I think this is a very interesting subject. It reminds me of a video interview I saw awhile ago. I can't remember who the author was but in it he pleaded with writers to stop writing for free. He said it made it harder for people to value writing when so many people are willing to give it away for free. In many ways I think this is a very personal decision because everyone has to weigh the benefits vs. either no pay or low pay against what they're hoping to accomplish by blogging.

Thanks Heather! 

Mary-Frances Makichen
www.makichenbooks.com
www.wordmedley.com

well, considering I write for the same site you do for free, and another one, I guess I do it because it never occured to me someone would pay me.

I absolutely agree with you that it's up to every person to decide what works for them; and sometimes, there are excellent reasons to write for free. Sometimes the exposure or prestige or good karma you may gain from a certain assignment is "enough" and you don't "need" pay.

But (you knew there was a but, right?), the places that grossly underpay do so because people go for it. It's true that as long as writers are willing to work for next to nothing, some people will pay next to nothing. And while that's an aggravating situation for someone who does this for a living, the real problem is that even places that should know better start accepting this sort of thing as perfectly okay. And then aggravating turns into "hey, it's now next to impossible to find a tenable situation here."

Here's my litmus test: Does the site in question make enough money that it could easily pay its writers, and/or does it pay some of its writers a suitable rate? If the answer is yes, the likelihood of my agreeing to write there for free or close to it is somewhere between slim and none. I may write for a site for free if 1) it doesn't have money and 2) it's a site/cause I believe in. But to write for a commercially-successful site for free? Why would I do that?

I get that someone who isn't a career writer may indeed evaluate such situations differently, but I sort of fall in with what Mary-Frances mentioned, which is that I feel folks who work for free (or -- worse -- grossly undercharge) make it more difficult for the field as a whole to command a reasonable rate. Sure, the gigs I turn down are taken by others... which means that the folks running the show may never get the message that quality work deserves quality pay.

No one expects doctors or lawyers or even the guy who scoops your fries to do it for free because it's "a great opportunity;" why are some people so ready to expect that sort of willingness to give it away from writers?

--
Mir Kamin
(BlogHer contributing editor)

Personal: Woulda Coulda Shoulda

Having it all with less: Want Not

Literally, I am completely in the beginning of writing/blogging.  So new am I, that I hardly have the right to respond to this. 

However, having this point of view, I can say that I agree that writing for free makes it harder for others to value good writing.  In the same breath, I am getting ready to write simple, once a week reviews for a site for free.  My thought with accepting this is that it is one site, once a week that will give exposure to my blog and writing, and hopefully lead to a paid writing gig....one day. 

~Mia.

My blog is General Hysteria~

I think there is generally only a few reasons to write for free:

1. You are really passionate about the subject and really enjoy writing about it.
2. You are donating you time to a 'cause' or nonprofit that you want to support (in which case I would tally the hours and write it off as a tax deduction/donation).
3. It is for a site that generates a lot of traffic with the same demographics as you are trying to reach with your own blog.
4. You are a fledgling blogger and you are already writing for free (like me).

I might also think about the time you are spending writing a blog post for "free" ... that time might be better spent doing the following:

1. Reading other blogs and providing thoughtful commentary in the comments (most of my site traffic is generated from commentary on other blogs)
2. Networking with other bloggers at sites such as stumbleupon, twitter, facebook, etc.
3. Having some fun.  :)

Great article and great food for thought!

Giyen

Come visit me at :  www.baconismyenemy.com

when a site approaches you wanting to reprint (for free) something that you were paid to write for someone else. So blog number 1 pays you to write, but blog number 2 comes along and says, "Oh, I love your content. How about I use it and give you a link in exchange?" Seems to me that blog number 2 is ripping off the writer and the blog that originally paid the writer.

I suppose this approach is more honest than merely scraping the content and reprinting it without so much as a credit. But it still leaves a stink.

I'm not saying I've never written anything for free. But when I do, it's for fun and because I want to. It isn't because someone else wants it handed over on a platter.

Virginia DeBolt
BlogHer Technology Contributing Editor
Web Teacher
First 50 Words

Anyway let's say you write just 500 words at $1 at post. That comes out to 0.002 cents a word. To pay anyone $1 a post is disrespectful. You could make more money collecting cans and bottles for recycling. 0.05 cents small and .10 cents large cans and bottles.

Are the people you are trying to attract going to today.com? Will they stay after they find out it is not NBC's Today.com web site?

