Moola, moola, moola, moola
Everything is good, and everybody’s your friend
Jordy Birch’s song (“The Moola Song”) popped in my head and I had to run with it. Sorta. <LOL>
The Boss was surprised (stunned, really) when I asked to write another “making money blogging” post. She cast a skeptical eye, not because she doesn’t think I’m a decent poster or anything like that (I think), but because she never sees me volunteering for things outside my save-the-monk-seal and acting worlds. . . . Got her good, didn’t I? <ROTFL>
So, let’s continue with earning income through blogging. Selling ads and/or becoming involved with Affiliate Marketing, as stated previously, are bona fide ways of earning income. But what if you don’t want to sell or display ads to your viewers/followers? That’s okay. Some folks don’t particularly care for them and will totally ignore or avoid them.
You may want to try the sponsorship route—that is, getting sponsored blog posts through companies that pay you to represent their product, service, or share your experiences with their specific brands. Sponsored blog posts usually incorporate one or more links to promote the product/service being reviewed and a brand story.
A brand story, by the way, is more than just a “story”, a tale you tell. It’s a combination of facts, thoughts, analyses and/or explanations. The intention: to inform your readers, to gain their trust, to make a sale. You want it to serve as a basis to building your platform (in terms of yourself or the company you’re representing).
Give some thought to what you’re sponsoring/promoting. Which products and services would you like to have on your blog? Are they relevant to your blog? Will the sponsored posts drive traffic? If not, what do you need to do to make sure they do?
A sponsored blog post can be written as:
- a straight-out review
- an account of how a product or service changed or affected your life
- a list of pros or awesome (“selling”) facts and features
- a news-type article
- a press release
- a video or deck or presentation, or
- whatever your imagination dreams up.
No matter which creative route you take for sponsored blog posts, make sure they’re sincere. Don’t promote or offer something you don’t believe in. Integrity is everything—you want to be remembered and in a positive way—so be totally truthful with your readers.
I did mention “moola”, so I’ll touch upon getting paid for sponsored posts. Payment is between you and the sponsor. Some will pay in cash, others in products or services. How much effort and time, and extras (like photos, artwork, tutorials) are you going to put into it? Assess and negotiate accordingly. And do not sell yourself short.
A quick FYI: publishing sponsored posts requires meeting disclosure laws, so get to know them.
Where did the time go? I was planning to provide at least one more method of earning money through blogging. Ah well. I’ll leave that for The Boss. As a follow-up to this, though, I may suggest she post about brand stories or maybe getting paid to do reviews, which would also be a viable continuation . . . unless she’s ready to announce a Triple Threat Investigation Agency e-book contest giveaway (she’s been mulling that over and over).
Looking forward to sharing more findings soon, my friends.
The Writer's Grab-Bag 