2013 - Favorite Blogs To Sponsor

Today I am sharing some tips I learned this year from sponsoring some blogs.  I have sponsored about 10 blogs this year and I will share my best experiences, what made sponsoring that blog successful, and what to look for in a blog to sponsor.  I have sponsored some blogs and had some very negative experiences which I will not be sharing here.  I try to keep things positive and I really want this post to be about the good things bloggers are doing.  I am more than happy to share my whole sponsoring experience with you through email if you want to know about a particular blog I did not list here. Things I looked for when I was looking for blogs to sponsor:1. Do I like the blog?  What is the point in giving this blogger your money if you do not like their content?  I know you can gain some readers but they probably will not readers that are engaged in your writing.  Like likes like (that was a lot of like).  If a reader likes a blog you like the chances of them liking your blog are greatly increased. 2. Do they post on a regular basis?No it is not necessary to post every single day of the week.  However, if they post on a regular basis that is only good for you.  For example if a blogger writes fresh, original content five days a week that is five time a regular reader will read the blog.  If a blogger only posts 2 or 3 times a week…. you can figure out the rest. 3. How do they promote themselves?This may seem weird because you want them to promote you, but really you want to know if they are good at promotion.  Do they use twitter to post their links and engage with other blogger?  Are they super into Pinterest?  Is Facebook their jam Are they off the grid and cool like that.  Pay attention to their social media behavior.  If a blogger uses Pinterest exclusively and you do not even have an account, your partnership would not be as dynamic as if you had the same social media savvy. 4. Can I afford it?Really though sponsoring and trying to grow your blog is expensive.  I set a limit for myself of $20 a month when I first started to sponsor blogs. This meant about one blog a month.  I am slowly making a little money now through blogging and might make more one day.  If that comes I can invest more into advertising myself.  Until then about $25 a month is my limit.  Until your blog becomes a real source of income I think it is important to budget, focus on writing quality posts, and trying to make new blog friends. 5. Is there a special on ad space?Half of the blogs I sponsored I used a promo code that they offered in a post or on twitter.  I am sure that if you looked at my list and know how much each ad costs you will know that I could have spent way more than $25 a month.  NOPE!  I am all about bargain shopping. 6. Do I trust them?Really though this is huge.  You are giving over your money and trusting them to promote your blog, give your money to another person if they win a giveaway you sponsored, and their name will be attached to your name (for a week or so).  If you do not get the sense that they are someone you would give a $20 bill to in real life for the love of Dumbeldore, keep your money! 7. Do I get more than a sidebar ad?I am just going to say what everyone says to themselves, sidebar ads don't work!  As I look through my stats, it is a rare day that traffic comes just from a sidebar ad.  Maybe my buttons are ugly, or they have cooties, but whatever the reason they are not working for me.  If you can write something, have someone write for you, give you some space on a post it is a trillion times more effective than a sidebar button. (That is an official stat from the census bureau).Life of BonLove the way she does her sponsor post.  She write about you and your blog and what she likes about it (at least she did when I was on the blog).  I felt like this was extra helpful because her readers trust her and are likely to read something she believes in.   This is the post she wrote the month I sponsored her.  I from her blog I gained as many followers from this intro as I did on the giveaway day.  Bonnie has a great reputation and her readers are loyal to her.  Life of Bon is a great one to sponsor. The Daily TayTaylor's was the first blog I sponsored. I just started small and got myself a sidebar ad.  Later in the year I did her Saturday Takeover. It gave me some great traffic and readers.  It also is the second thing that comes up when you google search my blog, after my actual blog of course.  Clearly, Taylor has a great following and even a Saturday post will get you traffic. Helene In BetweenOK so my favorite blog I sponsored was Helene in Between.  My sidebar ad on her blog actually was clicked many times a day.  I gained so many followers because of my post on her blog and the giveaway she hosted.  Even more than that though I believe Helene is a good person, she has got this blog thing down to an art.  She comments on every post you write while you are sponsoring her blog.  She emails you to let you know how to make your blog better.  It seems like she really cares about you and the success of your blog and her blog.  I can not say enough nice things about her. Really go sponsor her already! Kym at Travel BabblesWho doesn't love Kym!  She is so real and honest in her posts and she hockey is a huge part of her life, which I love.  She is so sweet to her sponsors.  She encourages interaction amongst them on Facebook and will tweet links of posts she likes.  I totally missed the email she sent asking for information on the giveaway last month. I emailed her about it and she was willing to add me to this month's giveaway.  She is kind and understanding and will help you. Nadine at Back East BlondeI like the way Nadie adds your spotlight at the end of her post, it looks nice and clean.  Here was my spotlight on here blog. I appreciated that she emailed  me in advance to tell me when she would post my spotlight.  She also wrote to see if it was OK to move the post date because she did not feel like what she was going to write was dynamic enough. I appreciated that she wanted to write a good post on a day that she would have a sponsor.Postcards from RachelRachel, actually will promote your posts on Twitter.  She makes her sponsor spotlights look very pretty and nice.  You can tell she is invested in the look of her blog and wants her sponsors to be highlighted in the best possible way.  Check out my post on her blog, I really love that it is on a gift guide for guys.  She is quick to reply to emails and a delight to work with. Life According to Kenz and Whispering Sweet NothingsThese ladies are both extremely sweet and professional.  The best thing they offered for me was their group giveaways.  I gained a lot of new followers and they were quality readers because they followed these two blogs. Button Swap MustsYes, above I said that buttons don't work anymore, and I stand by that.  I will say though that it has been good for me to network more and make some new blog friends.  The ladies below are engaged in their blog and will read your blog too.  They all have great content and are genuinely wonderful ladies. Pretty In PinkThe Grand Adventure of MeMer in America Livin It Up As Hey UPThat is all I have for you today, which was actually a lot more than I anticipated.  Do you have a blog that you loved sponsoring?  Share you experiences below I am looking for some good ones for 2014!  I should also say that if you want to sponsor So Much Sunshine you should go to my new sponsor page. Sponsor spotlights are free to the first two months of 2014.  Be sure to enter promocode: SUNSHINE.  Thanks for reading and for those of you who have already sponsored So Much Sunshine!