A Families.com Blogger is a paid professional writer who posts regularly on a given topic. A Families.com Blogger writes articles with a minimum of 300 words. Bloggers can blog for many different topics–as long as they have the expertise to write in that subject area.

A Families.com Blogger must be versatile, creative, experienced and well informed on their chosen topic. They must have a solid grasp of the English language and be able to edit their own work as well as take the direction of an editor.

Families.com is the blog network for family topics. We currently have more than 30 blogs on topics such as parenting, marriage, family fun, frugal living, and home & garden. Incomplete applications will not be considered, so please see below for exactly what should be included in your application package. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis, however, we generally don’t have immediate openings. When we have an opening, we look for the best qualified writer for the position.

What Do You Get by Writing for Families.com?

The opportunity to share your passion, to be published and to have your voice heard by large numbers of readers. We take care of the technology, hosting, graphic design and marketing. There are no fees to you.

We will cross-promote your blog on Families.com.

We pay you $4 per blog entry ($3 during 90 day training period). We give annual raises, up to $5.50.

Bloggers are eligible for quarterly bonuses based on their performance.

What is Required of Families.com Bloggers?

• The Families.com blogs will only be as good as our bloggers. Were looking for amazing bloggers who can write passionate, high-quality, interesting, thought-provoking articles.
• Some of our bloggers write 100+ posts per month while others only update their blog once or twice per week. How many posts you’re able to write depends on the blog you are writing for. We do expect our bloggers to commit to their assignments and communicate with the editor should there be an issue in getting them done.
• Entries should be at least 300 words, but can be much longer. A post could include a tip or idea, a top 10 list, a story or quote, “how-tos”, demos, photos, essays, or a product or entertainment review. The important thing is that whatever material you write is informative and/or entertaining for our readers.
• Review comments to your blog entries, delete inappropriate comments and respond to comments where appropriate.
• Successfully complete Families.com Blogger Training and a 90 day probationary period. Then, continue to maintain a high quality of blog posts and work well with the Families.com team.

Avoid topics that are not appropriate for the Families.com family-values centric audience, such as drug and alcohol abuse, profanity, gambling, pornography, extramarital sex, and nudity, except in the context of helping families to overcome these issues. There is definitely a place in the blogs for PG-rated discussions of intimacy and sexuality in marriage, however, these blogs are not the appropriate place for sensualized sexuality. Do not use the blog to advocate for a specific political party, religion, alternative lifestyle, abortion, etc. Please see us if you feel an exception needs to be made to this rule. It is appropriate to talk about faith and spirituality without advocating for a specific religion, or to talk about advocating for families without endorsing specific political candidates and parties.

We’re looking for bloggers who are self-motivated, who have expertise in their topic, and who can add personality to their blog.

How Do I Apply to Be a Families.com Blogger?

• Select a Topic – Select 1 to 3 topics either from our list of current topics or topics you feel would add value to our community for which you would like to write. We do consider adding new blogs occasionally. NOTE THE TOPIC(S) IN YOUR SUBJECT LINE.
• Samples – Please send two sample blogs. They should be related to your topics. If you’ve noted 3 topics–that’s okay we still only need two samples. Samples should be at least 300 words long and give us a feel for your writing voice. Note: Please write an original sample related to your topic choice. We do not look at links in lieu of samples.
• Relevant Links – In addition to the samples, you can send us relevant links to your work online. However, we will not consider looking at links without an original sample.
• Writing Experience – Please list your writing experience and/or where you’ve been published both online and in print if applicable. (We do consider novice writers with excellent writing skills and a real passion in their subject area. Experience is not necessary but we like to know if you have a writing background.)
• Topic Expertise – Please tell us your expertise in your chosen topics. If there are other topics for which you could write, please tell us about that and your interest or expertise there as well!
• About You – Please provide us with a short bio about you and your family, including your name and city or location. Please do not include your resume–we are only interested in relevant writing experience.
• Email Us – To apply, send your completed application with all of the information described above to bloggers@families.com with the topic(s) you intend to apply for as the subject line. Also, we prefer to receive the application in the body of the e-mail and not as an attachment.

FAQs

I applied to be a blogger awhile ago and havent heard back?

We always respond to blogger applications within one week. If youve heard nothing, please feel free to e-mail us again at bloggers@families.com to make sure that we have your application. Unfortunately, things do get stuck in our spam folder occasionally and we might have missed your application.

What is your hiring process?

When we get an application, we read it and if we think that we could use you at some point, we put it in our reserve list if theres not an immediate opening. When something opens up we read all of the applications for that subject area and choose the best candidate to work through training.

How long does it take to get hired?

This depends on the topic for which you applied and the other candidates applying for that topic. Sometimes you can get hired within weeks and other times it might take a month or more before we would contact you again.

Do you have any tips for getting hired?

Yes! Proofread, proofread, and proofread your application. Make sure that it is free of spelling and grammar errors. An application that has errors in it tells us that you are not a serious writer! Follow the directions! An incomplete application package is immediately rejected.

Will you tell me if my application is rejected?

Yes, you can expect to hear from us in about a week. If its been longer than a week, please feel free to inquire at bloggers@families.com.

Other Issues

Because of the cultural writing issues surrounding our target audience, the writer must have been raised and educated in the US (including military bases abroad), Canada, Australia or UK.

Because we want to maintain a high standard of blogging professionalism, we will only hire mental health professionals to blog in the Mental Health blog.

Once you are accepted, our lawyer will provide you with the full legal agreement with all of the terms and conditions.

We reserve the right to have more than one blogger on a topic, to sub-divide topics into more than one blog, or to change the terms of the agreement.

All content is owned by Families.com.

We will receive many more applications than we could possibly accept. If you are not accepted immediately, we will keep your information for consideration at a later date.

For additional comments and questions, please email bloggers@families.com. We look forward to having the opportunity to work with you.