Working with brands as a blogger is one of the ways bloggers monetize their blogs. I love talking about how bloggers make money blogging. Not only is it one of the most googled topic when it comes to blogging but every time I tell someone am a blogger they are always intrigued by how bloggers can call blogging a job or simply how bloggers can blog full time.
Some of the main ways bloggers can make money blogging are:
- Ads
- Sponsored posts
- Affiliate marketing
- Offering services such as freelancing, ghostwriting and been a VA.
- Through creating and selling a product.
Working with brands as a blogger through sponsored posts is one of the easiest ways to make money blogging. Check out this income report I complied you will notice a few bloggers in the big leagues are making thousands from sponsored posts.
Sponsored posts is when a blogger gets paid to talk about a product or a brand on their blog or social media platform. Sponsored posts can be in form of a paid product review, non- paid review but the company provides the products for review, paid text link and much more.
For you get sponsored posts you can either connect with the brand directly or through advertising networks.
That is why today am focusing on 4 key things you need to work on before you start working with brands as a blogger. It’s also what most brands will look for before they accept you for a collaboration.
The hard and simple truth is for you to work with brands you need an audience. It’s a 50/50 deal. The companies and brands want to know how they will benefit from this collaboration too.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my full disclaimer for more information.
Tip 1 start your blog the right way
For you to be in a position to work with brands as a blogger, you need to set up a self-hosted blog. There are so many free platforms out there which you could opt for but if you want to be considered serious in the blogosphere then self- hosted is the only way to go.
I use and highly recommend Bluehost because it’s extremely easy to install,the customer service is 24/7,it’s affordable and you get a free domain name for a whole year.
If you haven’t started your blog yet check out my tutorial guide on how to start a profitable blog in under 30 minutes. As a bonus to my readers once you start your blog I will send you a copy of my ebook The Beginner’s whisper guide for free. Just email me juelz@juelzjohn.com
Your blog theme is something else you need to have in mind. Have you ever visited a blog and there was so much going on you could barely navigate. Ads all over and so much clutter on the sidebar is displeasing to the eyes. You need to have a beautiful website and one that is easy to navigate.
In this case, first impression counts. When a brand visits your website they want to be able to quickly scan through your content.
Is your blog well organized?
Is there a visible search bar?
You need to create categories and archive page for your website.
Nowadays most people are on the go, so your theme should be mobile responsive.
You also need to work on the important pages on your website such as about me and Contact page.
Recommended reads:
The easiest way to start a profitable blog in 2018
Tip 2 to working with brands as a blogger: Grow an engaged audience
Most of the brands and companies look at the engagement you have with your readers. Well having a large following doesn’t hurt but engagement comes first. One blogger might have 50k followers on Instagram while another has 20k followers but with latter one gets more interaction with her followers.
Most brands look for real engagement compared to the number of followers you have mainly because they also want to benefit from the collaboration. Brands want to see the influence you have. Before you even start contacting any brands and companies you need to boost your engagement.
You need to engage with your audience.
On social media responds to your comments, once in a while check out your followers’ profile engage with them in any way you can. Whether it’s liking or leaving meaningful comments on their posts.
Any brand will want to see that you are actively connected with your audience.If you are trying to grow your audience be careful with comment pods this is you want real and meaningful comments not comments like great post!
Tip 3 Post regularly and high quality content
Whether it’s on your blog or social media you need to keep it updated with original content. Brands also have an image to uphold, so in a way your blog content needs to match their style.
It’s true what they say content is king. Your content is what will sell you. Make sure your posts are value packed with information that your audience is searching for, this will keep them coming back to your blog for more.
- Keep a content calendar.
This will help you to be consistent with your posting. Find a time frame that works best for you, whether it’s once or twice a week make sure your website is regularly updated.
- Proofread your content
This is a very important step. You need to proofread your work. Yes, we are all human and we are bound to make silly mistakes such as punctuations, irregular verb conjunctions.
Grammarly is the best free grammar tool out there and it basically corrects any grammatical errors. Publishing an article full of mistakes can be a turn off for many people and you might end up losing readers along the way.
Recommend read:
Free grammar tool (grammarly review)
- Post length
Aim to have blog posts with at least 1000 words.Reason being google loves longer posts and they will rank higher with time. Quality over quantity.
So if you find that you can only post once a week and your article will be top notch that’s ok. All of my posts are over 1000 words, at first it might be hard but with time you get used to it.
- Try and optimise your posts for SEO.
There is so much when it comes to SEO I have a post on that and you can also download my mini eBook.The two will help you master SEO and grasp all the tips and tricks you need.
In a nutshell, some of the things you need to focus on are: post length, picture optimization.
This will boost your traffic. With more traffic means your audience is growing and if you treat your audience well your engagement will even be better.
Make sure your content is shareable. Brands and companies want to know that once your post is up it will be easier for you and your readers to share it.
If you post pictures on your blog, they need to be high quality. If you don’t own a camera or you don’t have someone to take your pictures I suggest you hire a professional photographer.
Most of the times I personally use stock pictures that I get from Ivory mix and when I bought blog by number course by Suzi have it came with 200 free images. All I do is edit them on canva.
Recommended reads:
How to write a good blog post that will attract reader attention.
How to write your a blog post that gets tons of comments and shares
Tip 4: Position yourself in the right places
Brands need to know that you exist so you need to put yourself out there. Network with people. This could be on Facebook groups or any other forum out there.
Treat fellow bloggers as friends not as competition. Bloggers help each other out.
Blogging is not a get rich quick scheme so you need to be patient and work on this 4 thing. In time you will be able to approach brands and advertising network, meaning you will end up making more money if you wait rather than rushing into.
There you have it 4 things you need to work on before working with brands as a blogger.
Are you monetizing your blog through sponsored post? If yes ,how have youe experience been?
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