Bailout for journalists underway

TypePad is offering a bailout for journalists. Since more than 13,000 of you have been laid off this year, they should have plenty of takers.

By signing up for the Journalist Bailout Program, you’ll get a free TypePad Pro account. (TypePad isn’t usually free, and I’m not sure how long the account will be free.) That will include support and everything you need to get started. You’ll be enrolled in Six Apart Media’s advertising program, and you get the revenue from the ads placed on your blog. TypePad will promote your blog on blogs.com, and they have programs to increase and drive traffic.

Not sure what you should be blogging about? I asked for some advice from my friends on Twitter (and added some of my own):
• Blog what you know. Did you cover local politics? Then write about local politics. Got a story idea you couldn’t convince the Powers That Be to do? Do it. Are you obsessed with “Star Trek”? Write about it. Do you like to take pictures? Post them. Are they all pictures of your cat? Post them anyway!  But …
• Make sure you can — legally. Did you sign a non-compete clause? Read back through it, and seek advice (call a lawyer if you need to) on what you can and cannot do. (via @sayvil)
• You can even blog about your job hunt. But don’t bash your former employer.
• Keep writing. Post often and write tight. (via @hidama and @macdivaona)
• Talk to your commenters, but don’t take everything they say to heart. (via @jamietie and @dansinker and @dailybreezeme)
• Blog because you want to, not because you have to. (via @jrue)
• Make sure it reflects your personality. (via @wmhartnett)
• Most important: Don’t drink and blog. (via @johnrobinson)

To sign up, e-mail bailout@sixapart.com a link to your last story, photo, page design, etc. (Copy editors, I have to assume they will welcome you too. E-mail ‘em!) This isn’t just for newspaper journalists: Magazines and TV stations are closing and/or laying off employees too.

If you don’t have a blog, sign up. If you have a blog but have been looking for ways to make it better, sign up. (There are other blog options — free options. I started blogging with Google’s Blogger. It can be a bit limiting, though, so I moved on to, and really like, WordPress. Take a look at Tumblr, too — it has some nice features and makes posting a variety of links, photos, videos, etc., quite easy.)

Once you get your blog set up, make sure you promote it from your accounts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and any other social network you belong to. Tell your friends. Tell your family. Get the word out. Don’t forget to post your résumé and to create a page (or pages) of some of your best stories or photos or designs or headlines.

Got more advice for new bloggers? Let’s hear it!

(Updated to add the perfectly timed and themed card from Indexed.)