I’d like to share with you one of the more obscure ways to make money with your blog and that’s through sponsored posts. I started doing sponsored blog posts for a few national companies last year and they have been a nice padding to my normal blog income.
I’ve read income reports where sponsored posts make up the bulk of the blogger’s income, but personally, sponsored posts only make up about 10% of my yearly income.
I’ve always been interested in sponsored posts but unlike advertising and affiliate marketing, the online information on how to secure these deals, what kind of work is expected, and of course, the pay for this type of work is extremely vague!
My hope for this post is to open the door for you to sponsored partnerships with brands so you can grow this additional revenue stream for your blog.
What are Sponsored Posts exactly?
Sponsored posts are dedicated blog posts that companies pay bloggers to write. The blogger is still in control of the creative direction, content, and marketing, but they are essentially conforming their output to the client’s publicity desires.
Companies pay bloggers for sponsored posts with a variety of goals in mind. They could be promoting a sale, launching a new product, or just wanting to raise brand awareness.
Some companies will expect the rights to use the images and video created in collaboration for the campaign, while others will expect nothing more than promotion and publicity to your audience. You’ll need to negotiate this before agreeing to a sponsored post.
A legal contract with deliverables and photography usage rights clearly noted is an absolute must-have between the brand and the blogger before beginning the work on any sponsored post or campaign.
Should You Consider Sponsored Posts?
Now, I know that getting paid to write or create by a company seems like every blogger’s dream, but there are some downsides to working on sponsored posts.
Brand Dilution
The biggest concern with doing sponsored posts is that they might come across as inauthentic to your readers. While attitudes are slowly changing to bloggers (rightfully) earning money for the promotional work they do, some readers still take issue with the fact that a blogger is being paid to endorse a product.
The risk with doing sponsored posts is that some readers might think you are “selling out.”
I think these people are few and far between, but regardless, it is something to consider before jumping into the sponsored post realm.
I personally think that the occasional sponsored post is not a big deal, especially when I’m promoting a company that I love and shop from anyway. I have only done sponsored posts with companies I’ve already bought from, personally.
That being said, if a company were to approach me that I was unfamiliar with, I would probably judge how trustworthy they appeared to be online, ask to try their products, and then propose a partnership afterward.
For me, it’s just not worth it to pocket some cash in exchange for promoting a company that may or may not deliver for my readers!
Trading Time for Money
The other problem with sponsored posts is that you are trading time for money.
Most of us got into blogging to get away from that 9–5 job where you are paid for your time in the office. Sponsored posts are one-time gigs that you need to devote time to in exchange for payment. Some bloggers have reached the point where it just isn’t profitable for them to do paid posts for brands.
Especially when it comes to posts that promote temporary sales, I’ve come to realize that sponsored posts aren’t necessarily worth my time. If I can do sponsored posts for an evergreen topic, then that’s another story.
You see, when I blog, I’m investing my time into producing content that I believe will pay me returns many times over the course of the next several years. Eventually, my arsenal of content grows so big that it pays me dividends on dividends.
Sponsored posts don’t work like that unless you’re lucky enough to write about an evergreen topic for a company.
Use of Affiliate Links
It’s important to consider if the brand will allow you to use affiliate links in your post, which could further boost your income. All of my sponsored posts have been with companies that allowed me to make money on the sales referred to them through my affiliate links on the sponsored posts.
Under no circumstances should you include a “dofollow” link to a company that has paid you for a sponsored post! This is against Google’s terms of service and could get your website de-indexed from their search results.
If a company asks you to link to their website in exchange for a sponsored post, politely decline and walk away! The risk to your business just isn’t worth it.
Gifted Products
Some of the sponsored posts I’ve done have included a specific product that was gifted to me. Other times I had a budget to spend. Other times I had to decide and purchase the product myself online.
Be sure to ask what the company’s expectations are for obtaining the product they’d like you to promote if it’s physical.
