Questions to ask before joining a blogger network

Hi Ken,

As someone who spoke to a few blogger networks before settling on one, here's a few things i'd recommend you ask:

How will the network promote you? Do they highlight members' content, how will they link to you on their site? As you said, lot of the benefit from these networks can be from increased visibility, so it's good to discuss and negotiate any promotion early.

Do they have a contract? It sounds obvious but you'd be surprised! Be sure to note the terms for terminating the contract, like how much of a termination notice you need to give, and what happens to any earnings if they choose to terminate. Also double-check the agreements for advertisement placings, and make sure that if you want to include other ads on the site, you can.

How often are you paid for any advertising? Be sure all the details of how much is paid when is all explicitely laid out.

Who owns the weblog? Who controls the editorial content? I know some networks actually take ownership of the weblog while others just pay you for a bit of space, so it's good to just make sure that everyone is on the same page.

More generally, get a good idea of the people that you're dealing with -- do they take ages to respond to your requests, and are they a bit cagey when you start asking about details? If you get a bad vibe, i would recommend steering clear -- like the recent performancing article noted, you want to be careful about who you're associating your weblog with!

Hope that helps!

One more note -- if you're not in a typical adsense blog, you might also want to clarify their position on sponsorship -- it might be a good business model for your weblog, but you'll probably need to pre-agree it with the network before you join, even if you don't have a sponsor lined up.

Ken, I usually like to ask about copyright, if the pieces I'll be writing are either:

(1) Something that involves a lot of research.
(2) Something that is very personal to me.
(3) Something that I may want to republish elsewhere in the future.
(4) Something that I already can earn hundreds of dollars writing for print, because I happen to have contacts.

I do not ask for rights on all of my writing, especially if the topic is something that I'd really like to learn more about. So I try to work both ways.

Just thought i'd add for completeness -- be sure you verify exactly what ads will be placed on the site. Some networks want to use those really annoying pop-unders, which for me is a total deal-breaker. If the contract just says "ads," i would pin that down to the exact type, placement, etc.

Sorry for flooding the suggestions!

I have put my thoughts on the homepage but do keep us posted with your eventual decision and your reasons for saying yes or no?

You could ask:

If I join your network can I write elsewhere say online or off or is it exclusive ?

How long is the contract length?

What adverts would I see on my blog?

Don't be afraid to ask questions about business model and who their advertisers are, how long they been using them and do they pay on time (or is that one just me)?

Talk to other writers on that network to see what they are saying. If it sounds too good to be true than it probably is and one other thing I learned about the music industry:

There is no such thing as a standard contract. All contracts are negotiable. Don't be told otherwise. If you get offered a contract and there are clauses or terms you don't like negotiate them (Get a lawyer).

Very helpful articles and comments and some very helpful reminders!
Really worth reading twice.

del.icio.us.ed it ... my new AHK shortcut 'delled' :-)