Tag Archives: How Bloggers Make Money

6 Tips on Working with Other Bloggers

March 6, 2016 By in Blogging Tips Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 52 Comments
6 Tips on Working with Other Bloggers

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Blogging is a very social job or hobby as the case may be. You don’t have to be a social butterfly in real life, but you will need to be as social as possible online, for you to succeed as a blogger. As an introvert, I initially struggled with this reality. I enjoy the company of people I have a good rapport with, but sometimes I just want to be by myself (which is why I can’t be bothered with blog events most of the time). I get my energy by spending time alone. In fact, I strive in isolation, it still amazes me what I get done in a matter of minutes when I am alone.

However, I have learnt overtime that I need to come out of my comfort zone with regards to socializing online, and I have. I hosted my very own Twitter party some months ago, I have joined a couple of Facebook groups, and I am engaging a lot more on my social media channels, especially on Twitter and Instagram.

Since I have started being more social and active online, I have seen my blog and social media platforms grow. I have met some amazing bloggers, and got to read some great blogs. I have also learnt a lot more about the blogging industry as a whole. I have achieved so much more as a result of the relationship I have with other bloggers. Fashion and Style Police won’t be where it is today without my readers, many of which are bloggers.

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The blogosphere is now so huge, with a new blog popping up every minute. It is a huge community, every smart blogger should be making the most of it. I don’t see other bloggers as rivals, I see them as colleagues and I am happy to offer some blog-loving every now and again, in return for nothing.

Every blogger, no matter how long they have been blogging for, sees their blog as special, if not they won’t be blogging. Majority of us bloggers also want to be accepted and liked by fellow bloggers within or outside our blog niche. So it amazes me that quite a number of bloggers do not know how to work with fellow bloggers.

Well, if you are wondering how you could help a fellow blogger, you are reading the right post. Here are some tips:

 

Be Nice/Polite

I see a lot of bloggers being so rude to other bloggers and passing derogatory comments around, like being nasty is part and parcel of being a blogger, and I am like, really? To exceed in any business, you have to be respectful and nice. It pays to be nice. If anything, it brings good karma. Be nice.

 

Do Not Believe your Own Hype

Now many bloggers believe their own hype and I kind of see where they are coming from. You have to believe your ow hype to stand out from the rest, the blogging community is filled up with alls sorts of talent, it is hard work standing out so I guess you have to hype yourself to get notice. However, what annoys me is seeing a lot of ‘big’ bloggers or small bloggers that think they have arrived, looking down on smaller bloggers just because they feel they are not worth their time or effort. I find this really annoying because every blogger, regardless of their social following or blog readers, passed through that new stage, and the truth of the matter is, many blog readers are bloggers. So when I see bloggers believing their own hype, it makes me laugh out loud, because the ‘small’ blogger they are ignoring today may be the Zoella next year, who knows….

 

Do not Copy

Do not copy a blog post or a blog post idea, no matter how ‘inspired’ you are. Every blogger puts in a lot of thought and work into a blog post, and for you to just blatantly steal it is just wrong. Many bloggers think about the same ideas around the same time, and there is nothing anyone can do about it. The fact that you thought of an idea first and wrote it, does not mean other bloggers have not thought of the same idea, and planned a similar post theme. The cool thing about this issue is, it is very easy to tell if a blog post is copied from another blog when looking at both posts.

Link Back

If you are inspired by a blog post, or a blogger’s review or outfit, mention that on your blog and link back to the blog you got the inspiration from. If you like a blogger’s picture, and you want to include that photo in a blog post, remember to link back. Give credit to whom credit is due.

 

Guest Post

I currently do not accept guest posts from other bloggers but I know many bloggers who do. Ask around within your niche, and start guest posting to increase your blog’s back links and gain new readers. Guest posting is a great way to grow your blog and work with bloggers.

