How to Build Your Blogging Credibility – While Getting Paid

Posted: 27 Feb 2011 09:12 PM PST

This is a guest post by Ali Hale. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.

In your first months – or even years – of blogging, it can feel like you’re shouting into the wind.

Your traffic is almost non-existent. Your subscriber numbers are still in the double digits. Readers never email you. Bloggers never link to you. And you’re pretty sure that the “nice post, honey!” comment was left by your mom.

And you try to get some momentum going. It just doesn’t seem to work. Maybe you email a bunch of of big-time bloggers, but no-one writes back. Or you send out a guest post, but it gets turned down. Or you ask for retweets, but no-one’s listening.

The thing is, you’re a good writer. You just need a way of getting your name out there.

Well, that’s actually not too hard. In fact, you can:

Build up your blogging credibility
Improve your writing every day
AND … get paid at the same time.

Sounds way too good to be true? Here’s how.

Write for Big Blogs – for Money

Most large blogs use a team of paid writers to produce regular, quality content. Although Daniel doesn’t have paid staff here on Daily Blog Tips, he’s got hired hands working on Daily Writing Tips. There are thousands of blogs which pay writers – and you’re probably already reading several.

Pay rates vary, though you can certainly find plenty of gigs paying $40 or more per post. The thing is, though, getting paid to blog isn’t just about the money.

As well as getting a steady income from your writing, you’ll get some amazing exposure and experience:

You’ll have your name on every post you write, on big sites – and many will let you have a link back to your own blog on a “writers” page. Instead of being a complete nobody in the blogosphere, you’ll start to find that people know your name.
You’ll get to flex your writing muscles in front of a huge audience – often tens or hundreds of thousands of readers. Scary? You bet! But it’s also hugely motivating, and you’ll quickly learn what works and what doesn’t.
You’ll learn from the best. The bloggers who can afford to pay writers have build up great blogs that generate plenty of money. By studying what they do, you’ll learn how to make your own blog stronger.

Plus, you’ll have a lot of fun. My first paid blogging gig was three years ago this month (and I’m still writing for that blog, too!) It’s been a fantastic journey that led me to quit my day job, sell advertising, create ebooks and ecourses, and make a living as an entrepreneurial writer.

The only problem is, it’s pretty unlikely that anyone’s going to email you and say “Hey, I’ve got a blogging job for you.” You’re going to need to do a bit of work.

Get On Course for a Blogging Job – Today

Landing a blogging job isn’t too hard. There are a couple of key ways to do it:

#1: Build Up a Relationship With Blogs that Pay Writers

Let’s say you read FreelanceSwitch – and you’d love to write for them.

How can you tell that they use paid writers?

Well, for one thing, you’ll see the same names cropping up again and again. For instance, Thursday Bram has posts there pretty much every week.

And there’s an even bigger clue, too: the Contribute page (which tells you they pay $50 per post)

Not all blogs tell you that they use paid writers – but if you see the same name coming up every single week, it’s a fair bet that they’re being paid.

If you demonstrate your writing skills to the blog’s owner – probably by sending in a guest post or two – then there’s a good chance that they’ll be more than happy to let you know when a vacancy opens up. Current writers move on, and blogs grow, so you’ve got a good chance of scoring a blogging job this way.

Of course, you can’t normally be certain that a particular blog is looking to hire. So you might want to use the next method instead – or even better, as well.

#2: Use Job Boards to Find Blogging Jobs

There are several great listings of blogging jobs, but the two best (in my opinion) are:

Both have new jobs every day – Problogger only lists jobs which are specifically sent to them, and Freelance Writing Jobs compiles different leads from all around the internet.

It’s up to you to make sure that a job is worth your time. Some blogging jobs – particularly for big “content mills” like Demand Media – don’t pay very much. You may well need to sift through quite a few low-quality jobs to find some good ones.

When you apply for a blogging job, remember that there may be dozens or even hundreds of other writers applying too. You can maximize your chances of success by:

Following all the instructions. If you’re asked to attach your resume, for example, make sure you actually do so. If you’re asked to send samples of your writing, send them.
Proof-reading your application. Editors are looking for a way to reject unsuitable candidates, and if you look careless or sloppy, they’re not going to give your application a second glance.
Tailoring your application to the job. I know it’s tempting to just copy-and-paste paragraphs from a previous application – but you need to show that you’ll be great for this job. If it’s obvious that you’re just sending a form email, the editor will give the job to someone who seems to care.

You might need to apply for quite a few jobs before you get one – but trust me, the rewards are well worth it.

In six months’ time, you could be a well-known name in the blogosphere, with dozens of great posts to your name – and hundreds of enthusiastic comments from readers. Give freelance blogging a try – today.

About the Author: Ali Luke has just released The Blogger’s Guide to Freelancing, a fully-updated and expanded version of her popular Staff Blogging Course. Grab your copy today for just $29 , and put yourself on the path to blogging fame and fortune!

Original Post: How to Build Your Blogging Credibility – While Getting Paid