Blogging for free

[SP7988]

I know of some people who started out blogging for free and used that to go on to bigger and better things. Has anyone ever had similar success?

For example, here in Boston, for the Celtics there are some well-known Celtics blogs such as Red's Army, Celtics Life and even Celtics Blog (SB Nation). A lot of the beat writers for the C's follow these blogs on Twitter and even some NBA writers.

I've written for some in the past, and the positions are unpaid. However, there seems to be a good reach with fans and a lot of comments and what not.

But my question is, are writing for these platforms worth the time and effort? Like will it pay off in the long run or is it just taking up time where I could be writing or freelancing for a paycheck?

 

[DeskMonkey1]

Never write for free unless you are writing for your own blog.

 

[Flip Wilson]

A friend of mine started blogging because she enjoyed it. She wrote about pretty much just one topic, and became known as an expert in that field. She was invited to conferences and conventions to talk about that topic, then the owner of a publishing house started reading her stuff and offered her a book contract. She just recently released her second book. So, yeah, it paid off for her.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

A friend of mine started blogging because she enjoyed it. She wrote about pretty much just one topic, and became known as an expert in that field. She was invited to conferences and conventions to talk about that topic, then the owner of a publishing house started reading her stuff and offered her a book contract. She just recently released her second book. So, yeah, it paid off for her.

For every one of her, there are thousands of others who don't get squat.

That being said, you never know. Look at Romanesko. All he mostly does is collect links from other websites and put some reports online, and look how well he does.

 

[SP7988]

^true.

I feel like doing 1 or 2 a week (around an hour to put out each piece) couldn't hurt. You never know who your words will come across. Could also probably help to have those clips if you ever were to be in the running for a paid beat job of that same sport I would believe.

 

[Alma]

I know of some people who started out blogging for free and used that to go on to bigger and better things. Has anyone ever had similar success?

For example, here in Boston, for the Celtics there are some well-known Celtics blogs such as Red's Army, Celtics Life and even Celtics Blog (SB Nation). A lot of the beat writers for the C's follow these blogs on Twitter and even some NBA writers.

I've written for some in the past, and the positions are unpaid. However, there seems to be a good reach with fans and a lot of comments and what not.

But my question is, are writing for these platforms worth the time and effort? Like will it pay off in the long run or is it just taking up time where I could be writing or freelancing for a paycheck?

Sure, it possible.

But you'd better be good, and you'd better not fall in love too much with feedback. Feedback is not a paycheck. Unless you don't care about a paycheck.

It is true that newspapers have left the market wide open. Many columnists have simply not evolved. They're still wordsmiths trading in cliches and anecdotes, and using those as foundation for opinions. They're feature writers who got those jobs on their ability to string words together, not their ability, quite honestly, to work their way around an argument, and the PR machines for teams today are just too strong and too good to send a romantic to a capitalist's dinner hall. They don't really know how the game is won and lost besides "have good players and have a great coach" and they don't always know how to define what "good" and what's "great." They, along with slow-to-evolve beat writers and sports editors (there are, IMO, fewer of those) have left open a whole market.

 

[Charlie Brown]

A friend of mine started blogging because she enjoyed it. She wrote about pretty much just one topic, and became known as an expert in that field. She was invited to conferences and conventions to talk about that topic, then the owner of a publishing house started reading her stuff and offered her a book contract. She just recently released her second book. So, yeah, it paid off for her.

For every one of her, there are thousands of others who don't get squat.

That being said, you never know. Look at Romanesko. All he mostly does is collect links from other websites and put some reports online, and look how well he does.

How well does he do? I ask because I honestly don't know. Does he make a livable wage with his site?

 

[daemon]

A friend of mine started blogging because she enjoyed it. She wrote about pretty much just one topic, and became known as an expert in that field. She was invited to conferences and conventions to talk about that topic, then the owner of a publishing house started reading her stuff and offered her a book contract. She just recently released her second book. So, yeah, it paid off for her.

Sounds like she was blogging for herself. I would never advise somebody to blog for free if somebody else is making money off of the content.

 

[sgreenwell]

^true.

I feel like doing 1 or 2 a week (around an hour to put out each piece) couldn't hurt. You never know who your words will come across. Could also probably help to have those clips if you ever were to be in the running for a paid beat job of that same sport I would believe.

If anything, I think if this is your mindset then it probably isn't going to lead to anything else. If you look at the people who have parlayed the blogging into success, it's because they're almost obsessively interested in the topic they're covering.

 

[ETN814]

I know plenty of people who started out this way and now cover pro teams.

 

[The Big Ragu]

A friend of mine started blogging because she enjoyed it. She wrote about pretty much just one topic, and became known as an expert in that field. She was invited to conferences and conventions to talk about that topic, then the owner of a publishing house started reading her stuff and offered her a book contract. She just recently released her second book. So, yeah, it paid off for her.

There is a difference between a hobby and a business. Her experience demonstrates that a hobby can sometimes become a business.

But doing something as a hobby, and hoping it will somehow become profitable in the future, is a bad idea in my opinion.

If you do something as a hobby, it should be because you enjoy it -- it's your leisure activity.

When you engage in something you intend to be a business, you should have a clear plan for how you intend to monetize it, and a time frame in which you are going to execute your plan.

Otherwise, you are usually best keeping in as an enjoyable hobby and figuring out another way to earn your living.

 

[playthrough]

I know plenty of people who started out this way and now cover pro teams.

Of course, "cover" can mean many things and you didn't mention money.

To answer the original poster, I strongly believe these are NOT worth the time and effort to do under your own flag. Don't listen to every journalism naysayer -- there's still a lot of freelance money out there including blogs that will pay for your posts. Go find them.

On the freelance boards here, we get a lot of people who start blogs and want people to write for them in exchange for "exposure". No cash. I delete them all, but I message the poster nicely and say "no ads for free work are allowed, but when your site makes it big and can pay, come on back and I'll sticky you to the top of the board."

I've been writing that for years and have deleted probably more than 200 such ads. Not one poster has ever come back.

 

[ETN814]

I know plenty of people who started out this way and now cover pro teams.

Of course, "cover" can mean many things and you didn't mention money.

Cover, as in cover a beat for a legitimate news outlet with a salary.

Also, Celtics Blog is credentialed by the Celtics. Sometimes you just have to get your name out there. There are guys on the Celtics beat who started out with them.

 

[Schottey]

The common mantra is always "writers write," and less and less opportunities are available in paid spots right out of college (sorry, Rick Reilly's commencement speech). If the local paper's high school stringer beat is being manned by a 10-year vet, the kid might not have a chance to get his foot in the door.

Meanwhile, economic factors make mobility more difficult today as student loan debt means that young journo is probably living with his parents and paying off huge student loan debt and most entry level jobs don't pay enough to facilitate a move. This isn't meant as an all-encompassing/every situation description, but it works as a general swath of the industry.

So, in our global world, sometimes it makes more sense for certain people (myself included) to get their feet wet by writing about subjects they know, refine their craft, hone their voice, make a name for themselves, learn best practices, be put to the fire of public opinion (and gain that thick skin), be edited—hopefully well, take assignments, etc.

I wouldn't say that blogging *will* or *does* lead to other opportunities, but I know a dozen guys who did the ol' answering phones and writing down softball scores for a year or more without that leading to other opportunities either. For every 1,000 guys out there trying to make it, a handful will do so in any meaningful way and will probably each have a different route they took to get there.

 

[DeskMonkey1]

Do what you got to do, I guess. I took a copy editor job hoping to get my foot in the door instead of going for a reporter's position (that had more competition) and now I cry myself to sleep virtually every night due to my career choices.