The Business of Blogging

The Business of Blogging

Presented by Alexandra Williams, MA and Kymberly Williams-Evans, MA

Funandfit.org [email protected] @AlexandraFunFit @KymberlyFunFit

Wine Bloggers Conference 2014

mailto:[email protected]

Session Etiquette and Support

●Please turn off phone ringers●Feel free to take photos●Post, instagram, tweet away!●Use hashtag #WBC14●Follow us; we’ll follow back●Subscribe to our site FunandFit.org as trade for our slides

Funandfit.org [email protected] +Alexandra @KymberlyFunFit


Kymberly Williams-Evans, MA

Kymberly has taught fitness and writing on 4 continents in 4 languages for 3 decades. Her presentation experience spans land, sea, and airwaves.

From serving as grammar expert on a live tv show to teaching English at University of California Santa Barbara, Kymberly has put her Master's Degree in English to good use publishing numerous articles, co-writing Fun and Fit: Healthy Aging for Boom Chicka Boomers, and serving as inaugural editor for IDEA Fitness Edge.

Her writing and presentation skills also propelled her to teach Better Business Writing seminars and co-host the a radio show with her twin sister, Alexandra.

Funandfit.org [email protected]@KymberlyFunFit #fitbloggin

What Are Your Business Goals?


● Looking to make a living or to generate income/ compensation?

● Is your blog a virtual calling card or direct income generator?

● Define your niche and market. Be ok to say “no, not me.” ● Your brand must be clear. What makes you special and

unique?


Ways to Generate Income Via Your Blog, Website, or Social Media 1

●Ads - display, text, via broker, direct●Sponsored Posts, Images, Videos●Product and Service Reviews●Product Sales - recipes, gear, cookbooks, aprons●Client Sign-ups/ Subscriptions/ Memberships●Affiliate Marketing



Ways to Generate Income Via Your Blog, Website, SoMe 2

●Manage Social Media for other entities●Turn Your Blog Into a Book●Book Compensated Speaking Engagements●Serve as a Brand Ambassador●Create content for others (byline/ ghostwriting)●Host twitter parties



Ways to Generate Online Income 3

●Host webinars/ teleseminars●Sell airtime - radio, video●Host giveaways - at events, not just online



FunandFit.orgActive Aging Advice for Boom Chicka Boomers



Funds for Fun and Fit


● Online “experts” for AARP Care4YouToo Challenge ● Sponsored Radio Show Hosts● Trade show “Celebs” and On-site Consultants● Twitter party hosts● Spokestwins/ Speakers● Content Providers - with and without byline● Sponsored Post Bloggers and NON-Bloggers● Product and Service Reviews (independent and via

FitFluential


Active Aging for Boom Chicka Boomers Voice America.com Radio Show


● Catapulted into the Top Ten out of 71 shows on the Health and Fitness Channel after just 10 of the 13 pilot episodes

● Procured full and half sponsors for pilot series - profitable from first episode

● Looking now to partner with sponsors for year contract

● VoiceAmerica.com Health and Fitness Channel


Be Professional - This is a Business

Have 4 things ready to show PR or brand reps:

* Rates (banner ads, sponsored posts or tweets, ambassadorships, Twitter parties, guest posts, recipe creation)* Media kit - no more than two pages, with stats updated monthly* Guidelines (for bloggers) - What are the rules if a brand wants to post on your site?* About Me page - What makes you unique & qualified? Is your contact info easy to find? What about your social media accounts?



Do’s for Professionals


Be honest, ethical, and upfront

Refer when necessary - Cooperate, not compete

Stay true to you and your needs - You can say no

Ask for what you want - They cannot read your mind

Clarify and Define - What you think and what they think should match

Negotiate - Even if a company doesn’t have a budget, they may have goods, service or an experience you want


Working with Brand Partners


1. Help them make money and you can make money

2. They are experts on their product or service

3. You need to become an expert on them too, as well as being an expert on your audience

4. Know your value and worth in the social media sphere, no matter what your numbers are

5. Relationships, relationships, relationships!!!


There’s More to Wine than Wine

Sponsored work doesn’t have to come just from winemakers.

Who are your readers? Do they do anything besides drink wine?

Full Lifestyle: What products, services, activities might they enjoy that complement wine? (i.e., restaurants, yoga studios, snacks)

Wine-Specific: If your blog is 100% wine-related, what goes with wine? Narrower, yet still possible



Content: Your Blog or Theirs


Your Voice: If you do a sponsored post on your site, spelling/ grammar are not as important, especially if the brand approaches you (they will likely already know your work)

Their Voice: If you provide content for a brand’s site, whether you have a byline or not, your writing skills need to be excellent, as you are being paid to be the voice of that brand.

Both Voices:If they wish to repost a piece you’ve already published on your own site (Google dings aside), you will need to clean up the writing while keeping your voice.


Livelihood Example: Lee Hersh FitFoodieFinds.com

Example: Lee Hersh FitFoodieFinds.com

● Advertising: My premium ad spots are filled by Kitchen Daily; Below-the-fold ads are Adsense and Gourmet Ads

● Sponsored Posts (mostly recipes): start at $500 and have gone as high as $1,000.

● Recipe Creation for brands: Rates vary depending on scope of work, but start at $300

● Freelance Social Media/Writing: Paid hourly, rates vary from $20 - $50 per hour

I've only been working for myself full time for about 8 months, but I am projecting around $70,000 in 2014.● $20,000 from freelance social media/writing● ~$12,000 from ad revenue or more...CPM and fill rates change all the

time● $10,000 brand sponsorship● $10,000 Recipe Creation for brands● ~$15,000 sponsored recipe posts

Livelihood Example: Maggie UnzuetaIn Mama Maggie’s Kitchen

Example Maggie Unzuetainmamamaggieskitchen.com

● Sponsored posts - circulated across all my social channels. Disclosure that this is paid content is mandatory.

