i try to look at the client’s site and get some info about them, if possible. but there are SO MANY blind ads out there, it’s hard.

and 2000 applicants for the tea blogger? good lord. i expected that there’d be a lot of competition (based on the fact that i saw the ad on 3 different sites) but had NO IDEA it’d be that heavy. no wonder it’s so hard to get a response from employers. everyone wants to be a pro-blogger these days. i’m trying to stand out from the crowd, but it sure is hard.

I didn’t apply for the gig though; I was just curious to see what everyone was applying for

May be I should have applied… then I could have talked about the cream buns in the blog! My taste buds could have won the gig… of course having stated I loved tea too

You didn’t have a misspelled word after all.

* A few positive things about the site or the business.
* What you feel you can add to the blog.
* The range of your expertise as it relates to the site in question.

Very good idea. This will definitely eliminate the five minutes or less question.

Remember the perfect spelling he was talking about? I thought I might point out that you have a misspelled word in your article. I’m sure you can find it. See, no one is perfect 100% of the time.

Thanks for the great article.

Most of us enjoy different forms of tea, like the herbal infusions. Your site (i went over and checked it out, yep) has only true teas. The differences in ideas of what tea truly is varies, so you’ll find the favorites from many Americans to be the teas that are not, as you stated, tea.

It may be very hard for anyone who is not English or at least have lived/had contact with that area/people to understand what you’re selling or the type of writer you’re looking for.

Then again, I could be dead wrong and have someone else come along and point that out in a few minutes.

Why don’t you send me the info on the job with the “incredible pay” if you don’t want it.

Have to agree with Julie. I typically expect it to take six months from my initial contact with a client to actually getting work. That’s not bad, though. I spent 18 months chasing my last job as an employee and that job lasted only 13 months!

Some will respond more quickly because they have immediate, sometimes one-time needs. The ones who take longer to respond often wind up being good long time clients.

To Deb,

I agree with most of the adevice, which is basically “job hunting 101.” Though blogs, online communications and computers make working at home or telecommuting more possible today than years ago, many of the traditional job hunting advice is also appropriate here.

Another important point, why don’t these requesters do their homework? You are limited by Craig’s List’s file size. Why would they ask you to send material without providing an email that can handle the load.

Rejecting one liners? How totally ridulous. When does quantity validate substance. Sounds to me like the requestor wants to be courted and wooed by lots of folks.

Back in October, I applied for a job writing product copy for a new website. The pay was incredible, so I really had hoped to lure them in. I have a standard cover letter, but I alter it to fit each job listing. Never heard a word, which is fine, so I stopped thinking about it and moved on.

So last night, more than four months later, they respond saying I’m a perfect fit and they’d like to hire me. FOUR MONTHS! By now, I’m swamped with different projects, but the pay is still a major factor, so I find myself torn between overworking myself or telling them they were a few months too late.

I did not check out the tea site before I sent my email, which is not my normal way of doing things. Finding out as much as you can about the potential employer and their business is sometimes a time saver. We’ve all checked out blogs, sites, etc. with which we would not want to be affiliated and this were spared the time and effort of applying.

I wasn’t too worried about getting the job, thought it would be something interesting, then I realized that hiring a blogger who blogs about tea for another store site wouldn’t be a great idea in the first place!

(Mmm, earl grey with milk…)

Also, template letters are not all bad if they are well written, to begin with. Just slap it around, paint it pink and add stripes according to what the ad says are must haves, and press Send.