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Post by girlonthemove on Nov 12, 2014 14:05:40 GMT
What are your best money making tips for your blog? What questions do you have about monetization?
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Post by claire on Nov 12, 2014 15:39:41 GMT
Oooh, I've got a ton of questions for you!
Ok, so first I should say I don't think I'm quite ready for monetisation, and my first step is going to be to get rid of that big, fat .blogspot.com in my url (www.worldtravelerintraining.com is on my Christmas list!). My husband also blogs with me doing some of the behind the scenes work and I think we're going to try to monetize his first. But anyway:
What was your readership like when you decided it was time to monetize? Or what were they when it started to pay off? I know people say if you wait until you're ready you'll never act, but I want a solid foundation before I take on any more projects.
I think the way I'd feel most comfortable monetizing my blog is selling ad space or sponsorship to other blogs, products etc directly, so I choose who I want to showcase instead of having a 3rd party choose who I promote. I know I can just advertise this on my blog, but are there services that will help you match you with potential sponsors? How about just swapping ads? I think passion fruit ads does this, but I'm a bit intimidated by them.
I'd also be interested in doing affiliated posts and reviews, but since I blog about travel that might be tricky. I mean, it's easy enough for a cosmetics company to send a beauty blogger a new eye liner to review, but what kinds of stuff could I review that could be sent to me easily? travel guides? is this a venue it makes sense for me to pursue?
And finally, have you ever had any luck reaching out to companies first? especially for things like access to an event you want to cover.
Whew, that's a long post, sorry if I end up monopolizing the thread! But I'm really get a lot out of the mentoring event, and I can't wait to see what kind of advice I get! Thanks a lot everyone.
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Post by lainaturner on Nov 12, 2014 16:25:23 GMT
All great questions......I have the same ones too.
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Post by girlonthemove on Nov 12, 2014 16:41:18 GMT
Oooh, I've got a ton of questions for you! Ok, so first I should say I don't think I'm quite ready for monetisation, and my first step is going to be to get rid of that big, fat .blogspot.com in my url (www.worldtravelerintraining.com is on my Christmas list!). My husband also blogs with me doing some of the behind the scenes work and I think we're going to try to monetize his first. But anyway: What was your readership like when you decided it was time to monetize? Or what were they when it started to pay off? I know people say if you wait until you're ready you'll never act, but I want a solid foundation before I take on any more projects. I think the way I'd feel most comfortable monetizing my blog is selling ad space or sponsorship to other blogs, products etc directly, so I choose who I want to showcase instead of having a 3rd party choose who I promote. I know I can just advertise this on my blog, but are there services that will help you match you with potential sponsors? How about just swapping ads? I think passion fruit ads does this, but I'm a bit intimidated by them. I'd also be interested in doing affiliated posts and reviews, but since I blog about travel that might be tricky. I mean, it's easy enough for a cosmetics company to send a beauty blogger a new eye liner to review, but what kinds of stuff could I review that could be sent to me easily? travel guides? is this a venue it makes sense for me to pursue? And finally, have you ever had any luck reaching out to companies first? especially for things like access to an event you want to cover. Whew, that's a long post, sorry if I end up monopolizing the thread! But I'm really get a lot out of the mentoring event, and I can't wait to see what kind of advice I get! Thanks a lot everyone. Okay here are my answers! I'm not sure how it works with Blogspot but I know for WordPress if you are using wp hosted (wp.com) then you aren't technically allowed to monetize. You are only allowed to do that with a self-hosted wordpress site...so I'd look into the rules for Blogspot I started monetizing when I was over 5000 page views a month but I think it can be done earlier. I just wanted to first focus on producing quality content and building a community. For me I felt like if I tried to monetize right away I was going to earn like 12 cents a month and just get frustrated so I decided to wait until I could actually earn a little bit more than that! Reaching out to companies...I've had great success! I recently took a trip to Chicago and reached out to several companies and got to do several free things on my trip in exchange for social media coverage and mentioning them on my blog. Some people would argue you shouldn't ever do that without getting paid but my philosophy is that I was taking the trip anyways and I would have had to pay to do stuff so if I can do it for free...awesome! (This might also answer your question about reviewing things on a travel related blog!) You can use Passionfruit Ads but I've heard they aren't the cheapest so I would look around and see if you can find something cheaper. I use Google AdSense because then I don't have to think about it and I can still earn money My biggest tip in regards to monetization is DIVERSIFY!!! Don't just try to earn money through ads, use ads, sponsored posts, offer services, consider writing an ebook...find a variety of different ways to bring in money
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Post by littleearthling on Nov 12, 2014 16:48:49 GMT
For about three years I did sponsored posts through Clever Girls and loved it. The thing is, they didn't always have opportunities that fit my blog and I would sometimes go months between even applying for a sponsored post (much less getting the posts!). It wasn't until about 6 months ago, when I started really "studying" other bloggers that I realized they used several (if not a handful) of companies to do sponsored posts. They did not put all of their eggs in one basket (as I was doing with Clever Girls). So, I spread out and have doubled my income this year through sponsored posts. So my piece of advise is to work hard for your brands and companies, but diversify a bit (like you would with an investment).
