Parenting has certain hot button topics, subjects which you know the mere mention of will incite and inflame “discussion”. So too does blogging, but Instead of sleep training, breastfeeding and childcare the issues that seem to incite the most opinion in the blogging world are advertising, PR requests and payment.
The payment thing is not reserved for bloggers alone. Any freelance creative will have something to add to the conversation, usually something derived from first hand experience because creative people are often asked to work for free.
So it is with this background that I am stepping ever so carefully onto the internet with my opinion borne from my experience. So consider it just that.
When I first started working for Mamamia I was not a writer, an editor or a media person. Never had been although I did some writing in the work that I did. I had always written stuff, like most angsty people writing was my “therapy” but I never considered myself a writer. Even after I started a blog.
Working for Mamamia gave me enormous opportunity. Mia liked my writing, my eye, my contribution and she saw the value that I could bring to the job. I loved what I was doing so much I didn’t question the not getting paid thing. And yes I do understand (and feel guilty for) the enormous privilege that allowed me to do that.
I worked for a long time for free and then I was employed by Mia. By the time I left I had been managing editor of Mamamia for three years and it is an experience money couldn’t have given me. I could not have applied for that job with my previous experience, I could not have learned as much if I had been at uni full time. I worked for free (and again I know I was lucky I could) and I worked myself into a full time paid salary.
Fast forward a few years and I still have a blog which I am able to spend a lot more time on than I did when I was working full time. I also have a much bigger audience because of my time at Mamamia. I have never run a single ad on the blog, I have never been paid to write on it – maybe that will change some day, I still think about accepting sponsored posts it from time to time, but for the moment I write for free on my blog. I write because I want to write, I write what I want to write and I do it how I want to do it. It doesn’t feel like work. I love doing it. For the same reason I love social media I love the idea of communicating with other people the best.
I have been honoured to have my work republished on several mainstream sites including News.com and Women’s Agenda. I have written guest posts for several other blogs. I have never received payment for any of this work. They were posts I had already written and for me having an audience that reads my work is a huge privilege.
Of course I’d love to get paid for my work. That goes without say and so I pitch my work out to people who will pay me to write original pieces for them – that work then remains exclusively theirs and I don’t republish it on my blog because I have been paid to write it for someone else.
So when Huffington Post Australia asked me to blog for them and explained “We would welcome your contribution but we don’t ask for exclusivity. In addition to running your blog with us you are free to run it on other platforms, and we will of course link to your regular blog or website. “ I didn’t give it a second thought.
I won’t be writing for the Huffington Post, I will be part of their blogger network. And that excites me. It gives me a wider audience.
Dee Madigan, who was quoted in Mumbrella recently after she was asked to join Huffington Post bloggers, tweeted me saying
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I value my work too. But like Dee, who published her work with no compensation on Mamamia all those years ago, I know that I am not going to get work unless I show that I can do it.
Lots of people (most people) don’t make money out of their blogs but they do use them as a showcase for their work. The ads on your blog won’t make you rich but the exposure (and I don’t use that word lightly) can make you prominent in the eyes of paying publications. It gives you a showcase.
I know so many people will ask me “but what about the fact that Mamamia only pays their base contributors $50?” because that’s REALLY a hot button topic.
I don’t think that $50 for original content you cannot share on any other platform is an acceptable amount to pay someone. Not for original content that can’t be used again. I don’t get the distinction Mia mentioned (and then removed) about professional writers and non-professional writers in a response to Kate Doak on Twitter, because if Mamamia, as a professional site are happy to publish your work, they should probably consider you a professional and pay you equitably.
Here is part of the conversation on Twitter missing Mia’s tweet that has been retweeted by Ben Eltham and others
I don’t think professional writers are better writers, just that they have had the opportunity to get paid and become professional in the sense that is their full time occupation – maybe writing for free got them there in the first place.
I understand the whole idea that if people work for free then the whole industry will never change but until you can show me how to get a job writing without having shown your ability to write I’d like to see it. I will be using the free space on my blog and Huffington Post blogs to get my writing out there – and I will continue to pitch and show my blogs as evidence of my skill*.
And no PR people that does not include mentioning how fabulous your product is. Writing for a publication for no compensation is very different to writing what boils down to an ad, for free.
*why is that word so hard for me to use?
There’s so much in this post, Lana. You are raising some “hot” topics indeed! I enjoyed this post as you give the debate thoughtful contemplation and it is not ranty or self-righteous. But what I want to say first is congratulations on being approached by HuffPost Aus. That is awesome and I am so pleased we will see your work there. I also want to say that I absolutely, categorically believe your writing is payment worthy. In a way I don’t think you need to showcase your work for free at all as you are long past needing to “prove” your writing talent. BUT, I also agree with your reasoning in which there are cases where writing for free leads to opportunity and that opportunity is worth its weight in gold. I feel that bloggers are entitled to make money for their work as long as they are not compromising their values. Each blogger must adhere to their own blogging code of ethics and do what’s right for them. I make the odd dollar here and there for my blog, but if I can find a way to make more, and continue to write what I wan to write, then I’m in! You also raise a point I hadn’t really considered before about republishing paid work on one’s site. I have always asked a publication if I can do this and i’ve unfailingly been told yes. Usually there’s a timeframe they prefer you to wait before republishing but they’ve never objected. I only ever republish content that’s relevant to my readers. But you’ve made me think about this some more. Anyway, can’t wait to see where you head with your writing, both on your blog, and in the bigger, wider world! Always an insightful read, Lana. Thank you xx
Thank you for such a gorgeous comment Michaela, my self esteem is loving it. I think it is that very same self esteem (or lack of it) that stops me from getting out there and writing more paid pieces.
