Angela Atkinson Opens Up About The WM Network

Posted by Shakirah Dawud in Freelance Writers, Marketing & Business

I’ve been writing regular blog posts for The WM Review Connection for some months, so I’m no stranger to the organization and quality of The WM Network, which consists of four useful resource sites on freelancing, parenting, pets, and product and book reviews. I recently had the opportunity to talk to co-founder Angela Atkinson about how it all began. Read on to learn the steps taken, challenges faced, and high standards maintained to grow a successful online information network.

SD: Angela, I’ve read your helpful articles for freelancers on the WM Freelance Connection, and it’s so well organized. I’ve also read your author bio, but could you tell us a little more about yourself? How did your freelance career get its start online?

AA: I’m happily married to my husband, Bill, and we have three amazing kids. I work from my home office so I can be available to my family whenever they need me. I am a coffee snob–I mean connoisseur–and maybe a bit of an addict, which may explain how I manage to do all the things I do these days.

As far as my freelance career, I started back in the 90s with a small regional magazine called Airwaves (now defunct). Then, life took me down a different path, but I kept writing on the side, [including] many corporate documents, training manuals and articles for my previous employers. Writing has been a passion of mine since I could first hold a pencil.

In 2005, my husband and I made the choice that I would leave my corporate job and work from home. Since I have small children and am lucky enough to have a husband who can support us financially, I took things slowly at first. I started with *gasp* content mills, [but] I quickly realized that wasn’t enough. I started advertising my services as a freelancer. My first website was In Pursuit of Fulfillment, a personal development site that focuses on being happy and successful, living well and employing the law of attraction in one’s favor.

SD: What was the original idea for the network?

AA: As my freelance career developed, I started thinking about it. The idea was originally for one website with three writers, including myself, my now-partner Alyssa Ast, and another writer, which would focus on freelance writing. I asked Alyssa and the other writer to join me. The other writer left the project soon after it was launched, and Alyssa and I worked together to develop the concept of the website as our readers know it today. That site later became The WM Freelance Connection. Later, we decided to add additional resources to the network. While  the idea for the original site came from me, Alyssa and I have worked together from the very beginning to make it happen, and we have both worked hard to make The WM Network what it is today. We have enough in common that we’re always on the same page, and each of our strengths compliments the other’s weaknesses. I feel very lucky to have found a partner like her.

SD: How did you gather the resources and writers to launch the lively WM Network?

AA: We put out notices in our social networks seeking bloggers and were flooded with applications. We then asked for sample posts and chose the best. As far as resources, we have a lot “in house.” I design our websites, while Alyssa optimizes them for the search engines. We have staff groups for each site to communicate with our bloggers, and we use Blogger.com to host our sites. Our Senior Admin, Pam Houghton, along with all of our other admins and dedicated bloggers, work hard to make–and keep!–our network so successful.

SD: How much content was prepared for the website before you launched? Did you solicit a lot of feedback from readers?

AA: When we initially launched, it was with a single blog post. Since then, each time we launch a new site, we take a month or two to build up content before the official launch date. Feedback has steadily increased as the sites continue to grow.

SD: What is the base of promotion for your websites?

AA: We do a lot of social networking and social media marketing. We also cross link, publish and write guest posts, and have a few other little tricks. Our bloggers also help to promote the sites within their own networks. We have new and exciting things coming in 2011 that will not only help us to market our sites, but will benefit our readers, too. Stay tuned!

SD: What applications are you glad you have to carry out your regular posting and promotion schedule?

AA: The ability to schedule our posts is really helpful, with a built-in Blogger.com feature. I also like Zemanta. It is sort of an intuitive little electronic helper, offering a selection of public domain/creative commons photos and suggesting tags, related posts and links. Plus, it offers your blog’s content to other bloggers who use Zemanta. [It] was introduced to me by one of our former WM contributing admins, Denise Bertacchi. The [cyber] gadgets that let our readers easily share our content across their social networks are a big part of promotion. We also use Networked Blogs on Facebook and a number of other tools.

SD: With so much useful and targeted information, you’re sure to get lots of targeted traffic. Do you monetize the WM Network?

AA: We do not currently monetize the network as a whole, but individual bloggers are able to make a little cash on the side through their dedicated spaces in our sidebars. We are working on a really unique plan to monetize the individual sites. The first site slated for monetization is the WM Freelance Connection. Any money we make will be shared with our bloggers.

SD: If you had to start over again, would you do anything differently?

AA: I don’t think so. I found the perfect partner and we are very proud of what we’ve done thus far. We have big plans for the network in the coming year, and I think that listening to our readers and developing around their needs have helped us work in the right direction.

We have seen a few copycat sites pop up with similar concepts since we launched, but they don’t come close to the quality of WM sites. We have been lucky to find amazing and dedicated writers. They, along with our constant concern for improving ourselves and our quality, are what make WM what it is today.

Angela Atkinson edits, writes (for Patch.com to get her journalism fix and for businesses as a marketing copywriter), designs websites, and is a social media marketer. Her first book, The Practical Freelance Writer’s Guide to Author Websites, was released in September.

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