Want well-paying blogging jobs? Don't rely on the job boards.

I'm not saying never check the ads. I check them regularly. What I'm saying is don't rely on the job boards as your sole source of income. Not if you want to find the best paying work.

My best paying clients never posted an ad online. In fact, most of my clients didn't even know they needed a blogger until I told them. I pitched, I scored. If you've got the skills, you can too.

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You've decided to become a freelance blogger. You've been scouring the web for blogging jobs. You've found a gig that sparks your interest, but should you take it?

What's the payment arrangement?

Many blogging gigs (especially for networks) offer a monthly rate plus page view bonuses. Others pay per post. Some pay in shares of ad revenue. Revenue-only pay can be zero if the blog gets little traffic. Even a low monthly rate + traffic bonus can be too little if it becomes your job to find the traffic.

Will you have to network?

If you're getting traffic bonuses, sometimes a low monthly rate is worth it. How much traffic does the blog already get? If it's your job to network to get the traffic, make sure to account for that time when making your decision.

How much work will the writing take?

Will you have to do research, or can you easily write on the topic? Is there a word count requirement, or can you write short posts?

Are you trying to establish yourself as a niche blogger?

If the low-pay gig could lead to higher paying jobs within your niche, taking the job might be worth it.

Will you enjoy it?

Blogging jobs generally require coming up with your own ideas for content on a daily basis. You'll burn out fast if you don't enjoy the topic.

Are there other perks?

Some blogging jobs will allow you a good amount of room for self-promotion. Others won't even give you a byline. Some offer free products to review, others free samples. If the offered perks are of benefit to you, it might be worth it to take the gig even if the pay isn't great.

What kind of commitment are you making?

If you're going to have to sign a contract, make sure you know what you're getting into. If the arrangement doesn't work out, can you quit in a month or are you locked in for a year? Does blogging six times a week mean you can write all six posts in one day and "drip" them to appear throughout the week, or do you actually have to log in six days a week and post something new? Get the details ironed out before you commit.

Deciding whether or not to take a blogging job can be difficult even for an experienced freelance blogger. The choice will ultimately depend on your own personal and professional goals.

The focus has turned squarely on content. It’s not new. Savvy website owners have all along paid emphasis on quality content and lots of that. That makes perfect sense because of phenomenal success of several content-heavy blogs online.

The more the blogs feel the heat of the need of new contents, the more there is demand for talent for blogging jobs. The demand is still in early stage of formation, but there are enough indications that it will markedly rise in near future.

But why are blogging jobs likely to increase? To understand that it is necessary to appreciate just how valuable is content for a website. I’ll take the example of The New York Times to drive home my view.

Contents freed at the New York Times

The recent decision by The New York Times to throw open its online content free is a case in point. Arguably the NYT decision comes based on its findings that making the content free may fetch more dollars through advertising compared to low growth potential of paid online subscribers.

The NYT’s reversal of decision comes just 2 years after it considered charging for access to some of the contents on its website. 3 things become clear:

1
Web visitors who are not subscribers to the New York Times’ online edition are leaving the site after finding their entry barred to some contents. Many of these are highly targeted readers who come to the site after having searched through the engines.

2
Loosing the readers not only means loosing them to competition, but also loosing precious advertising revenue, because the more the readers stay the more the chance is for them to follow a page ad.

3
Many readers look for analysis on fresh news. The NYT has this in abundance courtesy its experienced staff and worldwide reach, but so do many other online publications. Thus though the NYT has formidable archived content going back to 1851, it still looses readers to competition.

What follows?

2 points that filter out of the New York Times’ decision are:

1
If a site has to retain high visibility, it must have fresh contents every single day. They need to be relevant and targeted so as not to disappoint readers.

2
No site can afford to let visitors slip past and take refuge in competition’s site because of some flaws in the site. In other words, there must not be any ‘obstacle’ on the path of readers accessing any page in the site or wishing to do what they want to within fair practices, such as being able to easily email the site owner and be replied upon promptly.

Blogging jobs come to fore

Seen in this perspective, it becomes apparent that the websites and blogs that earn or plan to earn from ads on their pages – the info-publishing business – have to necessarily depend on a constant flow of contents relevant to their sites.

The trouble is except for giant newspapers, publishing houses and the likes most online content sites lack sufficient in-house wherewithal to churn out endless quantity of contents for days without end. This doesn't appear to be feasible, if not entirely impossible.

To grow therefore, a stage will soon come when it will become necessary to outsource blogging jobs. The challenge may then be to attract and retain writers who can adapt to your style of writing, and at the same time have an analytical mind and expertise to do a good job for you.