Sponsored posts on the blog, how does it really work? We tell you how we think about sponsored posts, and think that this post should be aimed both at those who have their own blog and are curious about the possibilities - and at those who read blogs and want to know how everything works. Simply put, transparency!
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What are sponsored posts?
A sponsored blog post is a post written by a blogger in return for payment. For example, if a company wants to gain more visibility, it may hire a blogger to write (for a fee) on a topic related to its business, with a link to the company.
Why sponsored blog posts?
The entrepreneur chooses sponsored posts to gain visibility on the Internet and perhaps find new customer groups. The most obvious purpose for the blogger is to get an income from the blog. A really good co-operation can also provide new interesting angles and themes to blog about.
Why monetise your blog?
Of course, if you run a blog as a hobby, it is not necessary to earn money from it. However, if you put a lot of time and energy into it, it might be nice to have a little extra income. If you (like us) run the blog full/half time, income becomes almost necessary. First, you need to cover the expenses that the blog generates, and then you need to cover the loss of income.
What are the expenses of a blogger?
You can start a blog in your spare time without any real extra expenses. However, as soon as you start investing in your blog, it's easy for your expenses to skyrocket. These expenses vary and depend on your priorities, but here are some examples of expenses that a blogger might have:
- Operation and development of the blog in the form of web hosting, support, web developers, themes and plug-ins.
- Technical equipment such as a computer, camera, film camera, underwater camera and battery charger.
- Software such as software for editing photos or managing invoices.
- Operation of enterprises including cost of accounting office and office equipment
Why not adverts instead?
Why don't bloggers choose adverts instead of sponsored posts, as adverts are more distinct from editorial material? Well, some certainly do! Our personal experience is that it is very difficult to get any reasonable income from ads, at least if you don't have very many readers.
How do you know if a blog post is sponsored?
Serious bloggers notice always of sponsored blog posts, and the labelling should stand out. at the top in the post so that the reader can see immediately that the post is sponsored. We write "In collaboration with ..." and other bloggers might write "Advertising collaboration" or "Sponsored post". Unfortunately, there are also bloggers who write sponsored posts without labelling them, but this is very rare among the blogs we read.
How to write sponsored posts?
We write sponsored posts from time to time, and have to say that it takes quite a lot of time. This is the workflow for us:
- Initiate contact with the company in question. It can be smart to pitch companies that you really want to work with, but so far we haven't taken the time to do so. We are happy if we can get through the mailbox to respond to all email enquiries...
- Google the company (if you don't know about it) to make sure that it seems to be a serious company. Sometimes we also ask around in the circle of acquaintances if others know about the company.
- Email back and forth many times and try to agree on things like content, price and labelling. Surprisingly many (even serious companies!) refuse labelling ("In cooperation with ...") and then we end the conversation. Some are very creative in their attempts to persuade us as to why we should not should call the collaboration a collaboration. For us, maybe one in ten email conversations leads to a collaboration.
- Writing a proposal on posts. For us, it usually takes longer to write sponsored posts than regular ones, because we want to write a quality post while finding a good personal angle. Once we have finalised the proposal, we send a preview link to the company.
- Edit is the next step. The company almost always has some comments and hopefully we can come to an agreement. If not, you have to email some more. In the worst case scenario, we have had to terminate the co-operation attempt in this situation. What a shame!
- Publishreply to comments, possibly share on Facebook and, if so, tag the collaboration there as well.
- Invoicing the company according to the agreed amount. Sometimes, if they do not pay on time, this includes sending reminders.
Can the post be written by the company?
Some companies suggest writing the post themselves. We usually decline and prefer to write ourselves, as we see an opportunity to write more personally. In a few cases, for example if the company wants to talk about something we don't have experience with, we let them write.
We will also mark the post with "Guest post by ...." to make it clear that we are not the author. so that it is clear that we are not the author. Please note that we sometimes have guest posts that not are sponsored - a post is only sponsored if it says "In partnership with ..." at the top.
What can you charge for sponsored posts?
What a blogger charges for a sponsored post probably varies enormously, depending on the brand, number of readers, quality, niche and a lot of other things. Influencers of Sweden recommends that SEK 2,000 is an absolute minimum for a paid collaboration, regardless of the size of the blog, and large bloggers of course charge significantly more. Of course, you have to pay tax on the income.
Are sponsored posts getting boring?
Writing sponsored posts is a balancing act! Whether they are boring or not is up to the reader to judge. It's probably best if you manage to collaborate on topics that you like to write about. We do our best to find good collaborations and fun topics, but we can certainly get better! If nothing else, you can count on us to always label sponsored posts at the top of the post. If you don't want to read these, you can choose not to.
What do you think?
We will continue with sponsored posts, and we will try to be careful when choosing partners, work even more on good content and not have sponsored posts too often. Stop sponsored posts altogether? Yes, we can do that if someone sponsors us with a full-time salary! Just give us a shout if you're interested, haha!
We will soon publish the results of our survey and let you know what our readers think about this topic! If you still want to comment, you are of course welcome to do so!
The images in this post are borrowed from Pixabay.
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Maria's Memoirs says:
Good and factual post?
10 April 2019 - 8:34
Helena says:
Glad you liked it! 🙂
10 April 2019 - 15:29
Ama de casa says:
Understand that you run with sponsored posts that invest so much and spend so much time on the blog - with a VERY good result!
But it sounds really hard too...
