The reasons we start blogging vary. Some of us start a blog with the purpose of sharing personal stories with friends and families. Others start blogging to promote a business. And some start blogging to try to make some extra cash. The reasons we get here vary, but inevitably a lot of us end up asking the same question – how can we turn our blogs into a business?
There are a lot of different ways you can make money with your blog. In this post, we’re going to focus on one way: paid (or sponsored) posts (or content.)
Typically, a blogger can receive a “pitch” from a company or PR agency. This may or may not include a proposal for a review, but it almost always has the same goal in mind – to get the news about their product in front of your readers.
You Know Me?!
I still remember how excited I was when I first started getting pitches from companies. I felt like I was “in demand” and “valued” – that these agencies saw that I could fit one of their needs. And so, I posted. I posted about this event or that article – just happy that I was developing relationships with new contacts and hoping that these would turn into future opportunities.
And I posted and I hoped. And I continued to get “we hope you’ll share this….” or “we think your readers would love this article…” pitches. Do you know how much money I made from all those free postings? NOTHING. Zip. Zilch. Zero. Nada. I learned that once an agency realized I posted for free, they would keep sending me pitches, almost with the expectation that I would continue posting those articles for free.
Layin’ Down the Blog Law
I decided it was time to up my game. Magazines and newspapers print articles and product placements all the time. Guess how many of those placements are free. None. By this point, my blog had grown. I had readership, fans, and even people who commented (thank you to those of you who comment!) After some encouragement, I implemented a post policy. A lenient one, but a policy none the less.
I’ll be the first to admit that this step was hard. I worried what the companies I worked with would say. Would they still pitch me? Would I get any pitches? Would I come off as some greedy, money-hungry blogger? Then I took a quick reality check. There are lots of blogs who regularly receive payment to post. There are even actual companies, like Social Spark or Social Fabric that will pay bloggers to post about certain topics or products. The reality is that your blog has readers. It has an audience that you influence. Your blog has VALUE. Picture your blog as an online publication, because that’s what it is.
As the pitches came in, I started responding with my posting policy. Sometimes the pitch leveraged into a paid post. Sometimes it became a review and giveaway. Sometimes I heard crickets. Do you know how many of the companies that I posted free for in hopes it would develop into something more continued to work with me? None. But that’s OK because I discovered that as I started to view my blog as something of value, agencies began to see it that way too. The more I started sharing my posting policy, the more comfortable I became. I was in the blogging business, not the friendly favors business.
Developing a Blog Business
After blogging for more than 5 years, I finally had achieved the blog business mind set which is this. Your time is money. The time you spend writing, the time you spend posting on social networks, the time you spend organizing. All of those things are what many professionals are paid to do. Why shouldn’t you be paid too? You should be.
Of course, once we start talking about paid posts, the question comes up – how much? This is a trickier question to answer. On one hand, only you can answer that. How much do you think your time is worth? Calculate how much time it takes for you to write, proof, and promote a post, then determine your hourly rate. If it takes you 2 hours to properly post, and you want $20 an hour, then your post should be $40. On the other hand, many agencies base their pay rates on page rank, traffic, influence, etc. so they will influence your price as well. I suggest setting your target price and use it as a starting point for negotiations. Sometimes you might get more, sometimes you might accept less, but at the very least, you’ve started a dialogue.
This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t post any free posts. On occasion, I do post an event or promotion for free. The decision is ultimately mine and is based on a working relationship with an agency or PR representative who I know values my blog and my time.
Over time, what you’ll find is – you’ll still get lots of people wanting you to post free stuff. They’re always there; it’s their job to try and promote their brand or product. You’ll also get more people who want to actually work with you. Typically it will start off as a review, but that review can turn into a review and giveaway, which can turn into an ambassadorship or sponsorship. The sky is the limit. But I’ll tell you one thing – you will never get paid to do anything if you do everything for free.
