Online, you can be successful no matter what your age – and we have the proof! Check out this infographic showing some of the top young entrepreneurs who’ve become millionaires through their work online:
Editor’s note: These online entrepreneurs make me motivated to work harder. I love a good success story! But your role models don’t have to be millionaires. Whose online success story motivates you? Leave a comment with the name of the online entrepreneur who inspires you!
Brilliant Bloggers is a bi-weekly series here at NMX where we look at the best posts from around the web all surrounding a specific topic. Every other week, we’ll feature a brilliant blogger, along with a huge list of more resources where you can learn about the topic. You can see more Brilliant Blogger posts or learn how to submit your link for an upcoming edition here.
When people talk about content marketing, they typically mean blogging, podcasting, video, ebook publication, and social curation. However, content marketing is really any kind of free informational or entertaining resource you give away in order to highlight your own skills and products/services. It’s selling without really selling.
One often-overlooked form of content marketing is the free webinar. Webinars can be recorded or live, but in both cases, they are an online presentation or class given at a specific time, usually in order to capture leads (i.e. people have to give you their email address and other information to attend).
This week’s Brilliant Bloggers is all about the art of hosting a great webinar. They can be a lot of work if you do them well, but the reward is great, since they can attract thousands of attendees without you having to plan a live event. And lest you think webinars are only for business, you can also consider hosting one if your a blogger or podcaster, as they can drive traffic and help you become known as an expert in your field. You can even sell access to a webinar as a way of monetizing.
7 Tips for Producing Winning Webinars by Aliza Sherman
Some webinars I attend are great, but I identify with this post by Aliza Sherman because most of the webinars I’ve attended are pretty horrible. What separates the good from the bad?
Aliza outlines several tips in this post that can help you ensure your posts are beneficial, not a chore for people to attend. If your webinars are good, they can solidify you as an expert, promote your products/services, and help you capture leads, so definitely check out her tips before you host your next webinar! (And don’t forget to follow Aliza on Twitter at @alizasherman.)
Did I miss your post or a post by someone you know about hosting webinars? Unintentional! Help me out by leaving a comment below with the link.
I’d love to include a link to your post in our next installment– and if you head to the Brilliant Bloggers Schedule, you can see even more upcoming posts. We all have something to learn from one another, so please don’t be shy! Head to the schedule today to learn how to submit your post so I won’t miss it.
I have for the past couple of months been posting here about an ongoing MBA class on content marketing called Marketing with Social Media. The class is being taught by me, Bill Belew, at a university in San Jose (Yes, I know the way).
I don’t know of anybody who has been able to gather a lot (73 MBA students) of bloggers and put them in a controlled setting (controlled inasmuch as they do what I tell them to, which they don’t always) in an academic environment. The students pass or fail based on whether they do the work or not. It is an international university and many of the students’ immigration status is dependent on their final grade. In other words, they are motivated. If they fail, they literally get deported.
The class is a marketing class. The end result of the blogging, aka content marketing, aka inbound marketing is not just traffic. It’s conversions. Business. Clients. Paying customers or in some cases, leads are just enough.
The Single Most Important Step to Getting Good Conversion From Your VisitorsNot the only step mind you. But the most important step.
By chance–I didn’t plan it this way–this past week I attended a Conversion Conference in San Francisco, right up the street from me. We get a lot of that sort of thing in my area. Search Engine Marketing, adTech and and and …
The Conversion Conference was all about, well, converting visitors to web sites to paying customers. Analyzing the people who show up at your site and how they got there from whence they came (I am reading a book that currently has me in the middle ages) and turning them into buyers. Finding the leak in the funnel. That sort of thing.
Before I tell you the first let me tell you the second most important thing I took away from the Conversion Conference: Most, can you say nearly all, marketers, market analysts don’t know what they are talking about.
One of the keynote speakers quite aggressively asked all the attendees by show of hands to answer three marketing questions. Is A better than B, type questions. Out of the 200+ people in the room, only 6, count ’em, got all three questions right. And, I was one of the 6! So, make that 5!
These are the, um, marketing analyst experts! And they barely get 1 or 2 out of 3 options right. Whoa!
But that’s not the most important.
