Today we continue with Part 3 of "The How-To's of Blogging Series". I am hosting this awesome series with Two Shades of Lovely so make sure and visit there blog as well. This entire week will be filled with posts on how to make you a "better" blogger, so make sure to come back because there will be a new topic everyday. You can find out who will be posting this week by clicking here.
If you missed the posts from earlier this week you can find them below:
I blog at Mama Marchand's Nest and the Etsy shop Mama's Nest Designs. I am honored that Melissa asked me to be a part of this Blogging How To Series! Today, I'm talking about how to select who you sponsor. Keep in mind, I'm not an expert on this. In fact, I just started offering paid ads on my blog at the beginning of this year but since then, I've learned A LOT. I'd like to give you three tips on what I look for when I advertise on someone else's blog!
Check out their reader interaction.
Believe it or not, I don't look at price first. I do check out how many followers, subscribers, and page views they have but what I'm really looking for is how active their readership is. How many people comment on a regular, non-giveaway post? Does the blogger encourage interaction with her readers by asking questions in her posts? Is she actively engaging her readers with social media like twitter and Facebook? I like to sponsor bloggers who have a community on their blogs. It means they're more likely to click over to my blog and check me out!
Check out their ad packages.
Making sure their advertising page is clear about what's included is so important! Here's mine, if you want to check it out. Yes, price is important because we all have a specific ad budget in mind each month but more importantly, what do her ad packages include?
Will I simply get a spot in her sidebar? Usually, this doesn't create a good return on investment for me. I have the most success (meaning people click over to my blog) when I'm be featured in a post or a giveaway (even better!) and when they give me shout outs on twitter and Facebook.
When I first started paying for advertising, I thought the more blogs I advertised with, the better. Well, I've learned that it might not be necessarily true. There have been months where I've paid for just two more expensive ads on much bigger blogs and it has resulted in lots of new followers and page views. I tend to go with quality over quantity when it comes to choosing how many blogs to sponsor now!
Check out their other sponsors.
When I'm looking for new blogs to sponsor, I always click over to the blogs who are currently advertising with her. I want to see who I'll be joining in her sidebar! Are the other advertisers a diverse mix of bloggers? Do I know any of them? If I do, I'll sometimes ask how their advertising experience has been. Referrals rock!
GIVEAWAY COMING! Dana from Wonder Forest has been so kind to offer all of you a FREE copy of her very own e-book for bloggers "Blog Wonderful". Stayed tuned for the giveaway at the end of the series!!
Grab our button and place it on your sidebar to help us spread the word!
10 comments:
Perfect timing with this post, as this is something I've begun to think about recently.
I am seriously loving this whole series!!
Not that some lesser blogs aren't quality material, but I agree with spending money on some of the bigger names that have an established fanbase.
What a great series!
Now following! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Tricia~ Now I feel even more blessed to have a space on your sidebar! Love the great tips & series!
Love this series! I really enjoyed reading this post, I have been doing a blogger swap and have thinking about switching to paid sponsorships. Great post!
Thanks for commenting! If you have any questions, I'm happy to try to answer. :)
Oh, yes - smaller blogs are awesome, too! I didn't mean for it to sound as if they're not. I'm a smaller blog! ;)
Thanks for your comment, Kristy!
Thanks, lady. :)
Thanks, Jennifer! Best wishes with your paid sponsorships!
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