Blog Less, Work Less, & Still Make Money
My blog pals all seem to have similar goals this New Year’s – to slow down, take on less work, and to have more free time. Letting go of work when so many bloggers are out there looking for more new gigs may seem counter-productive to the success of your career. However, having fewer jobs doesn’t have to mean less success or even less income.
Look for better opportunities. You don’t have to take that lower paying gig. This can be the year you reach for the stars. Believe me there ARE higher paying blogging gigs out there you just need to know where to look and be seriously on the ball when an opportunity comes your way.
Need more ideas that can free up time in the long run?
Improve what you’ve got. Letting go of gigs can give you that much more time to increase the monetary success of your other blogs. There are a couple of ways you can achieve this. One way obviously, is to ask for a raise. Not likely to happen in some situations (like networks) but plausible in others. Use stats to your advantage. If visitors, ad clicks, and/or page views are increasing then whoever you work for is making more money. You deserve a slice.
If you’re dealing in network blogs where page views are your bread and butter then letting go of a couple of gigs most certainly will help you to increase page views at your other blogs because you’ll have more time to spend with them. “BUT, then I’m just transferring my time, not really letting go of work,” is what you may be thinking. Not true. At first you may be working just as hard but if you spend a little time each month luring new visitors, writing better link-worthy posts, and commenting at other blogs visitors will roll in and some will stay.
Examples of improving what you’ve got in action: I have one blog that is currently worth over $500 a month – if I put my all into it. I don’t put my all into it and I make less than $200. I recently let some jobs go so now I will have time to give it my all and pop my income will increase. This works well for both blogs where you get paid per post and for bloggers paid by page views.
I have another blog that does much better if I post 3-4 times a day. Since I let some jobs go I’ve been able to do that (some of the time) and my page views have skyrocketed.
Work with someone. If you co-blog yes, your income is split. However, with two of you that’s more posts, more networking, and more hits overall.
Take a non-blog job. For example, I can make $700 + for a magazine article or $1000 + for one business proposal. So for less than 15 hours of my time, per month, I could have half my bills paid and be able to focus the remaining time on my blogs. This is not for every blogger. Right now I’m only interested in online work but honestly it would be a smart move for me because it would free up some of my time. Blogging does traditionally pay less so if you need to, you can make a bulk of money elsewhere and use your remaining time to blog.
Can you suggest other tips that will allow you to be a successful blogger this year and still have more free-time?
[The above post topic is something I’ve been thinking about for a while but the final push of inspiration for it came from Deb and Kori. Thanks!]
Among other places, you can visit Jennifer Chait at Offbeat Homes, 7 Babes A Blogging, and Tree Hugging Family.
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Friday, December 28th, 2007 at 3:51 pm under
What an inspiring post (as usual)! I still haven’t found a decent blogging gig, but it’s good to know that opportunities do exist. In the meantime, I’m focusing on the print market. The pay rates are quite attractive, even if the competition is fierce.
December 28th, 2007 at 5:34 pmMy tip: Make a list of everything you have going on and number it in order of personal priority. Get a plan of what you’ll cut and what you want to focus on.
December 28th, 2007 at 5:41 pmI love this blog, an invaluable resource for freelancers and bloggers. I’m actually trying to get my blogging identity noticed so I guess I’m blogging more, working more but I’m still not making money. I guess that comes with time and blog visitors.
December 28th, 2007 at 7:36 pmI have a great full time blogging gig that allowed me to give up some of the more tedious work but keep the personal and freelance projects I enjoy.
My employer allows me to make my own hours and work at home so it’s truly my dream gig.
I think the key is to find one lucrative gig and take on a few fun projects. As Jennifer stated, there are lucrative gigs out there - and it will only get better! I predict big things for freelance and full time blogging gigs in 2008!
Nice post, Jennifer!
December 28th, 2007 at 7:49 pmCrowe, Chizek, one of the “second-tier” (behind Ernst & Young, etc.) CPA firms, has a philosophy of cutting the bottom 10 percent of its clients each year.
