Branding David

There are going to be many interesting things happening in the blogging world over the next eight to sixteen months, as the economy shifts, and certain things change.

I assumed that as smaller businesses decided to hold back on advertising related spending that the bigger companies would pour their money into the web in hopes of getting a higher return on investment when compared to “old” media like television, radio and newspapers. The reality is that no one is filling the void, and so advertising rates are dropping quickly.

This had changed many people, like myself, that were avid fans of pay walls on sites coming down and freeing information and expertise by using the ad-supported model to realizing that a new business model needs to quickly replace general display advertising.

Unfortunately, this means that instead of charging companies, we have to charge those that would normally be our biggest fans and supporters. While many of us are trying to keep the fees as reasonable as possible, it is far from free, no matter what the dollar amount ends up being.

Many “experts” are going to be building out membership areas on their sites, or for their companies and brands because they need to replace that lost advertising revenue, while still being able to do the things they have expertise in doing.

As a consumer, you have to figure out “who is telling it to me straight, and who do I trust?” Once you figure out who to trust online, then you can choose who you want to support.

I have a feeling that this choice is going to get difficult as more and more people bring out membership areas on their sites, but as a consumer, research them, understand their motivations, and if able to, give them a month, and see what they have to offer. If you don’t enjoy it, cancel and move on.

Hone in on who gets “it” for you, and you’ll do fine.

Recently, I was asked if I would be willing to donate a prize to Blogging Tips’ Forum competition, run by a good friend of mine, Kevin Muldoon. Of course, I said yes, and donated two hours of my time towards his contest.

Contest Details

There are two parts to the contest. One is points based and you’ll gain points by posting on the forum, referring other users, and other forum related actions. The person with the most points will earn themselves a quick $200.

The second part is based around a weekly challenge or question in the forum and each week a winner will be selected. The prizes range in value and run the gamut with e-books, WordPress premium themes, premium plugins, copies of the Problogger book, and of course two hours of my consulting time.

My Prize

The winner of the prize that I tossed into the pool will have access to my talents, services, and knowledge for two hours in any way they see fit. If they want to talk over the phone, instant messenger, Skype or have me go do some streaming video on Ustream, that is their choice, and I will be happy to accommodate.

I will be helping the winner with their blog, from suggesting helpful plugins, promotion techniques, content ideas, networking suggestions, and more. At the end of the two hours, I will have transferred over three years of knowledge into the winner as quickly and usefully as possible, and give them many actionable items that they can than use to build their blog bigger, stronger, and if they so choose, more profitable.

If you are looking for a chance to have me help you out for free, this contest will be the only time I give my services away for free in such a manner, so I suggest you join the Blogging Tips forum contest, and keep an eye out for the question relating to my prize.

A blog that I really enjoy, ReadWriteWeb, recently surveyed some bloggers and consultants to see what the upper limit people are earning for their work.

They seemed pretty much on the money regarding blogging as a job, but it surprised me to see what consultants are earning.

No one we surveyed named an hourly consulting rate below $150 per hour. $300 per hour was the most common rate named. Some listed monthly rates of $2k to $4k per engagement, which we assume probably means 20 to 40 hours per month.

It is even more interesting to me, as I set my rate below the $150 an hour mark, despite creating value far beyond that rate.

I also find it funny as Jim Kukral, a very successful consultant has decided to give away, for free, a half a day, each wednesday, towards local businesses, entitled Bail Out Cleveland, in hopes of helping them to deal with the current market conditions.

Are consultants worth hundreds of dollars per hour? Well, it really depends on their experience and ability to distill and transfer their knowledge in a useful and actionable way.

I do think that some people might want to adjust their rates to make their knowledge easier to access during these rough times. I would also love to know how other consultants in any industry calculate their hourly rates, so if you are or have been a consultant, please comment below with the factors that you built into your rate sheet.