أرشيف شهر Problogging

Paying Bloggers

أبريل 30, 2008 في 9:36 م · Filed under Blog Network Tips, Problogging

One of the worst things about the end of the money for me right now is what happens to my bank account as I go around and pay all of the bloggers and other freelancers that I work with. I continue to spend inordinate amounts of money on slowly growing my business online, and the one thing I have learned is that Paypal, while great in some respects is such a huge rip-off sometimes. Not only does it use horrible currency conversion rates, but they also fee my freelancers to death.

I wish there were other popular services that I could use. Luckily, some of the people I work with live in the same country as I do, and as such, I can e-mail money to them through an e-mail money transfer system that all of the banks in Canada participate in.

Why not just use advertising revenue, and have companies pay the freelancers directly? Well, the sites I run outside of this one, don’t make enough to do that. Hopefully, at some point that will change, but for now, it is definitely helping me realize how much work I have to do on the ad sales side to make this business of mine break even.

Are there better services than Paypal? Are there better ways to pay bloggers? Let me know in the comments below.

3 تعليقاً

Stepping on Toes: Too Many Overlapping Blogs

أبريل 14, 2008 في 5:49 م · Filed under Feature, Problogging

So I work for Splashpress Media, and back in the day they acquired a vast number of blogs to build their business and while this was probably a fairly smart move on their part, it is, at least in my mind, creating a small issue: we now have too many blogs and services covering the same things.

Take blogs about Blogging for example. Splashpress Media has no less than four blogs totally devoted to this subject. There is the Blog Herald, 901am, Blogging Pro, and Performancing. You could even toss both Wisdump and Devlounge in there as well as they cover blogging related subjects fairly heavily.

Even worse, that doesn’t even include the nearly half a dozen other blogs that overlap into this same subject like the EatonWeb Blog and Blog Network Watch. Or our new ones that are still finding their audience like WordPress Philippines and Blog Tutorials.

It is starting to feel a little crowded in Splashpress Media when it comes to covering blogging and blog related pursuits and it has actually gotten to the point where it makes me a little frustrated.

I, personally, add content to the Blog Herald, and Blogging Pro. I was told that Blogging Pro was supposed to be “the source” for WordPress related news, as that is the slant and audience it has almost always had, but now I feel like I am competing against my colleagues on the other blogs. Who are, rather than helping me do my job, are trying to post as much news as they can on the Blog Herald to build it up bigger and better.

While I can understand that they want to make the blog they write on “the best”, it really steps on my toes and puts me in an odd position as I work alone on Blogging Pro compared to the dozen writers on the Blog Herald. They will almost always have the better odds when it comes to finding WordPress related news, and this is already apparent when you look through the last week or two of the Blog Herald as they consistently scoop Blogging Pro on WordPress related news and developments.

This is one of the issues I have been struggling lately, and it really ruins the enjoyment I get from my job having to compete against co-workers rather than working together.

While I am sure not many of you have had to ever deal with such a problem, as even most of b5media’s vast number of blogs have fairly well defined borders, I would still love to know what you all think of this problem. Have you ever had other bloggers “step on your toes”?

What do you think would be the wisest move for Splashpress Media in dealing with so many closely connected blogs?

9 تعليقاً

Problogger Book

أبريل 12, 2008 في 1:17 م · Filed under Problogging, Tips

Problogger BookChris Garrett and Darren Rowse, two people that I highly respect, and who are both directly responsible for my career and inspiring its continued growth have come together and published a book on blogging called simply enough Problogger.

From Chris Garrett:

The book is our combined experiences in professional blogging. Making a full time income either directly or indirectly by building effective blogs.

I haven’t had a chance to give it a once over yet, as neither Chris nor Darren have sent me the sample chapter which you can get by signing up for the e-mail list on the book’s site. (contact me guys) I do plan on purchasing the book to review it, as well as maybe learn a few more tricks on how to get myself closer to their level.

Here are some things that you will probably learn from the book:

  • How Bloggers Make Money
  • Direct Income Earning vs. Indirect Income Earning methods
  • Why Niches are Important
  • 20 Ingredients for a successful blog post
  • Optimizing advertising
  • Which advertising platforms work best
  • Expert analysis of Technorati’s Top Blogs – why they work

Some other details about the book include that it is 280 pages long, and will be published by Wiley on April 18th and should begin shipping on the 28th. All of the attendees at SOBCon are going to get a copy.

Will it be worth the money, or is this another book that’s a great idea, but gives information that most people can’t replicate due to the ever changing rules online? There is no such thing as timeless advice when it comes to making money online, but Chris Garrett and Darren Rowse are names that I know and trust, so if nothing else, this books should be inspirational.

