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Building A Kick Butt Sponsorship Program

January 15, 2015 | No Comments

After you’ve blogged for a while and gotten the gist of things, you might feel the need to take the next step in developing your blog. You may have already tapped into the sponsorship world by sponsoring another blog, or doing free ad swaps with some of your friends. As your content gets better though, so do your stats, meaning more exposure. All that sidebar space is worth a bit more now, meaning one thing: it’s time to build a sponsorship program!

The great thing about the sponsorship system is that bloggers are at the center of it. They’re both the sellers and consumers, meaning it’s a win-win business. Most of the time, bloggers will use the money they make from selling ads to buy more for their own blog, making it a huge system of happy bloggers! And with the right tools, creating your own sponsorship program can be super simple. Here are some general steps to guide you through the process!

DETERMINE YOUR GOAL

Before setting anything up, you need to establish what you want to get out of your sponsorship program. Are you wanting to get more exposure? Help out other bloggers? Make some side cash? This will help you determine what you’ll be offering with your ads, and how much you’re willing to give up that space for. If you just want to meet other bloggers and help them out along the way, you might offer more shout outs at a lower price. But if this is strictly for the business/money-making aspect, you’ll want a more structured program with a higher price.

CONSIDER TIME

Running a sponsorship program can require as little as a few minutes a day, to a couple of hours. Think about how much time you’re willing to devote towards your program, and only offer what you can work with. If you have a tight schedule, limit your spaces to 4 or 5 spots. You can always increase that later!

DECIDE ON A PLATFORM

There are several websites out there that will host your sponsorship program, but my absolute favorite is Passionfruit. They take care of everything, and I mean everything. All you have to do is choose the type of ads you want, set the price and a few other details, and place the code in your blog. Passionfruit creates both the ad display and ad shop for you, so no other coding involved! Passionfruit does charge for their service, but their prices start at only $3, which is totally worth it in my opinion. They take so much work off your back!

The other option is to run your own ad program. The great thing about this choice is that you don’t have to pay someone else to run your ads, but it also means there’s more work for you to do. You can create a page on your blog and write out what your options are, and have bloggers contact you by email to work out the details.

SET UP YOUR ADS

This is where we get into the details. There are a lot of things to decide on here, and it all depends on what goals you came up with.

length – how long will each blogger have their ad on your blog? The most common length is one month, which is enough to build a relationship while giving other bloggers a chance for sponsoring you.

shout outs – how many shout outs will you offer? These can be in the form of blog shout outs or social media shout outs, and if you’re offering a tiered system of ads (small ad, medium ad, and large ad for example) you might increase this number as the ad gets bigger. Once again, consider the amount of time you have and don’t offer what you can’t give out!

will you rotate your ad spots? – rotating means that the order of ads on your sidebar will switch around every time your blog is visited. This is great for keeping things fair and giving your sponsors the exposure they deserve! You can also offer more ads while only displaying a few, giving those sponsors extra exposure when they’re up.

will you make a sponsor post? – sometimes bloggers will offer to post about their sponsors in an end-of-the-month post. Usually they’ll ask all of their sponsors a few questions, and post their answers along with a description of the blog. It’s a fun way to connect with your sponsors if you offer it!

what are your restrictions? – it’s always a good idea to include some restrictions to avoid an awkward situation. For example, if you’re running a food blog and a fashion blogger wants to sponsor you, it might be hard for you to promote them to an audience that will enjoy their content. I generally use these terms:

“I reserve the right to deny an ad spot if your blog doesn’t fit with my blog’s aesthetic, or if your ad is distorted.”

You might choose to have more or less restrictions, depending on your blog type and quality opinions.

CREATE YOUR SPONSORSHIP PAGE

This is an extremely important part of your sponsorship program, because it’s where you’ll hook in a buyer. Rather than just placing your ad shop and calling it a day, I suggest writing up a paragraph or so about you and your blog. It gives your potential buyers some background on your blog’s success, and allows them to get to know you a bit before diving in. Make sure to be yourself! Bloggers want to sponsor someone genuine and organized so they know their money is being spent well. This is the place to brag a bit!

Another good idea is to include your stats. It gives other bloggers an idea of how much exposure their ad will get, so they can determine how much they’re willing to spend. Don’t worry if your stats aren’t off the charts yet though; mine surely are not! Numbers really aren’t everything. In fact, when I decide to sponsor another blog, the majority of my decision is based off the kind of person that blogger is. I would rather sponsor a small blog whose writer is enthusiastic and excited to promote me, than a bigger blog whose writer might not give me enough attention to make it worth the cost.

PROMOTE YOUR PROGRAM

Finally, it’s time to promote what you’ve created! Social media is a great place to talk about your new sponsorship program. Make an Instagram post, pin a snapshot, or tweet about it. Show your potential buyers how great you are at promoting something!