First you have to get people to your web site in the first place. And get the right people to your web site. Driving traffic is no good. That equals pushing people to a site whether they might want to go there or not.
A good site pulls people in. In Europe it is called pull marketing versus push marketing. And pull wins hands down.
Social networking is push marketing.
Sites built on solid search engine optimization principles is pull marketing. Search engine optimized is content that is appealing to real people (first) and search engines (second) but definitely to both.
My students have been working the SEO principles of good titling, images, captions and descriptions, plus linking and so on.
After 8 weeks, three of them are already over 10,000 page views! And the top 10 students are averaging over 5,000 page views … that have been generated by pull marketing. Guess who gets to stay in the US!
So, tell me … which converts better for you, people you asked to come to your site, people who have been sent to your site by hook or by crook or people who have come looking and found that you have what they want?
I know the answer. Do you?
Find your blogging pace
One question I get asked a LOT is, “How much do I need to write at my blog?”
The question needs clarification.
How much does a blogger need to write to do what? Have an online platform? Get readers? Make money? Make money from traffic alone? Make money by offering display or affiliate ads? Make money by offering a service? Make money by some combination of all of these?
The answer to how much a blogger should write at their blog will differ depending on why the blogger writes? Depending on what the blogger’s end game is.
That being said, there is one thing that is absolutely foundational to making money with your blog. You have to have traffic = eyeballs of people specifically interested in the content at your site.
The traffic can be minimal, as in only those people you tell to go there. The traffic can com via referral, as in those people who are told to go there by hook or by crook. Think through social networking. The traffic can come via search = somebody dropped something in a search engine box and found you. The traffic can come through some combination of these methods.
In my Marketing with Social Media MBA course, I am teaching my students how to get people to find them via search engines.
Believing that is cheaper = a better of use time spent, for people to find me than it is for me to find them, I am teaching my students that they need to write in such a way that they become visible to the search engines without compromising the quality of their content.
The question again, “How much does a blogger need to write at their blog to get found by real people via search engines?”
Here are the weekly guidelines I am giving my students:
1. Each student must write a minimum of 600-750 words daily. Those words can be in the form of 3 posts that are 200-250 words long, one post that is 600-750 words long or a 200-250 word post and a 400-500 word post.
2. Each student must guest blog (400+ words) at my site on a subject that I give them. And in this guest blog, they link back to their own sites. After guest blogging at my site, as one of their daily posts they must write about their experience of guest blogging at my site and link to it.
3. Each student must guest blog at a classmate’s site. They are free to pursue which site they will guest post at and the rules are the same. They will write 400+ words about something relevant to their classmate’s site, providing a link back to their own web site. And as one of their daily posts they must write about their experience of guest posting with a link.
4. Finally, each student is required to write an anchor/pillar/evergreen post at their home site. (400+ words) that they would be particularly happy with AND they are asked to share it with their social network IF they have one.
There are 73 students enrolled in the class. More than 50 of them are very active. A few of them are wasting their money and my time. I can’t help that latter group.
So, how is this working?
I will delve into the analytics as the weeks progress. But for now, the interested reader can see how the top 10 sites are performing after weeks one, two and three.
That question one more time: “How much do I need to write at my blog?”
My answer: “How much traffic do you want at your blog? Keep writing until that many people show up.”
The above guidelines will get you started.
Recently, NMX launched a brand new online membership site, NMX University. Premium members have access to our 2013 Virtual Ticket through NMX University, but there is also a basic membership area of the site where people can access a handful of virtual sessions, our library of ebooks, and other content for free. Yours truly is managing the content on NMX University (with tons of help from the rest of the NMX staff).
I’ve run and been involved in membership communities in the past, and what I’ve found time and time again is that success hinges on how well you provide service to your members. Content might still be “king” online, but even the best content will fail in a membership community without great customer service.
Members of a community are all VIPs, whether they pay for premium content or not. People are quick to complain and because everyone is used to getting so much free stuff online, there’s a real sense of entitlement online. I don’t say this to complain. Frankly, I think people should feel entitled. Whether we pay for something or not, we are all entitled to be treated with respect. So if you aren’t treating all of your members like VIPs, you’re missing the boat.
