Calling All Writers: BloodyElbow.com Looking to Hire

by Luke Thomas on May 28, 2008 12:04 PM EDT in News Comment 29 comments

I'll keep this as brief as possible: this site is looking to hire at least one but up to three new writers.

This site has changed and grown exponentially in the last year. Keeping up with the demands is a lot harder than folks imagine and it's a lot harder than it used to be. All of us here want to ensure the site continues to provide smart analysis, news updates and moving forward, more original content. In order to do that, we have to expand our thinly-stretched staff.

So if you've ever wanted to write about MMA and actually have people read it, now's your chance. Here's what you need to do:

Register as a member of the site if you haven't already done so. I much prefer when folks register their real names, but it isn't a requirement.
Begin posting FanShots and most importantly, FanPosts. There is a 75 word minimum to FanPosts, but don't go overboard and write something so long or so esoteric no one will read it. If your post is good, we'll promote it to the front page.
Email me with your screen name and tell that you are interested in becoming a writer so I know which names to look out for in the FanPosts and FanShots section on the right.
You will need to post consistently for about two weeks. That doesn't mean you must post everyday, but if I can't get an accurate sense of how you write, what you know and how often you'll be posting, I can't bring you on board.

What's in it for you? A few things, most notably, attention. Believe me when I tell you people read this site. Fans, strangers, fighters, managers, MMA journalists and the like all read what we produce. In addition, this site is now credentialed by every major MMA organization except the UFC. Granted, that's a big exception, but it's also the rule as far as new media goes. This site is looking for people who take MMA coverage seriously, so if you want to go to local or national shows as a member of the press, now you can. You'll also get the opportunity to interview fighters, managers, promoters and other notable figures. This site hasn't done a lot of that, but we plan on moving more in that direction this next year. Lastly, I have to be candid and say I can't offer you money. Yes, we are working on that everyday and are making significantly headway, but I can't promise it up front. However, there are other projects that haven't been announced that members of this site's staff are involved with that will pay. So, roundabout, don't expect it, but it can be there.

So, what are we looking for in new writers? Simple: you. We don't have any restrictions or solid criteria per se. We are interested in unique personalities that can translate that to "paper", write well, write informatively and know a fair amount about MMA. Given the exposure this site receives, we can only allow those who demonstrate commitment, some level of talent and hard work to come on board.

Let me know if you have any questions. Let the games begin.

p.s. If you don't want to write, but would be interested in an internship (college students get preference), let me know.

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This is exciting news. There isn’t a writer on this site that disappoints me and I’m anxious to see who steps up. There are two current posters who I think would be good candidates. I’m sure anyone who pays attention to the site knows who I’m talking to.

by Simco on May 28, 2008 2:20 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

How about AnonymousA for fact checker, lol?

Or at least “Our man in Asia”.

Maybe War Machine could write an advice column for you?

"They said you was hung!!"

"And they was RIGHT!"

by BJJDenver on May 28, 2008 4:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Ummm

Just so that I can ask this nicely before somebody else makes a big stink of it (and to make sure I never get considered), I’m going to post this from the Sportsbogs Inc. FAQ:

How do you compensate your bloggers?
A revenue split of advertising spots.

This being the case, and since you’re not compensating new writers, why would somebody want to throw his/her lot in with your team instead of skipping the middleman and just working on either a site of their own or another SBNation site? Obviously you’ve got built-in traffic to start which means more exposure, but that’s not equating to revenue up front. Moreover, as the rise of CagePotato and Fightlinker over the last year show, good writing and a consistent posting schedule can get somebody to the forefront pretty quickly. So why would we want this spot? I know I’d rather just keep blogging over at my personal site and cash those sweet sweet AdSense checks. But there are lots of other people waiting to be convinced!

(Hey, somebody has to keep you guys honest!)

