A few years ago, blogging surged in popularity, all you had to do was write about your topic of interest, place google ad sense ads on your site and wait for your dividends. Bloggers worked with brands and got exposure and some made decent money out of it.
The situation today is not as pinpoint as it was, it is increasingly hard for bloggers to make money off blog sites. It takes more than quality images and product descriptions to stay relevant as almost everyone in that field has adapted to the rules of the game. To survive the relevance of your content has to be taken up a notch higher as people no longer like being sold to. But all is not lost, they still like to buy, to convince them to take any action from your blog, it takes time, for them to believe and follow the advice as posted on your blog.
Trust Factor
Building trust requires that are well informed on your subject and sincere in your opinions. Write articles you are sure of based on your knowledge and experience. The building trust with your readers is selling your authenticity. The way to keep convincing them is to keep the conversation going on social media. Don’t just talk about your posts, share other industry related topics to trigger conversations with your blog’s persona. Once you obtain your readers trust, anything goes…
The Content-Platform Mix
One big difference between regular social media influencers and bloggers is that the latter can create content better through artful story telling. As I have mentioned before, consumers no longer want a hard sell, people like to be lured involuntarily through a systematic form of being completely unaware of a product to being interested in the purchase. Good bloggers have a potent mix of search traffic, blog subscribers and social media followers and engagement. When you add up the high numbers from different platforms, consistent content and the time spent cultivating a relationship with their readers, arguably, they have a higher impact and ability to influence potential customers for specific brands.
Amplifying Influence
Once they have built their personal brands and have a loyal army of readers, strategy and scaling the growth is important. This is the point most bloggers have consistently failed to do. Media buying is placing ads on different platforms to make sure your content is seen at all costs by your target audience. To establish yourself as not just another blogger but an industry communicator, growing your numbers an influence through media buying is highly recommended. You can do follow ads on twitter and like ads on Facebook. With a proper budget for this, you can increase your social media numbers which may translate to more traffic on your site and more prospects for partnering with brands as your own personal brand keeps growing.
Branded Content
Professional bloggers have the ability to trigger a ‘certain thought process’ about a brand with interactive storytelling and can play a crucial part of a brand’s marketing campaign. Established personal brands are able to pull in well-paying brands to be part of their content marketing campaigns because their reputation dominates their niche. They prospect well and craft proposals for brands which are easily picked up because of the perceived value they can add. Before your blog partners with a brand, it’s a common practice to demonstrate your expertise (usually for no pay) to try and lure other prospective brands in. The trick is not to give them too much that they are satisfied with your free work. Do a post about a certain brand that is being talked about online, share their posts on social media, track your links and have your facts and figures ready so that you can prove to a brand that you are capable of increasing their awareness by delivering relevant numbers and results to them.
When you write a blog post with purpose, it shines through in your writing. your readers will know it. You are able to meet your readers on a personal level and brands on a professional level.
For tips on how blogging can make you some money check out The Business Of Blogging: The Rise Of The Online Influencer
Featured image via www.startablog123.com.
