I’ve been thinking about this lately. While I certainly don’t think blogging is dead, or even blog networks for that matter, I also know that lately, I make more cash from my non-network blogging gigs. For example, your good old basic client owned blogs, where the client simply wants to pay you to post for them and do some basic networking.
It hasn’t been the best year to be a network blogger.
Networks have shut up shop, pay is more and more being based on how fast you can push out the posts or if you can land on a popular social networking site rather than content. Smaller start-ups are being run by people who know nothing about blogs, and overall, it’s been a year where network blogging is less likely to pay your bills.
Not just in my opinion either btw, I do talk to other network bloggers.
Can you even base a blog on network blogging at this point? What exactly do we have to talk about when it comes to network blogs? We could whine a lot, but that’s no fun.
Why do I ask:
Well, part of me doesn’t think it’s fair to freelancers if I go over and over how to be a successful network blogger, when frankly, most current network blogging jobs won’t pay the bills. Not unless you spend all your time there and are willing to make pennies until you manage to instigate major change at your particular blog – something that bloggers know can take years in some cases.
Secondly, when I first started blogging for networks, there was a feeling of content was still king. What I’ve seen, and some of my network blogging friends have seen, is a switch to other priorities. More Diggs, post numbers over content, and link games. It’s enough to make blogging lose it’s appeal for even the most dedicated blogger.
Here’s the deal:
More and more my priorities this year have gotten further away from network blogging – which yeah, makes me a sad choice of blogger here. Additionally, because of all the instability of blog networks in general, I think some of the charm of blogging has left the building for me. I’ve actually got my own plans for getting my personal love of blogging back, but until the network tide changes (it will – online media changes all the time) I’m not all that sure that I’ll be advocating blog networks here as a wise career choice.
Whew – all that said, I’m not against blogging about blogging, so I think it’d be cool if you told me what sort of blog topics interest you – blogging for clients, blogging on your own, or maybe you still want tips about networks (which I can offer, but only in a slightly jaded way – sorry).
Let me know what’s on your mind when it comes to blogs…
I’m fairly new to blogging and only post on my own blog.
I have little or no idea about network blogging, so for me the best information would be on most aspects of blogging as a beginner – from personal blogs, maybe “how-to” articles on blogging for clients and, yes, blog networks. It would be nice to know what it was all about and to be able to make informed choices about what sort of blogging would interest me and, I’m sure, other writers.
While I’m aware that sites like Problogger have a wealth of information for bloggers both new and established, it would be helpful to hear it from the perspective of a freelance writer.
Great post, and thanks for the opportunity to get involved!
Sarah
Good morning Jennifer! First of all, thank you and the other contributors for all that this site does for us. As the changes start sinking in, I’m sure many others like me are starting to get the beauty of what Deb has done. Thanks.
As for blogging, I recently started out posting blogs for a start-up client’s website. My role is primarily to come up with topics and write posts. So, I would like to know more about social networking and how to create excitement around a blog, as I have no experience doing this. Personally, I am not a fan of social networking, but I want to learn to do it well and effectively from a professional blogger’s perspective. So, my blogging question is – how and where do I start with effective social networking? Is there a step-by-step way to do it or is it simply learn as you go? Thanks for starting this discussion.
I am launching my own blog and would love to know more about how to maximize the potential of it. I’d also like to know the best ways to differentiate yourself when nearly everyone now has their own blog. What’s most important to potential advertisers? Which social networking areas are most beneficial (Twitter, etc?) That kind of stuff. Can you help? Thanks. 🙂
Network blogging is definitely a rapidly changing field right now, with the economy the way it is. For the networks that are surviving and thriving, I am sure the bloggers there are feeling the pinch from a saturated market as well. Social media is also opening the door to higher traffic for bloggers who do not participate in a network, and may be seeing more profit potential in keeping their material on their own site with their own advertising.
One this is for sure, it will be interesting to see how blogging progresses moving forward. I think the bloggers who are most likely to succeed in the future will be willing to adapt, embrace social media as a supplement to their blog, and keep SEO in mind.
Should be interesting to watch the future of blogging unfold.
I think when we started this blog, we had more faith in blog networks. I do still believe they have their benefits but they have to be more to the blogger’s benefit than the network and its owners. So many networks are lowering pay and even cutting it out altogether.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong in still offering tips for network bloggers, but we should also cater to the bloggers who want to succeed on their own. I’m all about the reinvention. (As you may have already guessed.)
Does that leave me as the only pro-networks person around here? 🙂 If so… I guess that’s okay. I’ll work at serving those that want to avoid the mine field that is network blogging. 😉
@David – To clarify, I’m not against networks at all, not by a long shot. I think they’re great places to learn as a blogger and grow a community. They do have benefits for sure.
The problem with many of the networks is that many of them aren’t paying a livable wage. Today.com for intstance doesn’t pay their writers more than $30 a month. They will only pay $1 a day yet they turn around and tell bloggers they need to work harder at building up traffic. Who can be so motivated for $1 a day?
