*This post is sponsored by Get Blogged however all views and opinions are my own.*
Although my blog is my hobby and will always be my creative outlet it’s nice that I am able to make a little bit of extra income through it. I was very clueless at the beginning that this was something I could do with less than 10,000 followers on Instagram and a DA of 14. So I wanted to discuss how I’ve earned money as a small blogger and worked with national brands.
Get Blogged
As a blogger this has been my favourite way to monetise my blog. Get Blogged is platform that connects bloggers with brands. You can use the site to find paid opportunities and they have now introduced a marketplace where brands and business owners who are looking to collaborate with bloggers can post their opportunities. They have opportunities for all DA’s 5+ which I think is brilliant. The higher your DA the higher the pay-out but I don’t think they underpay small bloggers in any way.
At the time of writing this the highest-paid post for someone with a DA of 10+, it is £60. The lowest payment for someone with a DA of 10+ is £25.
As someone who has quite a small DA at 14 I’ve found that this has been the easiest way for me to find paid blogging opportunities. They are prompt to payout and if you are already planning to write a post on an opportunity they are offering it’s a great way to monetise.
Join Facebook Groups
There are a few really good Facebook groups where PR’s will look for bloggers. I’ve found a few opportunities this way, but it also lets you get an idea of what brands are expecting and how high your fee should be.
Sometimes the opportunities are just gifted products, other times it is sponsored posts but you have the choice on whether you want to apply for the opportunity or not.
Facebook groups are usually area appropriate so find one for the country you live in. They also require you to fill out a form before joining so make sure you add all of the relevant information.
Follow local PR companies.
This has been one way I’ve came across a few opportunities. Following a PR company on twitter and having their notifications turned on will let you respond quickly if they post that they are looking for bloggers. It also helps me to build a relationship with the PR and it will hopefully mean that they come to me with opportunities they think fit my brand first before looking for other bloggers on social media.
From this I’ve been invited along to events, reviewed restaurants and coming up soon will be an overnight trip. It’s a great way to branch out with your content.
Hashtags
There are hashtags where opportunities will appear on twitter. These include #bloggerswanted and #bloggersrequired. I would also recommend looking for your own area hashtag to see if there are any local opportunities to me.
Sometimes you need to trawl through people using these hashtags to gain followers or using it for comment threads but there are sometimes hidden opportunities. If you don’t want to look through the hashtags there are accounts that will retweet the opportunities for you such as @BloggerOppsxo. I would recommend again turning the notifications on as sometimes these tweets receive hundreds of replies.
Make sure you read the tweet properly sometimes the brand wants you to email them rather than respond to the tweet.
The Blogger Programme
This is another way to collaborate with brands but I’ve not found it to be too successful as a small blogger. If you have upwards of 5k on Instagram then there will definitely be opportunities for you here.
My other tip would be to check that each opportunity fits with your blog/niche you don’t build a relevant loyal following by taking on any and every opportunity that you can.
And that is how I have gained opportunities and earned money as a small blogger. Have you used any of these networks or do you have any tips? Let me know in the comments!
