Blogger Money Talk show

Blogger Money Talk

Summary: Blogger Money Talk is a lively discussion between three blogging and marketing experts about the best ways for blogging entrepreneurs to make a reliable, ongoing income to fund the lifestyle they want. The podcast series focuses on the exploding world of brand partnerships, which encompasses new and creative ways bloggers and brands can profit together. We recommend you listen to the podcasts in order as they are recorded in a logical sequence so you can build on your knowledge and begin to take advantage of our advice in your own blogging business.

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Podcasts:

 Why You Need to Take a Proactive Approach to Profitable Blogging | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 26:39

In podcast episode 108 of Blogger Money Talk, we are going begin to pivot to an interactive model. We are going to start giving you some action steps, and build on them each week. But first, a comment from a reader: I think I'm going to scratch my schedule and listen to your podcasts all day. I definitely have some ideas of where I need to spend some time focusing and developing a more actionable plan. You mentioned investing in a negotiating course? Do you have one that you would recommend? Or do you plan to cover that in the future?  Thank you for that! And YES, we will.  This podcast covers Focus, having a Plan, and being Proactive Vs Reactive in your approach to making money with your blog.  Reactive ways of making money with your blog: Waiting to be contacted by someone with an opportunity (typically how most bloggers work) Working from a point of desperation because you only know a limited number of advertising prospects Do a web search for how to make money online Ask other bloggers for how they make money (be careful of this, it might not be an accurate picture) Getting paid less than market rate No control over when you make money.  Problems with the reactive approach: Inconsistent income Low income from advertising Accepting far less from advertisers than you should Feeling isolated, and taken advantage of Your desire doesn’t match the outcome Result? You’re a Vegetarian Lion. You Need: Focus & A Plan In order to avoid falling into the trap of being reactive you have to get focused, you have to have a plan, and you have to have a reason to follow through until your achieve your goals. You have to have a big enough WHY, a big enough reason to do this, so that when it gets hard, you push through. When we learned this, we didn’t have anyone giving us advice – we had to learn on the fly. You’re not going to have to do that – we’ve paved the way, so that the road is a lot smoother than when we traveled it.  Review We’ve covered, in the last 7 podcasts, an introduction to the lucrative field of brand partnerships. We’ve talked about everything from why your blog has to make money to chief obstacles preventing you from making money with your blog; from the most popular ways bloggers have made money with their blog, to the six different types of brand partners, and the 18+ ways to work with brand partners.  Next, we’re going to get into the mechanics and specifics of the very lucrative opportunities that are available for working with brands.  We’re going to share with you everything that you need to know to be successful – but you have to do your part. You need to ask questions. You need to be involved. And most of all, you need to take action. We’re here for you! Come along for the ride. Here’s what we’re going to be covering in our future podcasts. It’s an A-Z, no-holds-barred, plan for being a successful blogging entrepreneur.  We give you the language to use to negotiate advertising deals.   The reason why advertisers won’t work with you, and how to fix it. The highest paying activity any blogger can do. How to stop a deal from slipping away. How to make up to $1200 per hour with your blog (no, that is not a typo). The biggest mistake bloggers make when working with advertisers. The one sentence I use in every reply to an advertiser (Note: this has doubled my income). How to make sure you always get paid. The one document that every blogger who wants to charge higher advertising fees should have right now. The one thing you should have in your media kit that most bloggers don’t put in. How advertisers decide which bloggers they will work with.

 Podcast 108 Outtakes: The Hand Clap | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 3:30

We have a good time recording our podcasts, there is lots of laughing, and sometimes lots of mistakes. Here are some outtakes from Podcast 108: Why You Need to Take a Proactive Approach to Profitable Blogging. Every time a mistake is made, I clap my hands to mark the spot so it can be easily found in post-production editing. Well, in this episode I was doing a lot of clapping – and there is a lot of editing to be done. Podcast 108 will be LIVE later today, but in the mean time have a listen to the podcast outtakes. We've been discussing making these outtakes a semi-regular part of our podcasts. If you think they are as funny as we do, and would like us to add them, leave a comment. Laughter is good for everyone!

