Professional Blogging

[treehugger]

Does anyone blog for today.com? They are apparently hiring: www.today.com/apply What do you think? I'm completely new to the world of blogging-for-money. Is $5 per 100-word post a decent rate, or is it kind of paltry? Is today.com a reputable company, or am I better off trying to "break in" somewhere else?

[Uncarved]

today was the first day and I would love a bunch of great comments to kick it off!!

Its a Today.com Chronic Pain blog, and I am going to try to have daily entries ranging from all conditions, treatments, and diagnostic procedures.
Thanks for any visits and comments:

http://chronicpain.today.com

[razibahmed]

“For the first month of blogging you are guaranteed $5 per 100+ word post.”
Yes, it is a decent rate in Blogging world.
“A maximum of one post can be published per day for pay.”
This is the problem. Your daily earning will be just $5 and only for one month. Then, you are on your own and you will have to get decent amount of traffic regularly to get $5 per 100+ word post. It is logical that your payment will be based on the performance (page views) of your blog but $5 per post math may not work anymore.

[treehugger]

The one post a day part doesn't bother me as much, since I probably wouldn't be posting more than once a day anyway and I'm just looking for a way to get my feet wet. But, yeah, that "for the first month" part was worrying me... Has anyone blogged for them long term and made decent money?

I might apply anyway and see what happens.

[L M Ashton]

today was the first day and I would love a bunch of great comments to kick it off!!

Its a Today.com Chronic Pain blog, and I am going to try to have daily entries ranging from all conditions, treatments, and diagnostic procedures.
Thanks for any visits and comments:

http://chronicpain.today.com
You could always join in the blog comment blitz if you like. Link is in my signature. :)

[jenfreedom]

They pay lower than some places, if they do only pay based on traffic after the first month. What bothers me more though about them, is they don't seem to know about blogs. For example, they have a heading that says, "Fresh blogs" and then they list posts - to me it's a major danger sign when a "network" can't tell the difference between a blog and a blog post. It makes me wonder who is running things.

Just one opinion.
~ Jennifer

[razibahmed]

“We are presently only accepting applicants from Canada, United Kingdom, and USA.”
I wonder what is their problem with Asia and Australia or other countries of Europe (except UK)?

[Tripletsmom]

I contacted Today.com for a possible article on About.com Web Logs (I wanted to make sure it was a decent/legit opportunity before writing about it on About.com). I sent a message asking a few specific questions and asking to discuss further for a profile on About.com. They responded by telling me to check out their website for information. Typically, legit companies are thrilled to be profiled on About.com. Since they didn't answer any of my questions and simply directed me back to the website, which did not answer any of my specific questions, I have to give them a thumbs down at this point.

I also don't like the pay model which drops to page view payment only after the first month. Of course, each person joins different blogging networks for different reasons, and it's not always about the pay.

[treehugger]

I sent in an application last week and haven't heard back yet... and maybe that's not such bad news after all.

So what is a good place for newbies to apply for paid blogging jobs?

[treehugger]

Well, it turns out I was accepted after all, and I thought I'd give it a whirl, since it would be good to have some semi-professional blogging experience, and at least I get paid something for the first month. We'll see what happens after that.

If you don't mind stopping by and taking a look, I'd really appreciate feedback on my new blog. I'm still fiddling around with formatting stuff, but the basic structure is there, and I've got a few posts up.

http://allnaturalcat.today.com/

[plaidearthworm]

I'll check it out, treehugger! :)

[gina]

I applied last Tuesday when I saw they were still looking for celebrity bloggers. Submitted my application in the morning, and I heard back just after noon with them accepting me. I've been working on writing and promoting my blog this past week, and so far things look okay. I'm interested in seeing what happens after the first month. My blog with them is Celebrity Today!

[ModoReese]

I jumped on board a week or so ago as well. Feel free to pop by my blog as well:

http://websites.today.com

I'm going to start surfing some of the other ones today as well!

[Reece10]

Hi Tree Hugger (Sonya)

Woweee, what a lovely blog!

As a writer who dabbles in the pet niche especially cats, your site is really good, informative and has photos. I like the piece about grow your own catnip!

Well done!

Reece

[Reece10]

Hi Everyone,

I am totally new to blogging and need your advice.

