Couples that Blog Together…

This guest post is by Jefferson and Michelle of See Debt Run.

Blogging with your significant other can be a very rewarding experience, as long as you communicate openly.

My wife and I started personal finance site See Debt Run in January of this year to document our journey out of debt, and to share the experiences that we had along the way.

When we decided to start See Debt Run, we agreed that our site should feature both of our voices equally, and we both pledged to work together to improve our financial situation and to work towards making the site a success. We never expected that this adventure would bring us even closer together.

Divide and conquer

Most people aren’t aware of how much work bloggers really have to do behind the scenes. Networking with peers, managing inquiries, researching keywords, and learning and implementing SEO best practices can all be just as time consuming as creating content. Having two people to tackle these tasks gives you the ability to divide and conquer, which can go a long way towards preventing blogger burnout (which happens to everyone).

Since I work full time, I am often unavailable during the day to respond to comments or handle any other blog issues that come up.  Because my wife stays at home with our one-year-old daughter, she can respond to comments or inquiries during the baby’s naptime, which is a major advantage. 

In the evenings, after the kids are in bed, we buckle down and take care of writing for the site, editing, and other blogging tasks.

During this time, we actually enjoy working side by side. While many married couple are probably spending their evenings watching television, my wife and I are instead collaborating together to build something, which is a reward in and of itself.

Lend a hand

The very best part about blogging with your spouse is the fact you have an editor who is available 100% of the time.

We agreed from the start that we would provide honest feedback to each other, and as such, we always read each other’s posts before they go up on the site. It isn’t unusual for my wife to suggest that I remake a section of one of my articles, or for me to suggest that she add a better transition between paragraphs in one of hers.

To keep the site running smoothly, we use a variety of tools to keep things straight. We maintain a shared text file that we call the “idea well.”  Whenever we think of something that might make a good post, it gets added to the file, where either one of us are welcome to run with it.  As these ideas turn into real posts, we maintain a shared calendar to keep track of which articles will be running and when.

The hour or two that we have before bed is not always enough time to get our articles completed and ready for publishing.  If one of us needs some time to write, the other is always willing to take the kids out to the playground, to clear the house of the normal distractions.  

There have also been a few occasions since starting the blog that each of us has suffered a bit of writers’ block, and when that has happened, the other was more than willing to step up and write up a few extra posts.

Use your voices, since you have more than one

From a writing perspective, I like to think that having two voices instead of one helps us appeal to a broader audience.

Logic might tell you that your readers want to connect with a single author, finding their perspective appealing, but with both of us posting regularly, we have the ability to make even more connections. My wife and I have very different writing styles, and as such, we appeal to different groups of people.

My wife is a dynamic storyteller who has a talent for using conversations in her writing. When she tells a story, she uses small details and raw emotions to help readers feel like they were right there with our family when the situation was going down.

I tend to write in a more traditional style, often backing up my articles with detailed examples and statistics. I have found the most success in writing articles that give career advice or offer specific tips about methods that we are using to improve our financial situation.

No two people have the exact same writing style.  If you and your partner can each find your own unique voice, together you can find harmony.

Communication is key

To other couples out there that may be considering starting a blog together, I would wholeheartedly recommend it! Sustaining a successful a blog involves many long hours working on your computer, and having someone there with you goes a long way towards alleviating the monotony.

The most important advice that I can offer would be to make sure that you communicate openly. If you are considering making a change with the blog or discussing a new promotional opportunity, be sure to discuss it before moving forward.

Remember that you are full partners in this game, and you both have an equal stake in the site’s success. As long as you respect your partner and communicate openly, couple blogging can be a very rewarding experience.

Do you blog with your life partner—or another type of blogging partner? Tell your story in the comments.

Jefferson and his wife Michelle write at the personal finance blog See Debt Run, where they document their family’s journey to financial sanity. They write about frugal parenting, money making opportunities, career advice, and more.