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Blog Network Blogger Lifestyle

أبريل 9, 2008 في 5:24 م · Filed under Blog Network Tips, Problogging

When people ask me how they should get into blogging as a part time or full time job, I think carefully before I answer as I have seen great success as a network backed blogger, while only receiving what I consider moderate success on my own outside of the network.

Being a blogger backed by a network can be a great experience, but sometimes it can also be very frustrating.

My days are filled with posting quotas that I didn’t set myself, with posting requirements on sites that I don’t particularly enjoy, writing content that I don’t control, and hoping that it does well enough that the company keeps me on.

All the while dealing with the fact that I don’t control how the site functions or the advertising that goes next to the words I write. I consider it to be very similar to working as a reporter for a newspaper.

Blogging for myself, I get to chose how often I post, and where I post. I get to chose how the sites function, and how they are monetized and promoted.

It is a very different feeling, but you can also see the advantages of blogging for a network. I never have to worry about servers, advertising, monetization, WordPress upgrades, design, branding, or promotion. My key focus is content, and everything else is someone else’s problem. It allows me to create more, and worry less, all the while knowing I will get paid for the effort I put in.

I don’t know many bloggers working for themselves that after a month can expect the type of pay checks that network backed bloggers will receive.

As the web gets more competitive, and more blogs are added, I feel like I can recommend blogging as a business on your own, less and less. While there are many sacrifices being made as a blog network backed blogger, I don’t know if I would be where I am today if it wasn’t for Darren Rowse, Paul Scrivens, Jacob Gower, and Mark Saunders.

If you want more details on what it is like to be a network backed blogger, I suggest you check out Jennifer Chait’s and Deborah Ng’s Network Blogging Tips.

8 تعليقاً

More on My Blogging Platform Preference

مارس 11, 2008 في 11:09 ص · Filed under Problogging

I just wanted to clear up a few things related to a post I did called “Why I Won’t Hire a Google Blogger Blogger”.

First off, this isn’t the opinion of Splashpress Media or any other blog network. This is just something I noticed when I was going through some employment advertisements.

It shouldn’t matter which publishing platform a person uses, but just like everything else that people assign emotions to, I have a negative feeling about Google’s Blogger. I had bad experiences on the platform both as a user and as a reader. I find many of the people on the site, after working on a service that required me to manually approve blogs, have very basic blogs or very spammy blogs. After going through thousands of Blogspot blogs, I found very few that were well written.

The post was not to make anyone angry but to express something I noticed I was doing. The thing that is supposed to be so great about blogs is their openness, allowing personal opinions to come to light. My personal opinion is that Blogger isn’t a good platform, and when I see a blogger using it, I feel like they are ruining their personal marketing by being associated with that site.

Yes, as a person looking to hire people, it is a bit shortsighted to skip over them based on the software they use, but it was something I didn’t really even realize I was doing until a few days ago. Since then, I have been working on giving people with Blogger hosted blogs a chance.

Surely, you can’t all say that none of you have ever thought less of a person based on something they did or didn’t have, did or didn’t say? Have you ever thought less of a person based on the company they keep? Well, to me this is something similar. I feel like the people I want to work with would have the good sense to use a more fully featured publishing system. Be it Typepad, WordPress.com, Movable Type, Expression Engine, or any of the other millions of blogging systems or content management systems out there in the world. Adding to that, I really don’t care what e-mail system people use. They could be using the worst e-mail client ever, but as long as it sends and receives just fine, that is all I care about.

Blogging requires more skill than sending e-mail. Understanding different blogging applications, can take time, and as an employer, I am in my full right to request that people at least have experience in the platform I am using.

And while I am trying to defend myself and look at things from a different point of view, my key issue can only really be solved by being proved wrong. Something which no one has gone ahead and done.

One thing that Jan Karlsbjerg did do was bring up a very interesting point:

How do you feel about folks who use Blogger and FTP to their own domain? Is it just the “blogspot.” string that turns you off?

Before, I probably would have clicked on their link to their blog and looked it over. I guess the issue really is that I don’t want to walk in their front door knowing that their house is made from mud. Weird analogy, I know…

Hopefully, that helps clarify things. I really do agree though that it would be shortsighted to not watch out for stars on Blogger, and I hope that I haven’t filtered out a rising star based solely on where they’ve decided to host their blog.

5 تعليقاً

Why I Won’t Hire a Google Blogger Blogger

مارس 10, 2008 في 11:12 ص · Filed under Problogging

In looking for people to help write content for some new project ideas I have, I have been sorting through resumes, blogs, and all sorts of material that people are sending me to prove their worth, and one personal thing I noticed is that when I see a Blogspot address I immediately cringe. Sure, Google’s Blogger platform has gotten better, but it still says to me that the writer wasn’t willing to spend their time and money to set up a WordPress blog.

