advertising

Hello everybody! How are you my chums? Did you have a nice Christmas? Today I have a nice relaxed blog post whilst you all browse the Boxing Day sales, with my lovely advertiser, Bas from Let’s See! (If you want to see your blog here, then look at my packages here!) Images from Let’s See

Do you stay up late for the big countdown, or just sleep through it all? I’m usually working. This year I’m playing in the band for the Rocky Horror show, we’re doing a late show on New Year’s Eve and then there’s a party.

What would you wear to a New Year celebration? I think people are dressing up, I’m not sure as what. Theatre people go all out when they dress up, so it should be crazy. Although on the last dress-up occasion, the drummer wore eyeliner and thought that was his costume… I haven’t decided what I’ll wear yet.

Will you be taking any festive pictures, and with what camera? My film camera, it’s a lomography LC-wide.

Where do you like to photograph in the Winter? It’s the middle of summer for me in Cape Town right now, so the beach I suppose. Although, I prefer shooting on the beach in Winter. White sand and grey sky and nobody around, that’s when the fun starts. My favourite film photos happened in the mist on an empty beach in winter. 

What’s your favourite piece of Winter clothing? Jerseys. Big patterned thrifted jerseys, layered on top of each other.

CHECK OUT LET’S SEE HERE 
Follow Bas on TWITTER//INSTAGRAM//BLOGLOVIN’

Before I begin, I apologise for not posting in this Blogging Top Tips, series for a while, I have been quite busy with my blog post schedule, but finally I am out of the ‘draft zone’, YAY! If you didn’t read the last post, make sure you go and do that now… In this post, I am going to cover Advertising on your blog, and setting your prices correctly. I’m not saying that all of this is right, but it can give you some sense of what to do for your blog… cheeky little offer at the end too!

Anything Bas // Miss L J Beauty

What Is Advertising?: Today, I am talking about advertising in the words of ‘blog ads’ or ‘banners’. This is where bloggers or brands pay to put a link/button linking to their site somewhere on your site. Some people like to call it Sponsorship, which is basically the same thing. It’s just like when football teams have brand name on their shirts! Some people like them, some people not so much… I think if it is not too distracting and done in the right way, you’ll get it spot on.

When or Should I Start Offering Advertising?: This is a question which a lot of bloggers ask. In my opinion, it is totally up to you. There is no set amount of followers you should have to offer them, or page views or what ever’s’. I started offering mine when I found out that I was going to be in The Telegraph magazine. I thought it would be a nice bonus and that it would be helpful for bloggers to get more exposure, but that doesn’t mean you should wait until you get featured in something like that. I think most bloggers start doing it when they have around 500+ followers on one social media platform, but that’s just what I have seen. I recommend that you take a look at other blogs and see how many followers/page views they have, it’s sometimes even worth asking politely.

photo credit: Images_of_Money via photopin cc

Is it Worth it? Will I Make Lots of Money?: Again, it really depends who you are. If you have thousands of followers, and you have been in this and that, then it is more likely that people will buy your ad packages. It’s more likely that brands will want to advertise too, but it’s different for everyone. In my experience, I have sold at least 2 ad spaces a month (excluding 1 month when I had no interest), this has given me a little bit more pocket money, and has just been a nice treat to blogging. Sometimes it is worth offering free packages at first, to see if anyone is interested – of course this may be slightly unfair seeing as it is free, but it’s worth trying.

I’m Going Ahead, Now What?: If you decide that it is the right time to start offering advertising, you need to start setting prices, and naming your prices (that’s the fun part). Most bloggers just go with ‘Large, Medium, Small & Mini’, but you can name them what ever. What Do I Include?: Once again, it’s totally up to you. It’s good to have one simple package which involves just a button (this could be your Mini one), then your Small one could be either a slightly bigger button, or you could do weekly shout outs on one of your social media platforms. For your Medium package you could go with, a button, shoutouts and an advertisers post, and so on and so fourth for the Large one. What Do I Let Them Know?: Some people will turn away if you don’t tell them your follower/page view stats. It’s good to let them know why it’s worth advertising on your blog. I don’t let them know my stats, but let them know they can always ask, I just don’t feel right in letting the whole world know how many people read my blog every month 🙂

photo credit: kenteegardin via photopin cc

What Do I Charge?: I’m not going to say what you should charge, because everyone is different. But, I did once read that you could divide your monthly page views (individual/per page) by 1,000. For example, if you get 4,000 page views, you could charge £4 for your biggest ad package. If you get 10,00 charge £10. Simples! Should I Charge The Same for Brands?: It’s your decision. But… I honestly think that you shouldn’t. Brands will generally have more money to spend on things like this, so make sure to clearly state, that prices will be slightly different for them.

