Dornubari Vizor June 10, 2020
How and Where to Find Blog Sponsorship Opportunities
With the increasing popularity of blogging, it has become somewhat challenging to find your place among the best bloggers out there and earn money for your hard work. You may have heard that advertising should be ruled out, but we are here to prove that hypothesis wrong. When you team up with awesome brands, not only are you able to monetize your blog, but you also get a variety of other worthy benefits. Among others, it gives you credibility and a possibility to arrange special deals for your audience. It also gives great opportunities for future endeavors.
Finding good blog sponsorship opportunities might be tricky, but it’s worth the trouble. We are here to tell you more about some of the top blogging networks. These are among the best places to look for sponsorship. But before we move on to that part, let us help you prepare for this quest accordingly.
First Things First — You Need to Increase Your Blog Traffic
If you want the best brands out there to work with you, you first need to give them a solid reason to choose you over some other blogger. In other words, it’s essential that you think about your potential sponsor’s interest in your collaboration. It’s quite simple — no interest, no collaboration. If, however, a brand sees that you have an influence on a fair share of people and that your audience is growing, that’s a good enough reason for them to want to work with you.
Thus, the first thing you should think about is gaining traction. To make sure your blog is noticed and good enough to make people want to come back for more, you need to deliver high-quality, in-debt content and update the blog regularly. Once you do this, it’s time to promote your blog and set some kind of a goal in terms of how much traffic you need before you go sponsor-hunting.
Stick to Your Niche and Deliver in-depth Content
If you want your readers to stick around, you need to show them that you can provide them with relevant and reliable information within your chosen niche. Whenever you’re writing something, you need to keep in mind your audience’s interests and needs. They need to feel that they really have something to learn from you. They need to think of you as a trustworthy source for that specific niche. To achieve that, you need to become an expert. So, stick to one field and learn as much as you can about it to ensure valuable content.
It is also essential that you deliver in-depth content. The more details you cover, the greater your chances of good ranking will be. According to Ahrefs, the best-ranked page also ranks among the top ten for about 1,000 other relevant keywords. You want your blog to actually find its way to your audience in the sea of other blogs all over the Internet? You need to do thorough research and cover every single question relevant to your topic.
Update Your Blog as Often as Possible
Delivering something new on a regular basis sure does attract attention and makes your blog more appealing. However, it can sometimes be a bit challenging to ensure new content at all costs without jeopardizing its quality. Instead of not delivering anything for a while or, even worse, delivering poor-quality content just for the sake of publishing something, you should think about updating old blogs. According to ImpactBND, updating old blog posts can increase organic traffic by as much as 106%.
You can update your old blog by doing the following:
- Add new images and other visuals
- Add more text
- Replace any outdated information with up-to-date data
- Add relevant keywords
An excellent example of how updating can be beneficial is OptinMoster, which managed to grow blog traffic to more than 600k monthly visits by regularly refreshing old content.
Promote Your Content on Social Media
Whether you have a Facebook, Twitter, Linked, or some other account, take advantage of it — promote your new blog posts regularly. Social networks are an excellent medium to use to gain traction. This is also the fastest way to share your posts with your existing audience and hopefully attract new readers.
You can make great use of various groups on social media by sharing your content there. You can use the groups you’re already a member of, as well as search for new groups relevant to your niche. This is the perfect way to get through communities of people who are passionate about the topics you cover in your blog, so they are more likely to click on your new content, actually read it and get involved for future posts, as well.
Use Your Email List for Promotion
In addition to social media, your email list, too, can come in handy for promotion. If you have a large email list, it would be a real shame not to use it to let more people know about your awesome blog posts.
Instead of writing a special piece of content for your newsletter, you can include a portion of your blog posts to grab their attention and leave the link for people to follow to the full blog. People may forget to check your page regularly, but they certainly check their email on a daily basis. That way, you can remind those that were too busy to check out what an excellent blog post they’ve missed on your page.