Do you even still own what you write or did you sign it away by being paid $1 a post for work for hire?

This is why I am so passionate about understanding rights, terms of service, agreements and why free is not always free. I've written for free if I respect and I am being respected by the company.

I would consider writing for free as a contribution to a start up non-profit organization or an in-kind donation. But for a corporation or for profit business? I don't think so.

I also understand about exposure when you first start out and sometimes it can be a good thing, if you weigh the pros and cons. Be informed.

Gena - Out On The Stoop

A couple of years ago I got approached by a well-known publisher (rhymes with Carper Pollins) to write book reviews in exchange for trackbacks and linked quotes from my reviews. I dillegently read the books and wrote the reviews. I didn't get BUPKIS. I ripped my reviews down and it made me look at offers like that very differently. I guess I zealously guard against my personal blog being someone else's adspace.

Every time I get an offer like that now, I counter with "I will write for you on your site, for reasonable compensation." Surprise! Most of them don't write back.

SJ also writes at I, Asshole.

Every now and then I'll write a "guest post" for someone. Typically, it's because I think they're doing something important, be it a good cause or they're a company I want to build a relationship with. I'll do it once, only. If they're a corporate entitiy, they should find money in their budget to pay writers, period. One post, for me, seems like job interview territory, I don't mind and it gives me a chance to see if they really do deliver on the "love and traffic" that so many places offer.

WRT that, I have yet to see this promised traffic from any of the sites I blog for - yes, inlcuding this one. The love portion is a bit less measurable, but becase I blog for BlogHer, I've had some folks approach me that I might not otherwise find. But in my role as the contributing editor for travel, BlogHer doesn't expect me to write for free, either, so they're not relying on the love and traffic renumeratioin model.

I write for a living. If I say yes to writing for free or extremely low rates, I devalue my own work. I can not imagine asking the guy who painted our house to work for the kind of rates writers are offered. I can not imagine asking the woman who cleaned my teeth to do her job in exchange for "exposure." And yes, I realize the absurdity of these examples. But again, I write for a living, it's my job. "Do this for me and I will tell people you did it." is the LEAST you can offer for someone who does a good job. 

When someone asks me to write for them for free (or for absurdly low rates) I ask them why I would want to. If they offer me the love and traffic explanation, I say no. If they can come up with something more concrete - we will offer you support in marketing your writing, we will make it possible for you to do interesting things, we will teach you a bunch of stuff you don't know, then I'll start paying attention. I'm not saying I won't write for no money, but there had better be some other type of compensation. 

Lately, I like to think about this equation from the other side. I like to try to put myself in the "hiring" site's shoes. What do I think I'm getting from bloggers?  is it content and how badly do I need that stuff? If my business model is dependent on quality content, is this the best way to get it? Is it that my ad revenue goes up if I get more pages on my site to display ads? I like to get my head on that side because it makes me try to see what, exactly, the value of these "free" bloggers is. Then if it's something interesting, I can go back and negotiate from that side. The truth is, though, most will never get to asking those questions, it is not hard to find another blogger who will happily hand over their work for nothing. 

There are lots of networks that offer hosting platforms so bloggers can have a playground to do their stuff. They offer hosting and sometimes, support. In exchange they get a lot of content, page views, ad bucks from the ads running on the pages you write, etc... if you don't want or can't be bothered to deal with setting up your own blog, you're not a professional writer, and you want to be in a community space, this is a fine way to go. But even then, you are a resource for the site, you are not just blogging for free, you are helping that site earn money.

Blogging is big business. I can't say what's right for every blogger, but it is indeed a business and I'm sort of suprised, still, that more people don't see it as such. And for the record, i don't hate bloggers who write for free, I just wish they saw the value in their own work. Plus, the old adage remains true. You get what you pay for. Again, not that all free content sucks, far from it, but excellent writers will soon find paying platforms so maybe, some of what you're paying for is loyalty from your scribes. 

I have rambled on enough. Thanks for posting about this.  

Nerd's Eye View

I blog for free on my site.  Because of the platform that I chose I am not able to moentize it so I have been considering changing platforms.  When you are asked to blog for someone else are you using content that you would have published somewhere else for free?  That's the question I would look at.  If I'm just reposting or re-using a blog from my own site than I wouldn't think to ask for compensation.  If however, I am writing original content for someone than I would of course expect to be paid in some way. 

