I wish I had found this while single and without responsibilities, I would be the first in line to try to get the job. How about a blogging job in paradise and get paid a decent wage to do it? That is what the folks at the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef are doing. The job appears to be closing in February so now is the time to get your resume into them and application. So blogging about what is happening sounds like the job for me when they describe it:

The Caretaker of the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef is a newly created position. There are a few minor tasks that need to be taken care of, but the most important duty is to report back to Tourism Queensland (and the world) and let us know what’s taking place on the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef.

That is a classic blog job it sounds like to me.

[HT: Welikely]

One of the blogs that I think every blogger professional or otherwise should be reading is Brian Clark’s Copyblogger. He continually provides great advice for people writing and supplying content on the web. Today’s post is no different. James Chartrand writes the post discussing the fact that your website needs to tell a story. I completely agree with his statements about the old versus the new way we provide content on our websites:

Facts don’t stir emotions and encourage people to take action. Facts don’t sell until people look to rationalize the buying decision they’ve made at an emotional level.

“The role of web writers has changed. Just a few short years ago, the content on most websites was boring and factual, just a profile of monotonous company information.

Today, the content on websites that work looks very different indeed.

Effective web writers are moving away from bland, factual information. Readers won’t settle for that anymore.

It isn’t interesting. It isn’t compelling.

Facts don’t stir emotions and encourage people to take action. Facts don’t sell until people look to rationalize the buying decision they’ve made at an emotional level.

That’s why you need to transform your website into a story.”

This is a good look at what professional bloggers and even those just doing it for pleasure have found to be their best asset and biggest success in providing content on their own blogs. I was able to grow my own following on my blog as a daddy blogger because i let people into my world. i told them a story of what was going on in that world and they came every day to see the next chapter. I then found that when i skipped a day or two, they would quickly begin to email me an ask me “What’s wrong?”, “Are you okay? It was like they had to have the next bit of the story. They came back to hear it like I had a miniseries unfolding before me. They were staying tuned into the story. the same thing can be done for your company. Everyday is a new part of the story.

[photo via bcmom]

I am often asked by many clients and companies that I consult with about blogging, “Do I link out to my competition?” In a word, absolutely. I want to keep in that fashion with today’s post. There are just some blog posts that need to be brought to the attention of readers, and my competition (more like a colleague or partner in crime) has written such a blog post that needs to be read by you my readers. Chris Brogan writes today about “40 Ways To Deliver Killer Blog Content.” Being as it is, and Chris’ regional dialect, I would have guessed he would have called it “Wicked Blog Content”, but I digress. Chris talks about getting a jump on your New Year’s Resolution:

This is your chance to get out there and kick ass. ~ Chris Brogan

“You can make your New Year’s resolution almost a full month early. Here’s what you can commit to for 2009: you’re going to have a killer blog. You’re going to write the kind of blog people post, tweet, link, and even print to stick up on their office wall. Your blog in 2009 is going to be the kind of blog that people use to power their own change. This is your chance to get out there and kick ass.”

Chris is right of course. Now is the time to get ready for the 2009 year of new business. Many companies are just now gearing dow for the year and ending 2008 budgets and plans, but are also looking ahead to 2009 and new programs and campaigns. If you are a blogger that is producing ‘Killer Content” then you too can be ahead of the game when companies go looking for that perfect blogger or social media evangelist.

If you are a blogger you should pay attention to this post and learn the 40 ways to deliver “Killer Content.” As a company looking to hire a blogger, you should and can expect your professional blogger to bring to the table this type of expertise.

I will be in Miami next week speaking on a panel put together by Rick Calvert of Blog World Expo, and Chris Brogan will be on the panel with Rick and I. I am looking forward to spending a little time with Chris and picking his brain a little more on what I still think should be how to produce “wicked cool content.”

[photo via abnelphoto.com]

Some of the things that is an important part of being a professional blogger or being a blogger that companies want to hire is your online portfolio or what they can find of your work. You need to build your online presence that can be found by potential employers or companies looking to hire your services. I ran across that very chance to increase your resume. My friend Peter is calling for articles for Website Magazine:

“If you are a Web professional who has mastered SEO, SEM, analytics, Web design, Web development, e-commerce or affiliate marketing, and are interested in being published in the most widely distributed print publication on Web success, send an email with a brief descirption of your idea(s) for an article to editors@websitemagazine.com or contact WM online now.”

Get yourself published in some of these places and you might get that job over someone that is not as “experienced”.