If you aren’t using sponsored posts as a way to reach bigger audiences, drive website traffic, and increase your engagement on your website or social media, you are missing out! Sponsored posts are advertisements created by a brand or business for a product/service. Companies are looking to work with content creators daily to reach consumers through sponsored advertising. Many Bloggers and Influencers use sponsored posts (also known as promoted posts) to generate more traffic and link clicks to their website or social media. Sponsored posts are just one of many ways you can create additional income online and monetize your blog. I have worked with brand companies such as Amazon, Jenell B. Stewart’s DCU affiliate program, Influenster, and The Raw Dosage in the past, and I continue to work with businesses on collaborations through sponsored ads and partnerships. In this blog, you will gain insight on how sponsored posts work and how you can start using them to generate website traffic and revenue to your website, blog, or social media.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Affiliate marketing is designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to brand websites. This is at no additional at no additional cost to you!
It is important to remember that when promoting a company’s services and products through sponsored posts, that you are introducing your community to brands that they’ll be interested in purchasing from and learning more about how they can benefit from them. Brands are looking to reach communities and audiences through UGC, user-generated content. You will want to collaborate with brands related to your niche to create the authentic, quality image and video content that brands are looking to use to attract consumers.
For example, my blog is a lifestyle blog. I create content that is inspired and curated from my interests and daily activities. I create brand awareness by sharing content from companies who express interest in reaching consumers with interests in many topics (beauty, health, wellness, finance, travel, food, etc.). I love to promote product and services that are relatable to my every day life and my brand.
The bulk of my sponsored posts are from my collaborations with Influenster. Influenster is a product discovery app that allows consumers and influencers to try products for free; in exchange for an honest review of the product on your website or social media. By signing up and becoming a member of the Influenster community, I have saved money by not spending it on products, connected with lots of cool brands to establish long lasting partnerships, increased traffic to my blog, and gained followers on social media. Take a look at some of my favorite campaigns that I have been apart of below.
Are you ready to start landing sponsored posts to gain website traffic and grow your business? Are you ready to start landing sponsored posts as a way to generate a source of income? It’s time to figure out what your next steps should be. Here are 4 ways that you can get started today:
Start a Blog or Create a Social Media Account Now!
Having a website is a no-brainer decision. It’s time to start building your online platform if you haven’t already. Online marketing is crucial for brands in 2021. I recommend beginning with a blog to share quality content that you know your audience will want to see. Do research. Learn. Apply what you learn! Establish what you want you think your niche should be and create good content. If you aren’t on social media already, the decision to join is something that you will want to make soon. It’s free to create an account on all popular social channels (TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter) and most blog platforms (WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, ).
Pitch Ideas to Brands
If you have an idea for a sponsored post, you should be ready to pitch that idea to the brand or business. Don’t let imposter syndrome set in! Pitching content ideas is one of the ways that you can start landing brand partnerships. Create a media kit before reaching out to brand PR to showcase yourself and your business. Most media kits will contain:
A list of services that you offer
Statistics (website/blog stats, engagement rates, followers/subscribers)
A bio (one for yourself and your brand biz)
Network Within Your Niche
Most, if not all, collaborations opportunities come from networking and meeting other business owners and content creators. It’s time to start getting comfortable with competitors by getting to know them. There is an opportunity out here for everyone! I have met some amazing content creators in online groups and through taking blogging courses. Blogging and Engagement Groups are great ways to learn about partnerships, sponsorships, and collaborations. Facebook has a wide variety of blogging groups for you to research and join.
Join Influencer Marketing Platforms
There are several influencer marketing platforms online that you can join to help you get sponsored posts that can help you grow your business and generate traffic to your website. I recommend researching each one to find out which one works best for you. Most of these influencer marketing platforms will allow you to join for free; after approving your website and social media accounts. I have compiled a list of the influencer marketing platforms that I have had success with so far. These websites have allowed me to generate traffic to my blog, grow my brand, and make money. You can click the jump get started downloading the list.
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Was this post helpful? Leave a comment below. Tell me your niche and what brands you are interested in collaborating with.
What a great article, thank you so much!!