Now, this certainly doesn’t mean that you should bend to every demand. What it does mean is that you should promptly respond to questions, apologize for problems, and take everyone’s suggestions into account. When you give someone the option of being a member of your site – even a free member – you have an obligation to provide customer service. If you don’t want to service non-paying members, don’t have a free membership option.
At NMX University, whether you are a free member or a paid member, I will respond to your emails within 24 hours. If I don’t, that’s an indication that I haven’t received it. Everyone is a VIP in my book.
It used to be that a prompt reply was six to eight weeks. You had to write to a company and wait for a response (if you got one at all), and often your problem was a moot point by the time a solution was proposed.
Today, people have a new definition of “prompt.” That’s why I do my very best to respond to all customer service emails for NMX University within 24 hours. Even that much time – yes, less than one day – can seem like a long time when it comes to online content, so I try to respond even faster when at all possible.
People have short attention spans, so you have to help them quickly if you want to maintain a good relationship. A response within the hour will get a much more positive reaction than the same response three days later. Not only that, but people aren’t afraid to complain in a very public way (on Twitter, Facebook, etc.) if they think they are being ignored.
“User-friendly” means something different to everyone. What might seem really clear to you might not be clear at all to your members. That’s why I’m constantly tweaking the usability of NMX University (without making drastic changes that confuse people) so members have the best user experience possible.
People will have suggestions for you. Some people will not be nice about these suggestions. I’ve been called stupid, ignorant, and a host of others things from people who don’t like the design and usability of membership sites I’ve helped create. Don’t take it personally. I actually keep a folder of the emails I get from people praising sites so I can read them whenever I get the occasionally mean or critical email. You can’t please everyone, but what is important is that you set aside your ego and take others’ suggestions into consideration. Already, NMX University is better thanks to user suggestions and we’re only getting started.
Lastly, I’ll leave you with a piece of advice my mother gave me when I was young: You’ll catch more flies with honey than you will with vinegar. That is, even when people are being complete jerks, the situation will turn out better if you’re as nice as possible instead of mean or aggressive.
Even when your membership community is loved by 99.99% of people, there will always be that .01% who send angry emails for some reason or another. It’s easy to be angry right back, but remember: You set the tone for your company. If your reply is apologetic and sincere, you’ll be surprised at just how many people change their tune and even apologize for overreacting in their previous email. Because I listen to people, address concerns politely, respond quickly, and apologize for their frustration – even when they are in the wrong – over half the time, I get much happier email responses the next time around, even if the problem hasn’t been solved yet.
I hope you’ll take some time to check out NMX University and put my customer service to the test. For those of you out there also running membership communities, what are some of your best tips for success? Leave a comment below!
A free gift from NMX Speaker Andy Hayes: Create a Website that Converts
Here at NMX, planning for our January event is in full swing…but that doesn’t mean we don’t have time for the holidays! That’s why, every day from now through December 25, we’re featuring a brand new giveaway for the entire NMX community!
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One of the challenges we all face is actually converting our audience to sales. It doesn’t matter if you’re a business owner, a blogger, a podcaster, or a video producer; if your website is your livelihood, you need to care about conversion. This guide from NMX speaker Andy Hayes and his co-author Kelly Erickson addresses this challenge. Here’s just a taste of what you’ll learn in this book:
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In addition, the last chapter in this book covers the most common mistakes people make on their website, so you definitely want to read this book from cover to cover!
Like all of our 12 Days of Giveaways gifts, Andy’s ebook is completely free for members of our brand new community, NMX University. (Don’t worry – membership there is also free!) You can download the free PDF for a limited time!
Find out more about this ebook and register for NMXU here, of if you are already a member, simply log in to NMXU here to download your free copy today!
A free gift from NMX Speaker Leslie Samuel: List Building Simplified Video Course
Here at NMX, planning for our January event is in full swing…but that doesn’t mean we don’t have time for the holidays! That’s why, every day from now until December 25, we’re featuring a brand new giveaway for the entire NMX community!
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We’re so excited to have Leslie Samuel speaking at NMX this year! Today, we have a special treat for you – Leslie’s video course called List Building Simplified. Here’s what you’ll get with this course:
So if you’re ready to build your list the right way, this is an offer you don’t want to pass up! |
Like all of our 12 Days of Giveaways gifts, Leslie’s video course is completely free for members of our brand new community, NMX University. (Don’t worry – membership there is also free!) Don’t hesitate – head over there today to watch the free course!