How Posting for Free Hurts Blogs
What I’ve noticed is that many blogs get stuck in the “post for free” rut. They never transition into the business mind set and consistently undervalue their time and their blog. Beyond just selling themselves short, there is also a domino effect that impacts bloggers as a whole. When one blog posts something for free, the person they worked with now has the expectation that other blogs will post for free too. In fact, some bloggers do get responses like “other blogs value this free content and posted it,” as if to say because one blogger posted it for free, all bloggers should too. Remember, the reason they are pitching you, is because they want to promote their content on your blog. They pitched you.
I’ve often thought that bloggers should have a union. One where the greater good can be achieved for the benefit of all bloggers. Or maybe it’s just wishful thinking that we’ll reach a point where blogs and their owners will be valued and appreciated as much as they deserve – a blogging utopia so to speak.
Until we reach that point, I encourage all bloggers to take an honest look at their blogs. What do you want your blog to be? What is your blog now? Is what you’re doing now going to help you achieve your goals?
Again, this isn’t a post to say to never post anything for free ever. Many of us started out posting things for free and, as I mentioned earlier, I will selectively post things for free even now. I did, however, want to share my experience with how I transitioned from making nothing for posting to making something. Remember, you are not alone and it is possible to develop strong working relationships with agencies and PR representatives that value both your time and your audience.
Becky Ryan- Willis says
August 27, 2012 at 11:18 amGreat post Miriam. Sadly many do not value their time or think free will turn into something paid. I have come to the realization if you do not ask, then you most likely will not receive. We are still lower cost wise than TV or a magazine ad or even a newspaper and we reach many! Thank you for posting this as a gentle reminder.
Melanie Johnson says
August 27, 2012 at 11:22 amI wish I would have read this in the beginning. It took a long time before I realized the value in my blog…I still doubt it sometimes. These are great tips and I eventually learned. 🙂
I now leave two “pro bono” giveaways/promotion spots per calendar month and will post free shout out’s for former sponsors. Everything else, I now have a fee.
But if the person pitching calls me Kate instead of learning the blog was named after my daughter and my name is actually Melanie, the fee is doubled, lol.
Kristin says
August 27, 2012 at 11:29 amI couldn’t agree more. I stress this OFTEN. I’ve seen a new trend toward pitches that are geared toward journalists (I know, because I used to be one)…that are billed as “story ideas,” etc. I don’t need story ideas.
Then I get bad — sometimes really bad — feedback from PR people that I am arrogant to ask for money to post something when other media outlets do it all the time. Not the same. Not even close. But that argument will get some freebies on some blogs, I’m sure.
Crystal @ Simply Being Mommy says
August 27, 2012 at 11:31 amThis is a very informative post and one I hope new bloggers read before getting into the “I’ll post for free rut because hopefully it will turn in to something lucrative in the future.” That is hardly ever the case and bloggers need to value their time from the get go.
Amber Edwards says
August 27, 2012 at 11:31 amOh Miriam, You said it all perfectly! I’ve had the same transition experience, and yes, none of the companies I was posting for free that I hoped would turn into something more ever transitioned with me. But that’s ok, because others will take my time more seriously.
I really hate when I get emails from companies pitching to me asking me to post their content. I reply with my posting policies and posting rates for such an article and they reply back “no, you don’t understand, we’re looking for no fee posts”. I write them back and say, “I’m sorry but due to high demand I can no longer accept pro bono posts at this time.” Because really, I’m a busy mom, who gets tons of pitches each day. I have to pick and choose, and i”m not going to turn down a paying job for posting something for free. Those paid jobs buy my kid’s their school clothes! In the end they write me a nasty email saying I should reconsider and post their content FREE anyway because it would be valuable content to my readers and how could I withhold such great stuff from my readers if I really blog for my readers?