 

Spread the Love

Read other blogs, share blog posts you like, leave a thougthful comment, follow like minds,  and just engage with other bloggers. Do not be afraid to start off a conversation. Spread the love, life is too short!

 

So there you have it, my 6 tips on working with other bloggers. These tips have worked for me, and I am sue they would work for you.

Feel free to add yours in the comment section.

You can read more blogging tips, and how bloggers make money fblogging in my new eBook – How to Cash In as a Blogger. It is now available for download on Amazon for £3.44, but it is free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers.

Thanks for reading and have a great week ahead.

 

How Bloggers Make Money Part 3

June 3, 2015 By in Blogging Tips, Fashion Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 4 Comments

This is the final part of the ‘How Bloggers Make Money’ series. If you missed the last two parts where I wrote about how Bloggers make money through Google Adsence and WordAds, click here, or how Bloggers make money through banner advertising and affiliate marketing links, click here.

How Bloggers Make Money

I am happy many people are finding these posts very useful. Blogging and its vague financial rewards should be discussed frequently. I wish I had posts like this to read two years ago. I won’t have made the many mistakes I made in the early days. Here are some more ways Bloggers make money:

Sponsored Posts

Sponsored posts are posts brands pay Bloggers to write and publish, usually with links to the brand’s site. Sometimes, the brand writes the post and all the Blogger has to do is to edit and publish. This is a very popular way Bloggers make money and it is my favourite way of monetizing Fashion and Style Police; I remember getting my first sponsored post offer just four months after I started blogging. What you could earn from one sponsored post could be anything from £20 to £200 or more, depending on the brand, your followers, blog engagement, whether you write the post or the brand writes it, the blog’s traffic, the blog’s domain authority, and so on. I know some Bloggers who charge hundreds of pounds for a sponsored post and some even charge a couple of thousands of pounds, these Bloggers have a huge following and a lot of traffic so work on growing your blog before you start requesting such amounts.

If you have at least 5000 unique visitors a month and you have a Domain Authority of 25 at least, you can charge £30 and above for a sponsored post. You can check your blog’s Domain Authority and other information here.

At the end of the day, charge what you are comfortable accepting, don’t work for free and always remember to let your readers know when it is a sponsored post. Transparency people! I will be writing a more comprehensive post on what to charge for sponsored posts using various examples so watch this space.

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Product Gifting

The difference between product gifting and sponsored posts is that the brands pay the Blogger by sending products for free in return for a post. If a Blogger has accepted a product, you see a post with the c/o (courtesy of) alongside the product details letting the readers know the product was gifted. I started receiving gifts from brands months after I started blogging. Many Bloggers still charge a fee alongside the product to guarantee a post depending on the brand and the product in question. Bills in 2015 cannot be paid with clothes and shoes unfortunately. Bloggers are usually gifted all sorts regularly by brands. In a month, I usually receive over 5 items by brands and their PRs and that is a small figure. Many famous bloggers can easily receive over 20 items or more in a month. This is a nice perk of the blogging job but I only receive products I will happily buy with my own money from brands I love and respect. I get offers from so many brands trying to send me a $10 sunglasses or shoes in return for a sponsored post, no thanks. Not on Fashion and Style Police. I have My Brand to protect.

Sponsored Giveaways

Sponsored giveaways are when brands offer your blog readers a product through a competition on the blog. You must have seen this on blogs, it is quite popular with Bloggers. Some Bloggers run a giveaway with their own money, I have done this in the past, and some Bloggers organise a giveaway sponsored by a brand on their blog. In other words, Brand A contacts Blogger A and offers to send a pair of jeans to a blog reader chosen by Blogger A, Blogger A gets traffic and readers are excited and eager to win, everyone loves a freebie. Brand A gets free advertising or paid advertising if Blogger A is smart enough to charge for this giveaway and also get a pair of the jeans for herself.