How Much Blog Traffic Is Necessary?
One of the main dilemmas among bloggers is how much blog traffic is actually enough to get sponsorship opportunities. The good news is that it is possible to find excellent sponsorship opportunities even when you don’t have tens of thousands of loyal website visitors. You can have 10,000 website visitors and be good to go.
The secret lies in the current trend (which bodes well for those just starting out) — sponsors want to work with someone who is relatable rather than a celebrity-type blogger. That’s why they are often much more likely to choose the so-called mini-influencers to promote their product.
Numbers don’t necessarily mean satisfactory audience engagement, and brands are aware of that. Your ability to engage your audience will play a much more significant role than the number of page views you get per month.
How Sponsored Blog Posts Can Help You
When a company likes your blog and thinks that you have an influence on your audience, it may approach you with a request to write about their products, services or their brand overall. Depending on how demanding this will be for you, you decide how much you’re going to charge for it. So, sponsored blog posts are a great path to monetizing your blog, which alone is a good enough reason to consider incorporating them into your blog.
Moreover, you can get excellent new ideas for your content. When writing a sponsored blog, you still use the same tone and language that you generally use in your blog, but the brand you’re writing for chooses the topic. You should find a way to incorporate the topic to be in line with your blog, but don’t shy away from something completely different, either. A fresh topic is welcome every once in a while so your blog doesn’t become monotonous.
An interesting example of how you can write a sponsored blog is How to: My Favorite Apps and Gadgets. The author of A Girl, A Style successfully promoted the products by Carphone Warehouse, a mobile phone retailer, without making the blog look like an advertisement. It is perfectly in line with the tone of her blog, and it covers everything required by the brand.
How to Get Sponsored Blog Posts
One of the possibilities is to wait for a brand to reach out to you. But that doesn’t mean that you should give up if this doesn’t happen. On the contrary — this should be just the beginning of the journey. The best way to get sponsored blog posts is to be proactive and start looking for them yourself.
You will need to roll up your sleeves and start your search for the brands that you would like to work with. When you do that, it’s time to be creative and come up with ideas for a sponsored blog post and suggest them to your chosen brands. This has become a common practice among bloggers, so you might even find a link on your chosen brand’s website to follow if you need to contact them for this reason.
So, do not hesitate to pitch your idea and be the one to initiate a potentially wonderful and successful collaboration. If you’re not sure where to begin your quest for sponsors, you can check out who’s sponsoring your competition.
How Much Do Sponsors Pay? Know What to Expect
When you start making arrangements with sponsors, you should have at least some idea of how much they usually pay and how much bloggers usually charge for their services. According to Izea, the average blogger earns about $240 per sponsored blog.
Many believe that the minimal price you should accept is $250 per post, otherwise, it won’t pay off. Make sure you think about how much effort you’re going to put in before you set your rate, especially if you’re working with big brands, as these are usually much more demanding.
Find Your Perfect Blogging Network
In addition to reaching out to potential sponsors directly, you should also think about joining a blogging network. As the name itself suggests, these are networks specifically designed to connect bloggers with brands. While some exclusive networks are accessible on an invite-only basis, there are plenty of other places where you can simply sign up and start networking. Take some time to do thorough research and learn more about different blogging networks and what they offer to find just the perfect place depending on your needs and requirements.
Join The Blogger Network to Get Sponsorship Opportunities
The Blogger Network gives you the chance to find a brand you love and are passionate about. There are all kinds of campaigns on offer, so everyone can find something appealing. Whether you’d like to write a product review or you’re more interested in venue showcases, you can find all that and more on The Blogger Network. To create a profile on this network, you need to fill out a form with your contact information, as well as a link to your blog.