I have been writing cards for a new online greeting card company who have just asked me if I would like to blog for them - writing about occasions.

Here's their deal (which quite honestly sound seriously bad to me):
400wds for $10, 4-8 times a month - That's It!

Can you please give me some feedback?

Thanks

Reece :Shrug:

[L M Ashton]

Blogging rates have been discussed in this forum and over in Freelance Writing, I think, so I'd suggest you do a search to see what's already been discussed. :)

[razibahmed]

If you are a new blogger then there is nothing wrong with "400wds for $10". Do you have to get traffic for the blog? Do you have answer comments? Do you have to promote the blog in Internet?

[treehugger]

Thank you, Reece!

[Uncarved]

just changed the theme of mine.
Recheck it at:
http://chronicpain.today.com

[Reece10]

Hi,

I went to check out Today.com on Friday 23rd in the hopes of signing up and it states it is closed to the public?

Reece

[DTNg]

A lot of the Today.com bloggers are upset because their pay was lowered from $5 per post to $1 per post after a few weeks of blogging. They were told their traffic isn't good enough and each month the rate will go up and down depending on their review.

Don't they know it takes time to build traffic to a blog?

[L M Ashton]

But if they weren't informed ahead of time that this would happen, I can completely understand being upset about it. I would be. Is this practice spelled out to the bloggers in advance?

[DTNg]

But if they weren't informed ahead of time that this would happen, I can completely understand being upset about it. I would be. Is this practice spelled out to the bloggers in advance?

We have a post about this at Network Blogging Tips - with some Today Bloggers commenting. From what I gather it does say in the contract that the today editors can lower pay after review of the blog. No one expected to be lowered from $5 to $1 and after only a few weeks or a month as it takes some time to get a blog going, so I can understand the frustration. Especially since they can blog all they want but only earn $1 a day. Not very motivating.

[L M Ashton]

Ah, so the warning was there, but the terms were not spelled out in detail? Yeah, that's not cool. I'd be upset, too, and I also wouldn't feel the motivation to keep blogging with them. Actually, based on this, I've written them off as a possible place to apply for (not that I was looking or thinking of it seriously...)

[Uncarved]

I thankfully wasn't one to be cut down in payments, but I am not seeing how I can bring in the numbers they are wanting in as quick as they want it (1000+ a day) I don't look for me to stay at the $5 rate the next review as I'm not getting anywhere NEAR that, haha.

[razibahmed]

I did an Alexa search of Today.com and I found that its ranking is very impressive: 2,579 (3 months average) and 1,643 (yesterday). If you have any idea about Alexa ranking then you can easily understand that Today.com is getting a huge amount of traffic.
http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/Today.com
This traffic is coming from dozens of blogs combined. So, while most bloggers will receive very small income (because $2 per 1000 page impression), the opposite thing will happen for the owner(s) of Today.com. Advertisers love websites that have huge traffic. So, I think that Today.com will become a very successful business venture for the owner(s) while most bloggers will get very small amount of money. Well, I don’t see anything wrong in it because this is the goal of any company (to get maximum profit from minimum investment).
If anyone is looking for some experience and exposure then joining this kind of blog network is very good. However, if someone is looking for long term real income then the best thing is opening a blog (either buy a domain or even Blogger/Blogspot is good because they allow you to put Adsense and other kind of advertisements) and keeping 100% of your income. In fact, I would recommend you doing the two things simultaneously: Join a blog network and at the same time open a blog of your own. Give same effort and time for both of the blogs and then see which one brings more income.

[nancy sv]

Razib - can you translate those numbers for me? What does a rank of 2,579 mean? About how many visitors does that equal?

[razibahmed]

Well, I cannot tell you exactly the number of visitors (as there is no visible Sitemeter or any other counter in Today.com) but according to Alexa:
http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/Today.com
Percent of global Internet users who visit this site (Today.com):
0.069% (Yesterday), 0.071% (1 Week Average) and 0.0498% (3 months average).
In fact, in January 2008, it was even less than 0.02%

http://widgets.alexa.com/traffic/graph/?r=6m&y=r&z=3&h=300&w=610&c=1&u%5B%5D=Today.com&x=2008-06-05T21%3A24%3A04.000Z&check=www.alexa.com&signature=RXWKPeGf7mDPgh%2BMIE3f3l7%2F9lI%3D

[notwriting4free]

I'm a today.com blogger and I am sticking it out to see what happens, if by the end of July, I'm not doing the numbers they expect, I won't blog for them anymore. I realize that they have to review but it seems like Deb has said, they don't do their homework when it comes to building a quality blogging community. They send the message that it's all about networking but it really isn't, it's about content too... and if the content isn't there, then they won't stick around long (the site and the blogs).

