You’re returning home from Netroots Nation 2009 all fired up, or maybe you couldn’t afford to go this year, and the thought enters your mind: wouldn’t it be great if I could get paid, just a little, to support or justify my blogging habit? The reality is there are millions of blogs out there, the vast majority receive precious little attention, let alone enough page visits to interest advertisers. But don't let that stop you. The demand for quality online content is growing and the medium is still in its infancy.
Being a science writer, one of my favorite haunts is Scienceblogs owned by Seed Media (Which also includes a science jobs posting site). Most of the writers there, or sciblings as we call them, are research scientists or graduate students. But the Seed Overlords are interested in hearing from anyone with a flair for writing and a deep knowledge of any field of science or science policy issue. It’s been awhile since I talked to anyone there about it. So bearing in mind my figures are unofficial and could be wildly off, I believe the average scibling makes between 100 and 500 dollars a month. You wanna apply, email me and I'll pass it on.
I started writing for The Examiner.com a couple of months ago. They’re part of Clarity Media, owned mostly by the conservative Anshutz family. But my editor has never complained to me about my strongly worded progressive content -- in fact he eggs me on! They are actively recruiting democrats and progressive political writers, along with folks versed in topics as diverse as entertainment, art, or sports. There are sci-fi and even Michelle Obama Examiners; the recruiting emphasis is on local and niche experts. So far I average about 25 dollars a week. Writers who have built up a reading base routinely make over 500 dollars a month. You wanna apply, go here.
Some Congress persons, corporations, and non-profits employ an online communications person, either full time or in addition to other duties. And while much of that site content is quite good, I surf sites everyday that would greatly benefit from the kind of creative writing and formatting talent shown by diarists here on any day of the week ( And that's a nice way to say it, some of it is just awful). That pay varies widely, from interns working purely for college credit to full time online communications directors making well over 60,000 dollars a year. Medium and largish companies also have internal websites dedicated to employees. I've been tapped to write on a couple, neither of which lasted due to cutbacks unfortunately. But if you can sell the idea to your company, you might just create yourself a pretty cool and potentially influential niche within it.
Don't underestimate your value: a handful of colleges and universities have just barely begun to offer basic classes in this stuff, usually as an elective for a technical or creative writing degree or communications major. Most of you guys and gals are on the cutting edge, way, way ahead of the curve simply by having existing relationships with bloggers, a familiarity with the medium, and screen names on popular sites like this one. If you love to write, are already posting somewhere, can handle basic html tags, format and/or edit images, and manage a lively, often critical comment thread without losing your sanity, you have nothing to lose by least trying to see if your blogging habit can generate a little wampum.
And that's the main reason I wrote this post, so that you peeps -- who are literally creating this industry whether you know it or not -- can chime in with your own experiences and tips. Good or bad, new or old, other venues that are hiring or contracting online content. And as an added incentive, a few highly rated or productive comments will be elevated into this post, along with links to your site if applicable, right here => ...
Thoughts and Ideas from a PaleoPunker, megabeasts and other things ancient and awesome.
MadScientist -- "I'm definitely interested."
Penn to Paper -- Musings on pop culture, Philadelphia, and my many other penchants.
CharlieHipHop -- a blog for music lovers, musicians, and lovers of musicians.
The Progressive Electorate -- "A lot of us that have been writing for free are getting broke and frustrated."
bondibox says -- "The newsvine website will pay you for merely seeding a link to an existing article. Just scour the net for interesting stuff ...
Survivor Left Blogistan says "I'd love to be paid for content."
JR has some thoughts on his professional blogging career for politicians.