When I started blogging seriously in January I did so with the hopes of eventually being a pro-blogger. It is a lofty goal but I figured that if I put in a lot of time, planned carefully and produced good content then it could be a job which suited me well. I put in a lot of effort looking into other successful blogs who have grown gradually and organically and figured that I could probably grow my blog to a successful level in about four years (if I kept up the standard that is!).
Half a year in and so far my projections seem to holding up quite well. I'm so happy that Now That's Pretty is growing and meeting new lovely readers and building up quite a community. But with a growing blog I have started to think about sponsorship more and more.
One of the things that gave my blog a little start up boost was sidebar advertising on other blogs. I fully recommend doing this as it introduces your blog to a different audience. Eventually (probably next year) I hope to introduce side bar ads to my site. Of course it will be nice to make money off them but also I genuinely believe that they are a wonderful way to share blogging audiences. I do want to wait before I offer this though as I want my audience to be large and wide enough that buying my adverts are a real asset to you rather than just a get rich scheme for me.
My main issue that I need your help with is sponsored posts. Now that the blog is growing a little I have started to be approached by various companies asking whether I would do sponsored posts for them and it has really got me thinking. There a couple of blogs that I have been readings for a really long time that have started posting A LOT of sponsored content and it has really turned me off their sites. Though I am all for bloggers making money from their work (because creating engaging and original content is time consuming and, if you're a craft blogger it can also be expensive) it seemed to me that sometimes this can make the content suffer and surely the whole point of having a blog is the content!?
The conclusion that I have reached is this. Over the next couple of months/year I am going to start experimenting more with sponsored posts but with a heavy proviso- these posts have to be as enjoyable to read as the rest of my content. I am going to put a lot of work into these posts to ensure that the quality, relevance and mood remains the same- I never want to just be saying a brand name fifty times and then posting a picture of their product because that's just off putting. My aim is that when readers read these posts the only way they will know they are sponsored is because of the sponsorship note at the bottom, not because of a dip in quality, mood or branding.
But most importantly I want to hear your thoughts on this! What are your gripes with sponsorship and why? What do I need to avoid? What are your thoughts?
I don't mind them, as long as they are quite clearly written by the person blogging. You should put just as much effort into a sponsored post as you should into your own personal content. There are a few things to watch out for. State your terms and conditions with who ever is asking for the 'sponsored post.' If they ask that you don't label it sponsored then don't even go there. The 'no follow' link rules are a little more complex. This is a really useful post. And so is this one!
ReplyDeleteNot sure if any of that is helpful :)
Jen | sunny sweet pea xx
Thanks so much, those links are seriously helpful! It's certainly something I want to put a lot of thought into, simply because I've seen it done badly too many times.
DeleteI don't mind sponsored posts as long as they are in keeping with the tone of the blog. I hate when 'thrifty bloggers' start posting about expensive products without mentioning that it is expensive or a post about cosmetic surgery or something. But if a company has a new product out that I haven't heard about a sponsored blog post is a great way for me to find out about it.
ReplyDeleteI'm really looking forward to you offering ad space as I was recently looking to advertise my blog and I wanted to do it on blogs that I felt would have readers interested in my blog and yours was on I looked at but you didn't have any to get!
Nadia
Aww daym I'm sorry! I think I should be offering side bar adds from Januaryish. The only reason I don't yet is because I don't think there would be enough of a return for you guys (yet!).
Deletea) i try to only accept sponsored links or products that i would organically use or talk about anyway - i would never take something just because it was free. i realllllly hope that that comes across in my writing, but it is something you can only know of yourself. (and really hope that mine is not one of those that you've gone off recently!)
ReplyDeleteb) it doesn't matter if you give a bad review - it's the link that the companies want at the end of the day, to increase their SEO, not the actual content of your post. so even if you do a review a week, you can still be absolutely honest with your content, because they're not paying you for your opinion. they're paying you for using their name.
c) i would be first in line to advertise on your blog.
Heehee, you have nothing to worry about. I was referring to some of the big cats out there who seem to have lost their roar lately.
DeleteI don't have any experience in this domain, so it is as a loyal reader of your blog that I'm speaking :) personally I would not mind at all if you started posting sponsored articles with brand names. I think that the previous comments all point out to the same idea of common sense, keeping it about products you would like to talk about anyway and being honest and funny as you always are anyway. Then mentioning a brand is definitely not a problem even for readers who don't own blogs or don't go to that level of proficiency and for whom sponsorship is more a distant phenomenon ^_^ Your blog surely deserves a reward! I was also wondering if you plan on making buttons of your blog to put on other blogs, I'd love to put it on mine (my readership is tiny but I want to share worthy works like yours as much as possible!)
ReplyDeleteNol, you are such a darling. I can do you a button if you'd like! Email me at nowthatspretty@gmail.com with the pixel sizes you need and I'll get on it!
DeleteThat would be great :D I have a button already with these sizes: 200px × 100px (scaled to 150px × 75px). Thank you!!!
DeleteI think there's nothing wrong with sponsored posts, as long as they don't begin to take over your blog. And you're right, it is your blog so why should they! However if I was to do a sponsored post I'd rather do it for something targeted towards my readers/relates to my blog style then it's not just a load of old rubbish! PS. just found your blog through your comment on mine, it's so lovely and colourful! I follow you through bloglovin but do you not have a GFC follow button too? Hope you're well!
ReplyDeleteLouise x
The Little Things
I don't mind a sponsored post here and there it's just when they're constant that it gets a tad annoying! Also, try to keep your personality when writing them - when some bloggers do sponsored posts they can sound sooo rehearsed and just like a blatant advert. Even though your being payed to do write it, I still believe that M&S describey & sellsellsell style posts would turn me off the product and perhaps even blog. Anyways, thats just my little thinks on the matter! xx
ReplyDeletehello-you-blog.blogspot.com
Hmmm. Well, for my own blog, I accept clothing and accessories in return for posts with them, but I'll only ever say nice things about them if they are actually good (for example, I didn't like this swimsuit and was totally honest about what was wrong with it) and I'll never make the whole post all about that particular company because that's boring. And tacky. And I dump companies whose clothing is not up to a good standard, or too expensive for the quality. But it is super useful to have a few sponsors, for a fashion blog, because I couldn't afford to be buying myself such a large quantity of clothing to blog about otherwise!
ReplyDeleteAs for totally sponsored posts, I've often been approached by companies asking me to write a whole post just about their product (in return for money) with links to their site in it. Even worse - they ask me to add a text link to their site but pretend like I genuinely want my readers to visit that site (and to not mention that it's sponsored). I think it's really super tacky when I see other bloggers doing this, and also not honest - and that is something that really turns me off blogs.
Hope that helps a little!
:D