I think what you say about bloggers is spot on – be true to yourself and it doesn’t matter what anybody else is doing. Just do your thing as long as it makes you happy. xx
I guess the main thought in my mind with blogging on HuffPo is … what’s the endgame? ie where is blogging for HuffPo going to take you/give you access to that you currently can’t?
Quite simply a bigger audience. xxx
Hello Lana,
You’ve got every right to work for free if you’d like to. I can imagine HuffPost will be a good leg up. I just let a site have an article for nothing as it suited me well and I was keen to give a destination who had hosted me a wider audience than my own site. Generally, I wouldn’t write for free. Maybe we all need to get away from the notion of ‘bloggers.’ I think that people who write are writers. I was a pro writer for years before I wrote online… love the online medium so much more than print, I must say.
I can see that writers who work for nothing devalue the worth of online writing… but in the end, I believe that folks are free to do as they wish. Things work themselves out in the end.
Love you attitude Seana – and agree with what you say. I still have problems thinking of myself as a writer – bloody imposter syndrome getting the better of me xx
You are a writer Lana. An excellent one.
Ang, as always you are the salve to my ego xxx
A wee thought… on principle I wouldn’t write for free (or peanuts) for a company that’s making a healthy profit. Really then writers should be paid properly. It irks me that people make money off the backs of the poorly or not paid… it’s unfair and exploitative when it’s their business model.
NB Loved what Mel Kettle said on Facebook.
Yes, I thought Mel’s words were AWESOME xx
I didn’t see the tweet from Mia but if she says professional I think she means high profile. Professional writing and journalism has been my sole source of income for more than ten years, but I was still offered the $50 payment (and that was only after I requested the rate after having a piece commissioned). I’m not high profile but I am a professional who is paid accordingly from all other publications I write and report for. That said I totally agree with your decision you write for Huft Post… Many professionals write to promote themselves and their businesses!
I think being paid $50 for a commissioned piece is not just awful, it’s bloody rude! xxx
That said, after a few years as a newspaper journalist and a few years as a television reporter, I wanted to leave full time work to raise my first bub. I wanted to move into online which featured a lot of opinion pieces as I thought there would be more opportunity for work at home freelance work…so at that time I sent
one in to Mamamia and YOU gave me the most beautiful feedback as you were running editorial back then… it set me on the right track for a
successful (paying) freelance career which I’ve been able to work around the children 🙂
Hi Lana, I agree with you for new writers (I’d be delighted if some day my writing was good enough to be published in Huff Post and I wouldn’t be looking for pay – It would be great experience / exposure for me) and I agree for start up or non profit businesses.
I do think, though, that when media is making a profit, and they are drawing on people for their expertise, and that is the reason that people read their papers/magazines/whatever (and the reason they get the advertising revenue, or whatever other means they have for making a profit), that these writers who are attracting the business, and for whom they are spending most of their time and energy, should receive payment. We have a tendency to treat some professions as vocations, but people (even those working for charities) cannot live on vocational warmth alone. Just my view as someone outside the media industry (but seeing it in other professions too – lots of assumptions made due to good will of those working for very little).
It all makes sense Helen and I absolutely agree with you that people should be paid. Media organisations like HuffPost employ hundreds of people who they pay for their work – they also accept blogger submissions from people who want to reach a wider audience. I could apply for a job at HuffPo or I could pitch paid posts to them – but for now I am just going to use their blog and work on my confidence. xxx
Great post Lana. I would write for free given the chance to work with a great team and published on a well respected site or publication.
Congratulations on your new project!
Thank you Angela xx
You raise some very valid points Lana, and as always in a very eloquent and thoughtful way.
I think it totally comes down the individual and the value they get when writing for free. And I can only comment on my own situation and experience.
For me, my blog has three purposes: self-development & growth (for myself and hopefully for my readers), to showcase my writing, and to build my author platform for my one-day publishing contract ;). So writing for free on my blog, is of huge value.
Sponsored content (writing for ‘exposure’ or measly offerings of $25 for spruiking a product I don’t care about and has nothing to do with my core values on my blog) is more insulting than enticing, as the value in that to me is zero.
Having my blog content shared on other sites, may be of value, depending on the site and comes back to the purposes of my blog as to what I get out of it. I can totally see the value in blogging for HuffPo. The credibility that that holds is huge so therefore equals value. (Again, for me in showcasing my writing and building an author platform).