Find out more about this video course and register for NMXU here, of if you are already a member, simply log in to NMXU here to download your free copy today!
For our most recent Facebook chat, we were pleased to have Phil Hollows stop by as our special guest. Phil is known by many for his work at FeedBlitz and is the author of List Building for Bloggers. In January, Phil will be presenting at NMX; his session is “The 7 Deadly Sins of List Building.”
If you missed our weekly Facebook chat, you can see the transcript below to see what Phil has to say about email lists.
New Media Expo Phil – Let’s start with something basic. Why does a blogger or podcaster, or anyone who creates content online need to build a list?Patti Hosking What is the most effective outreach when marketing to PR firms, Phil?Phil Hollows Hi! Several reasons: Because email is the most engaging subscription mechanism available because it is the most engagingPhil Hollows So compare an email update to a tweet or an FB post – it’s much richer and more appealing for readers, which yields much greater engagementPhil Hollows Seth Godin says that his email readership engages 10x more than any other mechanismNew Media Expo All – don’t forget to refresh your page to see responses and new questions.Phil Hollows Secondly, you own and control your list. That’s a big deal when Facebook and other social sites change the rules, hide updates etc.New Media Expo How does one even begin building a list?Phil Hollows So if the rules change or your Google rank tanks, your email readership will be there for you and your businessPhil Hollows @Patti I don’t know – not my area of expertiseCarol McElroy McHolland Hi Phil,Carol McElroy McHolland Generally speaking – what are the minimum stats/pieces of info you would ask for in an opt-in email form? Which would you require and which would be optional?Phil Hollows To build a list you can sign up with a service like mine, FeedBlitz, or you can run with plugins or other solutions for your site. You should always have an opt-in form, even for a brand new site – you never know who’s going to stop by.Megan Enloe Can’t agree more with the concept of controlling your own list as apposed to one controlled by Facebook or Twitter. If you are going to put all or most of your eggs in one basket, at least make it one you have control over.Phil Hollows Think of capturing email subscribers as the flip side to SEO. Your SEO gets the visitors *to* your site; email subscriptions enable you to *capture* them once they arrive. Else your SEO efforts may be largely wasted.Megan Enloe How often should an email go out to your list? How much is too much or too little?Phil Hollows Hi Carol – Email address required, obviously. After that as little as possible. The more friction you add to the process the less likely a visitor will convert. For example, if you want to run a birthday promotion, don’t ask for date of birth – too personal,might put people off! Ask for birth *month* and send a mailimg to everyone that month with their birthday surprise.Rick Calvert that’s a good tip Phil!Phil Hollows Hi Megan: On frequncy your list will tell you when you’re getting it wrong! Too often, people will leave. Too little, people will leave. It varies for some people how much they want to hear from you, so you can offer multiple versions of your list – say a daily and a weekly digest – and offer people the choice when they sign upPhil Hollows That way they self-select into the time frame they’re comfortable hearing from you – greater engagement, fewer unsubscribes.New Media Expo What is a good open rate, Phil Hollows?Mary Jo Manzanares I like the birthday example Phil. I’m of that age where I’m offended when it asks for a year.Dave Cynkin Phil, for content creators who don’t have a handle on content marketing yet, what advice would you give them for inviting visitors to join their list and providing something of value?Phil Hollows It varies – but if you’ve a good engaged list then getting in the 20% range is very possible. For larger or more stale lists the open rate might be less – and I’ve seen large lists with 2% open rates. While that sounds bad – and it kinda is! – there’s still enough activity from that group to generate revenueMegan Enloe Unless you’re my doctor you don’t get to ask for my birthday.Phil Hollows What you really need to do, whatever the open rate, is work on improving it. Looking for patterns.Phil Hollows So short, SEO-optimized keyworkd rich post titles translate really well into email subejct linesPhil Hollows Get the important information at the start of the subject linePhil Hollows Because on a smart phone in portrait mode you only have about 35 characters and the blink of an eye to persuade the owner to open the email. Make it count!Phil Hollows Dave – Start writing great content. Have an email subscription service on your site so that