I've noticed that exchange has launched successfully. Several, posters have provided some details offering potential opportunities for bloggers.
I've replied to a couple of the opportunities myself, but I've noticed a trend in the offerings that may be generating responses that are not targeted or efficient enough.
I'd like to gather feedback from everyone else and see if we can put together a list a recommended list of information that might be provided in an exchange listing to return the optimal response from interested bloggers.
I will attempt to kick things off by listing a number of items, and hopefully as the conversation builds we might discuss the importance of things and the priority of items on the list.
1. The website or blogsite that is seeking bloggers.
2. Absent a website, the type of business that is seeking bloggers.(A company may not wish to provide a name, but a description of the industry or company would be helpful)
Electronics company seeking bloggers to write company blog including reviews of new products, tips for using products, and discussions for uses or applications of new products. Company is five years old and growing
3. What is the proposed business relationship between the offering site/company and the requested blogger(s)?
- Paid employee
- contract worker
- consultant
- freelance writer
- paid by the word, paid by the article, revenue sharing from advertising, revenue sharing based on traffic to articles
4. Reciprocal link requests?
5. Offer requires use of Bloggers own existing blog, companies blog, website that already exists, or blog/website yet to be designed and rolled out?
6. If information is sensitive, is a non-disclosure agreement required?
7. Will a contract be required?
8. Who will own the material written after its published? Will the owner be allowed to syndicate it or use it on other websites?
9. Can the blogger receive a credit for the writing within the article including a reciprocal link to their own blog or website provided that it does not detract on the site they are working for (ergo if your writing for a family values blog as a freelance writer, it wouldn't be appropriate possibly to have a hyperlink tag around the writers name that takes you to their personal girls gone wild website or something.
Those are just a few items and some are more or less important. I keep getting the sense that the exchange postings could be more informative, wihch might trigger a more powerful response from the right bloggers for the job.
What does everyone else think?
A great start, good stuff!
A great start, good stuff!
Wow a great intro. I've
Wow a great intro. I've replied to a few but I feel like I am jumping into the lions den as I have no earthly clue what I am really applying for-- Darren's post for B5 seemed to have been by far the most thorough and even still barely touched the issue of money.
I've noticed that a lot of the blogs jobs are unpaid but they are willing for you to link to your own sites from theirs. Personal opinions aside, I definately think they should be upfront about this.
Well said, Brett
Thanks for your post, Brett. Very well said. While everything might seem straightforward, sometimes details such as those are easy to forget. I've noticed a few posts missing such information. A few of the original posters have come back and info, at a commenter's request. Others have not. I'm hoping that future Exchange posters will keep your post in mind.
Great post! These details
Great post!
These details should be added to some kind of exchange form.
@Markus: Setting up a form
Thanks everyone first off.
Markus, I had thought of a form in the back of my mind but did not spell it out.
If the offers could be pushed through an entry form, possibly with everything optional.
It might kindly remind the posters to consider what they are asking for and how they will structure the relationship.
I get the overall impression that this is new for both the companies and sites behind it and for the bloggers, so in some cases this may be the first time a company has ever solicited for a blogger for hire. Being new ground they may not know where to start and a form might be a good start.
I don't think it should be as formal as Monster.com or something like that. Those sites strike me as somewhat tedious, but some simple reminders might go a long way!
It would be cool if Bretts
It would be cool if Bretts post could be somehow incorporated into exchange like a guidelines or a form as suggested. It would make life so much easier for some and I am sure it would cause less headaches later on.
I said it somewhere else
I said it somewhere else before:
Will the license for using content be exclusive or non-exclusive. I.e. non-exclusive would mean that I can use the same content many times again.
Oh, and if exclusive will there be a time window i.e. exclusivity only for a fixed time period.
Another point is syndication: Will the article be used exclusively on one page or will it be syndicated to other sites as well.
And we have the multi-lingual aspect: Will the content possibly be delivered in multiple languages?
@Markus - Agree
Markus' points should be covered in any listing in the exchange or at least requested.
I've seen a couple things in the exchange where the offerings covered all the items above
ex. exclusive with syndication by the receiving site but no multi lingaul
non-exclusive with syndication unknown multilingual
exclusive for 1 year unk: syndication Unk: multilingual
All in all I guess we are loosely defining a new potential industry, converting it from the wild west into a more defined form of industry. All the gunslingers will eventually want to move on to more chaotic pastures. <|:)
good ideas
@Markus, Brett: good ideas, all. Exchange will grow over time. I'm keeping track of these ideas, as I'm more than sure Nick, Chris, and Ahmed are too.
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