I just want to write rubbish and I don't think anyone in the world wants to sponsor that. Haha!
The biggest expense I have for blogging is undoubtedly the camera expenses. Even though film is very cheap these days, I insist on breaking my cameras all the time 😀.
A very good and explanatory post! Thanks for that 🙂
10 April 2019 - 10:06
Helena says:
Some work is actually, but it's part of the job you get paid for 😉 You have to hold the cameras tight! 😉
10 April 2019 - 15:30
Renate's travels says:
Very good post! It definitely costs to run a blog and you almost have to get some income as well. I also only choose collaborations that are relevant to the blog/travel and try to keep the number low. I know of some travel blogs that consist of 90 % sponsored posts and sponsored trips, and then I really lose interest, since everything seems bought and paid for. Haha.
10 April 2019 - 10:32
Helena says:
Glad you like the post Renate! Of course you need some income! However, I can agree that it is sad if it is almost only sponsored content.
10 April 2019 - 19:06
Emma, sun like sun? says:
Thanks for a great post! If what is sponsored fits in and you can write in a way that you stand for what you write, then it is completely OK, I think. It also becomes more credible for everyone too. I have written an occasional sponsored post (obviously labelled), good there with the guideline for the price because I did not get it. You are happy and honoured when you are contacted and feel that wow! Get paid when I still just sit and write, I love to write. Someone must think that I actually write well! Thank you!
But as you say, that's not really the case. You spend a little more time because you are not only answerable to yourself but to the sponsored company and also to a possible intermediary who may come up with more assignments if you behave yourself.
As I said, if it fits, I think you should continue. However, it may not be entirely credible if you suddenly start writing about gardening tools or cat food just as I would not write about life on a houseboat. I'm not saying it would be boring, it would probably be a big challenge and maybe an interesting angle ... 😀.
10 April 2019 - 10:47
Helena says:
Thank you for your thoughts Emma! It's great that we could share a price guideline! After all, it's a job you do and in addition to writing, it should also be discussed and negotiated 😉 And you can tell us if we get into some super strange industry haha!
10 April 2019 - 19:11
Britt-Marie Lundgren says:
Very good and clarifying post on cooperation.
We have found that there is never any doubt as to which of your posts are sponsored. Of course you need to have income from your blog, as it is a major part of your livelihood.
As long as you write the posts and the topics are relevant, we see no problem with credibility.
10 April 2019 - 12:48
Helena says:
Good to hear that you think it's clear, it's important for us! We will try to continue with relevant and interesting topics 🙂 .
10 April 2019 - 21:34
BP says:
An interesting and very informative post. As you write, you do not have too many collaborations, and most of them, including with various tourist agencies, are perfect and fit in your ambitious travel blog. However, two thousand kronor minus tax can hardly constitute one and a half salaries, because it is only you Helena who works half-time right now. So I do not get it to go together - financially that is.
Another thing I've noticed is that you often get fewer comments when you post sponsored posts. I have some understanding for that. The readers automatically think that the posts are written together with the companies and you don't bite the hand that feeds you. Incidentally, this also applies to book reviews. You rarely see critical posts there, because the reviewer wants to continue with free books.
10 April 2019 - 21:14
Helena says:
The tourist offices are probably our favourite to work with! In addition to the fact that they sometimes sponsor posts, we get lots of good information and travel inspiration that we really benefit from! However, we do not write any sponsored posts for SEK 2000. I'm sorry if I was unclear, but that's the minimum recommendation. We charge more than that! (But even so, it's tricky many times to make it work!) I also think we sometimes get less comments on those posts, but not always. Not on the posts that we wrote in collaboration with the tourist offices 😉 When we get less comments, I usually think that maybe it was not so relevant, or that it was not personal enough? Cooperation posts are more or less positively written - if you feel that it does not work, you can say no instead (which we do a few times a week ;))
10 April 2019 - 21:45
Emma, sun like sun? says:
I think the number of comments does not always depend on what you have written or in co-operation with someone. I notice myself that sometimes I haven't had time to read posts, sometimes I have nothing sensible to say. (As if it usually makes sense ... Hehe!)
You have a large visitor base, maybe you could do a survey on comments too! That would be interesting.
11 April 2019 - 8:02
Helena says:
You may be right, Emma! I don't always comment on others either. Sometimes you feel, as you say, that you have nothing special to add! We have the survey now, but I didn't think to ask for comments ... that's for another time 😉.
11 April 2019 - 8:31
Goatfish says:
I can sign this too! I read here yesterday but forgot to comment, or rather, I probably did not have much to say, you had informed so well!
😀
11 April 2019 - 9:57
Lena - good for the soul says:
Really good post! I'm surprised, really, that you don't do more sponsored posts. As much substance as there is in your blog, it must be a goldmine for companies to sponsor you!
Hug Lena
12 April 2019 - 6:51
Helena says:
Right now, there has probably been unusually little. Maybe there will be a little more. But it is important to find the right collaborations!
12 April 2019 - 17:49
A little more pink - Cornelia Tonéri says:
Very good post! Thanks for the factual review.
Sponsored posts do not concern me so much if you notice that it is still the own opinion and feeling that comes out in the post and you always manage to do that 🙂.
We need more such factual and concrete posts about how it works in the industry, I think. Well done!!!
Have a nice weekend.
12 April 2019 - 15:08
Helena says:
Glad you like our post! We like transparency and want readers to know how these things work! 🙂
12 April 2019 - 17:50