For what it's worth though, you can check out my little blog there http://theaplusactivist.today.com


Oh and if you are lowered to the $1 pay rate, it would take almost two months to earn anything because they don't pay out until you've reached $50 and they pay once a month. Like I said, I will give it a go, but they aren't going to get the greatness they are asking for.

[Ldyjarhead]

I just found the site today and was accepted an hour or so after I applied (What's with that 30 day business they claim? Is that to make it seem more like a job application or what?).

They are advertising $1.00 per 100 word post now, so I don't think it had anything to do with the review after the first month for those that were getting $5.00 before. It sounds like they realized they couldn't keep up that payout level.

I get around the internet quite a bit and have already posted questions about today.com on another forum, and no one had ever heard of it. Still debating whether it's worth it or not and will be interested on hearing more feedback.

[Ldyjarhead]

They pay lower than some places, if they do only pay based on traffic after the first month.

Ok, so I'll ask the big question.

Which other places pay more?

Well, well. I just went to the site and it says 'Public Registration Closed'. I wonder what gives?

[Reece10]

Hi All,

Today.com is open to applications despite the sign on the front door stating registration closed! Or so I found out today.

Like you Ldyjarhead I was thinkign of tryign it out too but found the same sign hanging on their door until I saw a fresh posting at Craigslist asking for bloggers at today.com

Try this link;

www.today.com/register-new (http://www.today.com/register-new)

For the first month of blogging you are guaranteed $1 per 100+ word post, and $2.00 per thousand impressions plus a $25 bonus to start!

Hmmm???

[notwriting4free]

For the first month of blogging you are guaranteed $1 per 100+ word post, and $2.00 per thousand impressions plus a $25 bonus to start!

Hmmm???

I am taking this to mean that you get $25 to start for the first month, plus the $1 pay per 100 word post, plus the $2 for impressions...

If that's the case, you blog for 25 days straight, you get the $25 bonus and then the $25 for your posts... IF you actually get a thousand page impressions in the first month that means you get an extra $2....

Do the math. That is the only way you will reach their $50 payout for the month.

After that, you're on your own. At $1 per post and $2 per thousand page impressions.

Just some food for thought.

[donut]

Anyone here involved with corporate blogging? I have many years of experience maintaining my own blogs (LJ, MovableType, and now wordpress), but I was recently hired by a company that wants me to maintain a promotional blog for them. I'm just wondering if anyone has any wisdom to impart about the differences between personal blogging and corporate blogging.

To get you started, here's a question -- our main competitor maintains a blog, but they don't have anything related to their products on it... They just have random youtube videos and "funny" forwards, basically. That seems counterproductive to me, but maybe they know something I don't.

Can you think of any reason why you would put essentially random content on a corporate blog, rather than targeted content? I guess they just want to collect as many hits as possible off of google (they have an article about Brangelina, which should do the trick), and then hope people will click through to their website from there.

Should I be following the same theory? Or should I trust my instinct and stick with relevant content?

All opinions welcome, from corporate bloggers and indies alike. ;)

[NJFoster]

Been researching this a bit myself as I am starting a recruitment company and intend to include a blog as part of my marketing techniques.

There are two ways of looking at it

1. Your competitor is trying to make something that will have people coming back again and again. Blogging gives a wonderful way of viral marketing.

2. relevant blogging allows better SEO, allows you to educate your customers and energise them

For me I would stick with relevant content. The SEO abilities of blogs are huge enough for that alone to be worthwhile. But if you keep the blogs on topic but with twists and news items from the sector... informative posts that will have people related to the industry coming back again and again, then you are doing a great job.

Unfocused blogging may increase traffic and stickyness to a wider bunch, but focused blogging will increase keyword and industry related traffic and hopefully your insightful content will keepn them coming back.