Not kidding, I have gotten some really nasty emails from firms when I stick to my posting policy. It’s called TACT, and they need to learn some. They aren’t going to get posted with telling me I don’t care about my readers because I refuse to work for free. All they get is a big fat DELETED after I have tried 4 times to explain to them that yes, their content might be great, but I can’t work for free on my busy schedule. They don’t work for free, I don’t see why they expect bloggers to work for free either. They wouldn’t go to ABC or NBC and say, “Hey I have a great show. You need to air it to your viewers for free because they’d really love to see it.” No, if they want to be aired on those sites they have to pay the fees to get on the air. It’s the same with bloggers, if they want on our sites with our traffic and our readers that we work hard to improve on a daily basis, they need to be willing to pay our mediocre rates.
But on the other hand; I’ve also found some amazing PR companies that see the value of bloggers and they are amazing to work with! They don’t bite the hand that feeds them, and I would gladly work with a lot of them in the future and maybe even throw in a free post now and then because they have been so great to the bloggers they work with.
candice says
August 27, 2012 at 12:03 pmThis is a great post! So much invaluable information! Thank you for sharing and taking the time to write it.
Ronni Keller says
August 27, 2012 at 12:44 pmThis was worded perfectly!
Both businesses & bloggers alike should be aware that everyone’s time & talents have value. Never under estimate yourself and others will be less likely to as well.
If we all only had ‘silly little blogging journals’ we’d have writing notebooks that are private and not readers who we interact with. Our readers also have ‘worth & value’… I would never sell them short as to offer them a ‘but you should do it for free because they will be interested’…. Personally, my readers are sharp, intelligent folks. They know when they are being ‘sold’…
Great Post!!
Greta says
August 27, 2012 at 2:33 pmThis is just perfect! I think the graphics may really clinch it though.
Kathleen says
August 27, 2012 at 3:26 pmAWESOME POST!
I’ve been trying to say this for a while but am not a great explainer! I stumbled, tweeted, +1 and pinned and I’m going to tweet/pin from another account and feature this post in my next blogathon newsletter, that’s how much I like it!
Jodi Shaw says
August 27, 2012 at 3:58 pmWhat a great post and oh so true and many of us have gone through and down this road. When I first started asking for revenue in exchange for promotion, I lost several PR reps and agencies. But the ones that stayed have been loyal and I’m now building true relationships with companies which is important. One great relationship out does many many bad ones. Funny how I still feel bad sometimes saying no though 🙁 Yeah I need to work on that. Your article has helped me a lot!
Darcy says
August 27, 2012 at 11:54 pmI like that you said never NOT post for free. You have to evaluate it especially if you have a relationship with someone. Free tweet or something here and there can be beneficial but you need to know who you are dealing with.
I know why we start that why because we are getting established and it’s pretty hard to request payment when you haven’t built an audience, but never let the freebies take over!
[email protected] says
September 23, 2012 at 7:57 amWonderfully written post.
Yes, it hurts us all when free content is spread so widely.
I’m not ashamed to say I monetized my blog from their beginning through video reviews and interviews.
I wish brands would also see the difference between working with “big blogs” vs. smaller niched blogs like mine.
Since I’m in Atlanta, I know a lot of my viewers personally and have met them in person. So they’re connected to me differently.
I may not get 40K page views a month, but my audience is targeted and engaged with me.
Carly says
September 28, 2012 at 4:57 amThanks for taking the time to inform people like myself. I have been wanting to start a blog for awhile. It is very intimidating. I’m so glad I read this. I will not work for free after reading this. I’m sure the newer blogs cause a lot of these problems. I can really use some more help starting up. Is there anywhere else you can direct me?
Thanks! Carly
Debbie Petch says
September 28, 2012 at 3:51 pmI found this article very informative. I have been kicking around starting a blog for years. This information will really help me. Thanks.
md kennedy says
April 1, 2013 at 1:10 amI am still working on my blogging biz plan, and I never considered this element – i always wondered how some blogs made money without have a lot of Adwords on their sites. Some tips on connecting with PR agencies would be awesome – or do you have to just sit back and wait for them to call you?