you get the visitors engaged and wanting to hear from you. Secondly, having a relevant incentive to join a list is a fabulous idea – there’s a trade in return for them giving you their email address.Phil Hollows It helps establish trust and value from the very beginning.New Media Expo Phil Hollows – Please share some common mistakes people make when building their lists and also in marketing to those on their lists.Phil Hollows Great questions! Let’s see on common mistakes…Phil Hollows 1) Hiding the email subscription option below the fold or behind an ambiguous icon.Phil Hollows 2) Not offering incentives to enncourage new signupsPhil Hollows 3) Being too aggressive with popups! <– Pet PeevePhil Hollows 4) Writing rambly subject lines and / or redundantly repeating site name / company in the subject linePhil Hollows In terms of errors when building a list:New Media Expo Phil Hollows Please also share some ways we can entice our communities to join our list.Phil Hollows 1) Not mailing enough or mailing too oftenCarol McElroy McHolland Hi Phil – thanks. Yes, the conventional wisdom now says as little as possible and I tend to agree. But, that doesn’t provide for much “mining”. Would you mine information with later surveys, questions, etc.?Phil Hollows 2) all “20% off, free shipping” and not providing content / valueBob Dunn oh, I hate popups … but question back on the open rates, do open rates show just the first time that it’s opened, or is it counted if they go back and open again, as I usually get around 60%Phil Hollows 3) Not creating targeted lists for different content categoriesPhil Hollows 4) Going too far off topic!Phil Hollows To join a list make sure your form(s) are clearly visible, above the foldPhil Hollows Use social proof (x,000 readers) to help visitors realize that they are not alone and that they can trust youPhil Hollows Incentives!Phil Hollows Use email signup links in your email signature, business cards and printed / offline collateral.Phil Hollows Bob: Popups work – they’re really effective – but they must be used respectfully. You need to be on the 2nd or 3rd page view of the session before you pop one up, because at that point you know the visitor’s interest has been piqued and they’re exploring more. The popups that slam into your face before one has even had teh chance to tread the first page show that the site owner doesn’t respect me as a prospect. I always bug out.New Media Expo What type of newsletter or email content receives the best response , Phil Hollows?Phil Hollows Carol: For mining you can always ask for more information when you move the visitor down the funnel. So for a blog subscription you migth just want email address. For an e-book or white paper, perhaps name and (for corporates) job title, company etc.Bob Dunn Yeah, I grumble because they are effective, like you, it’s a pet peevePhil Hollows There’s no point asking for information if it isn’t relevant to the mission or if you’re never going to use it.Phil Hollows So the deeper in you get, the viasitor is that much more engaged and willing to part with more information to get the more valuable item you’re offering.Phil Hollows Bob – don’t get me startedCarol McElroy McHolland I realize all industries are different, but can you give an example or two of fresh/creative/useful execution you’ve seen recently?Phil Hollows OK so what gets the best response? The content that’s the best fit for your audience! But if you’re writing a post with an action in mind, make sure that you have a clear, explicit call to action.Bob Dunn did you see the other part of my comment questioning open rates? … should have known better to start if off with a comment on popupsPhil Hollows And I’m a big believer in making calls to action imperative and to the point. get the download. Buy now. Don’t be like me and be all English and say “please”!Be the boot camp drill sergeant and TELL THEM what to do
New Media Expo Phil Hollows Which brings us to – how can you tell what gets the best response?Phil Hollows LOL Bob! That 20% rate should be a unique rate – at least per day. But if you see a recipient engaging multiple times with a piece, that’s a great “tell” that you’ve written something they’re very interested in.Carol McElroy McHolland LOL! Thanks!Allison Boyer ” I’m a big believer in making calls to action imperative and to the point” – love that advice, I think a lot of marketing via email (and otherwise) is just too wordy. Any advice for self-editing? I’m bad at that personally and my communications always seem to go on too long.Phil Hollows how to tell? Metrics, metrics, metrics. Track what subject lines delivered the most opens. Figure out why. Test!Phil Hollows Vary calls to action – what happens to your click through rates?Phil Hollows And if your actions end up being say a purchase or a download, what you want to maximize is the # of people