Should You Kill Off Your Blog?!

From time to time I read an article with a theme along these lines: Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites are taking over the internet making emailing and blogging a thing of the past.

Though such ideas are out there, I have yet to uncover hard data supporting these kinds of statements. But I can imagine that there may actually be something to this sort of thinking especially since Facebook now has more than 400 million registered users and my email inbox seems to be under control. Concerning the latter I can say that the number of messages I receive daily has finally plateaued, this coming after many years of relentless growth.

I’m registered with all of the major social networking sites as well as with a handful of relatively unknown sites too. But if you think that I’m going to become a Facebook Farmville devotee and give up my blogging, you’re cluck crazy!

So should you give up blogging? Well, if your blog isn’t much to speak of then go ahead.

For the majority of people who have been maintaining blogs for several years, giving up blogging now seems to make no sense. Especially if you have created a regular following and have steady traffic. Of course, should you decide to do something completely different with your life, then exiting blogging makes sense. But don’t leave your blog twisting in the wind if you think that Facebook should replace your time online.

Here are some reasons why I am not about to give up blogging any time soon:

I enjoy creating my own work. Blogging gives me a platform or bully pulpit to say what I think. Certainly you can do that on many social networking sites, but you are competing in a noisy marketplace of ideas. By maintaining this blog I can control it and give people the chance to respond and be heard.

I don’t want to lose money. This blog certainly is not a money maker but I do manage other blogs that are. Losing a couple daily Adsense clicks may not be much, but that tends to add up. Why should social networking sites get the benefit of that and more especially when I am providing to them unique and (hopefully) interesting content?

For posterity’s sake. I can’t imagine my blog writings being around long after I am gone, but if they are then I want to receive credit for what I wrote. Even for the short term I need to point my potential clients to my writings; without a blog as reference then I have one less resource to show.

I know some people are interpreting the writing on the wall to mean that blogging will eventually go the way of newspapers. Well, newspapers aren’t dead yet and just like print media I believe that blogging will transform to keep pace with “what’s new” while still allowing bloggers to have a voice on a platform they control.

Blogging For Dollars: Is That Possible?

I just realized that I’m working on a special message this month – Christmas Eve is just two weeks away, but in some respects I’m looking beyond the holiday season. This theme is something I’ve been talking about a lot lately — how to operate your freelance writing business.

I realize that the term “freelance writer” can used very broadly, but that is my intention. Some of my readers are editors, others are bloggers, yet many people are writers who are earning a living or supplementing their income by completing paid assignments from clients.

Beration Free Zone

What this article certainly isn’t about is berating anyone for whatever types of assignment they choose to do or how much they decide to charge for their work. Certainly, you shouldn’t work for a paltry amount which means commanding $25 or more per article is a good place to start.

I will share with you some tips on “blogging for dollars” which is more accurately described as writing for a blog. There are three ways I will mention, beginning with the lowest paying gig up to the most lucrative:

Your Blog – Yes, your blog can become a money machine. But, in most cases you won’t make that much money at least from the beginning. Among the ways you can make money is to write paid reviews, sell text links, feature banner advertising, and run AdSense or similar pay per click advertising.

Every one of the six blogs I own or manage makes money from a few dollars per week up to several hundred dollars per month. To get to that point I needed to bring in the traffic which means that the topics I discuss including college/career, consumer information, cars, Christian/inspirational, and writing, has to be something that people will want to read. No, I don’t make my living off of the four blogs that I own, but they offer a nice supplement to my income.

Blogging Networks – Though the pay is usually higher that what most people earn from their own blogs, I’m not a fan of blogging networks. Still, if this is the path that you choose to take, then more power to you.

I was offered a position with a blogging network (b5Media) a few years back, but I turned the job down when I learned that my income was based on page views. In other words, for every 1,000 visitors to the blog, I would receive a dollar or two. That’s it.

Don’t get me wrong – there are people who like this sort of arrangement and are doing quite well, operating a blog that pulls in thousands of people each day. What is more, they earn a small base plus commission which means that they can get several hundred dollars per month. Yet, with 20 articles posted each month that means the top bloggers get $10-$15 per article for all of their hard work. Ouch.

Business Blogging – This is my favorite blogging opportunity for several reasons: the pay is good, the work is steady, and the recognition is also something that makes this kind of blogging special.

But it is also the hardest job to find – most good paying business blogging gigs are secured directly from companies, not from Craigslist, Elance, or message board communities. My gigs came from a writing customer who realized that he should have a blog. Those two blogs have elevated his business, bringing in more traffic, pulling in customers, and attracted advertisers.

In addition to writing most of the articles (once daily, five times per week), I backup the blogs, update WordPress as needed, keep the plugins fresh, and use social networking to broadcast changes. It is a lot of work, but I make good money because a long time writing client trusted my skills and believes that there is value in what I do.

Contributing Articles

If you can get a gig where you can get paid per contribution, that might be something for you to take. I didn’t add with the three other options, because this is one area I’m not all that familiar with. Prices vary depending on article length and subject matter as well as popularity of the blog. Expect to receive $10 -$30 per article.