One in a half million

Apparently there are now more professional bloggers than registered lawyers in the US.  Well, that's got to be a good thing, right? I have mixed feelings about this news.  While I am passionate about the internet, and it's power to bring knowledge and free speech to anyone with a computer and a telephone line, I am also passionate about writing and journalism.  I believe that journalists have a responsibility to present news and even opinion with honesty and integrity.  I believe that writers should use words with the same craft and art as a painter uses colors. But that is being idealistic.  I might as well wish that every lawyer entered acourtroom with a genuine desire to see justice done, rather than a desire to have the latest model of Porsche and an ever better zip code on his linen personal stationery. But I digress.  Although I join the many others in disputing the actual figures of bloggers out there earning a full time living from their blogs, I agree with their statement that "blogging is an important social and cultural movement that people care passionately about,"  and since Ireceive a sizable chunk of my regular income from managing blogs for individuals, companies and organizations I thought I would offer some of my top tips on how to be a good professional blogger. Know your stuff... and your clients. Don't think that you will be able to just dash off an email to Big Company Inc and persuade them to hire you to write for their blog because your own personal blog has a PR of 3 and you have 300 followers on Twitter who apparently hang on your every word.   You should be able to offer clients valuable expertise to justify your paycheck.  Learn about their industry,  their company, their target audience.  Familiarize yourself with common blogging platforms such as Blogger,Typepad, Wordpress and Drupal.  More than a passing knowledge of image manipulation, html and php won't go a-miss either if you want to stand out from the crowd of over 1/2 million other snapping at your heels. Have a plan What type of blogger do you want to be?  Humorous ? Irreverent? What do you want to write about?  Are you going to charge per post, or per hour?  How much time can you set aside each day or week to dedicate to blogging while you build up enough clients to quit your day job? Will you try to earn money from advertising or affiliate promotions? Where will you offer your services? There is a lot to consider, and having a plan will not only help to solidify your goals, but your success. Learn from the best Read and learn, my friend.  Read and learn.  And then read some more!  Start by checking out Technorati's list of the 100 most popular blogs, or the slightly more cosmopolitan list from the Guardian. A final word of warning.  If you manage to get to the root of the figures made by pro-bloggers, you might be disappointed.  While I would encourage anyone to add blogging to their overall income, I certainly wouldn't want you to put all of your words in that one basket.