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Post by zonemom on Nov 12, 2014 16:54:29 GMT
claire I started monetizing when I barely had any traffic and I still had .blogspot in my domain name. I do think it's more than worth it to spend the five or ten bucks to get a domain name, but don't let that stop you. In terms of making money using sponsored posts, traffic is important but if you don't have the traffic, prove that you have the community and influence. At the end of the day, many brands and PR reps are willing to pay for influence even when the traffic isn't there yet. Connect with blogger networks and sign up to receive their pitches. Apply for the opportunities that seem to be a good fit for you--this is how I make the bulk of my money and they do the heavy lifting for you. Do a google search for travel blogger networks and see what you find. I don't make a lot on ads, but I use Adsense, Commission Junction and Share-a-sale. Apply for the companies that you'd be more comfortable working with and then promote, promote, promote. Here's my list of networks that I use for income: themamazone.com/make-money-blogging/
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Post by claire on Nov 12, 2014 17:42:55 GMT
Lots of great advice! girlonthemove, I would love to hear more about how you pitched companies about events. I think a while back you suggested the book "Build Up Your Blog", do you have any other advice about approaching organizations, like a blog post hiding out in your archives or other suggestions? littleearthling I've heard of CleverGirls before, would you recommend them to a blog monitization newbie? I see you have to apply and be accepted, and I'm not sure my little blog will pass! zonemom your list is great! I have a question though, are the ones with "mom" in the name moms only, or are they open to everyone? This is seeming more and more like a reality to me. Have you registered your blogs as LLCs? did you have any trouble setting up direct deposits into your bank accounts? Do you get sent W2s? I'm also wondering if I should hold off applying to join any networks until I'm back in the US. I'm in Germany until the end of June, and I think that might limit some opportunities. Thanks a lot ladies!
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Post by girlonthemove on Nov 12, 2014 18:31:16 GMT
Lots of great advice! girlonthemove, I would love to hear more about how you pitched companies about events. I think a while back you suggested the book "Build Up Your Blog", do you have any other advice about approaching organizations, like a blog post hiding out in your archives or other suggestions? littleearthling I've heard of CleverGirls before, would you recommend them to a blog monitization newbie? I see you have to apply and be accepted, and I'm not sure my little blog will pass! zonemom your list is great! I have a question though, are the ones with "mom" in the name moms only, or are they open to everyone? This is seeming more and more like a reality to me. Have you registered your blogs as LLCs? did you have any trouble setting up direct deposits into your bank accounts? Do you get sent W2s? I'm also wondering if I should hold off applying to join any networks until I'm back in the US. I'm in Germany until the end of June, and I think that might limit some opportunities. Thanks a lot ladies! I don't think I can apply as an LLC in California because I believe there have to be at least two owners in CA...I have been self-employed for two years so the best money I spend each year is on my accountant making sure I keep everything legal I don't have a post but I have been trying to decide what I'm going to write for my Blogging Better post this month so maybe this will be my topic! I host this Blogging Better link up once a month and it has some great resources www.girlonthemoveblog.com/2014/10/27/blogging-better-1/ (and if any of you have posts about blogging, come link them up this month!) I also have these two posts which have a TON of resources... -http://www.girlonthemoveblog.com/2014/07/14/blogging-tips-round-2/ -http://www.girlonthemoveblog.com/2014/04/22/links-im-loving-blogging-tips/
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Post by Kimi Who on Nov 12, 2014 18:43:40 GMT
Right now, I am spending far more money on my blog than I know I will make from it any time soon. That said, it's paid off nicely (in my opinion anyways). It's kind of true that you have to spend money in order to make it - just make sure you spend it in the right places.