taking that action at the end of the day. So you might want to consider testing more focused subject lines or calls to action if that yields better desired activity. I mean, everyone loves kittens, right? So lots of opens for cute kitten emails. Pretty poor impact if what you want to do is sell a book on oil drilling.Phil Hollows hey AllisonCarol McElroy McHolland Hey Allison – I read this book once a year – it’s a classic and I promise it will help.New Media Expo When it comes to the short attention span, Phil Hollows, should email communication be brief or do people generally read through?Phil Hollows The other great thing you can do is build lists based on activity. So if soneone’s downlaoded an ebook, say, or already bought from your store, they’re MUCH mroe likely to repeat that activity. So target them with mailings – they will be much more effective than a general broadcast.Phil Hollows Also use autoresponders to nuture people based on what they have done.Phil Hollows So for example, if you download the FeedBurner Migration Guide from FeedBlitz, our goal is to have you start a trial. So the autoresponder you get when you download the Guide helps explain all the good things you can do at FeedBlitz thaht you can’t at Feedburner. Then, when a trial starts, we start you off on a training course sequence to help you be sucessful. We’re trying to nurture the prospect into being a trial user, and then a trial user into becoming a successful customer.Phil Hollows Tough to keep up! Great questionsPhil Hollows OK so mostly brevity is the soul of wit, so if you can get your point across quickly, so much the better. Seth Godin’s emails are ytpically very brief – learn!Phil Hollows OTOH Copyblogger’s are typically longer because the agenda is much more educational. If you’re posting about food, perhaps it’s better to have the whole recipe in the email. So longer is better.Phil Hollows I know that I’ve sent several thousand-word emails out because I was writing my book (ListBuildingForBloggers.com) one hapter – one blog post! – at a time. But the interesting thing was, those who did read all the words were really engaged with them anbd bought the book. So it really does vary! See what works best for your audienceCarol McElroy McHolland Excellent example re: FeedBlitz/FeedBurner. “and then a trial user into becoming a SUCCESSFUL customer.”.New Media Expo Is it bad form to send out more than one email per day – if they all tout something different?Phil Hollows Carol – I tend not to subscribe to much beyond what I need for the mission here at FeedBlitz. I think one example of what NOT to do (although it was creative!) was American Apparel’s crossing the taste line with their Hurricane Sandy email promotion.Phil Hollows Sending more than one email ad day is OK *if* that’s what the subscriber list expects and *if* it’s relevantPhil Hollows For example, many of feedBlitz’s customers happen to be coupon / deal bloggers. Coupons expire and their subscribers want the best deals *now* – so these guys often have “express” mailings that mail out multiple times a day – it’s what works for their audience.Phil Hollows For some people though a daly mailing starts to feel like they are being “bombarded” – and that’s a quick way to low engagement, unsubscribes and spam complaints. You don’t want that. That’s why we recommend creating a weekly digest variant of yout blog subscription, where you can mail out a summary of the week’s activities autoamtically.Phil Hollows Five minutes! Have I missed anyone?!Phil Hollows (LOL – Facebook is asking me to slow down – hope they don’t block me from this chat!)New Media Expo Phil Hollows Thanks so much for coming by and sharing your lunch hour with us. I hope you won’t be a stranger to the NMX community and we’ll see you in January!Phil Hollows Join me at my talk in January at NMX “The Seven Deadly Sins of List Building”Dan R Morris Oh man. . . I get here right at the end.Phil Hollows You can also follow me on Twitter as @phollows email me phil@feedblitz.comCarol McElroy McHolland Thanks, Phil. Cheers!Phil Hollows THANK YOU so much for inviting me here to chat – it was a pleasure and a privilegeMegan Enloe Thanks for stopping by Phil.Megan Enloe No problem Dan. Phil Hollows will be at the Expo in January. You can ask your questions in person:-)New Media Expo Also, I’m sure Phil Hollows won’t mind coming back to respond to any late questions. We’re always open on the Facebook page!Allison Boyer Thank you, Phil! See you in January!
Brilliant Bloggers is a bi-weekly series here at NMX where we look at the best posts from around the web all surrounding a specific topic. Every other week, we’ll feature a brilliant blogger, along with a huge list of more resources where you can learn about the topic. You can see more Brilliant Blogger posts or learn how to submit your link for an upcoming edition here.