● Advertisers - pay anywhere from $25 - $250 each month. I also use Google Adsense and other ad companies.

● Affiliates - I receive a percentage of what is sold from my blog.● Ghost writing - I write (no byline) for a wine company with several

wine labels. For that reason, I ask for more money than the regular rate.

● Photography - I take pictures of wine bottles.● Recipes - I create recipes, some of which use wine -- posted on my

blog and others ● Cookbooks

Income from blogging: I'm a single mom living on Coronado Island. The income I make from my blog provides a comfortable living.

Livelihood Example: Chelsea Day somedayilllearn.com/

Example: Chelsea Day Someday I’ll Learn

● Write sponsored posts on the blog and social media● Conribute to other publications● Brand ambassadorships: align myself with a brand to

represent them at conferences,in-person events, and other online spaces such as Twitter parties

● Consult with brands on social strategy and blogger outreach

Annual income from blogging: $70,000

Example: Kerri Olkjer FitViews.com

Welcome to FitViews! My blog is about all things fit. I'm Kerri Olkjer, a wife and SAHM from rural Colorado. In the last 6 years I've gone from a size 22 to a size 8. Along the way I fell in love with fitness, ran a marathon, and found my "I CAN". I love to lift heavy stuff and whip up fabulous paleo recipes. Fitness fashion is my obsession. Oh yes, and it's "Oaker" like smoker. BTW, when it comes to good health, sitting is the new smoking. Up! XOXO, Kerri O.

Livelihood Example: Kerri Olkjer FitViews.com

1. I make most of my income working directly with companies (whether writing for them, videos/images/other content creation, social media promotion, sponsored posts on my blog, conference representation, event promotion/attendance, twitter parties) and affiliate links. I also make a little from blogger networks and Adsense.

2. Having multiple income streams is crucial to doing this full time. Sometimes one will be booming and another seems to dry up for a while.

3. I make what I would call a comfortable full-time wage. Blogging enables me to be a stay at home mom and homeschool my kids. Plus, I have never had to pay daycare, I have no commute, and I don't have extra expenses such as a work wardrobe.

Example: Sara BroersTravelWithSara.com

Example: Sara BroersTravel With Sara

All in an Iowa Mom’s Day

My blogs are my online resume. I never saw it that way until I had to see an attorney to set up an LLC last December. Social Connections, LLC was born.

● I teach social media classes through the local community college● I am a blog content creator for several businesses throughout the country and manage

their social media accounts.● I am the social media instructor at the World Wide College of Auctioneering and manage

all of their social media● I hold local events to promote social media. I pay my speakers and charge for admission to

these events in North Iowa.● I speak at events, such as corporate annual meetings, talking about social media topics and

hold day long sessions on social media throughout the country● I have some paid "opps" on “All In An Iowa Mom's Day" and "Travel With Sara"

Twitter is where I have made 90% of my business connections.I turn down more travel opps than I have time for.

http://socialsaraconnections.com/

http://socialsaraconnections.com/

Livelihood Example: Jessica Gottliebjessicagottlieb.com

WordofMouthWomen (womwomen.com)

● Sponsored posts● sponsored tweets ● Sponsored videos

It used to be just display ads and my videos at momversation

When I get opportunities such as sponsored posts that aren’t a perfect match I share them with other bloggers. So I set up a company called Word of Mouth Women where I place these posts.

Sponsored videos are typically part of a package. I pay my producer thousands. As talent at a former company, when I made sponsored videos the compensation was $5,000 for a post, some tweets and the video.

I am married in a dual income home. I have earned six figures for many years and could support a family outside of Los Angeles.

Income Example: Lori Jo Vestlorijovest.com/blog/

Income Example: Lori Jo Vestdropping40.com

● Full time gig as a social media community manager/copywriter at an ad agency - where I work on five major brands

● Side hustle as a social media consultant, where I train entrepreneurs to use social media to promote their businesses

● Side hustle with my own blog - Where I do a sponsored post now and then

● Side hustle as a blogger for a health and wellness site - Where I make $400 to $500 per month writing 2 - 3 blog posts

● Book Author - www.whosyourgladys.com Who’s Your Gladys

> Income of over $100k from all sources

There are jobs at ad agencies for bloggers, as big brands get more and more into social and creating their own content. I know several bloggers that have parlayed their own experience into well-paid positions at agencies.

http://www.whosyourgladys.com/

Support Your Partners/Sponsors/Brands

●Follow and Like Brands, Sponsors, Partners●Go to their sites●Learn about their products●Visit their booths●Ask relevant questions●Retweet them; share posts; actually talk with them; take photos



4 Steps to Build Your Brand and Income

Step One: Focus on your readers


Step Three: Focus on your business partners

Step Two: Stay true to your niche and passion

Step Four: Hustle


Calls to Action

1) Subscribe to FunandFit.org: Healthy Living for Boom Chicka Boomers

2) Tweet this session #wbc14 and tag us

3) Mingle with and thank the sponsors here

[email protected] @AlexandraFunFit @KymberlyFunFit

4) Identify one takeaway you will implement today

5) Email us for a copy of our slides once you’ve subscribed


http://[email protected] (805) 403-4338

Contact us @KymberlyFunFit @AlexandraFunFit

The Business of Blogging

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