5 things to do before making money with a blog

This post is sponsored by Find Your Influence

In my book, using brand to blogger networks is one of the suggestions I give to bloggers who want to earn money or products. It’s a great way to be discovered by your favorite brands and begin creating your community. One of the brand to blogger networks I work with is Find Your Influence.

A lot of bloggers think they’re not big enough to join these networks, but that’s not true! Depending on the campaign, brands look for many different things. Sometimes they want bloggers with bigger numbers and a larger community. Sometimes they want bloggers with smaller and more targeted communities. I say that it’s always worth applying to brand to blogger networks because you never know what they’re looking for!

I’m advocating that everyone apply, but know that there are a few basic things you should have covered before you do. Here are 5 things you should do before making money with a blog.

1. Install share buttons on your blog. I use Shareaholic, and I know a lot of bloggers who like Flare. Truthfully, it doesn’t really matter which you choose–but choose one. Brands want to see that your readers can easily share the message they’re paying you to write. Also, it’s a good way for brands to quickly see how much your content is shared–whether it’s because they’re thinking about approaching you or because they paid for a post on your blog. Blogger/Blogspot users: Here’s a way for you to share.

2. Move your contact info to the top. Your social media buttons and email address should be easily found. As you can see, my social media icons are at the top of my sidebar and there are links to my About and Contact pages right under my picture. Under my Contact page, there is a place for both readers and PR contacts to grab my email address. If a PR contact can’t easily find your information, they’re going to head on to the next blogger on their list.

3. Check your mobile site. Most people read blogs from their mobile device. While you don’t need to invest in a pricey mobile theme, you should make sure that your content is easily visible on mobile. A lot of bloggers use WPtouch to make their site mobile-friendly (also called mobile responsive). Don’t just install something to make your site mobile-friendly–go visit your blog from a mobile device. Blogger/Blogspot users: Here is a list of mobile responsive themes.

4. Write about products that you love, even if you’re not being compensated to mention them. Tell the world how much you love that new diaper bag you just bought. Next year when they come out with their new line, pitch them and ask to review a bag. Don’t forget to send along a link to the review you did for them last year! This also works with competing brands.

Dear large headphone manufacturer,

I’d love to review your new headphones. You can see an example of my tech reviews here: (link from the other headphone review you did last month).

This still works if you’re only wanting to write sponsored posts (for money instead of product). Write a great informational post about something you love–a hotel you stayed at, an event you went to, a product you purchased–and share the link down the line. What’s the difference between a sponsored post and a review? Here’s a great article explaining it.

If you need examples of pitch letters, you can find several of them in the back of my book.

5. Watch your tongue. Brands get the final say about who they’re working with–even when they’re using a brand to blogger network. If a brand representative heads to Twitter and sees you bad-mouthing a company you just worked with or throwing a hashtag fit over poor customer service, you can bet they’ll cross your name off their list of potential candidates. You may not be a famous public figure, but as a blogger you’re definitely a public figure.

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