eXtra For Every Publisher

After being in a negative mood yesterday, and getting it all out of my system, I figured I would return today and give a quick list of the advantages of being a problogger, over most common jobs.

Making Your Own Hours

Sometimes I get up bright and early and get to work, other days I lounge around and focus all evening. The flexibility in my work allows me to get many other things done, and removes a fair bit of the stress from my job.

I know I have to put in a certain amount of time to see rewards from what I do, but I can spread it out over the course of the day, allowing me to do bursts of high productivity times split up with times of relaxation, reflection and some gaming.

Writing About Your Passion

Most people that become probloggers make it to that level by writing about their passion, and to be honest, there is nothing better than spending all day researching and writing about the things you love the most.

Early on in my problogging career, I was able to write about technology all day, and so I was more knowledgeable in that area than I ever had been before, and it was a great feeling to be so well informed. It is like taking a class in something you’ve always wanted to know more about and getting paid for it.

Online Community

There is a diverse community of bloggers online who are looking to connect with other bloggers. If you can find a few people that your personality meshes well with, you will find your time online that much more enjoyable.

I have been fortunate enough to work with, meet and talk to numerous people online who have been an inspiration to me, as well as supportive in my online ventures, and a great sounding wall stopping me from making mistakes.

Low Cost Business

I put this last on my list because it is one of the least important “pro’s” I could think of, but it is worth mentioning that problogging is a low cost business. If you have a computer, an internet connection, and something to write about, you are pretty much set. You don’t need an office, expensive equipment, or tons of other overhead.

This means that whenever I want to start a new project, or a different project, I don’t have to empty my pockets, and that most of what I make through blogging goes right to paying my mortgage, food and other such things.

Conclusion

Blogging professionally, be it part-time or full time has many advantages over the traditional nine to five style job, and what I have listed here is only a small bit of what could convince you that this is the right job for you. But before you leap into becoming a problogger, check out my con’s list.

Share

When starting a site on the web, much of your traffic will most likely come from search engines like Google, but that can also be your downfall, as search engines are always changing how they decide to place items in their index.

An interesting case is the recent 28% traffic drop for Answers.com due to some shuffle in Google’s index.

From 901am:

“The major search engines modify their algorithms all the time,” said Bob Rosenschein, CEO. “This change only demonstrates the sound business rationale behind our agreement to purchase Dictionary.com, because it underscores a primary motivation for the deal: to secure a steady source of direct traffic and mitigate our current dependence on search engine algorithms.”

Make sure you diversify your traffic sources or it will dry up due to a quick shift at Google, or one of the other search engines.

Share

Copyblogger is an expert when it comes to using the power of making list posts. He has done wonders with them, and so have many other bloggers, all thanks to the fact that none of us have any attention span.

Simply put, lists work because they conform to the idea of “Left-Brain Marketing”. Everyone has two sides of the brain, and each part controls a specific way of thinking. The left brain is analytical, and prefers a step-by-step approach (i.e. lists) while the right brain prefers to see the big picture first and then deal with the details later.

Television commercials take the right brain approach with highly-produced images and expensive repetition. On the other hand, the left brain list format has been a successful approach for many decades with direct marketers, magazine publishers, late-night comedians and more recently with Internet content producers and social media marketers.

Many social media users want to know exactly what they’re in for, and the list format caters specifically to that need. It lets them know up front in the headline what to expect and what the time commitment will be.

If you want to gain some attention to your blog, set up a few list posts about pretty much anything, and you will most likely see some decent return. I, for one, hate the longer 101 items lists, but give me a dozen points on being more productive, and I will probably read it.

Share

There are many people that think being a problogger is great, and for the most part it is, but I wanted to cover some of the negative side of being a problogger, and a few things that most people don’t think about.

Working From Home

Most people wouldn’t expect working from home to be an item on the con’s list, but it is. There are a lot more distractions at home from telemarketers, family and friends, and objects you own. I have found a days wasted in front of the television, or on the phone, when I should have been getting work done instead.