Offering a discount is another great way to bring buyers in. By lowering your prices for a day or so, you’ll bring in more sponsors and fill up those spots faster than ever!

How To Engage Your Blog Readers

November 21, 2014 | 1 Comment

Back when I started this blog, I decided I wanted it to be a place where I can share my thoughts without devoting much of my attention to who will actually read my post. So many bloggers fall into the trap of trying to please their readers to the point that writing isn’t even an enjoyable experience anymore. Don’t forget what sparked your blogging passion! I’ve made a habit of writing about whatever comes to mind, whenever it does, so if I don’t feel the itch to blog for a couple of months, I don’t. Simple as that! It takes off a whole load of stress that comes with choosing to write for people, rather than yourself.

That being said, finding a way to write for yourself AND other people is a great combination! Getting the perfect balance between entertaining the writer and reader can be pretty difficult as a beginner blogger though, so I’ve put together a little list of ways to engage your blog readers without sacrificing your freedom to write what you feel passionate about.

– keep those personal touches: If you’re writing for yourself, you’re probably also writing about yourself a good chunk of the time. I love reading posts that incorporate personal stories and experiences, because they’re usually relatable and keep me tied in! So don’t forgo the little personal touches that somehow end up in your posts, because you might catch a reader that has a similar story!

– pictures, pictures, pictures: One thing I’ve recently realized that I just love about reading other blogs is all of the pictures I find. It’s so interesting to see how a blogger takes their perspective of something through the lens, and the creativity out there is endless. Using pictures in your posts not only engages your readers, but it gives you an excuse to photograph random things all day long, because “it’s for the blog”. I’ve used that phrase at least a hundred times.

– link to another blogger’s post: Scrolling through other posts from my blogging community always leads me to some great reads, and oftentimes its those posts that inspire me to make one of my own. If someone else has a post that ties in with your topic, linking over to them is a great way to connect! Links are the perfect addition to put in your posts for extra engagement, and using one from a fellow blogger is always a bonus.

– use your voice: Something that always bothers me when I find it in a post is a monotonic voice that just sounds like it came from a robot. This usually happens when I’m reading a product review, which is kind of understandable, because it’s hard to sound overly enthusiastic when your writing about the newest and greatest cheese grater. But when it comes to your personal writing, try your best to keep your own voice in those words. You’ll almost always come off as more engaging to your readers, and well, you should sound like you!

– ask a question: By the time I’m done writing a post, there are usually a few curious thoughts floating around my mind about how another person might connect with my words. This is usually how I come up with a question for the end of my post, because it’s a super simple way to encourage my readers to comment and continue the topic with their own opinions. I love hearing my readers thoughts, and it’s one of the easiest ways to get to know your readers!

what are some unconventional ways you engage your readers?

The Do’s and Don’ts of Blogging

September 19, 2014 | 5 Comments

Whether you’re a newbie blogger or a pro, following some extent of “blogging etiquette” is a must if you want your blog to be seen in good light. It’s pretty simple though, especially if you think of your blog as a reflection of yourself, which it basically is! And just a side note before we get to the tips; I’ve definitely fallen victim to a couple of these “don’ts”, and looking back now, I feel horrible for it! To avoid being completely negative though, I wanted to share a some tips that will benefit you and your blog as well. So for both your sake and mine, here are a few do’s and don’ts of the blogging world that I wish I’d thought about months ago!

WHAT TO DO

1. BE YOURSELF

I always find this to be my favorite quality of bloggers. I can connect with them on a more personal level and feel like I’m actually listening to a person, not reading off a screen. Staying true to yourself is so important in blogging, because you want your blog to be a reflection of who you really are!

2. HAVE A BLOGGING SCHEDULE

Not only will this keep your readers coming back, but it will ensure that you don’t go insane trying to come up with a post every week! Keeping a schedule allows your readers to expect a post from you on certain days, and they’ll look forward to coming back for it. It’s also extremely helpful when you’re participating in group projects with other bloggers, because double-booking a day for posts can get pretty chaotic! I keep a blogging planner with sticky notes color-coded for different types of posts, so I know what weeks have a giveaway going, or when I’m participating in a link up, so I don’t accidentally take on too much at once.

3. JOIN A COMMUNITY

This was probably the best decision I made since I started blogging! It’s a pretty amazing thing to see so many bloggers collaborating at once, especially when you’re able to join them on things like giveaways and social media hops. I became a member of the Peony Project back when there were only about 20 members, and now we’re at almost 300! I met all of my closest blogging friends there, and we connect everyday through Facebook, blogging, and other collaborations. It’s a great experience, so I definitely suggest going out and finding a blogging community that fits you and your blog’s personality!

4. LINK BACK TO YOUR OWN POSTS

Having a reader find one of your posts is great, but don’t you want them to stay awhile and come back? By linking back to your past posts within new ones, your reader can explore your blog and get a good idea of what it’s like, while also learning a bit about where it came from. This is a great way to sort of “self-advertise”, and you’d be surprised at how well it works! If you haven’t done this before, try going back through some of your posts and look for topics you mentioned that have now been covered by a newer post. Add in a link to that new post, and see how your statistics change over time.

