Blog networks offer the following benefits to bloggers:
- Consistent income: Blog networks typically pay professional bloggers a monthly fee or fee per post plus a portion of ad revenues based on the number of page views the blog gets each month. Of course, this can vary from one blog network to another, so it's important to do your homework to make sure the blog network you're considering joining offers a pay structure that meets your needs. A stable income is very attractive to some bloggers.
- Build an online presence: Blog networks have the ability to drive traffic to a blog quickly. That traffic can help a blogger develop a strong presence in the blogosphere and the Internet as a whole.
- Establish the blogger as an expert: The thought is if a blog network recognized your knowledge about a given topic as good enough to hire you to blog for them, then you must be a great resource on that topic. As you build your online presence and the quality content of your blog grows, you will also build your brand image as an expert in your field.
- Be part of a larger community: Blog networks offer bloggers the opportunity to be part of a larger online community of like-minded individuals. The opportunities for learning and networking are vast to members of blog networks.
Blog networks can be viewed negatively based on the following factors:
- Low pay: Blog networks traditionally offer low pay to professional bloggers. Incentives are generally provided based on monthly page views, which motivates the blogger to spend a significant amount of time promoting the blog as well as writing blog posts. A blog usually needs to generate traffic in the hundreds of thousands of page views per month for a blogger to make more than a small amount of money relative to their efforts.
- Big time commitment: Professional blogging requires a massive time commitment. Not only do members of blog networks have to promote their blogs to generate traffic and income, but they also usually have monthly requirements to meet in terms of post length, number of posts and more.
- Your work may be edited: Some blog networks employ editors who can make changes to a professional blogger's writing. Often the blogger may disagree with those changes. This could be an issue for a blogger who uses their blog as a platform for other writing jobs.
- Negative attacks: Being part of a blog network can boost traffic to a blog very quickly. With more traffic comes a greater potential for readers to negatively attack the blogger through derogatory or offensive comments. Additionally, attacks could come in the form of the blogger's content being copied and used without permission on other websites. Blog networks are particularly susceptible to these types of attacks.
Should you join a blog network or stay independent? That decision is up to each individual blogger. First, determine your long term goals for your blog. Then review the pros and cons of joining a blog network.
Remember, while blog networks can bring a steady income and large amounts of traffic, you'll have to give up a large portion of the ad revenue generated from the site. Could you have grown your blog to receive the same amount of traffic to generate enough ad revenue to match your pay as part of a blog network?
Think about your monetary goals as well as your non-monetary goals for your blog before you decide which path to pursue.