Most Bloggers charge to organise a giveaway. The figure varies depending on various factors like the brand and item in question, the blog’s followers and traffic, how influential the Blogger is and so on.

Brand Ambassador

This is when a Brand selects a Blogger or Bloggers to promote its products and services. Usually, the brand will send its products regularly to the Blogger and there should be a banner ad up on the blog as well. I know a couple of Bloggers that are Brand Ambassadors and they usually get free clothes and accessories monthly, and they publish sponsored posts for the brand regularly as well. There are so many cool blogs all over the web, so you will need to stand out from the rest to be noticed by the brands. Work on publishing the right content and market the hell out of your blog. Make use of all the social media channels and get noticed.

OTHERS

Many Bloggers are now making money by writing books and e-books, writing for other online sites and magazines, attending events, organising Twitter chats and Instagram takeovers for brands, vlogging on YouTube, the blogging opportunities are indeed endless and it is a profitable venture if you get it right.

 

How Bloggers Make Money Part 2

May 28, 2015 By in Blogging Tips, Fashion Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

So some days ago, I wrote a post on how bloggers make money using Google Adsence and Word Ads for WordPress. Click here if you missed that post. I got emails from a couple of people telling me how useful they found the post, those emails made my week. Thanks for sending them.

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Here are some other ways Bloggers make money:

Banner Ads

Apart from Google Ads, Word Ads and others, banner advertising is another common way bloggers make money. Brands and businesses have their ads on the headers, footers or sidebars of blogs and the contract terms could be anything from charging a fixed rental amount like £20 per calender month or £1 per banner click or per page impression (per view). Some bloggers use advertising networks/agencies to source for ads and negotiate advertising rates. This might be a good option for you as the advertising agencies do all the ground work for you; they find the ads, negotiate the rates and terms and take a percentage of the profits you make of course, all you have to do is put the ads on your blog, which is simply copying and pasting the ad codes into a widget slot.

Most of the banner ads are also pay per page impression, which simply means pay per view. This method doesn’t need readers to click on the ads which I like. However, your blog will need to get above a certain number of hits to be considered on most advertising network, your social following and blog engagement may also be taken into consideration, so work on your traffic first before joining one.

I previously used an advertising agency but I was not happy with the terms so I pulled out, the financial rewards were not worth having the banner on my blog but that could be down to just that particular advertising network. I may try another in the near future. Here are some advertising agencies/networks you can check out:

  • Handpicked Media
  • BlogHer
  • Mode Media
  • Etailpr

Some bloggers also sell ads directly on their blogs via an ad shop. This method means you are in complete control, you set your rates and keep all the profits, you do all the ground work and market the hell out of your blog so you get noticed. The world is your oyster.

Affiliate Marketing Links

Affiliate Links are a form of commission off a sale of a product. They are links which if clicked on may result in the blogger receiving some form of commission. For instance, I publish a post with a link to a Michael Kors bag, a reader clicks on it, and buys it, I earn a commission. Here is another example, I publish a post with a link to a Dorothy Perkins skirt, a reader clicks on it but doesn’t buy immediately, the reader buys the same dress a couple of days later, from the same laptop, I earn a commission. Here is another instance, just to make things very clear; I write a post with a link to House of Fraser shoes, a reader clicks on the link but does not want shoes, the reader buys a bag off House of Fraser, I still get a commission.

How does this work I hear you ask? Most affiliate programme use cookies which are stored on your pc, and attached to a blogger, so any item you purchase on that site usually in 30 days will mean the blogger will get a commission. Some popular affiliate marketing programmes are Reward Style, Commission Junction, Affiliate Window and so many more. A Google search will give you all the relevant information on each affiliate marketing programme.

I am yet to use affiliate Marketing, I only mentioned it as it is a common way most bloggers, especially fashion bloggers make money.

Do you monetize your blog using any of these methods or are you thinking of doing so? Lets talk, sound off in the comment section.

Thanks for reading.

 

 

 

 

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