If you have to buy the product yourself, that’s ok, but be sure to increase your fee to include the money you’ll spend, and save your receipt so that you can expense it on your taxes.
Look at shipping times too which could affect your post due date deadline!
How to Get Sponsored Post Deals
So now let’s chat about something many of you are probably wondering about: how to go about getting these lucrative sponsored post deals! There are two main ways to go about getting sponsorships for your blog: either the brand comes to you, or you pitch the brand.
Obviously, when a brand approaches you, you have way more room to negotiate as they’ve already internally decided they want to work with you, but pitching can still be a good use of time if you can present a good case as to why the brand would benefit from working with you.
Agencies
I personally have gotten all my sponsored post deals through LTK (formerly RewardStyle), my affiliate marketing platform. LTK works with hundreds of top fashion and home decor retailers so they already have the connections in place. From there, LTK manages sponsored campaigns with its top-performing affiliates on behalf of the brands it works with.
The higher your sales are for a brand through the RewardStyle platform, the greater chance you have of working with the brand on a sponsored post collaboration.
It’s really that simple.
RewardStyle has approached me on behalf of 5 different retailers in the last 2 years to promote various products, sales, and launches.
Of course, there are many other agencies that make connections between brands and bloggers if you’re not a member of RewardStyle. Some larger brands even have dedicated influencer marketing teams that will reach out to you directly!
Here are a few major influencer and blogger marketing agencies that you can register with to apply for sponsored posting opportunities:
- Activate by Bloglovin
- Linqia
- Izea
- Aspire IQ
- Ahalogy Muse
- Clever
- Cohley
There isn’t one clear owner of the influencer marketing space, unfortunately, so you may have to try your luck with several of these companies and see which opportunities fit best with your interests and audience.
Pitching
Another option is to pitch companies directly for sponsored posting opportunities. This route is much harder but it can be done. A good place to start is by searching for influencer marketing managers on LinkedIn. You can use a tool like hunter.io to find their email and send them your best pitch.
It’s good to have a media kit prepared with key statistics about your blog and influence so you can send it off if requested. Media kits should be one or two pages max and come in PDF format.
You should include the following in your media kit:
- A short informational paragraph about the content of your blog
- Your blog’s monthly pageviews
- Your social media statistics like the amount of followers and reach
I would not advise including your sponsored post rates directly on the media kit. Brands might have a budget in mind for this type of work and if it’s actually higher than what you would request, you could be missing out on extra income.
Sample Email
When you pitch brands, it’s important to directly state what you’re offering and how it will benefit them. I would keep the pitch as short as possible.
Here’s an example of a pitch I would send to a brand:
Hi Amanda!
I’m Victoria from the marketing blog Blog Ambitious. I’d like to inquire about a collaboration between XBrand and my blog. I write about digital marketing and my blog reaches over 50,000 American visitors per month. I’d like to write a post about your X products as I think they’d be a perfect fit for my audience.
Each month, I generate over $10,000 through the RewardStyle platform for brands like XCompetitor, YCompetitor, and ZSimilar. My audience has a buying mindset, which could directly impact your sales.
Let me know if you’d like my full media kit. I’d love to know your budget for this type of collaboration.
Thanks!
I’m sure this pitch could use some work, but that’s the general gist of what I would say. I’m not by any means a professional salesperson, but I understand that most people have a limited amount of time in the day, and the more you can help them accomplish their goals, the more likely they can help you with yours.
Follow Up!
Another important tip is to follow up like it’s your job! I have gotten many opportunities in life simply by following up on an email I had previously sent that didn’t get a response.
Here’s an example of a follow-up I would send about 4-5 business days later, providing an additional value proposition.
Hi again Amanda!
I’m quickly following up on my previous message. Blog posts on my website tend to rank very well in Google searches. An endorsement from my site would be a nice addition to your well-developed web presence.
Hope to speak soon.
