People often ask me how I make money blogging. Although the answer includes a variety of things (bloggers wear many hats), the easiest and most simple way that I have made money blogging is through using third-party media agencies to complete media campaigns with brands. I spoke about this topic last week at Alt Summit in Salt Lake City. This is how I made over half of my total creative income last year, and I love the way working with agencies connects me so easily to brands I love. So, I’d like to break down the ins and outs of using media agencies as a starting point to make money blogging.
A little history: I started blogging way back in 2007. It was actually Dave who went on the blogspot and acquired a space to share with our family and friends all of the things that were happening in our newlywed life. Well, five years and over a thousand posts later I realized that there were a lot of people around me who were blogging not only for fun but also as a way to make money. As a creative career! When I made the decision to start blogging again early 2015 (after a 2 year sabbatical in which I had a baby, moved across the country, and built a house). I did so with a very clear idea that blogging would not only be a passion and a hobby but also a job. And as a job requirement I would need to make money.
Luckily for me, over the last several years many many resources have emerged in the marketplace of internet advertising. These allow bloggers like me with a medium level community and traffic to make actual money by creating great content. Today I want to share that same information with you in case there’s anyone out there who was curious if using third-party media agencies may work for them to turn blogging into a job that earns a paycheck as well.
First, let me start with a visual I created to explain where a third-party media agency comes in. I think we all have a general understanding of advertising. A company wants their product to be seen and uses a high-traffic platform to share. Radio, television, billboards, and magazines are all widely understood forms of platforms for advertising. Over the last 10 years however, a lot of people have found themselves spending as much time browsing the Internet as they do watching TV or listening to the radio. That means that those of us with community space on the Internet have now become part of the world of the advertisers, whether intentionally or not.
Before third-party media agencies came along, big brands would be able to use their big marketing budget to work with bloggers. It made sense logistically and financially for a big brand to work with one person or just a couple people with wide networks of followers and readers to spread the word.
In the last few years that has changed because of third-party media agencies who are able to intercept the large media budget of big brands and use a wide network of smaller bloggers to spread out the advertising content. This is beneficial for the brand because they do not have to do the logistics of working out contracts with several different people. It’s also beneficial for their SEO (search engine optimization) because links are headed back from many different blogs to the big brand website rather than just from one blog. Honestly, there is a lot that I have yet to learn about SEO, but I do know that in some of the blog and campaigns that I’ve done one of the main purposes of the brand is to have the links available on many websites even if some of those websites have small traffic on their own.
This system works for small to medium sized bloggers who are invited to apply to become part of the agencies’ influencer networks. Each of these media agencies then provides opportunities for bloggers to apply for different campaigns with brands. The brands very incredibly from Levi’s to Pampers to Jif granola bars to Glad Bags to Munchkin Pacifiers, just to name a few of the many campaigns I worked on myself last year. Once I apply to a campaign, I may or may not be accepted into the opportunity which comes with a specific set of campaign requirements photographs, words per post, and amplifications across my social media channels, all for a set, predetermined price which varies a lot, but averages between $150-300 per post.
So, in general this is how the process to make money blogging with an agency goes:
- Apply to an agency.
- The general page view average that I’ve seen is around 10,000 per month to work with most of these agencies. Of course, they’re all different and it varies agency to agency. Give a few a try!
- Once your application is accepted you’ll generally need to embed some sort of code on your site for analytic tracking. The instructions will be readily available.
- Apply for campaign opportunities when you see them! Some agencies have a back end dashboard where you can browse available campaigns to apply for. Some send a weekly newsletter with links to application forms. Still others send individualized emails inviting you to apply.
- When applying for a campaign, always consider how your personal brand and the brand campaign intersect. What do you have in common? What type of post can you do that will naturally and authentically highlight the product or company sponsoring the post? I like to apply for each campaign with a very specific post in mind of how I will share something useful with my readers.
- The campaign details will be outlined including dates, total pay, and the different amplifications the campaign includes. This is usually Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.
- Write and prepare your post.
- Make sure you follow all of the campaign specifics. Ensure the links are used properly. Amplify the post according to instructions.
- Get paid!
- Most agencies operate on a 90-120 day net cycle, so you post in February and get paid in May or June.
If all of this sounds interesting to you, here’s a list of every blogging and social media influencer agency that I’ve ever heard of! The ones in bold are those that I’ve worked with personally, and highly recommend.
CLEVER GIRLS COLLECTIVE
COLLECTIVELY INC.
POLLINATE MEDIA
HELLO SOCIETY
MODE MEDIA
KSW MEDIA GROUP
LINQUIA
WEAVE MEDIA
COLLECTIVE BIAS
SWAY GROUP
BLUEPRINT SOCIAL
FIND YOUR INFLUENCE
MOM IT FORWARD
TAP INFLUENCE
INFLUENCE CENTRAL
SOCIAL FABRIC
IZEA
My tips for working with agencies include the following:
- Think outside the box to create stories and posts that include the brand or product in an interesting and unique-to-you way.
- Include you sponsored posts as only 30% or so of your overall content.
- Stay on brand. I like to think of a Venn Diagram of how my personal brand (making, motherhood, celebrations, simple living) and the brand sponsoring the post intersects. There is usually a fun overlap of where I can make the story authentic to both me and the brand.
- Always offer value to the readers. I often ask myself “If I wasn’t writing this post, would I want to read it?” Even though I love working with brands, I know not all of my readers care very much about new or different products. If I ensure there is always other value, in addition to the brand content, I feel good about sharing every post I write!
- Do what you love, and enjoy making money doing it.
Here are some images from some of the sponsored posts that I’ve done in the last year. Click through the photo to see the whole post!
