FAQ
FAQ for Bloggers and Graphic Designers
How will a blog help my company?
Blogging is conversation marketing. Blogs provide fresh, candid insights that inform, entertain, and spark buzz about your company. A blog connects you to your customers and potential customers in a way other marketing vehicles can’t.
10 more reasons you need a blog:
- The world is wired. A company blog taps into the social networking scene, making you relevant, and it uses the latest trends and technology to give you one-on-one dialogue and feedback.
- Blogs aren’t invasive. Unlike direct mail and advertising, blogs respect people’s privacy. People come to blogs because they choose to. Blogs are one of the purest forms of Permission Marketing. (See Seth Godin’s book, Permission Marketing)
- Word-of-blog is the new word-of-mouth. People who visit your blog are often bloggers themselves, and they are usually enthusiasts about your products or services. They wield a great deal of influence and attract new customers by posting comments and linking to and from your blog.
- A blog enhances brand loyalty. A blog can show a company’s personality, uniqueness, and it allows people to get to know you in a way they couldn’t otherwise.
- A blog virally improves your search engine ranking. Tired of pay-per-click ads? Search engines love blogs; they index every blog post. That translates to a higher ranking for your company—over time—on the major Internet search engines.
- Blog comments can provide ready-made leads for your company database.
- A blog helps you build rapport with other industry professionals.
- A blog makes you stand out among your competitors.
- A blog means instant communication. A blog can spread info about your products and services more quickly and in a more lively manner than you can through radio, TV or even a static Web site.
- A blog gives you more miles per gallon. When married with the content of your company’s Web site, a blog will help you get substantially more mileage out of your Web site.
Does anyone really read blogs?
Oh, yes. 57 million American adults read blogs and 12 million American adults write blogs.
Eighty-three percent of online Americans say they’ve used the Internet to find info about hobbies, and 55 percent look for “how-to” or “do-it-yourself” info. Much of that “how-to” info is found in blogs.
Why outsource my blog to He Blogs, She Blogs instead of doing it myself?
There are two keys to a great blog:
- Excellent writing: A brain surgeon and a writer were having coffee one day when the brain surgeon announced he was taking a six-week sabbatical and would use it to write a book. The writer responded by saying that was an amazing coincidence. He was taking a six-week sabbatical as well and would use the time to become a brain surgeon. You get the point. Great writing is a craft. A difficult craft. Since your blog has to be written well enough to draw readers back again and again, you need to have a skilled wordsmith writing your blog posts.
- Time: Do you or someone in your company have the time to post two to three times a week, every week? Will you have time to check your blog for comments, and respond to those comments? Will you have time to continually update your blog calendar? Find other related blogs and ask them for reciprocal linking?
If you answered yes to both keys, then you don’t need us. Go to it!
We work closely with companies who don’t have the time or resources to do a blog on their own. We:
- Strategize what you want your blog to accomplish
- Help you define your blog’s target audience
- Brainstorm appropriate topics for your blog
- Find and hire graphic designers (if needed), and professional writers who are great storytellers
Our bloggers are enthusiasts about your industry, but first and foremost, they are writers. Our skilled wordsmiths are experts at researching topics your clients will be interested in and creating practical, entertaining blog posts.
How long will it take you to get my blog up and running?
If you have an established relationship with a graphic designer/Webmaster, we will begin working with that person immediately to build a blog that matches the look and feel of your other marketing materials. While your blog is being designed, we research, interview, and hire your blogger. The entire process usually takes anywhere from one week to one month, depending on your specific situation.
How much control do I have over the content and tone of the blog?
Complete control. As we plan your blog together, we’ll thoroughly discuss the type of content you’d like, as well as the tone of blog posts. Once the blog launches, we’ll check in with you regularly, and we’ll make requested changes.
Should there be a point person from my company who feeds essential information to the blogger?
Yes. Your blogger will set up pre-arranged times to touch base with a company spokesperson in order to gather needed background, statistics, and quotes for blog articles. We at He Blogs, She Blogs help as well, often serving as the go-between for relaying information between our clients and our bloggers.
How long a commitment do we have to make?
Your lifetime plus fifty years of your kid’s lifetime. So it’s a short commitment.
Frankly, we don’t make a lot of money via our set-up fee. We keep our fees low to allow almost any company to start blogging affordably. Consequently we ask for a minimum four-month commitment from each of our clients. Also, four months is a reasonable amount of time to evaluate the effectiveness of the blog.
How do you measure whether it’s working?
Two ways—one by gut feel, one scientific:
- Gut feel: You’ll know if the posts are a perfect reflection of your company when you read them. You’ll get feedback from friends, customers—sometimes even competitors.
- Scientific: Some companies have sophisticated SEO departments and for them, running Google Analytics is like flipping on the TV. Other companies don’t have the knowledge or the resources to allow them to track the success of their Web sites and/or blogs. If your company falls in the latter category, we can run the analytics for you.
What if I end up not liking the blogger you’ve picked for my company?
If you feel your blogger isn’t a good fit, we’ll work with both you and your blogger to see if the issue can be resolved; if not, we’ll find a different blogger.
Can someone from my company blog from time to time?
Certainly! When we negotiate your blog agreement with you, we will discuss who’ll be blogging, how often, and what topics they’ll blog about. We’ll also discuss who’ll help edit your in-house writers’ content.
How much does it cost?
