If you’re fairly new to blogging, the thought of building a team may never have even crossed your mind. After all, blogging is a solitary endeavor, right?

Well, yes, it is.

Except when it isn’t.

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I contend that the best blogs – including brand new ones – are never built alone. They grow exponentially with the help of a team.

I Can’t Afford It!

When most people hear the word “team,” they immediately think of employees or at the very least independent contractors.

And those people cost money.

While paid help can certainly be part of a blogger’s team, my definition of a team is much broader than that. Members of your blog team can be anyone who contributes to the success of your blog in any way.

There Is Such a Thing as a Free Lunch (or Milkshake)

For example, Chad R. Allen is a crucial part of my team, and the closest we’ve come to a financial transaction is sharing a milkshake. (That’s a story for another day!)

You see, Chad and I are in the same mastermind group. We contribute to each other’s blog and business on a regular basis through feedback, encouragement, and accountability. In addition to that, he’s written a guest post for me, and now I’m writing one for him. I couldn’t ask for a better teammate.

I need teammates like Chad, and so do you, even if your blog is brand new.

Here are some frequently asked questions regarding building a blog with the help of a team.

Q: What are some examples of unpaid team members?
A: Unpaid members of your team can include other bloggers who are willing to share your content or comment on your blog, mastermind members, and writers’ groups. In some cases, family members or friends may be willing to do things for free or to exchange services.

Q: Do you have any suggestions for bloggers who want to hire team members but have a very limited budget?
A: To see the possibilities when it comes to hiring team members on the cheap, it pays to break away from a traditional employment mindset. You can hire paid workers on a very limited basis, for minuscule one-off tasks.

Costs are even lower if you choose to outsource at least some of your blogging tasks to college students or to virtual assistants in countries such as the Philippines.

For example, I hired a worker in the Philippines to create a few PowerPoint presentations based on some of my blog posts. Each slideshow cost less than $20.

Q: What are some examples of small tasks that you use to test potential team members?
A: I definitely recommend assigning small projects before making any long-term commitments. When people do a good job on small projects, you can then consider hiring them on a more permanent basis.

Here are few small task ideas you can use to test someone out:

• Optimize your 10 most recent blog posts for SEO
• Proofread or edit a series of blog posts. Intentionally leave some mistakes in to see if they catch them.
  
• Research guest post opportunities based on criteria you lay out.
• Repurpose a few pieces of your content. For example, create a PowerPoint presentation from one of your blog posts, or write a blog post based on a transcript of your podcast.
• Create images for your next five blog posts.

Part of what you want to test is how the person responds to criticism. Don’t be overly harsh, but ask for minor changes to the work they produce for you. Pay attention to any attitudes that may be revealed in their response.

Assigning small tasks gives people a chance to show off their skills and gives you an opportunity to get a feel for what it would be like to work with them.

Q: What are some ways to determine the types of blogging-related tasks to outsource?
A: First, make a list of all of the blogging-related tasks that you don’t enjoy but have to be done. Second, make a list of tasks you enjoy but take up a lot of your time that could be perhaps better used on other more profitable things. Finally, make a list of blog-related tasks that you really aren’t good at. For instance, if you want to include images in your blog posts (and you really should!) but aren’t handy with graphics, that could go on the list.

Put a checkmark next to anything that could potentially be done by someone else. Then place those items in order of priority, and one by one, hire them out as your budget allows.

Question: What’s the number one thing you need help with on your blog? You can leave a comment by clicking here.