How Do People Pay?: There are 2 options. The most popular option, is via PayPal. If someone is interested they will email/fill out the contact form, with what package they want, then you let them know if they can advertise or not, then ask for their account’s email. You then want to send over an Invoice (this makes it easy to state the package name, and put in any discounts), and then just simply wait for them to pay.  The second option is via Passionfruit Ads. This is basically making your life a bit easier. You have to put in a widget into your advertising page which will mean bloggers can basically go to a checkout, the checkout is only in dollars ($). They fill out the information, leave their button image, their blog link etc, and then pay. You can then either accept or decline, and if you accept them, their ad will automatically pop up in your side bar, or where ever the set place is. BUT, a very big BUT (hehe), Passionfruit is NOT free. It will take a % from your sale which is different to PayPal.

photo credit: Images_of_Money via photopin cc

Do I State Where The Money is Going?: In literal terms of ‘your bank account details’, of course NOT! Haha! But, sometimes it’s nice to say what you will do with the money, for example, you might want to donate some charity, or if you are a teenager, you might be saving up for a new laptop for school and blogging. You don’t have to, but some people like knowing that they aren’t wasting their money completely.

So that’s it! Of course I couldn’t leave this post without a cheeky plug, could I? 😉 Hehe… If you are interested in advertising on my blog, all my packages are HERE. I’m going to do a little offer for you guys… if you comment on this blog post with ‘Give me 20!’ and you want a space, you will get 20% off in November, (not applicable for teen bloggers too)! I offer 50% off for teen bloggers, all year round though!

You lot seem to be absolutely loving this series of blog posts?! I didn’t think that it would be so popular! Following on from the last post, you guys wanted me to do a post all about ‘how to gain exposure’ for your blog, so here it is, Blogging Top Tips: Gaining Exposure! *long post… sorry*

Social Media: Twitter, Facebook & Instagram
Social Media is one of the best places to gain exposure because literally everyone and their dog has an account on one place or another. Here is my little guide of why to join what!

Why Use Twitter?: Twitter is the place to be as a blogger. Not only can you promote your blog, you can connect with brands and bloggers in your area, bloggers who are the same age, bloggers who blog about the same things, literally anyone.
What Can I Do On Twitter?: You can promote your blog, talk to people and share your views on topics. For bloggers I would recommend using Twitter for self promotion and connecting with people.
What To Remember?: Add the hashtag chats into your schedule. Times are in GMT.

Monday – #fbloggers at 8pm – Fashion.
Tuesday – #fblchat at 8pm – Fashion, Beauty & Lifestyle.
Wednesday – #bbloggers at 8pm – Beauty.
Thursday – #fbloggers at 8pm – Fashion.
Friday – #teenagebloggerchat – Teen Bloggers.
Sunday – #lbloggers at 7pm, and #bbloggers at 8pm – Lifestyle & Beauty.

Why Use Facebook?: Facebook is great for connecting friends, family and friends of friends etc to your blog. Although this seems scary and ’embarrassing’ it’s nice to know what people think if they know you. It’s also nice because it’s a more safe environment in my opinion.
What Can I Do On Facebook?: You can promote your blog, get feedback easily, and get your favourite blogs into your feed! You can also create a Facebook page which you can link up to your BlogLovin’ so your ‘likers’ can get every post you publish, in their feed.
What To Remember?: Join blogging groups. It’s a great way to get exposure for your blogs and also you can find some new friends! The groups I have joined are: FBL Bloggers – The makers of the #fblchat on Twitter – & Fashion Beauty Lifestyle Bloggers (Very similar but different bloggers in each).

Why Use Instagram?: A LOT of people use Instagram on their phones, so imagine taking pictures from your blog posts and reminding people to read them? It’s a good idea. AND you can also connect with brands who have Instagram too!
What Can I Do On Instagram?: Connect with brands, share your new blog posts and find new bloggers to chat with.
What To Remember?: Use hashtags which are relevant. Brands will follow the blogger hashtags so they can find people who would be good to connect with. Plus, you might just get some likes and followers!

Advertise On Other Blogs: This is a great way to gain exposure! Not only will you connect with your favourite blogs you will also get their followers interested in another blog! A lot of bloggers either do button swaps, or they have very low prices. Obviously paying £25 to advertise on a blog for a month might be a bit too much, look at smaller blogs who have quite a few followers of which are interested in the same things as you. This is also good because brands who connect with the blogs you advertise on, may just want to connect with you as well. It’s also super easy! Pretty much 99.9% of bloggers will allow payment through PayPal, so it’s simples. *meerkat squeal* You can find my advertising prices here! Cheeky plug, I know 😉

Guest Blog For Other Bloggers: This is a really great way of gaining exposure. Bloggers have lives, which means… if they are going away or are having a little break, then they might need the help of YOU (yes, you) to blog for them! It’s pretty much free advertising. Take the opportunity to show your writing skills to another audience. It’s also a nice way to make your ‘Features’ or ‘Press’ page a little bit more bulky. It shows you can write well for other people, and for what ever type of topic.

 I hope you enjoyed this post! Unfortunately I can’t tell you how to make your views ping up. As I said in the last post, numbers don’t matter! The only thing I would say is to keep blogging. Every day if needs be. It keeps your followers interested and they will keep coming back. It’s taken me over a year to get where I am, and to be honest… I don’t even get a 500 views a day. It takes time and effort so keep going. You’ll ‘get there’ in the end. I promise. 🙂 *cheese on toast*