Don't forget to subscribe to iwebis RSS feed. You can also Subscribe to iwebis by Email Thanks for visiting!
Now that I have written my opinion about paid posting focused blogging and reviewed the top sponsored review/paid posting companies I am now going to share with you in more detail how to set a price for reviews that advertisers will pay. First of all you need to be clear that blogging should not be about sponsored reviews. Sponsored reviews/ paid posting should not be the focus of your blog but instead compliment your blog. By this I mean that we should have a content that is focused on the niche of your blog whether it is a sponsored or non-sponsored post.
If we take sponsored reviews from the point of the reader we might get a better understanding of how it should be done. As a reader we surf the blogosphere for the purpose of finding useful, amusing or educating information. We are not interested in content that will waste our time. So as a reader we don’t want to be reading about lawn mowers if we visiting a blog about cell phones. If we are visiting a blog about cell phones we need to consistently find information about cell phones. This does not mean an occasional post about something not related to cell phones would harm your readership but our main focus needs to stick to the niche.
Now I am sure some of you are thinking that since you have a ‘personal blog’ that all topics are welcome. Well in a sense that is true but even a personal blog has a niche. My SuperMom Life blog is about being a mom, home schooling my kids, chasing after a toddler, time management and my passion for horses (to name a few). My niche for this blog is about my life. Any readers I may have are becoming familiar with my ‘life niche’. If I were to start doing reviewed posts that went against my ‘life niche’ then I might harm my readership. This doesn’t mean my ‘life niche’ can’t change but when it comes to doing sponsored reviews/paid posting we need to be careful not to come across as an advertisement focused blog.
So now that I have harped on ‘content, content, content’ I will now give my advice on how to establish a sponsoring price that advertisers will pay. First we need to look at things from an advertisers point of view. As I mentioned in the first post in this series advertisers are usually seeking two things when offering paid reviews. They are either seeking link building to increase page rank and/or reviews on high or low traffic sites that will bring traffic to their website/blog. The advertisers that are seeking only link building usually don’t have as many requirements as those that are seeking traffic through reviews. Also advertisers seeking link building on average pay between $5 - $10.
First thing you need to do is decide what type of blog you wish to have. One that is seeking any type of sponsored reviews/paid posting income or one that is seeking high payment only offers. If you are seeking to generate income from anyone that will pay you any amount then don’t expect more than $5- $10 a post. Yes, on occasion some unsuspecting advertiser will pay you a higher amount but on average you will only get paid for how much you value your blog. If you are willing to be paid $5 for a review that you hope an advertiser will one day pay $20, $30 or $50 then you need to take steps to make your blog worth more money.
I have listed some ways you can take steps to become a high paid sponsored review blogger.
- Keep to your niche. Stay focused to the niche of your blog and advertiser will recognize this as quality content blog.
- Post everyday if possible. If you can’t post every day at least post 3-4 times a week. A blog that is active is more likely to have visitors or be on the road to acquiring more visitors.
- Increase your Page Rank and Alexa score. Even though these two methods of ranking are not entirely accurate as to the true popularity of your blog, advertisers still seem to be impressed with these numbers.
- Don’t take review offers until you are established good PR and a decent Alexa score. A PR 3 and an Alexa score of 500,000 or less. If you are already getting paid to review/post then take some time away from it to establish a higher review price.
- Set a price and stick to it. A good way to give your self a price is to submit your blog to ReviewMe and see what they think your blog is worth. You can choose to go higher or lower but at least you have a reference point. Some offers don’t have as many requirements than others so you can set a price for work, or decide you going to set a price based on your blogs value. ReviewMe sets a blog worth rather than price for work completed (number of links, number of words)
- DO NOT publish your sponsored review price on every page of your blog ( this includes ReviewMe and PayPerPost Direct pay buttons). I don’t think publishing your price in plan view is a good way to do business. If you want to include your price do it on a separate page of your blog or by using the WPBankRoll plugin. Most people visiting your site are not interested in buying a review so why show it to everyone.
- Prepare your readers for the possibility of future sponsored reviews. I don’t think it’s a good idea start sponsored reviews without letting your readers know about it first. If you have blogged for any amount of time you know that readers are what makes your blog. So instead of springing it on them, prepare them for it. Post about it, include a page on your blog about it or a link on your side bar. When you do your first review let your readers know that it’s your first review and reassure them that all your reviews will be honest reviews.
- Always give honest reviews. Remember to give constructive reviews whether it be positive or not. If you are completely against the sponsored review offer then don’t take it. Always give the advertiser constructive criticism if you are unhappy with something.
- Review for content not minimum words requirements. I don’t think anyone can do a good honest review with 100 words so instead of focusing on the number of words you are writing focus on how the review can benefit your readers. Your readers will see the effort you put into it and so will other advertisers.
- Keep the posting flow consistent. Don’t just offer your readers filler posts between your sponsored post. Remember content is what keeps readers coming back. You readers should not be able to tell the difference between a sponsored post and a regular post.
I have come up with these tips from personal experience. My personal finance blog is where I have implemented these techniques and have improved my sponsored reviews price. My blog is now worth at least $50 before fees. Over time I hope to generate enough interest in my blog to have advertisers pay me directly instead of using companies like ReviewMe and SponsoredReviews. Like I said before these companies are really just glorified directories Ok, maybe that’s a bit harsh but it is doesn’t seem right that some of these companies take a 50% fee when the blogger is actually the one doing the review.
