What I wouldn't have given to have a blogging partner (or two) of late.
I just moved out of a house that I've lived in for 11 years. The 6 weeks preceding the move consumed more mental and physical energy than to which I'm accustomed… much more.
Because we hadn't yet hired a contractor to build a house on our lot, each and every item needed to be evaluated for its destination. Should it be sold, given away or packed? If it was to be packed, would it go into long-term storage, storage at the new building site or into the RV… for who knew how long? We had a garage sale, sold stuff online (eBay and Kijiji) and ran about a hundred trips to Value Village. By moving day, (poorly labelled) packed boxes lined the walls of almost every room.
And despite thinking that everything had been well organized, each day in the RV has involved a litany of ‘where is ____?' and ‘I can't find ____'. Add to that the “Hot as Hades” factor (42.5C/108.5F), an RV air conditioning unit that barely keeps up AND not one but TWO spotty Internet connections (satellite and MiFi).
Worst of all, I neglected my blogs for a month during the moving fray. I had wanted to queue up a bunch of articles that would be posted while I was busy. Turns out that ‘wanting' doesn't necessarily amount to ‘doing'.
I began to feel somewhat envious of my friend, Todd Farmer, who with his partners Tricia Meyer and Eric Nagel operate the Wine Club Group blog.
Think of the advantages of having a blogging partner or two.
- With input from more brains, the knowledge quotient should increase. That could mean brainstorming more and better ideas for topics about which to blog, and/or saving you the hassle of having to contend with the technical side of blogging if one of your partners happens to be a geek.
- The time and effort you invest in your blogging business should be reduced relative to the number of partners you have.
- You would also split all the business costs.
- Partners can motivate each partner to be more productive and therefore generate more revenue over the long term.
- Partners can attend conferences together, see every speaker during the event and later share what they learned with their other partners.
- You could plan breaks and vacations in advance and enjoy some relief in knowing that your blogging business will be handled if you need to tend to personal matters during an emergency.
Granted, blogging partnerships won't work in every case.
- Some folks might not be keen to share revenue.
- Distribution of effort might be unequal, leading to disagreements.
- Disagreements can happen between the best of friends / partners and ruin a business, as happened to Audrey van Petegem who wrote about her experience in an article on the Huffington Post.
- Partnerships probably won't work for those who blog is in their name. For example, this blog's URL is in my name, so a true partnership is out of the question. What works best for my blogging business model is guest bloggers.
All things considered, a blogging partnership might work for you, especially if you are just starting out and have concerns about your motivation, technical knowledge or writing.
Comments, questions or suggestions? Please leave a comment below!
Cheers,
Ros
P.S. The ‘dogs' picture is of Kuper (on the left) and my dog, Jasper the Chocolate Labrador who would excel at partnerships because he shares so freely with his ball and other toys. I think he knows that sharing is good karma and at the end of the day he'll STILL have all the food and toys he could ever hope for. 🙂
I have a great website and fantastic products. I decided to start a blog so I could talk and promote different products with reviews. I love to talk.
I don’t know what happened but the first post I did I was quiet proud of, but when I went to do the next post I could only get some foreign blog it looked like it was German. So I think when some one is just beginning if they can find a partner with some experience it could be a good thing. Then if they wanted to stay together they could or they could each go their separate way I believe I am a decent writer
I’ve always said I should clone myself into triplets. That way at least one of me could blog while one worked on other things and the last could go fishing or take a nap. Like you mention, a blog partner or any other type partner, must have a mutual understanding and agreement of the partnership for it to work. Worth investigating.
personally, i hate the idea of partnership on my blog, i rather out source the contents and take the credict for it
Hi Rosalind
Great idea for the article having a blogging partner to help out, but unless your both 100% committed, it just seems to me that it will end in disaster!
I’ve just started blogging this year with my interiors blog and I cannot imagine having someone else that I have to go to to get confirmation every time I came up with an idea, I’ve had so many…..hundreds and hundreds……….and I’ve changed my mind about ideas a thousand times! I’m sure that if I had a partner he/she would have quit long ago!!
Hi Jennifer,
I would think that partners should trust each other enough not to have to get approval for every post. If I had to do that, I wouldn’t bother with a partner either. Granted, it works both ways. 🙂
Cheers,
Ros
Rosalind,
I like the two dripping wet furry “blogging partners” you have, they seem to be having the most fun! I think they have the best idea so far. Hit the pool and play ball! LOL!
Good luck with your move!
Tammy
Hi Tammy,
Yup… they’re the smart ones. 🙂
Cheers,
Ros
I’ve been on both sides of this debate, and there are definitely some pros and cons on either end. When I started my first blog (which eventually grew into a blog network), I had a partner, and life was great. But over time, “life” distracted him, and his productivity really started suffering, which made me not want to give 100% anymore, since he was doing so little and still sharing in the profits 50/50.
With my newest blog, I went at it 100% alone, and while I love having all the control (and all of the money), it’s definitely a grind since there’s no one else to carry the weight when life gets busy.
My advice? Find a GOOD partner, someone who’s goals are well aligned with yours, and hope for the best. Good luck!
Hi Zander,
I hear you. I did a ‘partner’ blog some years back and I did all the work. That blog no longer exists. 🙂
Cheers,
Ros
Congrats on the move, and the “Blogging Partners” concept has proven *very* beneficial for our project! Great advice, Ros.
Thanks Todd and happy for the success you and your partners have had with the Wine Club Group. It’s a great blog. 🙂
You are doing a wonderful job keep it up.Please i would want to be with you when i join.
i need a website
What a great idea! Especially for someone, like me, who has been trying to start for a long time. Thank you and I will definitely try to find ways to start guest or partner blogging.
Hi Laura,
Glad that I could be of help!
Cheers,
Ros
Rosalind, this is a great idea that I’d love to take advantage of, but like you, my site has my name. I removed it from the title, but the URL still has it.
Keeping up with regular blogging can be a challenge.
I’ve been thinking of changing sites – this gives me more reason to think more seriously about it.
Thanks for sharing
My pleasure, Karen. Best of luck and success with your future blogging endeavors. 🙂