A lot of bloggers always ask about making money. I keep getting asked about how to find advertisers. Many start doing contextual ads, Amazon affiliate etc. And also being asked by advertisers about how to engage with bloggers. They keep asking if this is a risky place…they want to be in there but not sure how to engage a blogger. I feel like a dating consultant.

A majority of bloggers are not making a lot of money; 30% less than 10$ a month. 7% are earning over $15k a month, (of problogger readers)

2 methods (of making money) – direct methods and indirect methods. They can make money as a result, thought profile or traffic etc. Most bloggers start out direct and then move into indirect,

Tips for Bloggers

• Build a brilliant blog
• Be contactable. I’m amazed at how many bloggers do not have a contact method on blog.
• Get your about pages in order, to help an advertiser make a decision
• Know your metrics. I had a call from an agency who wanted to start campaign tomorrow, you need to know your stats and have it ready to send out,
• Be selective in the ads you place on your blog. Do not fill up the blog with too many. Think about the types of ads, keeping them relevant, what they are saying, cheap and nasty ads decrease your blog. More and more bloggers are being selective for adsense etc,
• Go with a niche approach
• Know how your ads convert. I use Crazy egg, heatmapping of clicks. Plus Confetti. where people click and where they came from. I charge a premium price for hotspots.
• Position, position, position
• Offer package deals
• Start with small advertisers – i learnt how to sell ads, I earned an income and started to develop a culture, with ads…introduced gently and early. Advertisers approached me as they saw advertisers renewing.
• Collaborate with other blogs.

Tips with advertisers

• Experiment with the space. Bloggers are connected and trusted and influential. They are targeted, they are conversational spaces, Bloggers are early adopters. When I recommend a product people buy it as there is a trust factor and I protect that trust and be careful.
• Make it easy for bloggers. Consider how you approach bloggers and the language you use. They may not have sales or marketing experience, or understand the language. be careful how you pitch. if you ask them to pitch. you need to approach in a way that they can achieve what you want
• Add to the conversation. Enhance it, don’t; just put up a banner ad, add value to the site.
• Be relational with bloggers, you can mitigate some of the risk . Some of the best ways I’ve attracted advertisers are from people leaving comments and getting to know me as a blogger and then want to advertise. They emerge as a partner.
• Be relational with the leaders
• Be transparent. eg MS laptop deal, they changed the rules
• Advertise in a way that is non-spinny, relevant and honest.
• Test the trust factor – look at them for a few weeks to get to know them
• Think outside the banner. Look at offering product, be a competition be involved in conversation.
• Be playful. This is an innovative space. You can try things, engage the senses.
• Involve the blogger and personalise. i know what will work with them and I can help with creative about what will work.

AudQ&A

Q: what is a sizeable page views for advertiser?
A: 10k day visitors advertiser want to talk to me. it is less to do with metrics and more with profile – page ranks, search etc.

Q: when do you realise, as an author of a blog, that an advertiser will want to or search for you
A: they have really come to me. longevity works, profile etc. The more you are involved in your niche helps. i make myself known

Q: promotional tools for bloggers?
A: as you start a new blog think about where your readers are already, think about who they are go and find them and become part of that community

Post from: EveryJoe

FOOA and Problogging