I read a blog post recently that said something along the lines of “the number one best way to grow your blog is to sponsor other blogs.”
I’ve mulled over that statement in my mind for a while, thinking about how that statement is true – to an extent. But I can’t get it out of my head that the statement is slightly misleading, and even dangerous.
Let’s talk about what no one ever wants to talk about, shall we?
Sponsoring blogs is expensive!
Sponsoring blogs takes money, and sponsoring blogs with a large and loyal following takes a lot of money. In most cases bloggers do not guarantee the results of their sponsorship opportunities. So while it’s true that we are making an investment, we are also taking a financial risk.
What’s the risk?
The risk is that the financial investment may not generate the growth that you want to see. It may or may not result in higher pageviews. It may or may not result in more followers. It may or may not result in more interaction.
Please understand my heart when I say this: most people don’t take financial risks in their hobbies. Unless their hobby is playing the lottery.
What I mean is this: if you are blogging as a hobby rather than as a business, please, please, consider how much money you’re able to spend on your hobby. And don’t go over your set budget.
And whether you’re blogging for pleasure, or blogging for business, keep in mind that most financial advisors warn against taking financial risks before you’ve taken the time to save, pay off debt, and practice the discipline of giving.
This is why I think the statement above is dangerous. New bloggers, as well as experienced bloggers will see a statement like that and they’ll put lock, stock, and barrel into advertising on their favorite blog. Thirty days later they may or may not see any reward for their time, effort, and financial investment.
Reasons why sponsoring blogs is not the best way to grow your blog.
- The majority of blog advertising spots are primarily dedicated to side-bar buttons.
Sidebar ads are great, they really are. But there are a few things that we tend to forget when it comes to deciding when and where to sponsor. First, sidebar ads are sort of like billboards. And when a blog has a lot of sidebar ads, it’s sort of like driving down the interstate and passing billboard after billboard after billboard. After a while we just ignore them, don’t we? Yeah, that’s how sidebar ads work too.Second, let’s think for a minute about how many readers actually view our blogs. Not all that many, when you think about it. I have right at 1,000 subscribers via RSS and e-mail. If each of them was clicking over to my blog every day, I’d have a minimum of 30K pageviews every month.But I don’t have that many pageviews every month. Why is that? One of the reasons is because many of my readers never click on my website. They read my posts in their e-mail, or in their reader of choice, never clicking over to my blog. And that’s okay – I’m just glad they’re reading!
If all I offered my sponsors was sidebar advertising, it would be a waste of their money to advertise with me. Because a very large percentage of my followers, though very loyal, don’t click through to ARD.
- We get sucked into “cheap” advertising, and forget our target audience.
We see it all the time on twitter and facebook. Bloggers announcing flash sales for large percentages off of their advertising packages. And just like that, we’ve forked over a few dollars and our button is up on their blog.The thought never enters our minds that advertising on that blog does not, in any tangible or meaningful way, grow our blog.Why? Because so often our brand and their brand aren’t really all that compatible. Not to say that the two brands are opposed to each other. Not at all. But we must keep in mind that their readers are following them for a reason – and often times it’s a very specific reason. So if our blogs don’t fit the overall idea behind their blog, it doesn’t matter how cheap their advertising packages are – it’s money that could be wisely spent somewhere else.
- Some bloggers put all of their hopes and dreams for growth into advertising.
Advertising is important. But it is not the be all and end all to building a growing, thriving online life.
Growing a blog is like building a house.
Let’s look at growing a blog sort of like building a house.
First we must start with building plans. In blogging, our blogs’ purpose and vision serve as the building plans for our blog. Without a purpose and/or vision, our blogs cannot continue to grow.
Next we must lay a foundation. There are a few exceptions, but in general, the foundation of our blogs must be our writing.
After the foundation is laid it’s time to start putting up the framework. The frameworks of our blogs are the relationships that we build. Building relationships happens by responding to e-mails and comments, engaging on social media, and connecting with other bloggers on their blogs.
Finally, it’s time to put on the finishing touches. The things like doors and windows, and a roof. That’s about where blog advertising comes in. It’s not an after-thought, and in fact it is very important to the success of the blog. But it’s not the first thing on the to-do list.