One of the most important sections in NMX’s free ebook, The Ultimate Guide to Blog and Podcast Sponsorship, talks about the importance of having a media kit if you want to work with sponsors in any way. A media kit is a document (or set of documents) that talks about your blog, including audience demographics, traffic and other statistics, ad prices, testimonials, and contact information. It can also be handy for press if you’re ever interviewed. With a media kit, it’s much easier to be taken seriously as a member of the media. Today’s list of links gives you all the advice you need to make a media kit for your own blog!
Making a Blogger Media Kit by Katy Widrick
If you want a great overview of how to create a simple media kit for your blog, look no farther than this post from Katy Widrick. She goes over the elements you need in your media kit (and resume) so you can be prepared for any potential sponsor who comes a-knocking. You don’t need a long drawn-out document to give sponsors and press the information they need about your blog. Katy’s own media kit is here (pdf), and she followed up this post with a subsequent post highlighting some awesome media kits sent in by readers, so check that one out as well. You can connect with Katy on Twitter at @kwidrick.
Did I miss your post or a post by someone you know about media kits? Unintentional! Help me out by leaving a comment below with the link.
Usually, I just have the list of Brilliant Bloggers for you, but this week as a special bonus, I’ve also included some examples of media kits I’ve found from bloggers across various niches. As you can see, media kits vary greatly depending on the style of your blog, and you can offer them as PDFs, publish them as a page on your blog, or even upload them to slideshare.
I’d love to include a link to your post in our next installment– and if you head to the Brilliant Bloggers Schedule, you can see even more upcoming posts. We all have something to learn from one another, so please don’t be shy! Head to the schedule today to learn how to submit your post so I won’t miss it.
If you’re a blogger or podcaster wondering how in the world others in your field have caught the attention of major sponsors, you aren’t alone. Working with brands can take your content monetization to the next level, but sponsors don’t just materialize out of thin air and offer you cash for your blog or podcast – at least, not most of the time.
I get email questions about sponsorships at least once or twice a week: How do I find brands who want to sponsor me? Should I work with such-and-such a brand or will it make my fans angry? What can I do to make more money working with sponsors?
I’m not going to sugar-coat things; working with brands can sometimes be a challenge. Many brands don’t fully understanding blogging and podcasting, so you often have to be an educator as much as a salesperson. Our ebook is all about helping you learn these skills so you can be successful when working with brands.
Let me give you a little sneak preview of the ebook with a quick FAQ about sponsorship!
Brands want to advertise their products and build their communities, and they can do so by working with influential bloggers and podcasters. This can be in the form of advertising, or you can work more in an ambassador type of relationship. Sponsorship is not right for every blogger or podcaster, but there are so many different options for sponsorship deals that you should definitely consider the options before writing it off completely.
Depending on your type of content and niche, you can offer anything from banner ads on your sidebar to travel sponsorship deals where a company will pay to send you to a trade show. Other common sponsorship options include spoken ads (like commercials) , sponsored posts, sponsored social media messages, and wallpaper sponsorship.
The best case scenario is a sponsor emailing you with interest in working out a deal. This will never happen, however, if you’re unattractive to sponsors. You have to have quality content, decent traffic numbers, and a media kit. It can also help to create an advertising page and use language on your blog or in your show notes that will help sponsors find you when they’re searching for opportunities.
You might be sitting around and waiting by the phone for a pretty long time. Instead, take matters into your own hands! Our ebook goes over five great techniques you can test out in order to find sponsorship deals instead of just waiting for them to happen. Be proactive!
In every niche, there are certain brands you want to avoid. It’s important to evaluate every potential sponsor, rather than just saying yes every time money is offered. There are several types of sponsorship deals you should avoid at all costs – and when you say no, you can definitely do so in a way that doesn’t burn any bridges, so you can potentially work with the sponsor in the future on a different deal.
That’s a huge question, and the answer depends on several factors, including your traffic, the type of sponsorship, and your niche. Our free ebook covers this question in much more detail, along with some step-by-step options for setting prices.
Are you offering package deals? Have you reminded brands already working with you about their sponsorship options? Have you created a relationship that will last long-term? Yes, you can make hundreds or even thousands of dollars per month with a single sponsor if you’re smart about it!
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