Searching for the Perfect Blogging Solution

I have been getting a lot of clients for freelance writing over the last few weeks. Getting some extra work is always welcomed as it increases my income in the short term, however it does give me less time to update this blog. With the development of this blog being one my main priorities, I cannot allow any additional work to slow down the progress of this blog.

As such, I am looking for other bloggers to help me update this blog. There are a few ways in which I can do this. Today I’d like to walk you through these options and look at how the pros and cons of each one.

Option 1: Hire Bloggers Directly

The quickest way for me to bring in some additional help is to post an ad on the ProBlogger job board asking for suitable people to blog for me. I could also spend some time contacting suitable bloggers directly and asking if they would be interested.

I already have over one hundred ideas for posts in drafts, therefore bloggers would simply have to complete the article topics I assigned them. As a blogger, I know that coming up with suitable topic ideas can be time-consuming, so this allows me to control the direction the blog goes in and saves the blogger time too.

If I went down this route, I could work with bloggers more closely and ensure that everything goes the way I want it to go.

Pros

• Allows me to control what direction the site goes in more efficiently
• Should ensure high quality content is published
• Less administration as I would be working with the same people week in, week out

Cons

• Cheaper alternatives available.

Option 2: Allow Paid Guest Posts

As you guys know, I do not believe bloggers should be actively submitting guest posts free. However, I do believe in paid guest posts.

In many ways, this option is similar to working with bloggers directly as I would be paying for content. If you look closer, there are a few differences.

This route would allow me to advertise the fact that this blog accepts guest posts and pays bloggers for doing so. Therefore, I would be marketing it as a way to earn money, a way to get some incoming links, and a way of raising the blogger’s profile.

There are some downsides to this option. Guest post submissions are generally poor, so I would spend a lot of time reviewing posts and emailing authors back. Therefore, it could prove to be a time-consuming venture.

You can see a list of blogs that use this method at Make a Living Writing (which, incidentally, is a fantastic blog which I encourage you all to read – the owner Carol Tice has a great writing style).

Pros

• Wide variety of posts from bloggers, which means that different views are offered on this blog
• Would encourage more bloggers to contact me so could be a good way of networking with other bloggers
• Allows me to only accept posts that are of high quality, therefore I would never have to pay for low quality content

Cons

• Would encourage a high number of post submissions
• More guest post enquiries means more emailing back and forth and more time reviewing posts; both of which are time-consuming
• In my experience, the general standard of guest post submissions are very low

Option 3: Hire an Assistant

Another possible option is to hire an assistant. The idea is that I would use an assistant to research posts for me and prepare them for me to complete later. This would be useful for long list posts as they would research all list items and upload all images. Then, all I would need to do is write the introduction, descriptions and overview.

I am still not sure how effective this method is because I would still have to spend time completing posts. I guess it really comes down to how good the assistant is. If an assistant did a half-assed job and did not research posts properly, I would have to spend time correcting the list and then spend time completing the post. On the other hand, if I found someone who took a pride in their job, it could cut down the work of some blog posts from hours to only thirty minutes or so.

Pros

• Cheaper than other options
• Reduces the “Boring” aspects of completing long articles

Cons

• Does not reduce my workload as much as other options
• Assistants may not last long in the role and retraining someone could be time-consuming

Option 4: A Hybrid Solution

Obviously, I am not limited to using one of the options above over another.

A good solution would me for me to hire a personal assistant to help me prepare my own posts and work with bloggers who complete full posts. This would reduce the work involved in publishing posts myself and guarantee that I have completed posted by other authors too. I could use an assistant to help prepare posts for other bloggers too.

Using the paid guest blog option would work well with hiring regular bloggers if I paid the same rate. For example, I could offer $50 for high quality guest posts and then advertise the same position on ProBlogger.

Over time, bloggers who got paid for their posts would probably want to write more anyways, so the first two options could end up working out the same in the end.

I am leaning towards this route at the moment. At the very least, it will be interesting to see how readers respond to the offer of paid guest posts.

What Say You?

I have been working with bloggers to help me update my blogs since 2007, therefore I do have a lot of experience in this area. However, I would not call myself an expert on this subject as every project is different. There is no right or wrong way to do it. A setup that worked on one blog may not work on the other (and vice-versa).

It is also important to get the right balance between keeping costs down and paying bloggers enough so that the articles they submit are of a high quality.

The reason I am writing about this subject is because I would like to hear your opinion on this issue. Do you accept article submissions from visitors or do you prefer to work with a few key people to help you with content?

I’d love to hear the views of freelance bloggers and blog owners so please leave a comment if you have time :)

Thanks for reading.
Kevin