How to bomb out all the time when looking for writing gigs
You apply for one or two gigs a month: There’s something to be said for the law of averages. If you’re applying for five or less blog or web writing gigs a month your odds of getting hired are slimmer than the odds of a blogger who gets out there and applies for 20, 30, or more gigs a month.
You apply for lots of gigs but most are totally inappropriate for you: While the above tip about applying for a lot of gigs is good advice, it’s also important to apply for gigs you actually might get. You’re not right for every gig out there. For example if there’s a Mac tech blog gig open and your knowledge base on that topic is minimal, it’s not a good fit. With 500+ applicants applying for that gig besides you, at least 100 of them will likely know more about the topic than you do. Apply for gigs that you’ve got a shot at.
You’ve never blogged or written for the web before: This seems like a given, but so many clients note that people apply for gigs when they’ve never even written their own blog before that I figured I’d mention it. You may be a rockin’ writer but that doesn’t make you a blogger and you’ll be far less likely to get a gig than one of those other applicants who has blogged before. This is easily fixed though – anyone can start a blog.
You think blogging sounds like an easy job to break into: It’s not. There is actually a skill set required to blog well. Blogging isn’t tough once you get the swing of it, but there are lots of little pieces that make up the whole of the gig. I’ve written for print, businesses, and the web; and web writing, in my opinion, is just as much work as other markets if not more so because the face of the market is frequently changing and you have to keep up.
You’re lackadaisical: Looking for writing work is not a passive activity. You can’t simply write a personal blog and expect clients to flock to you based on your brilliant prose. Trust me, in most cases your personal blog just won’t be popular enough to get you noticed. You have to look for gigs. You have to apply for gigs. You have to network. You have to pay attention to those email applications you send out.
You work for free or for pennies all the time: If you don’t think you’re worth paying; if all your resume shows is content sites or article mills that anyone can write for; then why on earth would a client think you’re worth giving a gig to? I’ve had clients ask why they should hire me when other people are willing to work for free and I always say, “You get what you pay for” and guess what – most clients agree. If you’re not confident enough to work for pay, why are you trying to get work as a blogger anyhow? Allow yourself and your time to be worth something or other people won’t take you seriously.
You’ve heard of Facebook, Twitter, Stumble Upon, and all of that, but you can’t be bothered to jump on board: Two years ago, when applying for gigs, I never had potential clients ask me about my background in social networking. Now almost all my potential clients ask about my networking experience. If you’re not on board with some of the major social networking arenas, and at least somewhat versed in the less popular ones, you won’t get jobs as easily.
You spend most of your time whining about the lack of gigs out there: Whining will get you nowhere. No matter how much you whine it won’t change the fact that there are plenty of places out there still hiring writers and bloggers. All you’re doing is wasting time.
You’re too niche specific OR you’re not niche specific enough: Because green is my fave topic, I’ve concentrated most of my efforts on eco-issues for the last five years or so. However, I also stay on top of a few other specialty topics in case I see a job pop open in one of them. I can just as easily write about pregnancy, money or architecture. So, I keep it open but not too open. I think it’s smart to have a somewhat specific niche that you cover a lot because it makes you look like an expert in at least one area. If you claim to be able to write on dozens of topics you don’t look quite as valuable. Most of us don’t have enough time to follow trends and news on five topics, let alone dozens of topics, and following trends and news is an important part of blogging. When I’ve applied for gigs lately most of the potential clients have asked me about current trends and issues in my pet topics – if I was following too many niches, it’d be hard to stay current.
You give up too soon: Most probloggers I know (who blog for clients) have been at it a while. They’ve had ups and downs in the job market and they deal instead of giving up. If blogging isn’t working out, they’ll diversify as they continue to apply for blogging gigs. It can take years to establish yourself in the web writing world, just like it can take years to establish yourself in another writing arena.
Can you think of any other good ways to bomb out when looking for blogging and web writing gigs?
[image via stock.xchng]
Blogging & Web Writing Gigs for July 20, 2009
July 20, 2009 by Jennifer
Filed under Blogging Jobs
Hello everyone, hope you had a good weekend. If you missed them over the weekend check out Finding blog gigs – starting out with no clips and How to get a blogging job – advice from Deb Ng of FWJ.
Not too many gigs today – hopefully things pick up by Wednesday. You can also check out Deb’s job listings if you like.
Anywhere gigs:
Sustainable Technology and Design Blogger – kind of lowish pay unless you know the topic very well and work fast, then it’s ok.
Sports Blogger/Reporter (Experience Required)
Blogger at Task FM – I swear I saw this listing a few weeks ago – did anyone here apply? When people re-post so fast it makes me think they’re non-paying…
New fine jewelry website set to go live this fall is looking for freelance writers for snappy, smart, humorous description and editorial for our jewelry. Think Sex In The City meets Daily Candy.
News editor for media startup – Start up, so not sure if paid
Location specific gigs:
We need a versatile WRITER – $1000.00 a month - (San Fernando Valley)
Digital Home and Garden Editor – Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia – NY
HealthRight International, a global health and human rights organization, seeks a freelance writer to develop content for reports, newsletters, and other publications – NY
Content Coordinator - (Redmond, WA)
Client SEO Specialist - (Pacific Beach)
Web Producer – PennLive.com – Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
The Creative Crafts Group, LLC seeking a highly motivated individual for the position of General Editor – Quilters Newsletter – Golden, CO
Full Circle Farm content coordinator – Snoqualmie River Valley, WA
Sports Blogger/Reporter (Experience Required) - (Washington, DC)
Copywriter / content writer (GTA)
Improving the job market for bloggers and online writers
May 29, 2009 by Jennifer
Filed under Blog Tips, Community Building
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:
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.