At least that seems to be the theory I have read so far

Nick

My recruitment start up blog (http://recruitmentstartup.blogspot.com)

[donut]

Thanks, Nick! I like your analysis... that sounds about right to me. I think I'll stick with a targeted approach for now, and see how it plays out.

[Mustang Jim]

I recently started a blog (http://jimsjourney.wordpress.com/) and within a couple of weeks received an offer from a site called Skinny Moose Media. They offered to move my blog to their site and pay me 30% of any ad revenue.

My questions:

1. Has anyone ever heard of this outfit?
2. Is 30% a reasonable payment?

Thanks for your help.

Jim

[MovieBlogger]

1. I've never heard of them.

2. Do they have legitimate ads on it or is it Google Ads? If they have regular sponsors, that pay them a set amount monthly, that might not be bad. But if it is just Google Ads, forget it.

[razibahmed]

First of all, there are some benefits of joining a blog network. The page rank of your blog will improve and you will get a lot of links too for being a part of a network. That means that more traffic will come to your blog. It will also arrange an extra exposure for you as a blogger. Thus, it is a win-win situation both for you and the network that you are joining.
30% is not a good rate. You should go for 50-50 at least. Of course, if money is not your prime motive for blogging then 30% is perfectly all right.
You did not mention here other details:
1. What kind of advertisement they will put?
2. Will they allow you to put your own ads in the blog?
3. Who will own the copyright of your blog’s content?
4. If you want to come out of the network then what and how?


I visited this page: How Do I Join Skinny Moose Media?
http://skinnymoose.com/network/2007/02/10/how-do-i-join-skinny-moose-media/

It is stated there that in the past, they used to pay their “bloggers 60% of whatever their blog generates for revenue each month”.

[L M Ashton]

Just so y'all know, I'm merging threads (as I find them) that all relate to professional blogging. I'd rather we have a general compendium of related knowledge in one thread so it's easier for peeps to find what they're looking for. :)

If you come across a thread that looks like it belongs in here, please PM me and I'll merge it. :)

[Mustang Jim]

The only problem I have with the merge is that my questions are less likely to be answered because my original post is now more difficult to find.

[Uncarved]

for those that are still with today.com who is still at the $5 a post pay?? Is there another review coming up in the next few days or has it already occurred for the month of July?

[Andreya]

Great thread!

I've been a just-for-fun blogger for a while, & have been thinking about setting up a pro blog for a while.. :) & was wondering whether to also do a 'blog job' or such... I'm not sure if it's worth it, for just 1$ a post etc.

Donut, how is your blog doing? I personally found that sometimes people responded extremely well to 'silly/slightly unrelated things', but good quality on-topic posts (with pics & a twist of humour &/or catchy titles got well-received too..) Soo... can you make it fun & exciting & still-slightly-on-topic? (This seems to be a winning combination (?))

Has anyone checked the Problogger Job Board & got a job from there?

[donut]

Andreya, that's more or less what I'm doing -- I'll rep you the link, you can see for yourself.

As for how it's going, I'd say pretty well! I don't have huge traffic yet, but I'm steadily growing and I'm getting some relevant hits off of google -- best of all, people occasionally click through to my employer's site. Don't know if it's led to any sales, yet, but it's still a young blog. I feel confident it will contribute to the company eventually.

[Andreya]

Yeah, it does seem like a lovely combination of 'fun & quirky' & 'on topic'!
I really loved some of those pictures!! :)

/PS I wanted to subscribe/add it to my Yahoo/Google but couldn't find a button-?/

[stamperdad]

I sent in an application last week and haven't heard back yet... and maybe that's not such bad news after all.

So what is a good place for newbies to apply for paid blogging jobs?

It specifically states that up to 30 days before a reply is given.

[donut]

Yeah, it does seem like a lovely combination of 'fun & quirky' & 'on topic'!
I really loved some of those pictures!! :)

/PS I wanted to subscribe/add it to my Yahoo/Google but couldn't find a button-?/

ACK! good point. I use firefox which makes it easy to subscribe through the address bar, but I didn't realize not everyone could do that. I'll go add feed link now.

[Leva]

I recently started a blog (http://jimsjourney.wordpress.com/) and within a couple of weeks received an offer from a site called Skinny Moose Media. They offered to move my blog to their site and pay me 30% of any ad revenue.

My questions:

1. Has anyone ever heard of this outfit?
2. Is 30% a reasonable payment?

Thanks for your help.