Contact companies directly. You'd be surprised. I was going to do a review of a product anyway that I had purchased myself and liked a lot. I contacted the company myself to ask if there were any promo codes or samples I could give to my readers and much to my surprise, they delivered and were happy to do so. That's really the place to start. Blog about what you have before you hope to blog about what companies can give to you.
Traveling... Maybe you can talk about products you use to make traveling easier on yourself. Luggage, organizational tools, etc? Let those generate some traffic and then approach companies about those things.
My blog isn't really monetized. I don't expect to make a lot of money from it right now. I'm more interested in enjoying blogging and connecting with people - the money can and will come in time. Instead, I offer sponsored ads (but frankly, I have mostly done swaps for now) and I have some posts with affiliate linking in them.
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Post by claire on Nov 12, 2014 19:07:39 GMT
One more question.... I've been looking at different programs that will connect affiliates with brands, but all the sign ups ask about my company and company's address. Is that just me? Is my company's address my home address? I'm in a bit of a predicament because I'd prefer to use my US bank account (and get paid in USD) but I don't have a US phone number at the moment. Or actually, like, live there. Should I just wait until I have a more stable living situation?
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Post by Kimi Who on Nov 12, 2014 19:10:35 GMT
I just use my personal address. I'm not sure if it matters whether or not you have a US Phone number but I assume there's something about that in the terms & conditions (ya know, that things hardly anyone, myself included ever reads lol). You could probably contact the affiliate company and ask if you are still unsure. I don't think you should have to wait. If it's important to you, then I say go for it. Figure out what you are allowed to do and do it! You deserve it.
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Post by zonemom on Nov 12, 2014 19:22:59 GMT
claire, great questions. I'm not set up as an LLC--I track everything and hand it over to my accountant at tax time. When I complete forms for networks, I select individual/sole-proprieter. You asked about Clever Girls and I'm sure they take blogs of all sizes. Once you're in, you'll apply for campaigns and some of them will require high traffic but you never know what might come your way.
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Post by Tameka on Nov 12, 2014 20:24:23 GMT
I thought about sponsorship for other blogs. But I don't think I have the right traffic that would encourage bloggers to do sponsorship with me. My monthly pageviews are not what I'd like them to be. And I'm selective about what sponsored posts I commit to.
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Post by renukostyle on Nov 12, 2014 23:12:26 GMT
One of the best monetizing your blog books can be found on Nomadicmatt.com. He is a travel blogger and makes a very good income from it. I wish I had read his book at the very beginning. Claire, I highly recommend you read this before heading into wordpress.org. It will make your life way easier. I was able to get started with a .com and wordpress for $125 for a few years. My theme was $25 but there are a lot of great free ones. I chose to go ahead and monetize my blog with a few choice companies right from the start. Why not?! Even though I don't have the readership yet it seems logical. I have also chosen to only monetize in a way that pleases me when I read other blogs. I hate pop up ads and flashing ads. I feel though that financial reward may come from local sources first. I just got a job doing some product photography and logo design. Trading for goods and services might be a possibility too, at least in the beginning while I am waiting for my readership to grow.
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Post by monroefiles on Nov 13, 2014 11:37:51 GMT
Question about buttons: If you sign up with a PR company and they give a url code for a button, do you always place it on your blog? Or just pick the top 3 you work with the most?
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