What about you? What do you think is the best way to grow a successful blog? I’d love for you to share and engage each other. Some of you have already shared your thoughts on facebook – thank you!
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Blogging Q & A with Oh My! Tookies
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ARD: Is your family supportive of your blog/business? How do you use your blog/business to bless your family and strengthen the family relationship?
OM!T: we are a small family business! we feed off each others gifts and we work as a team with one goal in mind…keeping everything handmade…and the reason we started our blog is so that we could have an outlet to focus on the gifts of ‘others’ who bless our business!
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i really love the way you wrote this and think it’s soo true!!! it’s def most important to focus on your own content/voice and build relationships before advertising!!
Sandy a la Mode! Thank you for taking time to comment and offer encouragement! And you know I love sponsoring you, right?
I really love this article! I was actually going through different blogs today to sponsor and weighing the pros and cons because like you said, it’s a financial risk! It’s easy to get sucked into seeing numbers and not really caring much about the quality of our blog. I would rather have 40 commited readers rather than 100 followers who don’t care to read my blog at all.
Thank you for a great refresher!
Hi Kayla! I agree with you 100%! I’d way rather have followers/subscribers who want to keep coming back again and again because they like what they see, rather than a whole bunch of “just for the numbers” followers. Thanks so much for taking time to share your thoughts!
After a year of blogging I have to say this is so true. That is why I switched from food blogging with ads to Christian living and photog without ads. I want to write from my heart and go from there. So far my stats are way down yet I believe that the people who read really want to as opposed to the many other reasons they may have popped there. Great job.
I agree with you Sarah. There’s just something really wonderful about having followers who really want to be here. It’s a blessing, and encouragement, and though not the only reason to keep on writing, it definitely is one of the reasons!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us!
This is really helpful. I haven’t taken the plunge and done any sponsorships yet because my blog is a hobby, not a business and I’m really trying to focus on content and meeting other bloggers before focusing on the numbers. It’s really hard not to get caught up in the numbers, but like you said, it’s more important that readers enjoy your content than how many followers/page views you get. Thanks for continuing to help keep things in perspective.
Laura you are SO wise to have made that decision! I hope you’re blessed for making such a great decision.
I agree with you about not getting caught up in the numbers – it is really hard to keep them in balance.
As a marketer, I 100% agree with you and appreciate your post. I’ve been blogging for a little less than a year, and I’ve had all of these thoughts run across my brain. Great, insightful post
Oh well hey. Since you’re a marketer – this means a LOT to me that you agree. Because, let’s just say that marketing isn’t my strong suit.
Thanks for the positive feedback!
This is a fantastic post and I fully believe content will lead the way for all of our blogs. Even if we sponsor a huge blog with tons of followers, who cares if our pageviews go up for a few days if those readers don’t stick around after our sponsorship is over? I’d much rather work hard to write quality posts that resonate with readers and work on building lasting connections. (It seems to be working, too. Each month my stats rise. Slowly but steadily)
I also think with Twitter people can fall into a trap of engaging with certain big blogs or social media mavens with the hope of a RT just to bring in more followers or attention for themselves. If I RT or mention something another person posted, it’s because I firmly support and believe in what they have to say, not because I have ulterior motives for my own status.
Hi Jill!
You and I think a lot alike on this. I agree about the twitter connections. It’s hard though because I also tweet with face-to-face (a.k.a. in real life) friends, so it may seem that I’m “playing favorites” – or whatever. Anyway, I think you’re right about being intentional to engage a whole variety of people!
Great insight! I agree that sponsoring blogs can definitely help, but it’s not the #1 way to grow your blog. I have found that forming relationships with other bloggers is really the best way to do it!
-Sharon
The Tiny Heart
JCrew Giveaway!
Hi Sharon! Yep, building and growing relationships is SO important! Unfortunately, it’s also one of the hardest things to do – at least for me. But the time and effort it takes is totally worth it!
as you can imagine after my post yesterday, i love love love this. and i am just now starting to really embrace this…my writing being the base of my blog…that and of course i love pictures…and editing and graphics always help in certain cases, but i just started saying to myself, my writing is IT. this is the main purpose behind my blog…and i will continue to do so and there will be those that just like my blog because of my writing.. and that is ideally what i want.. as much as numbers are nice. I wanted engaged readers otherwise i am writing for nothing.. well and for myself, which honestly is helpful to get all my thoughts out too =) its encouraging to a girl who has the money to do little advertising that other people believe in writing as the basis of a blog =)
You know I loved your post yesterday! Girl you are all about writing (as am I!) I hope and pray God blesses our efforts!