Sometimes you just think to yourself, maybe a round or two on the Xbox will allow me to unwind so I can refocus, and the next thing you know, it is late in the evening and you haven’t done any work at all.

Balancing Work and Life

Balancing work and life ties in with working from home as in both, you will need to separate yourself from the world around you, and manage your time. I am pretty bad at this. I either give work all my time, or my home life all my time.

Sometimes I wonder if I wouldn’t be better off working twelve hours a day for four days a week, and dealing with the rest of what constitutes my life during the three days off. But either way, it can be horrible to try to find the energy and focus to properly balance work and life.

Not being able to do this has caused burnout and created rifts in my relationships on numerous occasions.

Computer Time

When working as a problogger, you will spend an inordinate amount of time on a computer. So much so that you will have to become an expert at using one. It will become part of your ever day routine, and take over your life. I now have three computers at home, and because I am a geek, they all have different operating systems. I suggest that no one else ever go to such extremes, but if you want to be a problogger, you will have to get used to using computers all the time.

Oh, and you computer(s) will stop working at the worst time, so you best get good at repairing them or know someone that can.

Personality Requirements

There is something about problogging that requires a strange personality. One that can deal with being alone for long periods of time, and yet that same person also has to be able to network, and be interesting to be around. This type of personality is rare, and also a bit odd, and so that is why it is in the con’s column of being a problogger.

Energy Usage

One of the things that I have noticed about this job is the small amount of energy that the jobs uses. Sure reading and writing all day can be tiring, but my belly says that I am getting fatter and more physically lazy. Now, things that were difficult before, like roller blading for a couple hours, seem impossible after only an hour. It is like your body gets used to only needing a tiny bit of energy. Your appetite slowly changes, and you begin to gain weight. Think fatblogging is only a fad? I think it’s only going to get worse.

Between the high amount of focus and concentration, and the near zero amount physical activity, blogging can really wear you down.

Unstable Industry

You have to remember that pretty much anything online is pretty unstable. As an international problogger, I have to deal with the currency exchange, but other than that, I face the same instabilities as other probloggers. Some of the things you might face include: monetization strategies change, search engine optimization can shift about, and niches that are worth thousands of dollars one day, can have so much new competition introduced that they are only worth pennies the next. Doesn’t that seem like fun? It sometimes feels like you spend almost as much time planning ahead as working on your current projects.

Conclusion

These are just some of the negatives that come with working in the blogging industry, but after all that, I am still glad that I do what I do. This has been the most enjoyable job I have ever had, and I really hope that it never ends. Just keep all this in mind when you are looking at going the problogger route, and if any of these are a deal breaker, then walk away, and try something else.

Share

Over on b5media’s Business and Blogging site, there is a post up entitled, Blogging is a Transferable Skill, where Des Walsh says that putting Blogging on your resume, might help you get hired.

And I quote:

as any half-way committed blogger knows, there is a lot of knowledge and skill in this field that you can only acquire by doing it.

So, for example, an eighteen year old who may not have a lot of developed skill in financial management may be a mad keen blogger/MySpacer : the knowledge and skill they have acquired in that private activity might be very timely and potentially very valuable, say for a financial services business which is about to set up a corporate blog and needs someone to make it all work.

If I were the employer, I might well decide that the blogging candidate’s skills in this area outweighed a lack of experience in other skill areas. That candidate might well get the job over someone with more financial skills but who doesn’t blog or have any interest in blogging.

A very interesting idea, and something I hadn’t really considered. It makes complete sense though, especially as companies get more familiar with blogs and what kind of effects they can have on a business. I was almost hired at one point, by a web development company, to help work on things like blogs for corporations that don’t really understand its value. One of the reasons they sought me out was because I was a blogger, and I knew enough PHP to get me by.

I didn’t join their company, but they later hired a stronger coder, and weaker blogger who fit the position nicely. The point is though, that they wanted a blogger. Someone that understood Technorati, the blogosphere, and the power of blogging, and could convey that to their clients.

So add it to your resume, and be proud of your skills as a blogger. There might be many blogs out there in the world, but there are very few true dedicated bloggers.

Share