Jim

If 30% of ad revenue's a good deal depends on how much traffic they can send your articles and what their eCPM is. If you're getting 30% of 100,000 pageviews @ a $3 eCPM it's a great deal; if you're getting 30% of 100 pageviews at a $.25 eCPM... not so much. And are they paying on net or gross revenue and is it specific to your article or a site wide average?

Also, can you post your articles elsewhere or do they want you to be exclusive?

(FWIW, bloggers on my site earn 99% of Adsense. Exclusivity not required -- you can crosspost elsewhere.)

-- Leva

[Ali B]

Does anyone blog for today.com? They are apparently hiring: www.today.com/apply (http://www.today.com/apply) What do you think? I'm completely new to the world of blogging-for-money. Is $5 per 100-word post a decent rate, or is it kind of paltry? Is today.com a reputable company, or am I better off trying to "break in" somewhere else?

I really like Today.com. My blog is Low Cost Meals (http://low-costmeals.today.com). I just recycle old recipes I have with a little info on how to cook more for less. Today only requires 100 words/ post, so I think it's a pretty good deal for I subject I wanted to write on anyway.
Plus, VIP bloggers can write short little 300 word "articles" for $5-$20 by going to the Article Calls section.

[Ali B]

Oh, yeah, you get a free Today.com t-shirt, too.

[Sepvalia]

Hey gang,

I am on Today.com as well. I would advise making a blog here that is related to another spot you've got on the web. That way, you can take advantage of the $2.00 per 1000 page views. Sending traffic back and forth definitely helps.

I have a costume blog on today.com, and a DIY fashion blog at about.com, so I'm able to shoot traffic back and forth.

Otherwise, I don't see these blogs paying out more than 30 bucks a month. The extra calls for content help, I suppose. Most calls for content are $5 for 300+ words, which isn't hard for a decent writer to crank out.

It's a nice supplemental experiment...$30 will at least pay my water bill, so hey, it's worth a couple minutes a day. They use Wordpress, too, so you can blog for an hour and then set the blogs to drip all next week if you like.

I will gladly comment on other today.com blogs if you pop into mine!

[art nerd]

Is anyone here on b5media? I've been following this discussion (http://performancing.com/exclusive-b5-media-about-face-mass-exodus-bloggers) on Performancing, and I'm very curious about the rumors.

[Talia]

There are several B5 writers here. I've heard nothing but positive feedback from them, but obviously there have been recent changes. I guess if your blog has been culled or your pay packet is going down that would create problems.

[TemlynWriting]

Is anyone here on b5media? I've been following this discussion (http://performancing.com/exclusive-b5-media-about-face-mass-exodus-bloggers) on Performancing, and I'm very curious about the rumors.
I don't know what's going on with the rumors that are flying, how much truth there is to them, etc. I had a blog there that was cut/culled recently during the mass pruning of blogs.

However, I hold no grudges against them. My experience there was excellent, and I hope to be able to work with them again in the future with a different topic. Actually, the pruning happened at a time when I needed to focus on some other projects, anyway, so it was somewhat convenient, even.

[kristin724]

I knew there was a today.com thread here somewhere! I'm going to give it a try. I only hope I don't hit a burnout with all these blogs!

classicmovies.today.com Just starting to work on it and see. Between this and my adsense from my two on blogspot, well, I used to call it 'gas money' but not anymore!

[art nerd]

Thanks for the response, Temlyn.

On the Problogger job board (http://jobs.problogger.net/), there are a few b5media blogs looking for new bloggers. I thought someone might be interested.

[donut]

Hey all, looking for opinions...

Right now I blog daily for my employer as part of my salaried job. I get $12/hr, but in addition to blogging, I do a lot of other office-y stuff, answering phones, etc.

I'm about to take three weeks off for personal reasons, but I offered to keep up my blog while I'm away, and my boss asked how I should be compensated.

I'm thinking he should pay me per post, so I won't feel guilty if I wind up skipping a day or two... what sounds reasonable? I don't want to ask too much, but I also don't want to cheapen the work I do for him by setting my price too low.

I was thinking like $10-15 a post, for ~five posts a week. Does that seem like the right ballpark?

[ChessSafari]

I'm a late comer and, thanks to this thread, I have started a today.com blog.

