Stained carpeting is very unsightly and can make even the most well decorated home look shabby and old. Similarly, a stain in the carpet or on the upholstery of your car can make even the newest model seem old and unkempt. That’s why there will always…

Thanks for the reply. I find it slightly cheering that your commission came out of the blue. Was it Liz Hunt (features editor) who commissioned you ? And isn’t it just typical that a non time critical story is made into a deadline drama by the journal wanting the copy with a deadline just a few hours away.

I’m still trying to grasp the concept of blogging though. I am not entirely dumb, but many hours of hunting around for information and reading it hasn’t enlightened me much. I am unconcerned about writing skills, but need to find out exactly how to persuade people to read the blog - particularly people like the Daily Telegraph.

My complaint is that getting any information from any part of the web is usually difficult because it is highly diffused and ‘woolly’. This appears to be driven by everyone’s desperate need for commercial advantage in one way or another. So for every microcosm of useful information, you have to sift it out of lorry loads of nonsense and diversions from one irrelevant website to another; never discovering whether a webpage is useful or not until considerable time has been wasted on it.

Nick

Thank you for taking the time to post a comment on my blog.

I’m sorry to hear about your circumstances. It must be awfully hard to be doing it all on your own.

The Lazy Househusband blog is mostly an outlet for self-expression. It’s my one sanctuary where I can write using my own voice. I draw my inspiration from the real-life events of my own family and I’m guessing that’s where the appeal comes from.

The request to write an article for The Telegraph came totally out of the blue. They did pay me for the article, so I certainly don’t wish to discourage you from seeking a living as a freelance writer. However, here are some things you should keep in mind:

1) In my experience, starting a blog or web site to make money online is not a “quick-fix” solution to financial problems. Building a “long-term” profitable presence online requires careful planning, organization, and — if you are not financially in a position to outsource the work to others — going through a steep and often expensive learning curve.

2) Although the opportunity to write an article for The Telegraph was unsolicited and unexpected, I have spent many years developing skills in areas like copywriting, web and graphic design, online marketing, business systems development, search engine optimization, etc. So, I felt confident to accept the challenge when it was presented to me - even though it was past midnight when I got the call from The Telegraph giving me only a few hours to get the article written before it went to press (and with my family still recuperating from the whooping cough!).

3) I don’t have the necessary experience to advise you on making money online as a freelance blog writer. My best recommendation to you, therefore, is formulate a plan for where you want to be, then start from where you are, work with what you’ve got and never lose sight of your goals. That’s what keeps me going.

Nick, I hope the above helps and that you will soon find a way to turn your situation around.

I wish you the very best of success.

The Lazy HouseHusband

I was fascinated to read your blog which I picked up from the article in the Daily Telegraph.

I too, am a househusband - and mum too - as my nine year old boy’s mother became ill with one of those dramatic and severe illnesses that either wrecks your entire life and the lives of everyone around you or just kills you anyway; which amounts to much the same thing really.

So, there we are, just the two of us. But at least you have the benefit of Corporate Babe’s payday ! I don’t. That means not only do I have to look after the Ninja Dynamo Wrecker, but try and earn a living as well as being both Mum and Dad.

Therein lies a giant conflict of interest. I haven’t yet managed to solve it. All I have succeeded in doing is head towards a nervous breakdown as I find it takes all my time dealing with the ninja wrecker and there is absolutely no time at all for anything else - and I mean anything. I long ago abandoned any pretence of cleaning the house, for instance.

But, the reason for contacting you. I was thinking of organising a blog to attempt to get work as a freelance journalist, but have utterly failed to understand the concept. By that I mean, of course I understand what a blog is etc, but I do not understand how people, particularly relevant people, get to read it. And how did the Daily Telegraph get to have an article. Did they contact you because they just happened to see the blog. Or are you in some way connected to them, or did you just pitch them ? By the same token did Georgina contact you because she saw the article in the Telegraph or just the blog.

Now for the sixty four thousand dollar question. To help me understand why people blog, can you tell me why you are spending so much time and effort doing it (well, I might add) ?

I notice you have few comments to your posts, but you have had a spectacular success in terms of getting an article in the Telegraph. I presume you were paid reasonably well for it too. If you tell me pay was nominal or absent, I will l give up any attempt at journalism immediately as it would indicate the media are becoming so parsimonious about paying people to write for them it is just not worth bothering trying to earn a living through them any more.

It seems to me that blogging is utterly pointless and I only want to do it for entirely commercial reasons, whereas most blogs I have seen seem to be nothing more than rather bizarre ego trips. A bit like what the average two year old would produce if only they could write and use a computer.

I look forward to hearing from you

Nick