Run a Large Blogging Network? If Yes, Do You Delegate?

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This post is the second post in part of a series on Time Management. You can view Part 1, too if you wish, in which I give basic tips for time management. The other parts will the posted soon after. In this post, I’ll be specifically focusing on blogging networks, but the principle is the same for pretty much everybody.

Very busy huh? Imagine this: Your blog’s grown so much even you’re taken aback and the whole thing is becoming hotter to handle. You’ve already opened a blogging network which is growing fast. Blogging is becoming too exhaustive for you. You now have to spend hours in front of the screen, managing all that information. You find it difficult to take out time for other things like family and friends and life.

I’ve got the answer to your problems.

Delegate.

What the - you ask. It’s simple. Delegate some of your work to other people. Now you may say that is like giving away the keys of one of your houses to some one! If you believe firmly in that ideology, you might as well stop reading just here, because the rest of this post is for the rest.

Imagine the above scenario again. Don’t you think that sooner or later the quality of your blogging activities will come down? Maybe perhaps you’ll have a severe case of blogger’s burnout. Then what? You’re the only and lone person running your whole blogging network. What will happen to that network and the bloggers within it and dependent on you, if some thing happens to you? Won’t they be discouraged when they see you producing third-grade material? Won’t the rest of the blogosphere be discouraged from reading you after they see you producing third-grade material?

Enough scaring you for now . The answer, as I said previously, is to delegate.

Why? Read on

There are a lot of benefits(some hidden, some obvious) with assigning part of your work to other people. Here are some:

• Your workload becomes lesser. The most obvious of all. You now have lesser work to do and therefore you can concentrate more on other important things in your life, such as family.
• People begin to trust you. This might not be obvious at first. But this really works in the long run. When people see that you are delegating some of your work to others, they begin to believe you as a person who trusts others with his/her work. Readers acquire more respect for you. Also, the person whom you’ve delegated work to begin to feel how much you trust them to work at their full potential and to deliver. They work harder and love what they do, when they see how important some one considers them to be
• The standard of your network goes up. With so many people working at their highest potential, nothing is going to stop your network from flourishing. The quality of the content will increase, over time, and best of all, you’ll be doing half (or even less) work than you did previously.
• It allows your network to improve. Previously, your network was just a one man show. It was affected by only your opinions. Now that you’ve got several people working in your network, there are bound to be conflicting opinions and views. They are often better than what you were able to think of. So, you can apply those opinions, often to see a positive result. Why are big companies often not one-man shows? Why doesn’t one person alone manage them? Think over it and you’ll understand more.
• There’ll always be sources of fresh content available. This might not seem very significant to you. But it is worth noting. Previously, you researched and found sources of content by your self. This method is very unreliable. Some times you find new content, sometimes you don’t. But with a team of bloggers under you, with every one of them searching in different directions for new content, they’re bound to find new content, and this doesn’t stop here, it’s often sustainable. So, think about this also.
• It makes YOU a better blogger. This is perhaps part of point number 1, but I feel it deserves its own place. With many bloggers working together as a team, a continuous exchange of ideas and opinions happens between them. They learn new things and teach new things. As a result, every body improves. YOU improve.

The Cons(Oh God!)

Like every thing this has its cons also. But not a big deal though, since they are profitable in the long run:

• You have to invest money. You have to pay the bloggers you hire. They’re often expensive.
• There’s a trust factor involved. You’ve got to make your self trust the people you hire. And it becomes difficult so as to who can be trusted.

But the above things are not that much of a big deal. The investment turns out to be profitable for you since you benefit(see the above reasons). And once you’ve hired the right guy/gal, you tensions are over

If the above reasons have influenced you enough to acknowledge the importance and benefits of delegation, you can read on. If not, maybe you might as well stop right here, because this next part is not for you.

How? Read on

Now comes the real thing. How do you do it?

First, and again, assure your self that this will be profitable, and good for you and goodfor your network. If there are still any reservations in your mind about this whole thing, you might as well quit right here. Because you see, attempting some thing half-heartedly or with less confidence will always result in poor and bad results. So, first, confirm with your self that this is what you really want to do and you believe that this is going to be good for the whole network and you.

Next, in your large blogging network, look for areas which you are not able to manage as easily and as well as you can manage your own personal blog. Choosing your own blog here is important, because people usually tend to care more for things which are close to them. (Isn’t your personal blog close to you? At least, more than your network ;)) So you’ll be able to compare better.

Once you’ve identified these areas, you obviously need people to manage them. Take my word: you will always find people who are ready to manage something and will often do it better than you can do. Here’s a simple way to find them: Just put a simple message or ad in some place popular(such as your blog), telling people about the job offer you have. Don’t be measly (’kanjoos’ for Pakistanis) and pay peanuts. Set an attractive salary package and people will come to you. Use the power of online professional networking services like LinkedIn and Jaiku to your advantage here.

Some Tips

Once you’ve done all the above, here are some tips to make it smooth for you:

• Ask others’ help in the process of delegating. This is particularly helpful. Approach others in your related field and who have successfully carried out the process of delegation. They be more than happy to give some tips.
• For inspiration, look at some of the huge networks around, and learn from them. Examples are b5media, 9rules and Splashpress Media
• Ask present employees (if any). This is the best way to go at it. If you already have some people working for you, why not ask them for their opinion and whether they have anyone in mind who is suitable for the job.
• For further reading/learning, consider these: If You Want It Done Right, You Don’t Have to Do It Yourself!: The Power of Effective Delegation and Strategic Delegation in Firms and in the Trade Union (Contributions to Economics) and The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey and Empowerment Takes More Than a Minute.

I hope you liked this article and oh, wait for the next part too in which I’ll discuss the importance of keeping your word to others. Subscribe to the RSS Feed of this blog to know when I post it! Any comments are appreciated!

This post is the second post in part of a series on Time Management. You can view Part 1, too if you wish, in which I give basic tips for time management. The other parts will the posted soon after. You can subscribe to the RSS Feed of this blog to know when the third part is posted. You can also subscribe by email, if you wish.