Different industry, but excellent advice. However, the “bottom 10 percent” may for me isn’t always the lowest payers, sometimes it’s those most difficult to work with. For me, it means those who don’t keep an open line of communications (don’t return calls or e-mails, don’t keep me updated on status of projects or payments, etc.). Of course, there are years the bottom 10 percent (meaning one or two) don’t get cut because I’ve yet to find better clients to replace them. But I still think it’s a good goal.
December 28th, 2007 at 8:00 pmI just resigned from a blog job that paid triple my regular gig, but was more work than it was worth. The owner has no real idea of how a blog should be run, but rejects my advice constantly. I think that giving up a job that pays more can be productive as well. Frees up time from arguing with the owner to find a more informed and workable client.
Great post, Jennifer, thanks as always for the tips!
December 28th, 2007 at 9:41 pmSuper busy today but I wanted to say that I agree with the comments above who noted that giving up a high paying gig can still save you money in the long run. Overly stressful work takes much longer to get done.
Another related thing is dull work. I have a boring job right now that pays well but I procrastinate about it and screw around which makes it a time waster.
Great comments today everyone.
December 28th, 2007 at 9:47 pmFor everyone, the key to being a full-time freelancer would not be a full-time job, even though it is done at home. Eggs in one basket, etc. I am just sayin’. Yes, I would advise dumping the no-pays and slow-pays and borings, but locking into one big client can be tricky, too.
December 28th, 2007 at 11:53 pmGreat article. I agree with several of the comments above - the value of a gig is not always based on how much it pays. Drop unpleasant jobs and your productivity will increase dramatically. Have a great day and a Happy New Year
Suzanne
December 29th, 2007 at 12:13 amReading over the comments, I do have to add a bit of a warning:
Freelancing isn’t a pajama party.
It’s often the perception that freelancers live a life of freedom - and in many ways, they do.
However, to think that we live a life of happy days, free time, quality family time and the ease of making our own schedule isn’t quite accurate.
Freelancing is, in essence, being in business for yourself. It does involve paying attention to the “you” part (everyone needs to enjoy what they do and have time to breathe) but it also involves paying attention to your business and putting in the time you need to grow your business to be better.
Work smarter, not harder is what the post resumes, I think. It’s not really saying “work less and get richer” - but following the ideas and tips will, of course, lead to less work, better work and a better life.
December 29th, 2007 at 12:17 amJames ~ Yup work smarter not harder. That’s the deal. I see a lot of people both in writing and not working longer, working more, for more — to have more. Sometimes we do need more so I get it but I really think that if you work smart you can make as much without working so much you’re bone tired each day.
Also, I agree that freelancing is no picnic. It does get better but it can take years sometimes. I hope blogs like this (and yours) make it easier for writers so that they reach the successful point sooner rather than years down the line.
December 29th, 2007 at 12:23 am[…] Blog Less, Work Less, & Still Make Money - Deb Ng […]
December 29th, 2007 at 4:03 amGreat post Jennifer and just what I needed. While I’d love to land a blogging gig in 2008, I am workng more with article writing. My main goal for next year is to raise my acceptable base pay. That is, I want to (be able to) refuse jobs under a certain limit and gradually take on only jobs that pay better. It’s a hard leap to make. And at the same time, I have a monthly monetary goal that will increase with each month. I just wanna be able to pay my bills, ok? Thanks for the encouraging post~Karen
December 30th, 2007 at 10:28 amHey Karen, the good thing about your goal is that it’s been becoming clearer now for a while. The main focus on pay along with the kind of writing you’d like to do is a good goal. It’s much better than random stuff like “freelance more” or what have you. I bet you will be able to pay a lot of your bills with writing by next Jan
Thanks for visiting.
December 30th, 2007 at 12:42 pmThanks Jennifer.
December 31st, 2007 at 5:03 amI have a writing gig that is definitely making me cranky. I’m scouting out some new opportunities. Meanwhile, I have a blog gig that I absolutely enjoy and that has lead to feature writing for more money. I’ve only been freelancing a few months so it remains to be seen if I can keep this going year after year.
December 31st, 2007 at 6:02 amI want to know how to find a freelancing job or blogging. But I am not sure where to find one? I am slightly concerned about being scammed.
December 31st, 2007 at 11:55 pm