I've recently been contacted by a group that wants to offer $5 per post when I work in the words that they forward to me.  Sounds like a scam to me and I want more details but if ti were legitimate and I could do it without damaging the rest of the writing I'd consider it. 

Kate

I blog at http://www.aftercancernowwhat.wordpress.com 

I was invited to interview a few years ago by a company I thought would offer a job to me. Do I write? Published, of course- Do I blog? No, I don't have time to blog, I replied...

How is it that I am just now getting what blogging is? There must be some connotation precluding the verb, to blog, that insinuated personal opinion pages-

I am a published writer, photog and need work badly. What resources are available for those interested in blogging for $$, esp. when an approach from company is not forthcoming?

My ego is checked at the door, but this makes it sound as cavalier to the uniformed writer to be insulting. Do fill me in, or would it take work away from the "pros"?

Cheers, Holly

There is a lot of misinformation about what blogs are and can be. There are corporate blogs, professional blogs, advocacy and commercial blogs that have excellent content & sell products. Yes there are personal and autobiographical blogs as well.

So I would ask yourself a couple of questions and then I'll let others chime in on paths to investigate.

I do want to mention an excellent resource called ProBlogger at 
You need to soak up much of the goodness there. Sharon Hurley at Get Paid To Write Online has good stuff too.

1. What do you want to write/blog about and is there anyone doing what you want to do? Are they doing it well?
2. Can you find a niche?Is the opposite niche being serviced?
3. Can or will the blog support your existing business services or do you want to start a new path?
4. Have you taken the time or can you make the time to find blog related or web releate websites that have a huge need for content such as eHow, About.com, VideoJug, Teacher Tube, The Simple Dollar and thousands of other blogs/sites. There is an amazing about of content out there and there is room for more.
5. When you do create your blog what do you hope your visitors gain from your blog?  Why should I come there? What would we both gain from the visit.

Gena - Out On The Stoop

That covers what I have seen as far as where you want to go and do with blogging.

The site links will be visited asap!

Cheers, Holly

People get into blogging in different ways. There are some that get into it for monetary reasons and othes for the love of writing and others just because they wanted a new group of people to complain to (raises hand). Really quickly: I started blogging about my life after college and becoming an actual 'adult'. So on my personal blog I've gone from blogging for free as a 21 year old to blogging not for free (but almost for free) as 25 year old. Now one would think that I would have a specific niche by now but I do not. I blog about my career and personal finances here from the POV of the 20 something set. I write movie reviews on another site and at a different site I write about beauty products and fashion. 

The point is that via my personal blog it got my foot in the door to advertising on my site and with other bloggers who then offered me writing positions. So my big advice here is write well and get involved in the community.

But as Gena said, people go about it in different ways and I would be interested to know how others have gone to get their writing positions and what works/doesn't work.  

Heather B.
Personal Blog: No Pasa Nada
BlogHer CE: Business, Career & Personal Finance

Love it- thanks for your info. Funny how the blogging scene has pushed me into, as well, the psychology of it all. How we as mere mortals, he-he, have so much to contribute and that after all is said and done, there are many, many people who relate to our experiences and points of view.

I feel this is like no other catharsis available!

Cheers, Holly

Although I currently write for two blogs -- one personal blog, one community blog -- I most likely will not make a living from blogging. Because of that, I don't have an issue with contributing to a blog for no payment.

On the community blog where I contribute, I've been introduced to a number of area tech professionals, which is of more value to me than receiving a check for my 300 or so words. The owner of the blog is not making any money off the site. In fact, she's using the dollars received from BlogHer Ads to subsidize the hosting costs. (I'm also a participant in the BlogHer Ads, but have yet to receive a payment because my blog's viewership is pretty low.)

I blog because I want to share my thoughts on life and to engage with others in a topic of my selection.

I don't begrudge those who do want to make a living at writing for blogs, but I also don't want to feel as if I'm in the wrong because I volunteer my time. For better or worse, because it is so easy for anyone to start a blog these days, the number of paid slots available probably will not keep up with those seeking to be paid for their work. While it's important to find one's niche, that can limit your audience and the potential for seeing substantive payment. So yes, there will always be a lot writing happening for free.

A. L. Venable is a Random Citizen. She primarily writes at Dimple and a Smirk (dot) com and Our PDX Network.

Dont 99% of "bloggers"write for free? Or has the term blogger been elevated like "journalist": you need a publication or, in this case, high enough traffic to warrant the title?