Blog Meets Brand Can Connect You with Excellent Brands
One of the most popular blogging networks out there is, without a doubt, Blog Meets Brand. For a start, you’ll be thrilled to find out just how easy it is to sign up — all you need to do is enter your name and email address and create a password. When you create a profile and become active on the network, brands can reach out to you. Connections are made primarily based on the niche, so make sure you emphasize enough what niche you belong to. Another important factor taken into consideration here is the number of followers you have — the higher the number, the higher the chances of brands picking you.
Connect with Some of the Leading Brands that Have Trusted Find Your Influence
Find Your Influence gives you the chance to collaborate with some of the leading brands in the country, such as Netflix, Nivea, Honda, Walmart and many more. As you can see, you can find brands in various industries, so whatever your niche is, you have excellent chances of finding your perfect match right here. Some bloggers believe that the campaigns are underpaid, but that’s not necessarily true. Even if it was, the chance to work with such important brands makes this network worth your time and effort.
Join Established Influencers on Everywhere Agency
More than 5,000 established influencers have joined Everywhere Agency so far, and the number of new members is constantly rising. This network offers different kinds of campaigns to choose from depending on your interests. Whether you’re looking for a short-term, quick turnaround campaign, or long-term campaigns with major brands, you’ll find it all here. And you’re bound to like your experience, as the compensation is more than fair and you get paid quickly.
Choose from Different Influencer Categories on Tapinfluence
If you like the idea of brands approaching you, you’ll like Tapinfluence, as this network is organized this way. When a brand is interested in your blog, you will receive a notification on the website. Brands are required to leave their offer when contacting bloggers. If you’re satisfied with it, you simply accept it. If not, Tapinfluence gives you the possibility to negotiate the rate, so you can make a counteroffer and wait for the brand in question to respond.
Collectively Has Excellent Campaigns
Collectively has a somewhat different way of connecting brands with bloggers — it is done via email. When a potential sponsor shows up, they send you an email to notify you of potential collaboration, but that still doesn’t mean that you will be selected to participate. If you do connect with a brand, you can expect to find top-notch campaigns here, though some might be underpaid. All in all, Collectively is not the best possible option, but it’s still worth considering, especially if gaining experience is more significant to you than monetization at the moment.
Build Connections with Top Brands on Fohr
If you’re more for a proactive approach, you should join Fohr. Here you can get a chance to pitch some of the top brands in various industries all over the world. Brands have access to Fohr Card, which helps them filter their search and find bloggers in their particular niche. This is a good feature for you as a blogger, too, as it can make it easier for your potential sponsor to find you.
Joining Izea Can Be a Good Start
You can find excellent brands on Izea, too, such as Toyota, NBC, The Home Depot, and many others. You can get connected with some of the amazing brands, as well as publishers. Some of them are looking for sponsored blog posts, but they may pick you for other types of content, too. Another great feature of Izea is that you get to share your content and get paid for every click on that piece of writing. So, you get a chance to monetize your blogs while waiting for a perfect match.
Linqia Is an Excellent Choice for Those in the Lifestyle Niche
Linqia is another pay-per-click network, so you get paid based on the number of clicks you get. The trick is that they estimate how many clicks you will get in the upcoming period and limit your budget based on those estimates. Even if you eventually get more clicks and, thus, earn more money, you won’t be able to get a penny over the initially set budget. If you get fewer clicks, you will receive less money. This might be a turn-off for some people, but in most cases, Linqia is rather precise when giving these estimates, so you shouldn’t worry too much about being underpaid.
Join the Diverse Network on Clever
Clever offers you a chance to get in touch with all kinds of brands, depending on your niche. You need to be patient, though, as it can sometimes take weeks to find out the results of your application. Nonetheless, it pays off to be on Clever, as you can be sure that the campaigns you eventually get will be well-paid.
Acorn Offers Great Opportunities for Bloggers of All Levels
Whether you’re just getting started and have only 1,000 followers or so, or you’re an experienced blogger with a loyal audience, you’ll love it on Acorn. This blogging network has been designed to fit everyone’s needs. There are some other features making Acron quite popular, from an easily navigated website to gift cards. The network is well-organized and you can earn decent money.