Another problem I see some of the network blogs is that it’s hard for a blogger to make a name for himself. If you look at b5 or Today.com or the former Know More Media and try to choose a really well known authority blogger, you’d be hard pressed. This does depend on the network, however. I can name several “well known” bloggers at Splash Press for example.
So I do think network blogs are a good idea up until a certain point. Most bloggers can probably earn more and make a better name for themselves blogging on their own.
“So I do think network blogs are a good idea up until a certain point. Most bloggers can probably earn more and make a better name for themselves blogging on their own.”
Well said Deb!
One word comes to mind when I think of Today.com, and that word is exploitation. $1.00 per day is definitely not worth the time and effort that goes into writing an article, and the people who post there are essentially giving their products away. I would liken it to supplying Wal-Mart with a product, AND letting them keep the profit from selling it.
There are a variety of factors one must consider when posting to a network blog factory. What rights do you have to give up to the content you submit? What payment structure does the service provide? Is it a flat fee, traffic based, or a combination of both? Can you link back to your own blog or website, or is it a walled garden?
Heck, even if you do retain distribution rights, placing your article on your own site may damage any SEO work you’ve done due to duplicate content. There are a lot of different things to consider when looking at network blogging, but that should provide a lot of material to work with here. 🙂
@Sarah, Problogger does have a ton of amazing info, but I guess the payoff of reading here is that with fewer readers and comments, we can usually answer questions easier than Darren perhaps can. Ohhh was that a NBT plug – yes, I think it was. Also, good questions, I’ll add them to my notes.
@Rupa social networking is one of my ups and downs with blogging, it’s why I first loved blogging, and now it sometimes drives me mad trying to keep up, but love it or not, it’s a big perk to use if you have a blog, so it’s a great topic idea.
@Lib – Lib! So happy to see your name. Must. Skype. More. And it is sad about network issues – very. Glad to hear you’re getting your own blog.
@The Burnman – wow, nice perfect comment. I agree with everything 🙂
@Deb – yeah, I think you’re right. I’m glad you’ve been able to build up, it gives me hope for decent networks.
@David I’m not so sure I’m anti-network, but I surely am anti-promoting work where writers get squat for pay, but the additional pleasure of more tasks anyhow. Many networks expect flipping miracles yet want to pay less and less – that’s not good for bloggers. Most of the time right now, if you want to work FT for networks, the pay is going to be lower than it should be. As much as I can appreciate networks, I’m always going to be on the side of the paid writers first. It’s totally not fair for me to tell writers to aim for networks when I know most of them won’t get a living wage out of it.
I need more info on blogging for myself. I do write for others, but I just started a new site and a blog because I am sick and tired of chasing the dollar in some other guy’s pocket. Waiting to get paid or settling for a really low rate.
Hi Julie,
What sort of things are you (and others) looking to learn more about?
@Deb-
I really want to know if what I am doing is right. I’m using social networking (Twitter), spreading the link, and trying to keep content current.
I want to know more about Kontera, how to make it work for me, how to get people to comment-(I try to write as if I’m talking to my readers to get them involved)…and how to get more people to want to guest blog.
A lot of this I know from working for other’s blogs. But I want to hear advice from an ownership point of view. I have owned other blogs, but they’re personal, more along the lines of buddy to buddy. This new one is a serious venture into helping others while helping others while helping myself.
Ie- How much is fair to pay for a one time post?
Do I really NEED guests? (I htink so, but want opinions)
What if my link buddies bail?
And just where IS Capone?
To add to JulieF’s more-than-exensive list 🙂
– How to find your niche (and possibly sub-niche)
– Naming a blog (maybe a sensitive topic)
– How often should you post?
– Where to get photos (e.g. morguefile, etc)
– Blogs and Social Media (digg, stumbleupon, etc)
– Blogs and ecommerce (selling your eBook on your blog)
I’m curious about Kontera as well. They totally ignored me when I applied to put their links on my own blog. I guess I don’t have enough traffic for them…
Hi Peggy,
FWJ has done very well with Kontera in the past. I don’t understand why they would ignore you because they usually cater to bloggers very well and always respond to my emails. My biggest gripe is that they always schedule these days of maintenance and we can’t see our stats for several days.
Thanks Deb. I applied a few days after I switched to my own url from a free WP blog, so maybe that had something to do with it. I’ll try them again later.
I’m a bit confused. I write for About.com, which is blogging among other things… and I do get paid reasonably well on the basis of page views. Just started with Examiner, ditto.
My incentive for working harding/networking/etc. is simply – more page views = more cash. Of course, it would be nice to make MORE than I’m making… but outside of getting non-blogging for-hire work (I do grant proposals, articles, kids’ books, podcast scripts, web content, etc.) I’m not sure there’s a better way to write for cash.
In theory, if you have a terrific specialty that is very, very interesting to folks on the net… and you can sell piles and piles of product through Amazon or other affiliates, I guess you could really build up a blog-based biz – but that’s pretty rare, isn’t it?
Best,
Lisa
Testing1.