by Mary Duncanson

Created on: May 15, 2008

While it is easy to see why people might choose to write for Helium, it is not always as easy to understand why people would choose to be unpaid online bloggers. So when one writing community offers money for your work, and another does not, why would one choose to be part of the latter group?

I believe there are several reasons people choose to be unpaid bloggers. Among them are: exposure for their work, practice, networking, and fun. Each of these has a place in the life of every writer, but as a blogger they also receive the added freedom of not having their work strictly judged.

Let's start with the first reason, exposure for their work. As an unpaid online blogger, they have a unique slate on which to expose their content. Those who visit their sites know they will not have to pay or be bombarded by advertisements, and thus more exposure is possible. That is not to say there are people who read every blog every day; more that the possibility is out there.

Online blogs, even the unpaid ones, also give writers a place to practice their craft. Without the sometimes rigid constraints of other writing, writers are able to express their creativity and practice their writing in a freer way than might otherwise be afforded them.

One of the things I love about reading online blogs is that many of them have links to other blogs. This networking allows bloggers to share their content with others, join into communities and possibly create connections which will lead to paying jobs down the road. And although not every blogger is looking for that writing paycheck, the networking capabilities of bloggers is on par with the networking seen in business conferences. These bloggers create webs of links to other blogs and these webs create the possibility for joint efforts in future endeavors.

Lastly, people blog for free because it's fun. Without any type of writing restraint...just the joy of writing what they choose, these writers are able to open themselves up to the public without the fear of grading, critiquing, or even those beloved grammar police. Can you remember the last time you sat down to write, and just wrote whatever was on your mind? That's the true joy of unpaid blogging. No restraint. And without that restraint, writing becomes fun again.

Now these reasons might not be the reasons for every unpaid blogger, but I certainly believe they are the reasons some choose to blog for free. With the practice they receive, the possible exposure, networking and just the joy of writing, these writers have a chance to share themselves and their ideas with the world on their own terms. And what writer doesn't dream of that?

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