However, when writing as my job – freelancing feature writing and copywriting, the value I get out of writing for free is negative zero. Because it is my day job, and I need to be paid. I don’t go to the chiropractor and ask for a free adjustment in return for telling all my friends how wonderful they are! (probably not the best example, but you get my point.) However, I did begin my career writing for free for a couple of websites. When I had built a portfolio of about 5-6 articles I then felt I deserved to be paid having demonstrated I can write, understand tone, flow, audience and purpose etc.
Everybody has to start somewhere, so I certainly agree that if you want to succeed with a writing career you do need to get a few articles out there to prove your ‘worth’ or skill. But after that, I absolutely believe that writers deserve payment. What the payment is, and what the writer is willing to write for, comes back again to the value they get from it.
I will say though, that I am concerned at the abundance of writers out there willing to work for free as it does devalue the industry.
So in summary, bloggers and writers need to weigh up the value they are getting from the different streams of writing they are doing. If they can see the value whether it be exposure or monetary then each to their own!
Sorry for blogging on you blog.x
In terms of my writing
I love you blogging on my blog – you make much sense and, as always, I love reading what you write x
I agree with you. When it’s your profession and living, it’s worrying to say the least!
As a blogger with a very small audience, I often feel conflicted about this stuff and have been thinking about it a lot lately. I have heard conflicting points of view on the topic of payment for posts and have found it confusing. Like you, I write for the love of it and more than anything, I would love the exposure – I know I’m not ‘qualified’ as a writer, but I’m not terrible at it either (I hope). I think that makes me think that I haven’t earned the right to demand pay for posts yet. I would welcome any opportunities to get to that point, quicker than if I was at uni, though.
Recently, I had terrible writer’s block. I realised I was listening too much to the noise about this issue, plus all the so called dos and don’ts for blogging. It was crippling me. Everyone has such strong opinion on the matter that I was scared of putting a foot wrong and somehow burning all bridges I might have had in the future. I am all for learning how to improve, but after a fruitful Periscope session with a couple of followers who I really respect (bloggers themselves), I realised that I have to go back to my love of it. Be myself. Do it the way that feels right for me. Write like no-one is reading (close to the truth haha). Since then, the posts have been exploding out of me.
I don’t know if that opens us up to being exploited, but like you said, exclusivity should be compensated for, but the freedom to share our words however we wish on several platforms can be priceless.
By the way, you do have enormous skill. I admire you for your talent and courage in tackling any topic. You have earned any success you’ve had so far and any you are sure to have in the future 🙂
Thank you for your kind words there Kez. I have to tell you my best piece of blogging advice – THERE ARE NO RULES. Do what you want to do, don’t feel like you have to conform to a certain pattern or methodology. Just write and don’t listen to the noise xx
Hi Lana,
Many, many years ago when I was studying to work in a pathology laboratory, I needed a job. It was the old conundrum of “I need a job in a lab, but I have no experience…I can’t get experience because I don’t have a job”. The only way I could get any experience was to do unpaid laboratory work in a major teaching hospital. I worked unpaid for 3 months and then I finally got a paid job in that same hospital and a career in lab work.
No matter how much I enjoyed doing the job, I still expected to be paid for my labour. On that point, I can’t understand how Mia doesn’t pay writers for their work. The writers are producing a product that is distributed widely on a network that earns money through advertising. The fact that writers are prepared to write and not charge for their work (especially once they have shown that they have the necessary skills), seems a shame. I understand that the writers are happy to have their work “out there”, but if I did the same practice with my laboratory skills, I wouldn’t be able to pay my bills.
Having had my rave, I just want to say that I love reading your posts, seeing pictures of Henry, and just feeling like we are friends.
I write for Huffington Post for free too sporadically for the exposure. I also have paid writing jobs for local publications. I think the exposure on HP is worth it, at least it is for me at this point in time.
Thanks Toni – I am sure I will feel the same way myself xx
I am fairly ‘new’ to blogging and freelance writing. Last year I built my blog and this year I have gone 4 days a week to build my freelance writing. I wrote some articles for free to add some notches on my belt but this year my commitment is to my blog. I wouldn’t write for free on someone else’s site unless it was something I really wanted to share. At the moment I have no monetary goals for the blog, other than it is my piece of space. If an article for a mag or website takes a lot of research and time then I expect to be paid for it. Opinion pieces, I would rather keep them for my own site. I used to be desperate to get published on some of the websites mentioned here but I have since worked with editors who will pay me $600 for a feature and I would rather save my energy for those rather than writing for $50. Each to their own though and everyone has different goals. It took me a while to figure out the purpose of my blog, and thankfully my job pays the mortgage, so I can pitch for pieces I am passionate about writing. Great thought provoking piece.
Thanks Ashleigh, makes good sense to me
It’s completely up to the individual and I will never judge. My stance is that I love collaboration, but I won’t give my words away to a publication making money off words. I don’t like that. x
Sadly there are very few publications making money off anyone’s words as such. We all read for free on the internet. Advertising pays the bills and clearly if there are no words there are no ads to go with them but I think you would be hard pressed to find a publication that is making a lot of money (if any) off free posts. And certainly none that you are charging you to read. But I get (and respect) your point xxx
Words are traffic and traffic attracts the advertising.