The other day I posted about Google CEO Eric Schmidt not seeming to be all that on board with bloggers. Some agreed, some thought he needed to read some WordPress blogs (not just Blogger), some felt he was just being pro editor and not dissing bloggers in general. That’s all good but if you are a blogger you should be aware that you can expand your professional appearance as a blogger without having to resort to saying stuff like, “I’m really a writer; not a blogger.”
Bloggers, in my opinion, can be completely professional. There’s a ton of stuff you can do to be a more professional blogger, but since we don’t want to be here all day, following are some of the best tips to keep in mind…
Work for professional wages: With blogging gigs there is crap pay and decent pay. The more decent paying jobs you score the better you appear. For example, editors may look favorably at bloggers who have consistently earned good wages but wonder what’s up with a blogger who always works for free or crap wages. You need to calculate your hourly rate before you sign on for a gig. Taking gigs that make you look good is a huge deal. Your professional image starts with your ability to make professional choices and working for free for years on end, well, it just doesn’t come off as smart or professional.
Don’t slack on email correspondence: Email resumes are a little more casual than a written resume and general correspondence is casual as well but that doesn’t mean you should slack, use LOL or misspell every other word. Yes I do have online editors I joke around with, but I keep it professional. When I’m applying for an online gig I’m just as careful as if the gig was offline.
Provide good customer service: As a blogger you do offer a sort of customer service. You should extend premium services to clients, editors and your readers. Poor customer service in any line of work is bad news but as a blogger you need to work that much harder to prove yourself so make sure you go above and beyond what folks expect.
Do the little things: Little things add up to one big professional image. Have a flipping about page AND contact page at your blog; remember to note your sources; quit wasting time; always write decent (or better yet) amazing posts; and for pete’s sake don’t steal images or posts.
Treat your job like a job: It’s all too easy to take personal calls, grab long lunches and otherwise slack off when you work at home. Don’t. If blogging is your job then treat it as such. Bonus – the more you treat blogging like an actual job the more other people will as well (i.e. family and friends who think you do nothing all day).
When you keep it professional you not only make yourself look awesome but you make other bloggers look better as well.
What other tips do you have for bloggers who would like to be more professional?
0
65k
6k
Leave a Reply