As you likely assumed, the cost varies depending on:
- The number of blog posts per week
- The blogger we hire
- The complexity of the services you ask us to perform (see a list of our specific services)
- The length of your commitment (we offer a discount for companies that agree to a long-term commitment).
Monthly ongoing costs, once the blog is set up, can range from $895 - $2,250.
We’d love to get to know you! Shoot us a message and we’ll get back to you within 24 hours.
FAQ for Bloggers and Graphic Designers
Blog on! With us! If you can write, design, or do both, and believe a good sense of humor combined with a strong work ethic is a prerequisite to great business, we’d love to get your application.
First, take a gander at our FAQ to learn what we expect from our bloggers. Then download the PDF and let’s see if it’s the start of a beautiful relationship.
How does blogging for He Blogs, She Blogs work?
We contract with businesses that want a blog to build or enhance their online presence. Our clients include small businesses, large corporations, franchises, and trade shows. Most business owners don’t have the time, energy, or know-how to launch a top-notch blog. That’s where He Blogs, She Blogs comes in.
- We work with our client’s webmaster or with one of our freelance graphic designers to create a custom blog that mirrors the look and feel of the client’s Web site.
- We work with our client to create a detailed list of categories and topics for their blog.
- We hire experienced freelance writers to create and post blog content so our client is assured of having fresh, industry-specific articles on their blog two-to-three times per week.
- We provide ongoing training and support for our bloggers.
- We closely monitor each blog’s content.
- We check in regularly with our clients and are committed to keeping them happy.
Since your clients’ blogs are meant to promote their business, do the blog posts sound like one long advertisement?
Definitely not! Our goal is to entertain and educate blog readers. If our client sells patio furniture, a blog post won’t read like an ad for a particular brand of furniture; the article will offer advice on whether aluminum, wrought iron, or wood furniture is best for the climate in your area.
Sure, we want blog readers to buy from our clients–and this often happens–so while our clients’ blog posts do feature their products and services, over 80 percent of the blog’s content focuses on practical and entertaining info.
Do you hire writers who have no prior blogging experience?
Rarely. We prefer to hire writers with blogging experience. We match each of our clients with a professional writer who already has an interest in the client’s business category and is ready to dive right in and start blogging, with minimal hand-holding. If you’re a newbie blogger, we’ll consider working with you if:
- You have freelance writing experience (aka, you’ve been published in a magazine, newspaper, book, or Website…or you write for a living—technical writing, academic writing, public relations, etc.).
- You are adept at mastering new genres.
- You’re good at writing tight and sticking to a word count.
- You know how to format articles for skimmers and scanners.
- You’re confident that you can master the blog interface without having a panic attack.
When I blog for one of your clients, will I be a ghost blogger? Will I use a pseudonym? Will I use my own name?
That depends on the client’s wishes. Several of our clients request ghost bloggers—that is, bloggers who become invisible and take on an entirely new persona. You might “become” the company CEO…or a sales associate…or a happy customer…or an invented persona. Or you might get to be yourself.
If you hope to be part of our team, you must be willing to relinquish the “it’s all about me” attitude and to selflessly blog from behind the scenes.
How many posts per week are required?
Most of our clients request two-to-three posts per week. Blog posts generally average 200-300 words.
Are there opportunities to blog for more than one client?
Yes! As we gain confidence in your writing and your dependability, we’ll likely offer you “first dibs” at additional blogging jobs for which we think you’d be a good fit.
What is an interim blogger?
An interim blogger is someone who fills in on short notice for a blogger who is ill, has a family emergency, needs a break, or (heaven forbid) disappears into cyberspace without giving us notice. If you’re looking for a temporary job or you want to test professional business blogging before making a long-term commitment, we invite you to apply for an interim blogger position.
What blogging platforms do you use?
We recommend Typepad or WordPress to our clients.
Do I need to know HTML?
Nope. While it helps to be familiar with HTML and to know how to copy and paste code into your blog posts and sidebars, we know from experience that you can create an attractive, highly-readable blog without knowing a lick of HTML.
Do you provide medical benefits and paid vacations to your designers/bloggers?
No. All our designers and bloggers are independent contractors. When we negotiate your contract with you, we will discuss blogging breaks. We don’t want you to burn out after three months! One of the great things about business blogging is that you can write posts in advance and time-stamp them to go “live” on whatever day you want. So you can take a vacation and no one will even know!
How much do you pay per post?
We know you’ve been dying to learn the answer to this question. That’s why we saved it for last! Our bloggers are paid according to several criteria:
- Our client’s budget
- Our blogger’s experience
- Average length of posts
- Amount of posts per week
In other words, each case is unique. We do pay our bloggers higher than the industry average. Sorry we can’t be more specific.
When do I get paid?
Our bloggers invoice us at the end of each month, and are paid near the 15th of the following month.
What qualities are you looking for in your bloggers?
We seek dependable, creative writers who can catch the client’s vision and communicate it enthusiastically and effectively to readers.
Take this little quiz to see whether you’re qualified:
- Am I a story-teller?
- Do I get a kick out of sharing tips and information?
- Am I skilled at writing in a conversational tone?
- Am I reliable?
- Am I self-motivated?
- Am I a problem-solver?
- Do I love learning about new topics?
- Am I passionate about helping others?
If you answered “Yes” to all eight questions, what are you waiting for? Download that application and send it to us!