The following week, if I still didn’t hear back I would send a third email along the lines of “If now isn’t a good time, let me know when I could reach out again in the future!” and leave it at that.
What Not to Do
If there’s one thing you should not do when pitching, it would be to avoid making the pitch about you, your business goals, or your finances.
I run a few successful blogs and I’ve had writers pitch me explicitly saying “I think it would help me grow my audience.”
I wanted so badly to write back, Excuse me, but how on earth does it benefit me to grow your audience?
Put yourself in the shoes of the person you’re writing to. They have a job. They have KPIs. They want to impress their boss and get promoted. How can you help them do that?
How Much to Charge for Sponsored Posts
Negotiating a good rate for sponsored posts is something that takes time to learn. The brand wants to pay as little as possible for as much work as it can get. You want the opposite.
As you begin discussing money, always ask the brand what kind of budget they have in place for this type of work. They may already have a figure in mind that you can agree to or negotiate higher.
If they don’t have a specific budget and want to know your rates, then you need to choose a figure.
How to Determine Your Sponsored Post Rates
Some people base their rates on how much time it takes them to complete the task. Others have a flat fee.
If you don’t know where to begin, try to estimate how many sales you can bring to the brand and use that as a reference.
Amazon has an approximately 4% conversion rate. RewardStyle has an average 1% conversion rate. Let’s go with 1% to be safe.
If you can drive 1,000 visitors to a blog post, that means approximately 10 of those people (1%) will reasonably buy the product.
If you’re promoting a product that costs $100, that means you’re driving $1,000 worth of sales for the brand. Taking a $250-$300 fee for driving those sales is more than fair.
Image Rights
Just because a brand pays you to create a post for them, doesn’t mean they have the automatic right to use your images as they please.
You see, they are paying for your audience and endorsement when they sponsor a post.
Unless the contract explicitly gives them rights to use your imagery, it remains under your control.
And yes, if the brand wants exclusive rights to use your images in their promotional marketing efforts (such as for TV, their website, social media, etc.), you can reasonably charge an additional usage fee for your content as well!
Constantly Raise Your Rates
My approach to determining my rates for a project is a bit different.
I started off by charging $1,000 for my first sponsored post. This was the minimum that I felt needed to be met in order for me to work with a company. My first post was for a large national corporation so I knew they had the money to work with, too.
The rate I set was a combination of what my time was worth, the sales I knew I could drive, and the fact that I was writing about a non-evergreen topic.
Since sponsored posts take away my time and don’t always pay me future returns on the investment, I charge a premium.
I also raise my rates by $250 or $500 each time I get a new offer, which I’ve done many times over. This has worked well for me and I now charge a few thousands of dollars for one sponsored post.
If I receive an offer to post during the busy holiday season of October, November, and December, there is a premium rate for that. If they want exclusive image rights to my content, there’s a premium rate for that, too.
My advice is to pick a number you’re comfortable with and see how the brand responds. Raise your rates each time you get a new offer. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at just how high you can go!
How Long Does It Take to Get Paid?
Another important factor to consider with working on sponsored posts is that it may take some time for you to be paid for your work. You may need to follow up with the brand if they do not pay you within the specified time frame.
Thankfully I’ve never had this issue, but it’s something to consider before accepting sponsored post work. Ask yourself: What happens if the brand doesn’t pay? Do I have a course of action?
In my experience, it takes approximately 2-3 months to be paid for sponsored post work. The time frame could vary, but that’s how long it’s been in my case!
Remember to Disclose
Lastly, if you do sponsored work for your blog or social media channels, make sure to disclose that you’ve been paid to endorse the company! This is incredibly important. You could find yourself in serious legal trouble if you do not comply with the FTC guidelines listed here on paid endorsements.
I hope this information on sponsored posts was helpful! Let me know your thoughts and questions in the comments below.
I found this article to be very helpful.
I bet some people make a hefty living through sponsored posts.
Do you reach out to get sponsored posts, or do they come to you organically?