Also, there is just so much spam on Blogspot that I don’t understand why people still use it as their publishing platform. To be associated with a what amounts to nothing more than a spam site is just a little shameful to me.

Is it unreasonable to filter people out of a possible job because of the blogging platform they use? Probably. The best writer in the world could be on Blogger, but I will probably skip over them because of where they decided to host their blog. Yes, its free and easy, but as a geek, I guess I expect more from the people I work with. And if nothing else, it usually means they don’t have WordPress experience, something I need people to have to really do well in working with me.

8 تعليقاً

Finding a Blogging Job

مارس 1, 2008 في 11:22 م · Filed under Blogging, Problogging

If you are looking for a blogging related job, there are many resources out on the web, including the regular job boards that will sometimes list the jobs under writing or content management.

I was searching on a popular site here in Canada called Workopolis, and they actually had some jobs that were basically blogging related. Managing content on a business website with respect to reporting the continued efforts and successes of the company is basically a corporate blog.

So if you are thinking that finding a blogging related job is hard to find, you haven’t been looking hard enough, as they are everywhere.

Some of my favourite resources for looking at blogging related jobs include:

I would also recommend contacting your favourite blogs or even blog networks to see if they have any openings. Some blogs are always looking for new contributors, even if they haven’t opened their blog for more authors before. Blog networks are always looking for passionate people to add to their team, and so if you can prove your passion, you could have a job.

Don’t get disheartened from the low paying, one post a week type jobs that are out there, as for every one of those, there are the hundreds of dollars a month part time gigs that are really worthwhile.

5 تعليقاً

Expand Your Skills Beyond Blogging

فبراير 21, 2008 في 11:44 م · Filed under Problogging, Tips

Bloggers of the world, I hope I won’t shock or upset you when I say this, but if your only skill is writing, go work for a news paper or magazine. Bloggers need to have a wide range of skills, whether you are working for yourself or working for a blog network, the more things you can do, the more valuable you will be.

The average blogger in a blog network is just a content generation machine. It is the marketing, advertising, server team, and many others that really make most blogs into profit generation machines.

As we continue to move forward, one thing I am noticing is that there is lots of competition for blogging related jobs. So if you can’t set yourself apart from the crowd, you won’t get the job you are looking for.

Learn how to do more with the blogging software you currently use. Learn how to do marketing, advertising, basic server support, upgrading WordPress, and a myriad of other skills, as they will stand you in good stead.

I probably wouldn’t still be doing this full time if all I was doing was writing because, and to be quite honest, I am not that great of a writer. I love writing, but I am like a pianist that plays random notes and doesn’t know any real tunes. Sometimes it might sound good, but I am only faking it.

Thank goodness I know how to do other things.

4 تعليقاً

Patience is the Key to Success

فبراير 19, 2008 في 8:53 ص · Filed under Problogging, Tips

There are so many people handing out advice all the time on how you can become more successful that it can become so confusing. I am here to tell you that the only piece of advice that you truly need to become a success online is patience. I have been blogging for around five years now. I have been a full time blogger for two and a half years, and the people that are making the big bucks, getting noticed online, and will continue to do so are those that are patient.

Darren Rowse didn’t expect to make blogging his full time job. And even as he began to profit from it, he didn’t jump in hastily. He took his time, and took the appropriate steps to get to where he is today. The same goes for pretty much every other blogger out there. While it might feel like they all achieved success overnight, you have to remember that they went through a long process to get to where they are today.

I compare it to the old question, would you take a million dollars today, or starting today with a penny, and doubling it each day for a month? Those that chose the quick route are left with a million dollars. Those that took the doubling route end up with nearly eleven million by months end. (source)

Patience is more than a virtue, it is the key to success.

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Blogger Face-Off: Votes Please

يناير 15, 2008 في 12:07 م · Filed under Problogging

So, I have finally been featured on Daily Blog Tips Blogger Face-Off series, but I am against John Cow. Right now I am losing bad, but I could leverage the wide variety of sites I write on to maybe come back and tie him. For me though, it isn’t about winning, but instead about having fun. If you do have some time to vote though, there is a poll at the bottom, and if you could select me, David Peralty, I’d really appreciate that.

One interesting thing to note is some of the similarities in our answers. We both agree that advertising from the start is a smart way to go, that Digg will remain the biggest and best social bookmarking/promotion site in 2008, and that networking is the best thing a novice can do.

Thanks again to Daniel of Daily Blog Tips for featuring me. I really appreciate it. If you haven’t checked out his blog yet, you definitely should.

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