Here we go again. If you were around in 2000, the current landscape for writing “jobs” is starting to look all too familiar.
b3Media for example, is cutting its rates to its bloggers.
Big Blogger Pay Cuts At b5Media reports:
“Toronto based b5Media is changing the way it pays bloggers in its hundreds-strong blog network, according to an email memo sent out to partners by CEO Jeremy Wright and copied below.”
Read the entire article.
From what I can read in the article, b5Media wasn’t paying its bloggers much to begin with, and now it’s cutting even that meagre pay.
I’ve got nothing against b5Media, they’re a fantastic company, and I hope they go from strength to strength. What fascinated me in the article was discovering how their bloggers were paid.
However, I agree with Jeremy Wright, that dollars aren’t everything. (From the article): “Obviously pay is only a small part of being a part of any network like b5media. Soft perks like press access, increased profile and free hosting are valuable, as are community benefits like being part of a group of similarly passionate bloggers, contests and channel events and ongoing training programs.”
Yes, TRAINING people is hard work. (That’s why I created Sell Your Writing Online NOW (SYWON), because training in Web writing is essential.) I’m sure that they spend a lot of time and money training their bloggers. So I agree, that training is a big benefit – their writers get free training, and that means a lot. Free hosting etc however is available pretty much anywhere, and I’m not sure what he means by “press access”. Journalists are accessible to anyone who has a story, since their livelihood depends on people bringing them information and ideas.
Anyway, all that to one side. I like b5Media, and don’t want to denigrate them at all.
Run a writing business, don’t get a writing job
What the b5Media story does emphasize is how important it is to treat your writing like a business, and not like a job.
Take blogging, for example. If you’re being paid to blog – you’ve got a blog job – payment is excellent if you’re blogging for a company, not a network like b5Media. I know bloggers who make upwards of $1000 a week, for a couple of hours of work a day.
But they’re still working a job. They make no profits from their blog, and they can’t sell the blog, because all their writing belongs to a company, as does their blog.
On the other hand, you can start a blog and turn it into a business. This means you own all your writing on the blog, and you own your blog. All the profits are your own. You can turn a blog into a six figure income, as your blog grows, and as you continue to monetize it with advertising and other options.
The takeaway is: treat your writing like a business. It can be more profitable that you can imagine.
Imagine… $1,000 A Week For Just Ten Hours
You can get paid to blog. The current rate for experienced bloggers is around $1,000 to $1500 a week for from two to five posts a day – VERY nice writing income.
Find out how to blog with the blogging best-seller “Blogging For Dollars: How to become a career blogger — in your PJs, if you want”. It’s my complete new ebook package, with free coaching/ consultations as well.
Technorati Tags: writing, freelance writing, writing for the Web, blog, blogging
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