also, frankly, after posting 30-40 + posts I hardly feel like reading blogs in my spare time. I’m online enough looking at blogs.

I miss writing what I want: This is two sided because by now, I’ve been blogging long enough that I do get to blog for money at blogs I like (I’m lucky). I also almost always get to choose what topics to blog about at said blogs. Still, before I blogged for pay, I never gave ANY thought to what I blogged about. I’d just blog what I was thinking. Now I spend a fair amount of time thinking about things like, “I wonder if my readers will enjoy this” or, “If I blog this theme, I might get more traffic” or I’ll run contests. I often put a lot of thought into posts before I write, which I never used to feel compelled to do.

Overall, I adore blogging. However, there are some differences between blogging for me, for free, vs. blogging for clients. That’s expected, because every single job comes with differences and ups and downs, but even knowing this is expected I do sometimes still miss the sheer fun of carefree, no pay, no traffic worries blogging. Don’t get me wrong, blogging for pay is a hoot at times, and trust me, I feel lucky that I not only get to blog, but that people give me money to do so. But once in a while I miss the old days.

Maybe I’ll take a day off here soon and do nothing but read all my old blog haunts.

If you used to blog for you, and now you blog for pay is there anything you miss from the old days?