Get Access to Hundreds of Brands via Aspire
Aspire gives you easy access to a long list of industry-leading brands. So far, there have been more than 500,000 connections made on this network. A good thing about Aspire is that you get to establish direct communication with the brands you’re working with. Once the project is completed, you can expect to receive the payment quickly and without Aspire taking any percentage of the money you’ve earned.
Connect with Other Bloggers on Social Fabric
What’s interesting about Social Fabric is that, in addition to excellent brands, it also gives you the chance to connect with other bloggers who can help you hone your skills. These connections, too, can be quite useful and help you a lot in your blogging career. If you’re a newbie, this is an excellent network to start with, as you can get some valuable advice from your more experienced colleagues. Just make sure you meet qualification requirements — you need to have an active, easy-to-navigate blog and continually engage with your readers through social media.
The Sway Gives You Access to Excellent Tools, too
Here’s another excellent network that can be of great help for those just starting out. The Sway can provide you with a variety of useful tools that can help you succeed as a blogger. The emphasis here is to choose those sponsorship opportunities that align with your niche, your readers’ interests and demographics. You can easily sing up – just enter your full name, username, email address, and create a password.
In/Spree Brands Offers Many Opportunities for Bloggers’ Further Growth
When it comes to In/Spree, this is a rather exclusive network offering many other opportunities beyond connections with some of the best brands out there. When you join In/Spree, you can also get access to exclusive events. Some of the best brands you can connect with here are in the fashion, lifestyle and beauty industry.
Look up to Some of the Highest-Paid Bloggers
If you’re wondering how much bloggers make, you should know that there’s not a single answer to that question. In the beginning, you may not earn anything or just a few bucks, but it is going to get better as time goes by and you start to gain traction.
Whenever you feel that becoming a successful blogger is too challenging, look up to some of the currently highest-paid bloggers and remember that they, too, had to start from nothing. But their hard work paid off eventually. Here are some of the examples to keep in mind to keep you through the rough time:
- Trevor and Jennifer – $46,000+ a month — Trevor and Jennifer are the authors of all the great content on Show me the Yummy, a blog where you can find easy recipes for delicious food. More than half of their income (about 55%) comes from sponsored blogs and advertising. One of the things that set them apart and, thus, make it possible to earn that much is that they also have high-quality video content to follow their blogs.
- Heather and Pete Reese – $170,000+ a month — Heather and Pete’s blog It’s a Lovely Life is highly popular among families and people who love to travel. This is not just another lifestyle blog, but one where readers can also learn a lot. This combination is the key to their successful blog. They manage to earn as much as 60% of their total income from sponsored content and affiliate marketing.
- Jeff Rose – $138,000+ a month — Jeff Rose earns 14% of his total income by writing sponsored content, while 33% comes from affiliate marketing products and services. His financial blog called Good Financial Cents is designed to teach people how to obtain financial freedom. His website visitors trust his expert advice, which helps him earn the credibility needed for sponsorship opportunities.
In a Nutshell
Even though it can be challenging, especially if you’re just starting out your career as a blogger, finding good blog sponsorship opportunities is worth it. When you prepare for this search properly, you’ve got nothing to fear. With high-quality, up-to-date content and a little bit of promotion, you can gain traction much faster than it might seem at the moment. As soon as you raise blog traffic, sponsorship opportunities will start showing up on every corner.
Take the time you need to look into the previously mentioned blogging networks to find what suits you best. But don’t be afraid to experiment, either. And don’t let a single missed opportunity let you down. Just because it didn’t work out on one network, it doesn’t mean that the same thing will happen on another one. And remember that even a small brand can be your golden opportunity, so don’t limit yourself just to the biggest brands out there. Be patient and persistent and don’t give up until you find just the right sponsor for your blog, someone in line with your ideas and goals.
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