It only took an hour for them to "accept" my application.

I'll let you know how it goes.

The link is below.

[donut]

this guy's running a contest looking for fables... $250.

http://www.writingforyourwealth.com/...-blog-and-win/

thought someone might be interested.

[kristin724]

Okay, I've been at today.com for three or four months. Granted I haven't posted nearly as much as I should, but now instead of being paid a dollar per post for one post a day, I've been demoted to $2 per every 1,000 unique visits. This kinda of sucks.

On one hand, I found the post once and once only a day a bit annoying. If I was on a role I had to stop, or I could post and get nothing. I couldn't link or copy anything from other material I had online, either, and I think I was punished a bit for the few times I did.

So now it should be cool, right? I can just worry about content, but now I feel a bit jipped. Why should I 'work hard on my blog' so my rate can go back up next month. Where's the incentive? I've only had 600 unique hits thus far? How long until I hit 1,000. How long until I get paid out? Why should I bother with it? I understand the need for content and traffic, but I could also post to wazoo and make plenty of money and still not get visitors.

I'm moody now, so I have to think on it and come back with a clear head for discussion later.

[kristin724]

Alright, so I thought about it, and I don't think its worth it to continue with Today.com. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be an easy way to delete your blog. There's nothing on the site anywhere that tells you how to cancel your account. So finally I used the contact form inquiring how to end my blog.

I've got some rl issues, too, and I really can't be fighting to do a blog for chump change. I thought I was doing something I enjoyed, I do adore my topic, but all this choker chain over so little money has really dimmed this blog for me. I have another blog that I really enjoy. For free and for me and its great.

Fwitw, I read again the terms about double posting. Twice I repeated film reviews from my review blog to my Classic Movies at Today. The terms, however, say they deter from this because of plagiarism fears. While I understand this, I also find it a bit weird that if I have a real reviewer and a real editor checking up enough to know that it's a duplicate from elsewhere, that they can't also bother to see the byline and blogs are owned by me, the same little person?

Oh well. Any advice? Has anyone made real money with today?

[razibahmed]

Kristin,
I doubt if anyone can make any real money with Today.com. Frankly, if someone knows how to get 5 thousand or 10 thousand visitors a day then they do not need to work for Today.com. They can open their own blogs and keep all the money.

[veinglory]

I have moved from Today.com as discussed here: http://cliteratureblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/cliterature-redux.html

Some people like it, but the rate has gone from $2 to $1 to new bloggers starting out at no flat rate and $2 per a conservatively estimated 1000 unique visitors--that and the move to a uniform template makes them less desirable as a host than they used to be.

You can't delete your blog--it is a work for hire and they own the copyright of all written content--I think this is something many bloggers there failed to appreciate, and when asked the staff conspicuously refused to comment. But it is right in the TOS.

This is also why duplicate material is absolutely not allowed. They are paying for all rights, and using them--not cross-posting allowed.

[kristin724]

Well I did get an automated response from my query and it simply said that blogs inactive for 30 days are automatically deleted. So, that will close my blog. I can rework the handful of reviews I had there and post them later on my own blog. I'm just surprised that there are so many of these work for hire blog networks out there. I've tried several and none of them are in the writer's favor in my opinion.

FWIT, I like your blog Vein. ;0)

[veinglory]

Hmmm. I know of some blogs that are still up and haven't been updated for over a month. Are you shure they delete the blog rather than just close your account (hopefully paying anything due even if under $50).

[Medievalist]

I have moved from Today.com as discussed here: http://cliteratureblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/cliterature-redux.html

Some people like it, but the rate has gone from $2 to $1 to new bloggers starting out at no flat rate and $2 per a conservatively estimated 1000 unique visitors--that and the move to a uniform template makes them less desirable as a host than they used to be.

You can't delete your blog--it is a work for hire and they own the copyright of all written content--I think this is something many bloggers there failed to appreciate, and when asked the staff conspicuously refused to comment. But it is right in the TOS.
.

Yes, I'm moving for the same reasons. I'm thinking that there ought to be a way we can organize as a community of bloggers in a more effective way.

I keep seeing things of yours that I want to link to and comment on.

[veinglory]

There should be a way to link bloggers without using an umbrella like Today. Not just for community reasons but also to share some resources on ethical/effective monetising.

