So, you weighed the options and you took the plunge and bought an ad on a blog or two. Okay. Now what?
While it would be wonderful if you could just buy an ad and sit back and wait for the blogger you sponsored to work their social media magic and just wave a horde of new followers your way, that is not exactly the way that it works.
Buying your ad was the first step, but not the last or the only step in ensuring that your blog is now going to be actively promoted. No, I am not suggesting that you micro-manage the blogger you are now financially sponsoring. But there are a few things that you as a sponsor should be doing...
- Communicate with your sponsor. Do not expect them to have bloggy ESP. If there is a particular post or a giveaway on your blog that you would like for them to promote for you, then do drop them an email with a link to the actual post. Any good sponsored blogger will be sure to get out a social media shout-out or two about it that same day. Also if/when your sponsored blogger emails you, reply back. Even if it is just a simple "no, thank you".
- Take advantage of featured spots, guest posts, or giveaways if your particular blog ad comes with these perks. Yes, these all usually require a little extra effort on your part, but it can be well worth it to have yourself and your blog showcased to a whole new readership. (A-hem... a whole new readership can mean brand new followers for you. ;) ) I have gained new followers every time I have done a guest post or a giveaway on a different blog. I am not saying it has been 10-20 new followers every time, but at least 3-5.
- If your sponsored blogger sends you a form, fill it out. Some bloggers will send you a questionnaire in the form of a Google Doc. Try to get these completed and sent back to the blogger you are sponsoring as soon as you can. The sooner they know your social media links, whether you want to do a guest post or not, and what your blog or shop goals may be for the month, the sooner they can start working for you.
- Be a timely and responsible blog sponsor. Meaning if you commit to doing a guest post on a certain day, get your post to your sponsored blog in plenty of time. If you participate in a group giveaway, get in touch with the giveaway winner as soon as possible and send out your prize in a timely fashion. Not 3 weeks after the giveaway has ended or worse yet, never. (<<Oh, yes. That does happen, folks.) There is nothing worse than your sponsored blogger having to email you a giveaway reminder.
- Follow the blog you are sponsoring on all their social media outlets. That is THE best way to ensure that they are in fact promoting you. I find that just looking at your referring sites & URLs on Blogger is not an accurate depiction of which blog is actually sending potential new followers your way. In order for your sponsored blog's URL to show up there, they would have to be blogging out a direct link to your site or to a blog post on your site. (Psssttt... I find this happens most from link up parties I join on blogs.) And Facebook and Twitter just give you a generic referral number, but does not specifically break it down by what account or user is sending you traffic from those sites. If you follow their Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, then you can see exactly what and how often they are promoting your blog or shop.
- And most important? BLOG! Yes, you heard me. Get some new blog posts out there! If you only post 2-3 blog posts for the entire 30 days then you don't give your sponsored blogger much to promote, do you? ;)
What are your tips for what a good blog sponsor should be doing after the Paypal funds have been exchanged?
*This is the second post in a 3 post series I am doing on becoming a blog sponsor. Be looking for post #3 next Wednesday. I do not claim to be an expert on all things blog sponsorship, so I encourage you all to also share your insights and tips in the Comments section below.