I have read posts here and there that sponsoring blogs is just well… stupid.
You are paying your hard earned cash to have your picture up on someone's side of the blog and people just pass on by. What's the point?! This isn't really benefiting me! Or I'm just junking up my own blog with these random people.
For me, I am a big supporter of sponsoring blogs. Not only because it has brought my blog some attention but because it leads me to other blogs.
Let me explain.
I am a clicker. If I read and like your blog I often click around to see who you have on your sidebar. If someone is sponsoring a blog, to me, that means they care enough about their blog to want to put it out there.
If they care enough to put it out there, then they probably have content that I would be interested in too. If I get to their blog and like it, then I follow. And more often times than not I do like what they say because I know they are putting effort into their blog.
I like to sponsor blogs of all sizes. Sometimes I have had really great luck with sponsoring smaller blogs because they work harder than the larger blogs and do a great job of communicating with you. I like to work with blogs that promote me on many different avenues: their blog, twitter etc, but that's not to say I haven't had luck just being on someone's side bar.
And here's another thing. I see absolutely nothing wrong with sponsored/review posts. The ones where you work with a company and they give you something in exchange for reviewing their product. In Miley Cyrus' new video “We Can't Stop” she's seen putting on some Eos lip balm and she was probably paid a gazillion dollars to do it. So. What.
I went out and bought said lip gloss. Not because Miley had it, but because it was now stuck in my head and I wanted to try it.
I like when bloggers review things. No, not every day. But occasionally and they give a heartfelt and interesting opinion I enjoy the post and might even try the product. Heck, I might learn something new that I never did before. (Of course when you start reviewing baby products and you don't even have a kid, that's a different story.)
Sponsored posts and reviews can be a great way to learn about a blogger, a product a service. Basically I like the whole lot of it.
There is a caveat to this though. Your sponsors need to follow through. Bon wrote a great post the other day about how your sponsors should treat you. If they say they are going to do something they need to do it. If they tell you they are going to give you social media shout outs, then they need to do it. If they are going to include you in a giveaway, they need to do it. And so forth.
This is all clearly just my opinion. But to me, sponsorship does work.
What are your thoughts on sponsoring?
And lastly, I have teemed up with my favorite financial blogger, Michelle from Making Sense of Cents. When I say favorite financial blogger, I mean it. Michelle does a phenomenal job explaining how she makes her extra cash (she makes anywhere from $5,000- $11,000 a month!) and talks about money in a way I can understand.
– Open Worldwide.
– If the winner of the iPad Mini prefers cash, then cash value for the iPad will be given instead.
– Paid via PayPal
