During the Pet Blogger Challenge, we told you that we had made $20 with a sponsored post, which people thought was pretty cool considering that we'd only been blogging for 10 days. A lot of people mentioned in their own PBC posts that they would like to learn how to add money making opportunities to their blogs. Well, we're not experts, but we thought we would at least share what we know! We are going to tell you about some places where you can sign your blog up for paid post opportunities. Ready?
Getting Started
The first thing you should do is start a PayPal account. Some of these places will not pay you unless you have PayPal. Most of you probably have it already. If you don't, go sign up!
Another tip... in an email or Notepad or something, write up a short, 3-4 sentence summary of your blog. Most of the sites are going to ask for one, and it will be easier to copy-and-paste it than to keep writing it out from scratch! Mama learned this the hard way!
You'll also want to create a Disclosure policy. This just means that you are being open about whether you are getting paid for posts, and whether payment changes your opinion on things. You can create a great Disclosure Policy at DisclosurePolicy.org. You just have to check the correct boxes, and they'll make a nice page of jargon for you to post on your site!
Our final tip, is to always make sure you're still blogging about your regular topics. Don't let your blog turn into one long commercial, or nobody will read it anymore! A good tip is to always post a regular, personal post right after a sponsored post... like, within half an hour of posting the sponsored post. That way, your readers will see the sponsored post, but they'll also have a regular post to look forward to!
1. Blogitive... This is an easy one to get accepted onto. Once you sign up, you'll probably be accepted within 2 days. For this one, you need to log in to the site every day to see if there are any opportunities for you. If there are, just click on them, and follow the directions. Most payments are about $5.00 per post.
2. Blogsvertise... Here is another easy one to get accepted onto. We signed up and were accepted within 2 days. A good thing about this one is that they email you the jobs that are assigned to you, so you don't have to keep checking the site every day. Once you get an opportunity, you can choose to accept it or decline it. If you accept it, it will give you directions on how to proceed.
3. PayPerPost - This is the original paid-to-blog site. Our Mama used to make a ton of money here, but not so much anymore. On this site, the more popular your blog is, the more you can get paid. You also get to choose your "asking price." Mama just lowered our asking price down to $1.00, to see if we can gain more posts for experience points. We suggest you sign up for PayPerPost, put your asking price down as whatever they suggest, and wait to see what happens!
4. Bloggingads - We haven't been accepted into this one yet, but we are telling you about it anyways. Your blog needs to be at least three months old to qualify (which is why we don't yet) and it needs to have a somewhat high Google Page Rank. Not too high, but probably at least 2 or 3. (Google Page Rank, by the way, is basically a measure of how often people click on your blog and how many other sites have links to your blog. If your blog is new, like ours, your PR may be 0!!!
5. Sponsored Reviews - Your blog has to be three months old, so we don't qualify for this one, yet. But Mama has used it on other blogs. They list a bunch of companies that want sponsored posts done, and the rules for the post. You get to bid on the opportunities. We recommend starting your bids low, and raising your bidding price as you get more experience on the site. That way, you'll be more in-demand!
6. Buy Blog Reviews -This is a new one that we just signed up for, so we're not sure about it yet. You have to pick one category (for us, it was pets, obviously) and then wait for blogging opportunities from that category. You bid on the opportunities, and if your bid is accepted, you write the post, and get paid!
7. Bloggertizer - This is a new one we don't have experience with yet. They'll accept your blog right away and put it on the list, but they warn you that if your blog is new or has a low page rank, you may not get many interested companies. Apparently, companies that are interested will send you a message, and it is up to you and them to work out the details of the post, including method of payment. You don't get paid through Bloggertizer... you have to privately give the company your PayPal address.
8. Contextual Style - Another new one, where jobs get emailed to you. We'll update you on this one!
9. Bloggerwave - We're listed on this one, but haven't gotten any offers yet. This may be because of our newness to the blog world. We'll keep you posted on this, too!
10. Social Spark - This one is created by the same company as PayPerPost, and its very similar... but you have to be 3 months old to be accepted. Also, they pay you in points instead of money. But the points stand for dollars. So... Yeah.