I certainly don’t click on sidebar ads/blogs. If I do, it’s very infrequent. I completely agree that if we decide to advertise, it should be on sites that have similar readers/interests. And also thank you for reminding everyone that we should consider our overall finances when deciding how much money to invest in our blog, just like any other investment we might make — house, car, stocks, etc.
Lisa, I’m right there with you on sidebar buttons. I rarely click through – and only if it’s a brand new blog I’ve never heard of before.
Thanks for your feedback and encouragement!
You hit the nail on the head with this one. In my two plus years of blogging I’ve gone through the sponsor, sponsor, sponsor stage and sure now and again I’d see a little something from it. But more often than not there was no real benefit from the money I’d forked over. Needless to say I’m not sponsoring a single blog right now and that’s ok. I don’t feel like I’m at a place where that’s my next option yet.
Thank you Kassi! I’m not at all opposed to sponsoring blogs. I’ve had some great experiences, and some not so great experiences. BUT – it is NOT the best way to grow a blog! There has to be something there for people to read!
Thanks so much for this post. My blog is approaching its one year birthday. I’m just now starting to consider advertising and don’t know where to start. I wonder if you would have advice on that. I’m wondering if you have found specific types of advertising more successful than others? Thanks for your blog and expertise!
Hi Martha! I’ve found that the best places to advertise are on blogs that offer quite a bit of social media sharing. Tweets, pinning, sharing on Facebook. Those get me the most traffic, even more than guest posts and giveaways.
Thanks for asking – I hope that helps!
Thank you for this post and for your overall support to bloggers. Sponsoring IS expensive. I would love to sponsor other blogs, but the truth of the matter is that I don’t have the money to do it. When you live on a limited one-income household, every penny counts. And, my bloggy is my hobby…it’s my outlet…it’s where I feel like I can talk with friends and let it all out. I want to grow and have the numbers…but not because I want a billion GFC followers, but I want my numbers to reflect my readership. I want to connect. I want to write.
{oops…this is turning into a blog post – ha!}
Thank you for your support and your continued advice. I am proud to be a part of your community.
xoxo
Haha! I love you, Nay! thank you for your honesty and encouragement.
I’m so glad we got to work together on your blog design, and I hope 2013 is a successful year for you in blogging!
I agree 100%! Growing your blog is a lot like building a house (or even renovating it). In a room makeover, you need to pull up carpet, prime the walls before you paint, etc. and that’s the foundation for the room makeover.
Yes yes yes! Thanks for the feedback, Beth. And just like building a house it takes A LOT of hard, intentional work. But it’s SO worth it!
Great post!! Very well said. I totally agree. There’s only one good sized blogger that I’ve sponsored that brought tons of traffic/followers to my sight and that was by giving lots of shout-outs on twitter and facebook about my blog during that month. I wish a lot more bloggers could do that than just merely putting your button on their sidebar. She actually took the time to read my posts and tweet/facebook about it.
xo
Jennifer I agree! The best sponsoring experiences I’ve had were the ones that included multiple social media mentions. It’s definitely a powerful tool.
I love this! Thanks for saying the things that most don’t. How true it is!
Thanks Kristen! I’d been thinking on it for a while – it was just time to get it on out there!
Great post. I blog as a hobby, and this makes me feel a little better about not being able to pay for sponsorships at this point. You remind me that I need to grow my blog organically, by building relationships, then think about paid sponsorships.
Hi Lauren! I’m glad to be a bit of an encouragement about this! Organic growth takes a lot of work, but I think it’s worth it. I don’t *know* but I’m pretty sure that organically growing your blog will result in a loyal + lasting community.
Best of luck!
This is really good and helpful. I have worked hard at growing my blog and haven’t spent a dime on advertising. There was a time I doubted that choice, but now I am glad. I think there will be a time and place for me to consider advertising, but that time is not now.