5. HAVE A CLEAN BLOG DESIGN

Maybe this is a bad thing, but when I’m looking through new blogs, one of the first things that pushes me to close the page is an unorganized design. If I have to search around just to find your content, there’s a problem. Maintaining a clean design is crucial to giving your reader the best experience on your blog. It’s also helpful when you’re looking for bloggers or companies to work with you, because they want their content displayed in the best way possible, and a messy design won’t cut it!

6. USE IMAGES TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

While this applies to just about any social networking site, I’m mainly gearing this tip towards Pinterest. Images grab a readers attention much faster than words, so it should be one of your top priorities to have a picture of quality in all of your posts. I suggest optimizing these images for Pinterest, because I think we can all agree that Pinterest is one of the best places to advertise your posts and pull in readers! To get those clicks, try adding short phrases to your photos that not only summarize what your post is about, but sound intriguing to the reader scrolling over it. You only have a few seconds to grab their attention, so make sure your images are eye-catching!

WHAT TO AVOID

7. POSTING LINK-UPS/GIVEAWAYS/PROMOS ALL THE TIME

This would be one of those issues that I’ve fallen victim to. You have a pretty overwhelming week ahead of you, so you sign up for a few “no-work-required” posts like link ups and giveaways to keep your blog up and running while your busy. But then a few weeks later, you realize that these types of posts consumed your entire blogging schedule for the whole month. While participating in the occasional giveaway or link up is great, it isn’t something you should be doing all week long. Make sure you’re balancing those posts out with some great content to keep your readers from getting bored!

8. PLAGARIZING

This one seems pretty obvious, but I’m constantly seeing complaints about it on networks I’m in, because bloggers keep having their content stolen. Here’s what I have to say about plagiarism: if you’re stealing content from other bloggers to fill up your own blog, why are you even blogging in the first place? Now I get that you might read a post and become inspired to write something like it, but that’s not the same as copying word for word what someone else wrote. Just don’t do it!

9. STEALING PHOTOS

Along the same lines as the previous tip, but this one seems to be harder to understand completely. With so many stock photo sites out there, it’s hard to differentiate between what’s free and what’s not. And even when a photo is free to download, you might be required to cite the owner of the photo wherever you use it. Honestly, the best way to deal with this issue is by taking the photos yourself. That way you’re confident that everything on your blog is legitimate, and your pictures are more unique and personal!<

10. COMMENTING FOR THE PURPOSE OF ADVERTISING

This is mainly a habit of newbie bloggers looking to get their first readers. You might have a few comments on your blog along the lines of, “Cool post. :) *insert link to blog*”. They aren’t very sincere, and it’s pretty obvious that whoever made the comment didn’t care too much about your post. Now don’t get me wrong, comments are a great way to get readers! But placing a link to your blog in every comment you write isn’t the way to do it. It looks amateur and kind of tacky, and may be sending the wrong message about your blog. Instead, comment on other blogs with the intention of connecting with the writer. If your comments are sincere and you make it clear that you really read the post and enjoyed it, there’s a good chance the writer will check your blog out to see who the new face in their comment box is!

11. TAKING ADVANTAGE OF COMMUNITIES/BLOGGERS

One of the main reasons bloggers join communities or connect with each other is to expand their exposure and introduce more people to their blog. For example, at the Peony Project, there are weekly follow trains and blog post threads so you can get the word out about your blog and new posts, which I absolutely love! Usually, if you add your link to these threads, it’s expected that you check out a few other bloggers on the list to keep the system flowing smoothly. However, there are always bloggers that try to take advantage of these types of services, and simply use them for their own exposure without helping out anyone else in the community. This often goes unnoticed, because it’s hard to keep track of who follows who and who comments on what blog, so this is more of an honor system thing. I know it can be hard to make time for connecting with other bloggers, but you’ll end up with more engaged readers and a better follower base if you just follow the rules and gain readers the right way!

12. OVER ADVERTISING

Social media isn’t just an outlet for connecting with people anymore; it’s a series of platforms with endless opportunities for advertising and promoting yourself. I mean, what would we do without Twitter and Facebook and Instagram and all those other places we announce our new posts at? We would literally have to text or call all of our readers to let them know we put something up! Obviously, that’s extremely inconvenient, so social media is the way to go. But please. Limit your advertising. If you’re adding a new Tweet every five minutes about the post you just put up, your followers are going to get pretty annoyed, and might end up unfollowing you. Unfollowers=bad news! This is where social media schedulers come in handy, because they spread out your posts/tweets/statuses so you don’t overload your readers. I don’t use one personally, but I do my best to keep track of when I promote my posts to give my readers the perfect balance of information!

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