Also, to make the obvious joke: BloodyElbow pays writers less than the UFC pays fighters! :-)

Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ.

by jemaleddin on May 28, 2008 4:22 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I know someone who would be good for this and I will tell you why he hasn’t struck out on his own. He doesn’t want to feel like he has to keep producing content and forcing himself to write about things. He often needs an outlet for some passionate feelings he has about one thing or another. A good example is fighter ranking. Every time MMAWeekly puts out there piss poor ranking I hear about how bad they are. This person, that I won’t out here, felt so strongly about fighter rankings that he started to keep rankings of every current relevant fighter is every weight class. He keeps detailed excel sheets of flyweight though heavyweight. He keeps every fighter on there respective sheet and he has strict rules about where they belong. He keeps the top 20 in each class and writes justifications for EACH FIGHTER! He delights in updating he rankings and loves to argue placements. He thinks his rankings are THE ranking. At the end of this long ranking process where does he post his hard work? Facebook. I am the only one who sees them and comments on them. I think some goof he works with commented on them one time. He said something like “I think you forgot Kimbo Slice”

by szucconi on May 28, 2008 4:50 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Actually, I went to college with him.

I only write comments on the top ten in each division, largely because I’m already doing more work than every so-called ranking authority on the internet, but also because, like you said, no one is reading the stuff anyhow. It’s just fun for me to see if my rankings hold up to my own scrutiny.

by Brett Jones on May 28, 2008 4:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Why don’t you do a fan post of you “be all, end all” rankings. They are due for an update anyway.

by szucconi on May 28, 2008 5:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

yeah do it brett….. the postings i’ve seen from you on here are always pretty intelligent and insightful….. i’d be interested to read them…...

by robnashville on May 28, 2008 5:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I actually plan to, guys. I am working on the write ups when I have a few moments at work. It may be another day or two before I post them, but they are coming.

by Brett Jones on May 28, 2008 5:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Oh, and when I condescend to the “so-called ranking authorities,” I should be clear that I do not in any way look down upon the job Nate does to put together this site’s aggregate rankings. I like those.

by Brett Jones on May 28, 2008 5:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

yeah, me too…. i never knew about fight matrix before he mentioned them in his first post but now that’s about the only place i go to to look at rankings…..

by robnashville on May 28, 2008 5:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Honestly, I think Sherdog does a good job with their rankings by and large. I’m not sure why they cap the Flyweight rankings at the top 5 rather than top 10 like every other division. It’s not as though they don’t have the staff to properly assess the division.

I don’t care for Sherdog otherwise.

Oh, and he’s not particularly well known, but Mike Coughlin, who writes for both www.wrestlingobserveronline.com and www.figurefouronline.com puts together my favorite rankings (you know, that I didn’t create myself). Unfortunately, he only publishes them on the pay-for-access forums at Figure Four. It’s a shame, because as far as I’m concerned, were he to get his rankings published on those sites proper, he would immediately become the authority on MMA rankings.

by Brett Jones on May 28, 2008 5:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I can't stress this enough

Currently, there is no revenue stream from SBN to it’s bloggers. While the members of this staff are working behind the scenes to set up deals to get ourselves paid, the only ads paying money on the site right, if such a thing can be said, are Google Ads.

by Luke Thomas on May 28, 2008 4:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That’s weird. We used to get paid when sbnation was smaller than it is now.

Intentional Blog on Balls

by Richard Wade on May 28, 2008 4:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

more SBN bloggers

not much more revenue = no pay for BE

by Kid Nate on May 28, 2008 4:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That sucks.

Intentional Blog on Balls

by Richard Wade on May 28, 2008 5:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Then they’ve changed. For those really concerned or who know Trei or Tyler, email them and ask them yourselves.

by Luke Thomas on May 28, 2008 4:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Who is Trei? I remember Tyler, but I don’t remember anyone named Trei.

Intentional Blog on Balls

by Richard Wade on May 28, 2008 5:02 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah

I kinda figured that was the case, but since they CLAIM to be paying, I figured somebody ought to ask.

Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ.

by jemaleddin on May 28, 2008 5:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

And

I meant to add: and that sucks.

You guys do a pretty professional job around here, and if your traffic is high enough, I think you could be making some good cash through Federated Media or something.

Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ.

by jemaleddin on May 28, 2008 5:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Don't feel sorry for us yet

We’re working really hard behind the scenes to get some cash flow. This ain’t the IFL. If anything, we’re on the up-and-up.

by Luke Thomas on May 28, 2008 6:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

“So why would we want this spot? I know I’d rather just keep blogging over at my personal site and cash those sweet sweet AdSense checks.”

not speaking for luke….......but i think he kind listed some of the reasons… is your personal site gonna:
get you credentialed for a show?
get you a chance to possibly interview fighters managers etc?

i’ve authored some stuff here and there just to influence the debate here….. i think this is a cool little community we have here, and while i comment at some other sites i regard this as pretty much home turf for me MMA on the net….... if you don’t value the community to that degree and have no desire to lead the debate then no one is forcing you to do it…. all they can provide at this point is a forum and opportunity… who knows you could parlay the gig into something bigger…..

and on just a personal level…... the guys that write for this site have my respect because they have the balls to wear that big old bullseye that comes with writing content that is gonna be judged and commented on by others…... it takes balls to be the bullseye, not just the one out there flinging arrows…..

by robnashville on May 28, 2008 5:06 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well stated.

I agree about the guys on BE and when you compare them to some high profile writers on other sites, they are very steady in their opinions and don’t personally attack those who disagree.

Same can be said for a high percentage of the posters.

I’m sure whomever is added, they will be along the same lines, even if they have differing viewpoints.

"They said you was hung!!"

"And they was RIGHT!"

by BJJDenver on May 28, 2008 5:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Just to be clear

In case you missed it, the “sweet sweet Adsense checks” was a joke. I’ve had a PageRank of 5 or 6 for a few years now, have a decent amount of search traffic (which is the class of visitors most likely to click ads), some good inbound links and still make crap from AdSense. I was playing the Devil’s Advocate, you see. It’s hard to make money online, and I kinda wanted to draw Luke into making that explicit.

But to answer your question: most fighters (all but the top earners) will give an interview to anybody who can get their contact info. They can’t afford to miss a PR opportunity of any kind, and even the small amount of exposure that a tiny website can generate is worth taking 20 minutes to answer a few questions. When I was there at the beginning of MMA Madness, our CEO Vince (douche) was cold-calling fighters to get interviews, and I don’t think anybody said no.

As for getting credentials for a show: unless you live in Las Vegas, that’s not as helpful as it might seem. Out here in Maryland, as anyone who follows the ongoing “Lift the Ban” series knows, we JUST authorized sanctioning MMA (thanks, Luke!), so press credentials don’t go nearly as far as they would elsewhere. Still, fare point – that would be nice.

And yeah, for as much shit as I give these guys, I come here because they do a good job. If I wanted to be a prick, I’d call them out for convincing a bunch of people to generate them a bunch of free content so that one of them can be talked into generating free content indefinitely. ;-)

Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ.

by jemaleddin on May 28, 2008 6:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Just to be clear…writing for BE has opened up TONS of doors in MMA for me. I just haven’t made any cash from the site. But knowing that coming in is all you can ask. Luke doesn’t make promises he can’t follow through on he’s a great guy to work with.

I’ll be posting here on a much more regular basis soon. I had some personal stuff to clear up…so I had to take time away.

But as for working for BE, it’s fantastic and you’ll see a big “result” in what happens with your exposure and recognition.

Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.

"The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls and looking like hard work." -- Thomas Edison

by Brent Brookhouse on May 28, 2008 7:38 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Oh...

...and then being told by a fighter you admire and respect “hey I read your article the other day…good shit” is a fantastic moment. You need a site with wide exposure. BE can provide that

Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.

"The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls and looking like hard work." -- Thomas Edison

by Brent Brookhouse on May 28, 2008 7:42 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs