Blog Posts or Articles

By debngBlogging

I have a pet peeve regarding some individuals and networks advertising for bloggers. Many of them are jumping on the blogging bandwagon without actually knowing what blogging entails. They know blogs are popular and profitable and want in, but have no clue about blogging. In fact, many places want articles and not blog posts. Trust me, there’s a difference.

Article

Articles are well researched paragraphs of information following a specific format and word count. They’re static pieces of content in which the author cites sources and speak with a particular tone and voice.

Blog Posts

Blog posts are less structured. Posts can be one line or several paragraphs. They can be expert interviews or opinion pieces. A post can consist of a photograph, a video or useful content such as this. Blogs are supposed to encourage community and posts should elicit conversation among your readers.

Finding a Happy Medium

One of my former clients has a magazine publishing background and wanted her blogs to run the same way. She didn’t want me to use “I’s” and insisted on each post meeting a certain word count. Another client found my blogging to be too conversational and turned off the commenting feature because it was too “distracting”. Speaking of distracting, a current client sent an email around to all of his bloggers because he felt images were unnecessary and rather we didn’t use them.

In these situations I do my best to work with the client, but also offer a few suggestions as to why it might be beneficial to encourage a more open-minded approach to blogging. Some clients are willing to compromise, but the ones that don’t “get” it tend to have a “my way or the highway” type of attitude.

Adequate Compensation

If your client wants you to write an article as opposed to a blog post, be sure you’re adequately compensated, especially if you’re expected to do a lot of heavy research or interview experts. $3 a post isn’t going to cut it for a heavily researched 500 worder. I understand why blogging pays less than traditional writing, but if it’s traditional writing you want, you’ll have to open your wallet a little wider.

I’m not saying you should pay for a couple of lines a day either, but if you’re looking to hire bloggers it’s a good idea to take some time out to learn a little bit about blogging and what it entails.

11 thoughts on “Blog Posts or Articles”

  9. Good one Deb. Suitable for Halloween what with the horror stories and all. I’m right there with you about how lame this can be. It’s not that great to work for someone who is not a blogger and has no idea how this job works. I hope some of the people who run blogs see this.

  10. Amen to that.

    If you’ve ever used a service like Blogsvertise (which I signed up for and never used), the advertisers on there are sometimes very descriptive on what they want. I have at least $70 worth of offers under my account, but it’s a bunch of bolognay.

    You’re right. Not many understand what blogs are and they get them confused with articles.

    I would tell your clients to take a hike if they want a 500-word researched article for $3. That’s like $1.50 an hour!

    I just plain hate doing work for other people usually. That’s just me. I’d rather be on the higher end of capitalism.

  11. I’ve found most of my corporate clients don’t use blogs for the same reasons the rest of us do. For example, I blog for a few law firms. Their goal for their blogs is to attract new clients. They’re not looking for a “community” so the comment factor isn’t an issue. It’s an arrangement I’m more than happy to take on, because I’d much rather spend my time writing than networking. I find the financial arrangement to be a better balance for me. If I make $10 per 300 word “article” post and write five posts per week, I consider that an easier $50 per week (for 1 or 2 hours spent writing weekly) than if I made $5 per shorter “traditional” post plus had to spend my time social networking.

    I’d rather stick to corporate clients who don’t know what blogging “really is” than blog for a network who pays $50 per month for 6 posts minimum per week plus page view bonuses. I think it’s all about personal preference. A lot of people disagree with me and don’t understand why I enjoy the type of freelance blogging work I do. I find the steady work/steady pay (even at a lower pay rate than a traditional article writing gig) helps me spend less time looking for other work. For me, it all balances out.

    Great post, Deb. I always enjoy reading what you have to say about blogging work.

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