Good advice!
~FringeGirl
Way to go! You’re growing organically, from the ground up. It’s a lot of work, isn’t it? But I bet it is very, very fulfilling.
I agree with this. That what you write and provide as content on your blog is ultimately what will bring quality readers back. Those that find something valuable in what you provide/write/share. Engage those people. Befriend them. Encourage them through their own blogs if they have them. Support them via social media. Show the love and share the love. That is the greatest form of advertisement!
The act of sponsoring someone needs to be looked upon like a window opening. You have a small chance to find a few more people in a “market” you may not already be amongst. And if you gain something from it, great. If not, keep providing those that do support you, time and time again, with meaningful content. If you build it and the foundation is strong, they will come.
Very well said, Taylor. And I actually thought about putting that in the blog post: “If you build it, they will come” ! It’s so true, having a good foundation of quality content is the best thing we can do for our blogs.
I love this and you said it in such a nice way without being harsh/critical. I think that is rare. I think, a lot of times, when bloggers talk about growing a blog, and give “blog tips,” the post often has a condescending tone like they know it all and are somewhat looking down on the “little” bloggers. Not the case at all here! This seemed from the heart and totally legit. Love it.
Thank you Amy! I really didn’t want to be condescending at all – so I appreciate your feedback about that!
Just want to say that I love this. =)
Agree 100%.
Love you lady!
I have been blogging since April and have been mostly pleased with my blog growth. I decided to dedicate this month to doing a few sponsorships, co-hosting and guest posting. I have seen quite a bit of growth this month. I have also realized the importance of being careful about which blogs I sponsor and link with. Also, I have noticed that even though my number of followers has increased, there has not been a huge increase in my page views.
Hi Sybil! You offered a little nugget of wisdom that I think we all need to consider: it is so important to invest our money and our time wisely when it comes to deciding who and when to sponsor. I’m so glad you shared this! Thank you for your insight!
O good, then I think maybe there is hope for me… I’m working on writing and interacting and finding my voice. Then, hopefully, I’ll know what I want to do as far as the advertising. Thanks for the good words.
Thanks Anne. It sounds like you’re off to a great start. Focusing on great content is the best thing you can do for you blog. At least I think it is!
Love this, girl. Super insightful!
Thanks Ashley!
Love this, thanks so much for sharing. I have definitely been learning this over the last several months. I love connecting with other bloggers and readers and I really think that is what has helped to grow my blog. It has been a slow process but I like that the readership seems authentic and real and not just follow, go and never come back. I really like the idea of the social media advertising that bloggers have been offering – pinterest and twitter have definitely been a huge boost for my blog and to driving traffic. Have a great week!!
Hey Megan! Do you have tips for connecting? Besides the obvious social media interaction and commenting on blogs? This is a big challenge for me! Any tips on pinterest would be great too! I’m a bit of a newbie at pinterest.
I really appreciate this. I am a newlywed graduate student living primarily on financial aid. I feel called to blog, and have seen God use my writing to encourage or challenge others. I have contemplated sponsoring. I won a sponsorship in a giveaway once, and my followers grew substantially. However, I just don’t feel ready to start putting money into this yet. I don’t have the time to blog as consistently as I’d like, and money is tight around here. I love what you’re saying about just improving your blog and cultivating relationships. Those are steps even a broke college kid can follow! ‘I’ve also been trying to do some blog swaps with a few bloggers who have content that’s similar to mine.
That sounds like a great plan, Chelsea! How is the ad swapping working for you? Do you think it’s worth your time investment, or not? I sure hope so – it’s such a great way to get your name out there!
Great post. It is hard though…when you want to just get there. I just started about 6 mths or so ago. I have recently thought about advertising. But I’m holding the reigns right now. Just trying to get out there and meet people. It is a slow, tough process. Thanks for sharing:)
Hi Candace! It is a slow, tough processes. But organically growing your blog will most likely yield much more loyal + longtime readers. At least in my (very little experience). I hope that’s true for you! Thanks for your positive feedback, and I totally understand about wanting to just get there.
Thanks for this post, Amanda! Another great one!
Thank you Stacy! I appreciate your encouragement!
