Going Beyond Blogging: Careers Outside Writing

We usually talk about finding writing or blogging jobs here at FWJ – but what happens if your writing/blogging career isn’t making you happy? ProBlogger David Peralty recently left a job with Splash Press Media to become Community Manager at PicApp. Why would he do that? Read on…

Guest Post by David Peralty

Over time, as you build up your writing, networking, and blogging skills and credibility, you start to have something beyond being a content creator for companies. I was a full time blogger for nearly three years before landing a job as the Community Manager at PicApp (http://www.picapp.com).

Finding the Job

Finding jobs that will make use of the skills you build as a blogger or freelance writer aren’t that hard, as some of them are advertised in the same places that attract freelance writers and bloggers. I found my current position on Darren Rowse’s Problogger Job Board . It was listed there, and while I wasn’t really actively looking for a new job at that time, I did find the job listing intriguing. I applied to the job, making sure to read over the job posting numerous times so that I wouldn’t make any mistakes in the application process, and to also make sure my resume and cover letter focused in on exactly what they were looking for. One of the hardest parts for me was working in a way to really sell myself, as I am not one to boast about my accomplishments. I started by including some facts on the various projects I had worked on as well as the amount of content I had generated over the last few years, but what I really think set me apart was the personal branding I had done which I reflected by asking them to look up my name in Google. This produced a huge variety of search engine results which included not only the writing I had done, but all the times other people had referenced me by name. Working a little harder to impress them with all I had done probably set me apart from the other applicants, and they made a trip to a nearby city so that we could have a face to face interview.

Why Leave Full Time Blogging?

By now, I am sure some of you are wondering why I would want to leave my career as a full time blogger. I was working for Splashpress Media at the time, and while it was and is a great company, I felt like I wasn’t able to effect change in the company fast enough, and in realizing that, I also understood the type of work environment that I do best in: small and fast moving, which is exactly what PicApp was providing me. It was a really hard decision for me to make though as leaving would mean loosing all access to thousands of posts in content that I had created. It was like losing the ability to move one of my arms. I had spend so much time writing, and interacting with those that read what I wrote, I never thought about having to leave it all behind and what that would mean for me. I also didn’t know what it would mean to my personal brand if I wasn’t a full time blogger anymore. I had worked hard to position myself in such a way that people could depend on the content I created, but I wouldn’t be doing very much blogging in my new job. Now that I have been working for PicApp for a while, I do sometimes miss the constant writing that I was doing in my previous job, but I have been able to contact and talk to so many great bloggers that I hadn’t met before, and will get to continue to do so as I get set up to travel to industry events like Blog World Expo, Gnomedex and others later this year.

Community Manager?

At my old job, I didn’t feel like I was changing the company. I didn’t feel like I was building anything other than a long list of published articles, and I wanted to do more. PicApp was offering me an opportunity to really effect change in a company as their Community Manager. The Community Manager is the bridge between the company and the people that it wants to interact with. PicApp wanted to provide bloggers with the best, free image service to date, and while their product is amazing, they were having problems getting bloggers to realize it. They needed someone from their target audience to look over the product and be a gateway for others to get interested in it. Sure, they could have probably hired on a “bigger name” online, but they chose me, and again, I want to mention that I think it was my passion for blogging, not necessarily for the position they were looking to fill that eventually got me the job.

Conclusion

So many people don’t realize how writing effects all parts of their life, both personal and professional, and how it can be one of the best transferable skills you can create. Writing for various blog networks helped me learn more about myself, and unlocked my creativity, helped my writing style and in turn opened a door to this new career for me. If you want to go beyond freelance writing, or blogging, don’t hide your abilities, the things that you have done, or your passions, are what make you attractive to companies and can help create great opportunities for you, as they have done with me.

In addition to PicApp, you can also see David at his blog Xtra for Every Publisher.