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
A Few Blogging Tips from Darren Rowse
Deb’s Note: In December 2006 I interviewed Darren Rowse while auditionin for a job with About.com. I did get the job and worked as About.com’s Guide to Weblogs for a year in 2007. I’m reprinting some of my greatest hits here. I also conducted interviews with John Chow, the Go Fug Yourself ladies, NBT’s own Gayla McCord and Jeremy Wright. Expect to see those profiles here in the upcoming months. This interview was from the first time I spoke with Darren – now he’s someone I’m happy and proud to call friend. He’s just as helpful and gracious now as he was a couple of years ago.
If you’re interested in blogging professionally, you’re sure to have come across Darren Rowse’s ProBlogger Blog Tips. ProBlogger offers useful tips, an eye pleasing template and writing that won’t send you to the dictionary every five minutes. The tips are practical and you’ll always click away from your daily reading with information you can use. Who is Darren Rowse and how did he come to be a professional blogger?
Darren began blogging professionally since 2002 on the advice of a friend. While he maintains about 20 blogs, it’s ProBlogger Blog Tips that has captured the attention of many aspiring professional bloggers. Behold the wisdom that is Darren Rowse.
Darren Rowse on The Appeal of Blogs: Probably the first thing that captured my attention with blogs wasthe ability that they gave the average person to have a voice and be listened to on a global scale on their topic of interest.Secondly – they are so easy to set up and maintain. As someone with very little technical ability the idea of being able to set up a website in just a few minutes (I was using Blogger when I first started) was very appealing.
Lastly (and there could be many more) – the conversation that I saw happening on the first blogs that I cameacross was very attractive. Here were people all around the world talking about my interests,
sharing ideas, giving each other feedback and building community – I just had to be a part of it.
Darren Rowse on Mistakes Made by Aspiring Pro Bloggers:
Giving up too quickly. I see many bloggers start blogs with dollar signs in their eyes, thinking that they’ll be earning big dollars very quickly, only to find that it takes many months (or years) to get a blog running to it’s potential.
Darren Rowse on How to Become a Full Time Professional Blogger:
In short.
- Pick a topic that you enjoy and have knowledge in
- Set up your blog
- Start writing
- Interact with others writing on the same topic
- Interact with those readers who find your blog
- Find a revenue stream that fits with your niche
- Gradually put more time into blogging and less time into your other work as the income slowly grows from your blogs
- Keep writing
- Keep optimizing your income streams
- Consider starting other blogs
- Repeat all of the above
Darren Rowse’s Advice to Those Just Starting Out as Professional Bloggers:
Start out with a topic that you enjoy. Blogs take a long time to build up to a point where you’ll earn a good income from them and as a result you’ll need to be able to see yourself writing on that topic
for the long term.
Darren Rowse on the Future of Blogging: I think we’ll continue to see the collision of many different mediums into one. Video, Audio, Static Images, Blogging, Social Networking, Bookmarking etc will continue to merge and evolve.
As you can see, Darren’s advice is still valuable today. It’s a formula that has worked for him for several years.
Are You Playing Blog Favorites?
Most probloggers I know have plenty of blogs at any given time. In fact, most bloggers I know have five or more blogs. Right now I have about 8 blogs that are currently being updated, plus I also need to network them.
What happens when I don’t pay attention, is I start playing favorites. By playing favorites, what I mean is that at the blogs I like best I may…
- Post more often.
- Post higher quality posts.
- Use my best material for said favorite blog, even though it might fit at another blog.
- Network that blog like a manic.
- Make sure that the blog is nice and tidy (i.e links work, blogroll updated).
Why I play favorites:
My reasons differ, but it usually comes down to one or more of the following…
- I LOVE the topic.
- It’s more trouble free than other blogs. For example, if I barely work at it, I’ll still get new readers. It’s easy, thus a favorite.
- I like my readers at one blog better.
- The blog pays better.
- My boss is cool.
- Everyone else likes the blog – such as people link to it, it gets traffic, the blog gets nominated for awards, etc. Who doesn’t like love?
Problem: If you spend all your time at one or two blogs, your other blogs suffer. As a blogger you really do need to find a suitable amount of time to give to each project. If you play favorites, it becomes tough to accomplish this.
Right now, I actually do have two favorite blogs (I’ll never tell which). I also have some solutions for how to deal when you clearly like one blog better than another. But I’ll do that post next. First, I’m curious, because I can’t be the only one; do you play blog favorites, and if so why?
Blog Improvement Advice From Problogger Easton Ellsworth
April 21, 2008 by Jennifer
Filed under Blog Tips, Blog Tools
Easton Ellsworth blogs at Know More Media, a blog network with a focus on business. He currently blogs for Business Blog Wire, an excellent blog, covering daily blogging tips and advice. He’s also a Know More Media editor, and in the past helped to to run the Know More Media Author Certification program, which was created to help bloggers improve their blogging skills.
Read the interview:
