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How to Land a Job as a “Resident Blogger”

Posted By Guest Blogger 20th of June 2012 Blogging for Dollars 0 Comments

This guest post is by Jane of Runaway Jane.

I recently secured the position of Resident Blogger at PLUS Hostels, a large hostel and camp site chain based in Europe.

I’d spent more than two years blogging on my independent travel blog RunawayJane.com, and that experience undoubtedly led to me securing this position.

But it wasn’t the only factor.

I thought it would be useful to illustrate exactly what led me to land this job so that if you’re looking to secure a freelance position like this, you’ll have a head-start on your competition.

Initiative is key

I approached PLUS about becoming their Resident Blogger. This was an idea that I pitched to them.

I had looked at their social media output and saw that they were very active. They also had a very cool, well-designed site targeted at a young audience.

So I was surprised that they didn’t already have an active blog, and I took it upon myself to email them and ask if it was something they’d be interested in doing.

My first email was short, to the point, and didn’t waste anybody’s time. I simply asked if it was something they’d be interested in. I decided to wait for their response before I’d go into more detail about how we could potentially partner.

Timing and a bit of luck

As it happened, my timing was spot-on: PLUS was already looking at implementing a blog sometime over the coming months when they received my email.

However, before I approached them, I was not on their radar as someone who could help—in fact, they were considering approaching other people. I was told in my interview with them that one of the reasons I was chosen above other candidates was because I approached them. They knew I was keen.

I guess you can guarantee that someone who’s approaching you is more likely to work hard for you, because they obviously have an interest in working with you that goes beyond just monetary value (although of course money is important!).

Follow up

I initially approached PLUS around January or February 2012. I remembered they’d said they would be considering bloggers in April, and would get back to me then.

So I sent them a follow-up email in mid-April to ask whether they had considered my proposal, as I hadn’t head anything from them.

This was another key factor in me securing the position, as it meant I was not forgotten, and, again, that I appeared keen and interested.

Previous blogging matters

There is no doubt that if I hadn’t been blogging as Runaway Jane for some time, I would not have been considered for this position.

As soon as I got in touch with PLUS they were able to go onto my blog, and access hundreds of blog posts I’d written. They could see the quality and style of work that I was producing, and assess whether or not it would fit their blog.

They could also see I was active on social media channels, and already had a following. This proved that I understood the demands of blogging (as opposed to straight-up travel writing), and had demonstrated the self motivation over two years to create my own standing within the blogging world.

They could see that I updated my blog regularly, was interactive with my readers, and could write the types of content that engaged an audience. That audience also happened to fit their target market.

Get paid!

I was asked by quite a few other bloggers whether or not I was getting paid by PLUS for this position.

These questions surprised me. To me, the matter of getting paid was obvious—of course I was getting paid! It was a freelance blogging position that I was going to be putting a lot of time and effort into, so payment was only fair.

That said, PLUS are also putting a lot of effort into promoting me, my brand, my Twitter handle, and my site. I took this into consideration when I was quoting them a price for my services—after all, not everything is about immediate monetary gain.

For me, long-term value is more important, and securing this position was more important than an extra hundred dollars a month or so.

If you’re trying to build a brand and a long-term future in blogging, it’s important to be able to seek opportunities that allow you to promote yourself, further your experience, and create case studies that help to prove your abilities for future opportunities.

It’s also something which I hope will grow to become a long-term partnership, rather than something short lived.

With all that said, I’d be lying if I said I was an expert on quoting a price for such services. Blogging is such a new industry, and a new way to earn a living. Even now, people still look puzzled when I explain to them I make a living from blogging.

Prices and expectations change all the time, and you have to weigh up factors such as earning a living now against the long-term gains and opportunities for building a career. Then there is the fact the the value of bloggers is now starting to be realised by big companies in almost every industry. I predict more positions will open up like this in the future…

Create your own job

I hope that if you try to create a Resident Blogger position like I have, you’ll find some success using these tips.

Overall, the key is to go out and create your own opportunities (although what I did involved luck in terms of timing). All this would never have happened had I not approached PLUS myself.

To be a successful blogger you really need to seek out and create as many opportunities for yourself as you can. Offers that land on your doorstep are great, but I wouldn’t plan on that happening!

Jane has been blogging from her travel blog www.RunawayJane.com since early 2010. She has been making a full-time income from blogging since 2011, and travels the world full-time as she goes, living a location independent blogging lifestyle.

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Comments
  1. Fabulous, I am definitely going to try this approach. Thanks for the inspiration!

  2. It’s a nice strategy for securing writing jobs. I recently got hired by a company as an in-house blogger and the pay is really fantastic. I believe that monetary gains shouldn’t hinder the long-term relationship. It’s good to make money from writing, but earning a platform for better business deals in the future sounds better. I wish you the very best.

  3. You make a good point about creating your own opportunities. Congrats on the new position!

  4. A great choice for the job as Resident Blogger, looking forward to your posts Runaway Jane

  5. Timing is crucial to landing a lot of great jobs, blogging just being one of them. That’s why it’s important to keep your ear on the ground if you already have a specific blog in mind. Having insider information could helps as well.

  6. Most people don’t even know u can make money off blogging. I think most people blog as a hobby and only a small percentage make a living from it.

    I may start blogging to promote my websites. Good post!

  7. Such an inspiring post . Thank you Jane for posting it here at ProBlogger. Yes, we should create opportunities ourselves. As like many said, we must think outside the box, attempt something unique. ProBlogger was not build on a day. A lot of hard work, determination and patience is needed for every business model to be successful and blogging is transforming from simply hobby to a profession.

  8. Thanks for this information, I’ve learned a lot from this blog, i agree with what you said, the word “initiative” keep me motivated. I hope you post a lot at problogger.net ^-^. Awesome article.

  9. It’s OK. I didn’t really expect a critical comment to be published. The blogosphere is a pretty phony place.

  10. I think aspiring bloggers will be inspired by reading this post. Well done Jane, what a pleasing read :)

  11. You really grabbed those opportunities. Well done.

    Resident Blogger? That’s new for me.
    We never know when these kind of opportunities strike us. We need to be ready and let not escape it from our grasp.

  12. Thank you to everyone for all the congrats and lovely comments in regards to my work with PLUS hostels!

  13. This is a fantastic blog post. I’m very encouraged by this. I do send out regular ‘feelers’ for people who need bloggers or website content editors. I’m an experienced editor, and as you said, if you’ve got the experience it goes a long way to securing you the job.

    I was burning out a little, but this article has revived my hope that one day I will get a regular an editing job somewhere. Thank you.

  14. In the world of writing it’s important to be very pro-active. Unless you are very well- established editors rarely approach you to write for them.

    So well done for spotting the right niche for your talents.

  15. Awesome tips Jane, Thanks for sharing. I like your Travel blog as well!

  16. It’s not unusual for people to ask about payment because many bloggers work on their own sites for free and really don’t know how to charge for the work that they do. So, this is an excellent post to let people know that they can find opportunities AND get paid for them.

  17. I’ve never thought of going for a blogging job. What a great idea. Thanks for giving me something to think about. There are several pet related businesses in my area and I’m certain that I can get several positions as a free lance writer with them.

    Thanks!!!

    Kimberly

  18. I think this is a great post and prompt for others seeking such jobs. I wonder, however if you would be willing to share your quoted price. I recognize that this is personal, but in an industry that is so varied, I am finding people are needing to get ideas for what might be a normal rate for such things. I personally charge .25 per word. A quick trip through a sit like freelancer.com shows that people offer something like $1 per 500 words! The disparity is massive with often very little in between. I feel that being a bit more open about what we all charge and get paid helps others get a better idea of what is available to them and where they might fit on the pay scale.

  19. Nice post Jane Actually i have also tried some of these awesome steps. I approached some copanies to review products, but to my bad luck i never got reply. Something like you :)

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