 I somehow doubt anyone will ever pay me to write about Mormon sightin at Angkor Wat, but one can always dream.

Dont 99% of "bloggers"write for free? Or has the term blogger been elevated like "journalist": you need a publication or, in this case, high enough traffic to warrant the title?

 I somehow doubt anyone will ever pay me to write about Mormon sightings at Angkor Wat, but one can always dream.

I've been blogging online in various forms for 8 years now and I have never once got paid for what I was writing.  Mostly it was just personal crap, but only lately have I really started trying to focus on content.  I didn't even realize until this post that it was odd to not be paid.  I've never been asked to blog, I just do it as a hobby, but I definitely would love to be able to do it for a living and make a bit of money out of it.  Hopefully it'll head that way at some point.

This was an interesting read.

Well, I happen to be a writer, not because I've always had alot to say and want to put my two cents in to what I run across, but now that the cat's out of the bag, so to speak, alot of bloggers out there have been hired by and are working for companies willing to invest in that very venture. Why should any real writer, devoted to certain expectations of the craft not want or expect to be paid for their time? I am a published writer- advanced in my skills, so why wouldn't I expect to find a company who DOES have a marketing strategy that a blog contributor could feasibly advance that objective, and- have an interest in hiring and paying me? Especially when I can find no work at the moment...and am qualified.

Though some entities may approach this theory, why buy the cow when you can get it for free? I personally, refuse to blog, for the sake of blogging. That perpetuates this theory.

What do writers want to encourage? What does any profession want to enable and advance.

Cheers, Holly

It's hard for me to believe that anyone would want to pay me for my writing. I have been published in many forms throughout my life. I have written for university publications, academic journals etc. I have never been paid for my writing. When I started my blog it was basically a way for me to keep doing what I loved. I never considered making money from it. I recently added an Amazon store to my blog so that readers could see the products that I review or the books and merchandise that I talk about. But, I have avoided putting ads on my blog because I don't want someone else's content on my blog. I haven't made a cent off my Amazon store, and I honestly don't care if I ever do. I don't think the fact that I blog for free devalues professional writers. People take and publish photographs all the time. That does not mean that a professional photographer is any less valuable (or that all professional photographers are better than amateurs).

I choose to use my blog to hone my craft. I want to become a better writer. I want to create a work of art (and yes, writing is my art) that means something to me. I would be flattered if someone asked me to contribute to a publication, and would consider doing so without monetary compensation if I enjoyed and respected the publication (as I do here). When I gave a talk at an academic (literary) conference a few years ago, I was asked to turn that talk into an article for the academic journal. I'm happy that I did so and proud of it (despite the fact that I was not paid for that contribution). There will always be professional writers, photographers, athletes etc... but I also think that there is room for amateurs.

What a great forum. I've learned alot!

Cheers, Holly

Last year I was offered the opportunity to write a blog for about $5 a post.  However the publishers wanted six posts a week, I had to acquire photos, do research on the topic and eveything else involved with posting.  I counter proposed a different amount that wasn't crazy, but which was just enough to not make me feel taken advantage of when I would be struggling over those six posts a week.  Well, the publishers then withdrew the offer entirely.

As a newbie blogger, at first I was disappointed, but more than that, I was angry.  I basically thought, if they liked my writing, someone else would also.  Someone's who was willing to pay for it.  And I was actually relieved that I didn't end up in a position that I knew I was going to regret.

I think one missing component in this discussion has been the idea of quality.  Of course it's fine for people to write for free if they feel that it's their way of expressing themselves, or it's their hobby or it's for a charitable endeavor, or it's a way to get their feet wet.

But for money making operations or corporations to expect someone to write for them for free is an insult.  It's about raising the level of the definition of a blogger.  The corporate entities would like to continue to have people think that bloggers are so/so writers who just type out a stream of consciousness about what they had for breakfast. They're actively trying to carry that definition over to bloggers who really are a form of journalist. 

They don't even want to pay journalists much these days, so they sure as heck don't want to pay bloggers.   And unfortunately, if they're dealing with a woman, they know that women won't always ask for what their work is worth.

There are a hell of a lot of bloggers out there, but there aren't a lot of quality bloggers out there.  Companies want quality writing on their blogs.  That's what draws in readers and that's what keeps them.  And quality is always worth paying for.

Megan

Megan Smith

BlogHer CE, TV/Online Video

My Personal Blog:
Megan's Minute