So You Want to Be a Celebrity Gossip Blogger…

As someone who writes for about a dozen blogs, the question I’m asked the most is what it takes to be a celebrity gossip blogger. I find that interesting because no matter how many celebrity blogs are out there, more are introduced each day. While celebrity gossip blogs can do very well, some aspiring celebrity bloggers don’t make it past the first month because they’re not prepared to commit to the amount of work involved. I spend six hours or more each day blogging for Celebrity Cowboy and I know a few other bloggers who put in even more time than that.

If you want to be a celebrity gossip blogger, there are a few things you should know.

1. It’s a big time commitment – Posting frequency is important. The most successful gossip bloggers post more than 15 times a day. Many post 20 or 30 times a day.You have to work hard to keep up and spend your days reading news sites and other gossip blogs to find the stories and add your own spin.
2. It’s not enough to just report gossip- If you’re not adding a bit of humor or snarkiness, the blog becomes boring and people stay away. The most successful blogs are those adding a little extra something,  the ones with personality.
3. Images aren’t easy to come by – Purchasing images from one of the agencies is very expensive. Many celebrity bloggers just “borrow” images from other blogs and sites, hoping no one will request their removal. Certain images such as promotional head shots, album covers and book and magazine covers are OK to use, however. If you’re going to “borrow” images, prepare for the likelihood that someone’s attorney might come-a-calling and you’ll have to take them down.
4. You have to promote the hell out of your blog – There are hundreds of gossip blogs in cyberspace. It’s not enough to post it and forget it. You have to pimp the heck out of your blog. This means visiting forums and other blogs and leaving a link in the signature, submitting posts to social media sites such as lipstick and linking to other, bigger gossip blogs in hopes of their linking to you.
5. Sometimes you need to go on and beyond the news – If you really want to set yourself apart from the rest, you’ll want to periodically fun, discussion-stimulating posts. A couple of my more popular posts are 15 Celebrities Who are Actually Smart and 66 Celebrities Who Blog.
6. You’re setting yourself up for ridicule  – Tell some of your fellow bloggers you write a celebrity blog and you’ll subject yourself to all sorts of ridicule and contempt. Many feel it’s beneath them. You need a thick skin to submit a post to a social media site because the ridicule that ensues will hurt.

Still want to be a celebrity blogger? It’s a fun, lucrative way to make a living. Just be Forewarned that it’s not all snark and glory. There’s a lot of work involved, but if you’re committed you’ll do just fine.

Written by Deborah Ng from Freelance Writing Jobs
Posted on February 3rd, 2008 and filed under Blogging
Do not forget to subscribe to our RSS feed for updates

11