Influencers enjoy partnering with Linqia because it allows them to work with brands they love while simultaneously being compensated for sharing their blog stories, photographs, and social posts. But, as many influencers come to find out early on, it takes more than a simple post to successfully and effectively monetize a blog.
We caught up with Linqia influencer Melody Robin Wright of Being Melody to get her take on how to work with Linqia’s influencer marketing platform to build a personal brand and successfully execute program goals. Here are her top tips to monetizing your blog:
Build a quality blog design
Take the time to really put some thought into your layout. Make sure it reflects your personality and interests while remaining visually attractive and easy to navigate. Brands want to collaborate with popular blogs, so they look for websites with both a dedicated following and a visually attractive appearance.
“Nothing will make me click the ‘X’ faster than a blog that isn’t in some type of order,” said Wright. “I think blogs should show who you are, but still be aesthetically appealing to the audience. Remember, you want your blog to invite the reader to stay and look around after reading the article they originally came for.”
Dated and disorganized blog layouts deter not only new readers, but they can also turn off brands or influencer marketing platforms who may have been interested in collaborating with you. Brands who cannot find your contact information or about section will pass you by for opportunities. Check out these tips on designing a blog layout for maximum attention and engagement.
Post fresh and original content
Posting sponsored content at least once a week is a great way to gain brand attention and meet your program goals. For some, however, generating a high volume of original content may seem daunting. Wright recommends something a little counter-intuitive for brainstorming new ideas.
“Take a break!” she said. “If you run out of fresh ideas, take a step back from your blog and give it time. Do something to relax, like pick up a magazine and look at what’s trending. Make a list of everything that catches your eye and then brainstorm on how you can flip that into something that would be perfect for your blog.”
Refer back to these lists when you’ve hit a content roadblock, as they serve as inspiration repositories. Sometimes the best ideas come from old ideas when revisited at a later date.
Do your homework
Now that your blog looks great and is full of interesting content, you might feel ready to jump into monetization. While tempting, Wright suggests doing a little research first as each influencer marketing platform compensates differently and provides varying sponsorship types.
“Talk with other influencers who use different monetization platforms,” said Wright. “They are your best resource for finding out the pros and cons of different platforms.”
Find the platform and opportunities that fit well with your brand so you can develop the type of long-term partnership that is key to monetizing a blog. It’s best to talk with those with similar content and audience numbers as their experiences will be most relevant to you. A friend with 50k more Twitter followers than you might tell you to expect a certain amount of compensation, but it might not be realistic for your current audience size. Compile a list of platforms your friends recommend and compare them before committing to any. It is common for influencers to belong to more than one platform, which is why Linqia doesn’t require our influencers to exclusively participate in our programs.
Promote consciously
Promoting sponsored content is a major part of any influencer program, but it’s important to do it in a way that inspires, not annoys, your readers.
“My best advice is take your content where your audience is,” says Melody, “if your audience is more on Twitter than Facebook, focus on Twitter.”
Personalize the content to fit each network’s format – hashtags are great for Twitter or Instagram, but annoying to avid Facebookers. Also, it’s a good idea to shape your sponsored posts in a way that’s similar to popular content on your blog. For example, if your most visited pages are tutorials, create your sponsored post as tutorial as well.
Melody also stays on top of current events as a tactic to keep the audience engaged and interested. “I like to include relevant catchy phrases and tie them back to the program” she says. “Timely photos and phrases lead my audience to check out more of what I’m sharing.”
Take advantage of social tools
Don’t let a busy day get in the way of sharing your content! Melody suggests using automated tools to post during optimal times of the day and week.
“I identify my best traffic times for each platform and have content going out at those times to maximize exposure,” says Wright. “No one has time to constantly sit at a computer!”
If you’re not sure when to schedule your posts, look at your social media insights pages to get an idea of when your audience is the most active and engaging. This will also free up time to create more original content. Linqia strongly recommends a 1:1 ratio for original and sponsored content to maintain an authentic feel.
It takes more than a single post to monetize a blog, but following these five tips will get you on the right track! If you’re interested in taking your blog to the next level, sign up to be an influencer today or check out why influencers love working with Linqia.
For more of Being Melody, read her Influencer Spotlight.
