Last week I spoke about how freelancers need to get out more. This morning, Matt Richtel writes for the New York Times in an interesting article dubbed ‘In Web World Of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop‘. So I ask, should blogging come with a health warning? Further to the point, should freelancing come with a health warning?

There are a few things to note.

In the past six months or so, the blogging community has lost two prominent writers in the form Russell Shaw (60) and Marc Orchant (50) while Om Malik suffered a heart attack last December aged just 41 (having since recovered).

Here were three men at the front of the pack when it comes to blogging and delivering content online across a variety of networks, the activity eventually taking it’s toll.

Even TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington says the level at which they operate “is not sustainable”, suggesting something will have to change sooner rather than later (the article noting that Arrington has gained 30 pounds over the last three years while developing a serious sleeping disorder).

People are under the illusion that you can make a living online through blogging from day one. Sign up for a blogging service, start your posting and away you go. Depending on where you are in your career, this might well be the case. One imagines if Bill Clinton (who just disclosed the earning of over $80m since leaving the White House in 2001 through book sales and appearances) could earn a hell of a lot through advertising revenue if he became an avid blogger. But for the ordinary beginner blogger there is no sure-fire way to land those megabucks straight away.

It times time, it takes quality content, it takes perseverance. Couple that with getting out there, getting known, talking to fellow bloggers, working tirelessly to promote your blog. Further to that, add your blog niche - if you’re a news-type blogger then you need to be ahead of the pack, looking for that breaking story, getting in early and getting in often with your posts.

It will eventually take it’s toll, the names above providing real life examples.

I look at my own little blogging empire and (I’ve only been calling it an empire of late as I couldn’t think of a better name to group 15-20 blogs under) and realise that it is impractical for me to keep them all up to date without sacrificing valuable hours of sleep or relaxation in order to spend extra hours stationary at a desk, often writing late into the night.

So I cut down.

Despite a number of blogs bringing in reasonable monthly ad revenue, I decided I could do without the revenue if it meant in the long run I could get a better night’s sleep and free up some time at the weekend (maintaining two sports-focused blogs meant trying to schedule non-existent hours at the weekend). I’m a self-confessed serial blogger or blog addict - I think of something, any topic, and have to blog about it or write about it. That in itself had to stop as well, again leading to an increase in time spent at the computer and away from other social activities.

While the financial gain from running a successful blog can be rewarding, it can inevitably come with a price in terms of health. Equally, the same can be said of freelancing and working for yourself. When you’re out of a 9-5 working environment (unless you’re very strict with your hours), there is always that “just one more hour” mentality around the corner until you realise for the fifth night in a row you’ve been working until 4am, it doesn’t bode well.

So should blogging come with a health warning? Maybe it should! What do you reckon? Leave a comment, let me know what you think.

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