Where were you a year ago? I’ve been struggling with sponsorships for a year. I love this post! I can’t tell you how much $$ I’ve spend on sponsorships. It’s embarrassing! Thank you for your honesty. This is a great tip for new bloggers and a wonderful one for old timers like me!
Xoxoxoxoxoxo
Megs! Thank you for your positive feedback! I’ve spent too much on sponsoring too, and while it sometimes pays off – it doesn’t always. And that is super frustrating.
Love you!
Fantastic and timely advice for me, Amanda! I haven’t spent any money to promote my blog so far, and in a way, I feel that any promotion it has received has been a gift from the Lord, and HIM promoting it in ways that He has chosen too. It’s really been quite exciting…
Really appreciate your input!
Hi Tehila! You know, since you haven’t spent any money on advertising…I guess you know what your readers enjoy reading? Have you figured out what they consider “shareable”? That would be a really interesting experiment…my wheels are turning!
Hi Amanda… I receive a good number of comments and shares, but to be honest, I haven’t been looking for an algorithm of the most “sharable” posts. I believe my most popular post has been 5 Ways to be a Low Maintenance Friend (bit.ly/W5p3RC), which led me to assume that list posts to do with a topic that is applicable to anyone are well read and appreciated.
However, I do not write my posts in order to get the most readers, or go “viral.” I write from my heart as I believe the Lord is leading me, and He takes it from there. I find that blogging can be quite worldly, and I just have to keep myself from doing things in the same way as the worldly system of blogging does it. It’s not all necessarily ‘bad’, it’s just that alot of it is not always beneficial…
Blessings to you as you abide in Him, my sweet sister!
Interesting post. Really interesting since I found you on a sidebar sponsorship! And I’m glad I did. I look forward to reading more of your blog. Oh, and I connected on Facebook.
Hi Jillian! I was very fortunate to have one a huge giveaway with something like 18 ad spots in it. Crazy, right? It came just in time since I was relaunching and rebranding in January! I love when things work out like that!
Thanks for stopping by, and for connecting on facebook!
I LOVED this post. I also wanted to say that while paying for sponsorship should be assessed wisely, I think swapping banners is a great way to build a blog. I have swapped with some other bloggers and small etsy businesses that I believe in the last few months. It has really helped me build relationships with them and also evaluate what sort of blogs jive with my style
I think I like this 
Hi Julie!
Swapping is a fantastic way to get your name out there – I’m so glad you brought that up! I think when doing swaps it’s important to consider how valuable our time is. At least it came to a point that I had to evaluate that.
Thanks for sharing your insight!
I think the house analogy is the perfect way to describe the right way to grow your blog. A strong foundation, or content, is the best way to begin.
Thank you Emily! It’s something I’ve been trying to focus on. I guess we’ll see if it works!
A year now that I’ve been writing articles but not putting them up. They are printed in a local community newspaper but the original idea was to have a blog. I was just avoiding it because I felt it was too complicated, didn’t want to loose control over my creation. But having read today the series about Blogger Vs. WP and this blog, I’m finally starting to see that it is not so impossible to share my views with the rest of this web world. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be looking into the best ways to share my work.
Thanks alot
Great, Isabel! I’m glad to be a help – and I hope you’ve taken the next step in getting your content out there!
Really insightful post. It’s so easy to get caught up in the “numbers game” aspect of blogging. But it should really be about the writing and offering up something useful to the readers, or even just expressing your opinion about a topic. Once you start connecting with people online via blogging or social media outlets, odds are you’re going to gain a readership, it just takes time.
Hi Jennifer! Thanks for your encouragement! I agree with you – taking the time to genuiniely connect will most often result in true and lasting growth. That’s the perspective that I have to keep in mind as I seek to grow as a blogger, as a writer, and as a person.
Thanks for stopping by!
This is so helpful! But all of your post are! Thanks! I just sponsored my first blog but I do not expect but so much to come out of it. I think realistic expectations is key to success.
xx
josie
Amanda…I’m so glad I’ve stumbled across your blog! I just started blogging in January and have really been contemplating on the issue of growth…numbers or quality! I love this post and it gave me a lot to think about. I will be browsing a lot on your site to learn and grow. Thanks for being a blessing and sharing this post. ~Be blessed~