Have you ever wondered how bloggers make money by working with various brands on sponsored posts?
Read this post on how you can work with your favorite brands and earn money to create sponsored posts on your blog and social media.
If you are a blogger with a decent amount of following, you have to understand that your words can have an influence on others.
There are many blogger networks or influencer networks that you can sign up with and start making money right away.
And donât worry, you do not have to be someone who has millions of followers. When I signed up to be a part of some of these networks, I hardly had 4000-5000 page views per month.
The basic criteria of these influencer networks are that you need to be blogging consistently for a minimum of 6 months and that you also have 2-4 social media accounts that you use for your blog.
Of course, many bloggers will tell you that working directly with brands is much more lucrative and I fully agree with them. But I feel being a part of these networks will never hurt you and will only help you to grow your blog and your overall presence.
These influencer network companies act as a middleman or like an agent between you i.e. the influencer/ the blogger and the brand. So it is quite natural that they take their cut for doing all the hard work â of negotiating with brands, creating contracts etc.
Make your Pitch Strong
In order to get selected for campaigns, you need to apply to be a part of these influencer networks. Once you get accepted by them, most of them will send you weekly or bi-weekly emails of the various campaigns that they have.
The most important thing while applying for a campaign is to make your pitch strong. If you are just starting out and are new to this, start by working on a strong pitch.
Having a strong pitch means you should be able to tell what your blog is all about, why it is unique and what it offers to the readers in about 2-3 sentences.
Keep it short and simple and say why you are interested to be a part of that particular campaign.
When you come across a campaign that you like or that fits your blog, apply to it and wait for the selection process. If you get selected, create a blog post and get paid!
Now that you have a brief summary of how influencer networks work, here are some of my favorite ones:
Social Fabric
This is one of my most favorite influencer networks since they have such a supportive and creative community. Although stats matter when applying to be a part of this network, they focus mostly on the quality of your content. Once you fill out your information and get accepted into their network, you will be able to see various campaigns on their dashboard.
They have a lot of campaigns for Food, Home decor, DIY Crafts, tutorials, tech as well as beauty and lifestyle topics.
Payment takes places 30 days once the campaign is over.
You can check out a sponsored post example that I have done for Social Fabric here and here.
Apply for Social Fabric here.
Linqia
This influencer network company mainly focuses on the Food and Lifestyle niches although I have seen various topics like Tech and travel as well. In order to get accepted to this network, you need to have a blog or YouTube channel and a minimum of 2500+ followers any of your social media channels or visitors on your blog.
They offer you a pay per click program which means you will be paid on the basis of how many clicks you are able to generate for a particular campaign.
I have heard some bloggers even make about $500 from each sponsored post! And this could easily be you! Sign up on Linqia here.
Campaigns will be sent directly to your inbox and you can accept or deny it. (Denying a campaign does not affect you negatively.) Each campaign runs for about 15-20 days and they will offer you unique links that you need to publish in your blog post or social media shares. Payment takes place about 30-45 days after campaign via PayPal.
They also have a referral program where you can earn $5 for each influencer that gets accepted. You can use my referral link and sign up on Linqia here.
For a better understanding of how sponsored posts for Linqia work, check out this post as well as this post.
[Read:Â How to Make Money Blogging with a Social Media Plan, 11 Ways]
Izea
Make money doing social shares with Izea. They will pay you anywhere between $1-$20 (and even more) depending on who the client is. For me, this has not been too much of a focus and itâs more like extra money on the side. You can cash out through PayPal once you hit $5.
Sign up on Izea here.
Cooperatize
They have sponsored blog post opportunities but I have not worked with this network yet. They also have a great referral program where you can earn $20 for every referral accepted into a campaign. You can join Cooperatize using my referral link here.
Brandbacker
They have a lot of âproduct onlyâ campaigns as well as paid campaigns. Product only campaigns mean you will be sent the product in exchange for a blog post and social media shares. Generally, I do not work on âproduct onlyâ posts but if itâs something that Iâm excited to be a part of, I occasionally apply to such campaigns.
You can see an example here.
Apply for Brandbacker here.
Heartbeat
Do you love Instagram? If yes, you can earn money through your Instagram account by signing up for HeartBeat. Once you sign up and get accepted, they will send you emails of what they think will fit your brand the most.
For example, if you have a Food Blog, they will send you a campaign of a Snack Bar. If you think the campaign is something that youâd want to be a part of, apply for it and if you get selected you will be notified and sent instructions through email.
They also have a great referral program where you can earn $1-$10 per person that signs up through your link and gets accepted in their network.
Apply for Heartbeat with my referral link here.
[Read:Â 10 Creative Ways To Earn Money On Instagram]
Sway Group
They are also similar to Social Fabric â meaning once you get accepted to be a part of their networks, you will able to apply to individual campaigns and explain why you think are the best fit for that campaign.
However, a lot of their campaigns are specifically for people with higher page views or a high follower count. So be sure to read the requirements carefully before applying to their campaigns
Apply for Sway Group here.
Activate
This platform has sponsored post opportunities for your blog as well as your Twitter, Instagram and Facebook channels. I have done a few sponsored social shares for them but have not yet worked on any sponsored blog posts for them.
Tips to Keep In Mind Before Applying for Sponsored Posts
- The key to getting selected for sponsored posts through these influencer network companies is to properly pitch yourself and explain why you are a great fit for that particular campaign.
It also helps to stick to your blogging niche when pitching for a sponsored post. For example, if you have a blog that solely focuses on Home decor or DIY crafts and you pitch for a Food Brand out of nowhere, or vice versa, the chances of rejection are more.
- Make sure to follow all the rules that the company outlines for you â stick to the posting schedule, insert all the required links and make sure to follow all the FTC guidelines i.e. properly disclosing the fact that your post was a sponsored post.
- If a campaign has any rules about working with competitor brands, make sure you follow them. If you violate them, you can get into trouble and can even run the risk of not getting considered for future campaigns.
Each influencer network has a set of criteria and the selection process varies. Patience is key. Donât get disheartened if your application gets rejected by a particular network.
Try again after a couple of months when your page views grow or when you have a better social media following.
Keep in mind that these companies closely monitor your blog and see what content you share on a regular basis before selecting you.
I hope you found this post helpful and sign up to these blogger networks to start earning money through sponsored posts and social media shares.
Are you a part of any of these networks? Have you worked on sponsored posts? Share how you have done it and let us know any other influencer networks that you have worked with.
Author: by Shamira from Smiling Notes
This post is written by Shamira from âSmiling Notesâ â a Food, Travel & Lifestyle Blog. She has been blogging for more than 2 years and shares easy food and recipe ideas, travel tips as well as culinary adventures around the world.
You can follow her on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.
Readers, please share this article so other bloggers wishing to make money discover how to have brands pay them for sponsored posts and social media sharing.
