Blogging And Working in Groups

With the popularity of some websites, their biggest thing has been to bring in guest authors or build a team of bloggers. However, in working with a group, even outside the blog world, you as the main owner of the website run into the following types of people:

1. The eager bloggers that fails to produce anything.
2. The eager blogger who does what they want without consulting you.
3. The eager blogger who decides that you should change everything on your site because they think so.
4. The blogger who does a bit of each of the above mentioned.
5. The blogger who decides to do something, tries to change everything, and behind your back criticizes how you run your website.

Of course, when taking on other people in a team effort, remember that each person will be different. There will be people that think they know everything and will argue with you until the end of time on what should be done. What you need to do as the site owner is the specify what you want and do not want. So, if your group member who says they have years of experience in web design (but their site does not reflect that) and wants you to change your website to their demands, simply tell them thank you, but that was not within their duty as a guest blogger or co-author.

They may not like it, but you are setting the boundaries on what is done to your website. Of course, you can be laid back about your site, but even the most laid back person can get frustrated. So, in regards to this, clarify blogger duties. If you expect an article once a week, then say that to them. If you expect at least 200 words in an article, also specify that to your team. Also clarify what you really do not want to hear, like if you do not want them to edit comments or the layout of your site if they may have access. Of course, with WordPress, you can specify roles with the Role Manager plugin.

It is okay to give some type of compensation like a link out or a percentage of banner ads, but if the site is really a not for profit deal, then your team of bloggers should only expect a link out to them and possibly a page telling visitors about them.