[kristin724]

Agreed folks. What annoys me most about these places like Today, BNN, or Helium, is I find their home pages to be very mismatched and tough to navigate. You've got to scroll through a lot of labels and ads and random posts to find what you are looking for. I don't think you could gain new readers by someone just going to the homepage and searching. Unless you campaign on you're own, common folks won't find you.

I did think the 30 day comment was odd, too VG. It used to be something like a year before geocities would delete your pages back in the day. In this me me fast fast now now era, maybe they are speeding things up.

[veinglory]

My thinking is that they have copyright to the material and adsense on it. Why would they take it down?

[kristin724]

Yeah, but you couldn't put your own adsense codes on the blog.

[MisterEThoughts]

I actually just started blogging for them. I will let you know all the details soon.

[veinglory]

I double checked, after 30 days they disable the account and pay the balance--but the material stays up. So if leaving a Today blog make sure you take down any widgets for ongoing projects. And honestly, it might be worth a token monthly post for as long as they last, to get the CPM payments.

[kristin724]

Widgets?

[veinglory]

Entrecard, blog networks, technorati profile etc

[WFTW]

I enjoy writing and just submitted an application for today.com. Mine topic is called The Problem With Today (hahahaha...wonder if that will get it shot down).

The content will be things I see, hear, read about, etc, that tick me off...sort of how old people say "That's the problem with you kids today"...although I'm not old. :) I can picture a lot of people reading it and saying "yeah, YeAh, YEAH!!!" in agreement.

It will be a little edgy but straightforward, no b.s. Even if I don't make much money from it, I think it will be fun.

[WFTW]

I enjoy writing and just submitted an application for today.com. Mine topic is called The Problem With Today (hahahaha...wonder if that will get it shot down).

The content will be things I see, hear, read about, etc, that tick me off...sort of how old people say "That's the problem with you kids today"...although I'm not old. :) I can picture a lot of people reading it and saying "yeah, YeAh, YEAH!!!" in agreement.

It will be a little edgy but straightforward, no b.s. Even if I don't make much money from it, I think it will be fun.

Well, I got a reply from Today.com accepting me. I starting the blog today (wrote one page and one post). Since I'm just starting out, I could use some feedback if you all wouldn't mind. Thanks!

http://theproblemwithtoday.today.com/

[starbirdy66]

WFTW,

Hi, Thanks for applying to Today. I'm an admin there.

I'd add a keyword in both the Blog title and Tagline. For instance try this:

The Problem with News Today

Ever uttered the phrase "That's the problem with today"? Then this is the news blog for you.

You can find where to make those changes in our current version of WordPress here: http://blog.today.com/blog/2009/06/05/getting-settled-in-your-new-blog/

Also consider keywords in your titles. I noticed your second post title doesn't really say what the post is about. Here is an article from Blog Today on that: http://blog.today.com/blog/2009/06/17/todaycom-blog-post-title-seo/

The articles link to our Today.com Wiki SEO page so you can find some great articles and tips there.

Have fun blogging!

[michellek]

This thread is so large! I'm gonna have to take a few minutes to start from the beginning. I'm quite interested in professional blogging. Thank you for all the information provided within this thread!

[vagassi]

I would like to know one thing, the payment of $5 is only for one blog a day or to write more blogs per day. Also explain me whether this payment is only based on the revenues acquired by the site by our blog or simply posting for the blog.

[ResearchGuy]

Folks who blog -- about pretty much anything, apparently -- and who might in the course of blogging say anything about any product or service, might do well to read what author/entrepreneur Karl Palachuk has to say about new Federal Trade Commission rules: http://blog.smallbizthoughts.com/2010/01/karls-full-disclosure-complicated.html

The FTC seems to have gone overboard, to say the least, in what started as a good cause. First Amendement? WHAT First Amendment? That seems to be the FTC watchword for little guys/bloggers, although the big guys/commercial interests can do whatever they jolly well please and get away with it.

Anyway, Karl is on top of it. Oh, by the way, Karl will moderate a panel on "negotiating the e-world for publishers and authors" at the upcoming Northern California Publishers & Authors conference, April 24, 2010 in Sacramento, CA (http://www.norcalpa.org/events/2009-conference). I cannot overemphasize what a value that conference is. (And no, I am not paid to say that.)

--Ken