How Alexis Makes $3,000+ Per Month With Sponsored Posts
Today I have an interview that I’m so excited to share! A few weeks ago, I reached out to Alexis who blogs over at Fitnancials.
Alexis is a full-time blogger who made $80,000 blogging last year. Woot woot! One day she casually mentioned on her blog how she make money with sponsored posts – $3,000+ per month to be exact – and I was intrigued. Like other bloggers, I’d thought about doing sponsored posts in the past and even landed a few opportunities but I never took it seriously. I also never believed I could really earn a consistent income from it.
Alexis launched a course called Making Sense of Sponsored Posts with her sister Michelle last year and I signed up to learn more. I ended up completing the course in less than a month and securing a new sponsored post opportunity that paid back my initial course investment. Yay!
Doing sponsored posts is a great way for bloggers to partner with brands and companies they support and provide more information about products and services that will help their readers. Plus, you can get paid for this.
So What is a Sponsored Post Exactly?
Some of you may be wondering this and it’s a great question to have! A sponsored post or a ‘paid post’ is when a blogger partners with a website or brand to come up with authentic content that can help/better serve their readers.
Yes, bloggers and influencers do get paid for this but the trick is to only partner with companies and brands whose services and mission align with your own goals and that of your readers. That way, you get compensated for your hard work and you get to share something cool with your audience so it’s a win for you, the brand, and readers.
You can also do sponsored social media posts as well but it all must be disclosed so people know you have a sponsored partnership. I’ve written a few sponsored posts in the past that have been used to help my blog readers learn something new or discover a new product or service that could help them. Here are some examples of sponsored posts I’ve done on this blog in the past.
As a general rule of thumb for myself, if it doesn’t align with my brand and the type of content I want to produce, I don’t do it. Hence, why this blog is not oversaturated with sponsored content.
Check out my interview with Alexis below to learn more about how bloggers can make more money with sponsored posts and land the right opportunities.
Table of Contents
When did you start blogging? Were you confident that you could eventually make money with your blog or did you just consider it a hobby initially?
I started blogging back in 2013, but my purpose for starting a blog was never for money. I’d only started it to document my weight loss journey and share my tips with others who needed help online.
What do you like about sponsored posts and why did you consider monetizing your blog that way?
I love sponsored posts because the ROI is high. Most of my sponsored posts only take a few hours to do, but the payoff is huge. I considered monetizing my blog with sponsored posts because I noticed a lot of brands were moving away from basic commercial advertising on television to working with online influencers and bloggers instead.
Sponsored posts are really awesome because you can double up the sponsored post with an affiliate partnership as well, so you end up getting paid for the sponsored post and affiliate program when you convert readers.
Related: How to Make Money with a Blog or Niche Site
Describe Your First Sponsored Post Experience
I honestly don’t remember my first sponsored post experience, but I do remember not getting paid much for the posts. In the beginning, I’d often accept free products and talk about them on my blog.
Were you afraid to reach out to brands in the beginning? Why or why not?
I was afraid to reach out to brands in the beginning in fear of rejection, but I’m used to it by now. Oftentimes I don’t hear anything back from brands.
Sometimes brands come back and say they don’t have a budget for sponsored partnerships at the moment. However, there are many times where I do land a deal, and now sponsored posts are one of my top forms of income on my blog, and it’s been a great steady income.
How much did you make with sponsored posts when you got started vs. what you make now?
This is a tricky question. I believe my first sponsored post was free vitamins from an online vitamin shop, which was probably around $50. I agreed to write about them on my blog, so in the beginning, I was making nothing.
When I really started getting serious about sponsored partnerships, I realized I wasn’t charging nearly enough. Now, my fees can go up to as much as $3,500 and I’ve landed partnerships with some major companies, that have even done multiple sponsorships on my blog.
What’s the biggest misconception you hear about bloggers partnering with brands for sponsored posts?
I don’t really hear any misconceptions, but I don’t think people try hard enough when it comes to sponsored posts. This may sound harsh, but there are many times where I talk to blogger friends who send an email or two and expect to land a partnership.
You should expect to send as many pitch emails as you can to brands, and if you don’t get a response, send a follow-up email in a couple of weeks.
Do you need to have a huge blog to be successful at this? Why or why not?
I don’t think you necessarily need a huge blog, but I do believe you need to have some sort of following, otherwise what does the brand gain from working with you if you have no audience on your blog? When trying to increase your income from sponsored posts, it’s always ideal to increase traffic.
Have you ever had an unpleasant partnership? How did you handle it?
Yes, I’ve had several unpleasant sponsorships and even have a label under certain emails to make sure I never work with a certain company ever again, although it’s not difficult to remember, haha.
I can’t really go into detail what made the sponsorships unpleasant, but I’ll just say this – being punctual and respectful of a blogger and more importantly business owner(s) time is key to continuing a respectful and positive working relationship. I know big brands are busy, but so are bloggers.
Overall, how has doing sponsored posts helped you grow your business?
Sponsored posts have helped me grow my business by allowing me to go full-time on my blog. With the income I’ve made from sponsored partnerships, I’ve been able to invest in my business more which has really grown my blog.
I received so many questions about sponsored posts, that I even created a course with my sister called Making Sense of Sponsored Posts, where we lay out everything step-by-step to help you land your first sponsored post.
How important do you think confidence is when it comes to reaching out to brands and applying through influencer networks? Do you ever negotiate?
Creating a solid email pitch to brands is a must. I recommend creating your email pitch and showing it to blogger friends to see what they recommend improving. In Making Sense of Sponsored Posts, we have several email templates that will help you land sponsored posts as well.
You need to have confidence in your email pitch, or else it’ll show. The brand needs to believe that you will help their brand with a sponsored post. I always negotiate with brands, it’s a part of the process of landing a sponsored post. If you’re not negotiating with a brand, you’re probably not charging enough.
What’s one thing a blogger can do today or tomorrow to help themselves prepare to pursue sponsored post opportunities and
partnerships?
The best thing to do to prepare for sponsored post opportunities is to make sure you have a contact or hire me page on your website.
I’ve gone onto so many websites where it has been impossible to find contact information, which means lost opportunities for the website owner. You can also read my popular articles on sponsored posts, such as How I Make $3,000+ Per Month With Sponsored Posts.
Other Sponsored Post Resources
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