Everyday Baby Steps

I posted this over at my other blog, Adventures in Freelancing, but I wanted to put it up here as well in case of you who don't read that blog would be interested in the information.

I recently had a number of folks DM me on Twitter, asking how they can get paid blogging jobs.  Listen, folks, I'm certainly no pro blogger.  I simply tweeted to someone that I recently got another paid blogging job, and it seems to have been taken out of context.  I sent the people a quick DM with som links of where to find jobs, but after thinking about it, I realized I have more to say on the matter.

I do have two paid blogging jobs.  One is on a fill-in basis, only about twice a month, for Family Eden.  My newest is a blog for college students called And You Will Graduate.  I'm very excited about this opportunity because I will be writing about issues pertaining to my former career as a college academic adviser.  I loved helping students, and now I get to combine my knowledge of higher education with my new passion for writing.  Here's my advice for getting your foot in the door as a paid blogger.

Network

It really is worth your time to get involved with social networking.  I met Ana Castro of Family Eden on Twitter.  She saw that I was interactive in the Twitter community and replied to my call for launch prizes for this blog.  (You can win e-courses from Family Eden this week, so enter!)  We made a connection, and I was a logical choice for her when she was looking for contributors to her new Family Eden blog.

My new blogging gig is through the Hart Empire Network, run by Hartley Singer.  I first heard about Hart in a post on Freelance Writing Jobs where he gave advice on how to get hired for paid writing gigs, from the point of view of the person doing the hiring.  So when I came across Hart on a networking community I belong to, called Performancing Hive, I decided to approach him to see if he was still in need of bloggers for his network.

Research

I wouldn't even have known about Performancing  Hive if I hadn't been listening to Deb Ng's show on Blog Talk Radio when she talked about it.  Deb runs Freelance Writing Jobs.  Are you seeing a pattern here?  I did my research by reading the articles and studying the jobs at Deb's site, which led me to learn about Performancing Hive, which led to my contacting Hart Singer.  Follow?

In case you can't tell, I love Deb's site.  You'll find all kinds of information on freelance writing there.  Check out the section on Networking Blogging Tips and the Freelance Writing Jobs for Web and Print.  And, of course, another great source of information on becoming a paid blogger is Darren Rowse's well-known site, ProBlogger.  Visit the ProBlogger Job Board for great leads on legitimate blogging gigs with established networks.

Brag a Little

We're often hesitant to toot our own horns. But when you're looking for a job, not being afraid to talk about your accomplishments will get you closer to your goal.  If you're applying for a finance blog, and you have a great record in the banking industry, then say so.  When I approached Hart, he asked me which of his blogs I wanted to write for and requested my ideas on where I'd take that blog.  My first choice was to write for the blog on Battling Stress, as I have experience as a mental health counselor, and I thought the topic would fit in with my niche as a health writer quite nicely.

But I also pitched him the idea of writing for college students on his And You Will Graduate blog because I knew it would be a popular topic that few people have expertise in.  So I was sure to include my academic credentials (a Master of Arts degree in College Student Personnel) and the fact that I received an award from my students as Outstanding Academic Adviser of the Year for two years in a row.  It kind of felt like bragging, but I'm proud of those awards and of my degree, and they do make me stand out from other applicants.

I wouldn't hesitate to put those items on my resume and to talk about them at an interview for a position at a university, so why not use them to my credit when applying for a blogging job?  Think of things that will make you stand out from the crowd or that make you imminently qualified to write about a certain subject, and then talk them up to potential blogging employers.  You'll be one step closer to getting the blogging gig of your dreams.