Risks of being a blogger

Courtesy of Freelance Market

When it comes to self-promotion one of the easiest options for a writer is having a website. But the stakes are rising with the growing number of journalists and writers contributing to blog sites. It's the merging of writer, sub-editor, publisher and - in some cases - advertising sales person, as writers develop their voice away from paying clients.

Russell Brown runs Public Address and says people write blogs because they enjoy writing or want to raise their profile. However, Brown's opinions published on his blog have occasionally been challenged. "Having a reputation to defend is a good discipline," he says.

"But it's not greatly different from writing an opinion column in a newspaper, and nobody frets about those."

Isaac Hindin-Miller, the former market editor at Urbis magazine (AGM), bloggs on his personal site at www.isaaclikes.com about the fashion industry.

"I started blogging because I wanted to be able to put my opinion out there in a forum that anyone could come along and read," he says.

"Now I blog because I love the thrill of breaking news stories, interviewing people and commenting on topics that I'm interested in. "I think if newspapers can break news online then there's no reason bloggers can't too. For me there's nothing more exciting than breaking a news story. With the internet you can break stories literally the moment they happen.

"My one caveat to bloggers though is that people who blog can get a bit reckless - they feel that since they're online they don't have to follow the same rules as print journalists. Wrong. Bloggers can be sued just as easily as print journalists. So play safe. Don't forget to cross your T's and dot your I's."

Brown says that unless you can deliver "clean, accurate copy, [then] blogging is not for you". "There are no subs - although some of my readers are pretty good proofreaders - and you're on your own. That doesn't suit everyone," he says.

So is there any value in blogging, or is it vanity publishing? "Well, first there's the pleasure of writing what you want to write, in the style you choose," says Brown. "That shouldn't be discounted. "But there are career benefits too. Keith Ng approached me before the 2005 [general] election offering to write a campaign blog - in part because he knew it would be good profile for him. And it was. He stayed on and initially covered Parliament for Salient, but it was the PA stuff that made a name for him.

"Graham Reid started with us after he left the Herald, and I think he's used his blog quite adeptly, to express his opinions and direct his audience to his elsewhere.co.nz project.

"Tze Ming Mok and Damian Christie were both offered Sunday newspaper columns on the strength of their blogging." Brown says Public Address' 25,000-odd readers is a large enough audience to make money from advertisers.

"Other people will be starting from scratch and really shouldn't think about income, because it will be minimal," he says.

"Bernard Hickey has been a good example of a specialist enhancing his authority via a blog site, which is another potential benefit." But won't taking advertising risk a conflict of interest? "There is no conflict of interest in merely taking advertising," says Brown.

"I take the view that I'm a publisher as well as a journalist. "My agency advertising is sold by the Scoop Media Network, in which I recently became a small shareholder, and my friend sells the small ads, which bring a community element I think is important. I'll occasionally do a deal myself, but not often."

Hindin-Miller says that making money as a blogger is difficult, especially in New Zealand.

"But if you were going to become a celebrity gossip blogger a la Perez Hilton and you could access top rate info before anyone else, then sure there's money in it.

"But if you're going to write about a niche industry like I do - the NZ fashion industry - it's hard to make money. "Blogging has certainly raised my profile and I've gotten more paid writing gigs out of it though, so it's not all bad."

Brown says he gets more support from PR companies than advertising agencies. "PR companies understand the reach and influence of blogs much more than ad agencies do, and they may decide to flick you some product," he says.

"I think the key here is to simply be up-front with your readers - they're the people you have a duty to - and they probably won't mind some giveaways if they're clearly labelled as such." People who raise their heads above the parapet can expect a few pot shots to be taken. Isn't it safer to use a pseudonym? "I've always written under my own name," says Brown.

"And I think it should be the rule for journalists - if only because if you get some respect you want to accrue it to your professional activity." Brown says blogs are written in a different voice from writer's professional work, and done right, can underline the writer's authority.

"You can also deliver traffic to online versions of your stories, which should please the publisher [of your paid work]," he says. Hindin-Miller says the value of having a blog is the freedom to publish full interviews, edit your own work and comment on anything of interest.

"There will be journalists out there who may specialise in a certain field, like politics, but who also have a great passion for another field," says Hindin-Miller. "But might not have access to an outlet for that interest.

"Having a blog allows them to have a forum for those interests. And journalists often have access to interesting bits of information, so reading a blog written by journalists should be a most satisfying experience." A search on Google reveals there are 50 million or more blogging sites. Do we need another one? "Many millions of those are blogs that no one will read," says Brown. "But it's always possible to find an audience."