 Part 3: 18+ Opportunities for Bloggers to Generate Income with Brand Partnerships [Podcast 107] | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 34:29

This is the third part of our multi-part episode on 18+ opportunities for bloggers to partner with brands. On the previous episode we discussed opportunities 7-12. Today we start off with #13 . . .    13. Facebook Viral Image and Sponsored Post Campaigns - Facebook has evolved into a highly visual channel. Visual memes and infographics tend to go viral. Bloggers who use viral images effectively and achieve  high engagement  with their fans will be in demand. Pros: Viral campaigns are different than contests in that you’re trying to push out a single post or series of posts. So, it creates a more repeatable opportunity with the brands (there are more opportunities to work with them).  Cons: Not all posts go viral, and sometimes it is hard to predict which will take off.  14. Product Giveaways –You work with an advertiser to give away products on your blog. You may or may not get paid, but there is benefit to your readers, and you are building a relationship with the advertiser – and building a track record for promotions. Pros: Obvious benefit to your readers which creates reader loyalty. And brands value giveaways so it can be the first step in developing a more profitable relationship with the brand. Has the ability to grow your personal audience and influence in your niche. Cons: Can require a lot of work and coordination, yet you often don't get paid 15. Affiliate Programs – We’re not talking about being a typical affiliate. This is about expanding the relationship so you become a  partner with the company.  Pros: if done right, can be a great way to develop a strong relationship with a brand that moves beyond the affiliate relationship. It can be used as a bridge to higher income opportunities with a brand.  Cons: You MUST be a top producer if you are ever going to graduate beyond becoming just an affiliate. Traditional affiliate model is a declining model  because affiliates aren’t able to hold their position in the search engine for buying keywords. So it is best used as a transition opportunity.  16. Content Marketing - focus on writing articles for brands. Guest blogging on their site, and announcing it on your blog platform. Pros: Brands need quality content more than ever, yet they often don't have the internal resources or are not willing to commit staff to developing content. So they are eager to  outsource for quality content.  It’s not just limited to text, but there are also audio, images, video - and the different platforms (social media, slideshows, document sharing, etc.). the need for content will continue to rise.  Cons: You have to be a good writer. Or, produce quality audio/video content.  17. Brand Sponsorships - representing a brand/product. This trend is growing as brand shift advertising dollars from traditional advertising to bloggers and their extended platforms (social media assets, etc.) Pros: Work directly with brands in short term and long term projects. Is a natural next step from doing individual promotions with brands. Can be very lucrative. Once you develop a reputation in your niche, other brands want to work with you – you become in demand. Cons: Can be a slow process to develop.  18. G+ Hangouts – flexible, multi-media channel that gives bloggers the ability to reach large numbers with live events. Can be recorded and put on YouTube. We’re going to see bloggers and brands use G+ hangouts in many different ways in the future. Pros: Hangouts may be replacing traditional webinars. Platform is free! Brands like the multimedia aspect of hangouts, where they can see the host, have a panel, and show slides, videos, or direct people to web pages. Cons: Still relatively new. Requires quality high-speed internet for all participants.  Also requires good webcams. One bad one on the panel and it looks unprofessional. There are new ones coming up all the time. For instance: 19.

 Part 2: 18+ Opportunities for Bloggers to Generate Income with Brand Partnerships [Podcast 106] | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 31:26

This is the second part  of our multi-part episode on 18+ opportunities for bloggers to partner with brands. On the previous episode we discussed opportunities 1-6. Today we start off with #7...    7. Display Ads and Text Links - Traditional forms of advertising. Giving way to native advertising because fewer people are clicking on banner ads and advertising links  Pros: They are not a lot of work. Pretty easy money. Get paid quickly.  Cons: Becoming a commodity and the prices are dropping. 8. Sponsored Events - local or virtual events. Pros: Can offer big paydays. You become the go-to person in your niche for sponsored events. Virtual events is a fast-growing opportunity. Good way to inject excitement and deadlines into campaigns.  Cons: Can be a LOT  of work. Can take away from your core business of blogging. You do have to be a strong negotiator to get paid fairly. 9. Sponsored Tweets - Become a specialist. Leverage platforms like Triberr.  Pros: Easy money. Capitalize on your celebrity. Leverages the work you’ve done to build your tribe.  Cons: Have to be careful that you provide proper disclosure, which is hard to do in a tweet of limited characters.  10. YouTube - YouTube partnership program. Leverage your channel’s authority and subscribers. Pros: Big emerging trend since so many people watch videos. YouTube is the #2 search engine and videos do influence consumers. If you enjoy putting up videos, it can be very lucrative. You have the opportunity to be paid both by Google and by sponsors/brands. Cons: You do have to be prolific in creating and uploading videos. Putting up any video is easy, but creating truly engaging videos that brands want to sponsor is much harder.  11. Pinterest Promotions – leverage your authority with your pin boards. Will see this become more popular with brands once they have a better handle on how to leverage pinterest with bloggers Pros: as with many different brand partnership opportunities, this allows you to be a specialist. Pins have the ability to go viral, which is attractive to brands. Can use pinalerts.com to track. Cons: Some brands do not readily lend themselves to interesting visuals. And because Pinterest is almost purely visual, people often don’t want more information.  Brands are still looking for ways to use it, so it has to be pitched. 12. Facebook Contests - run contests giving away the sponsor’s product(s). Facebook should be a major player in the brand sponsorship model for the foreseeable future. Pros: Facebook contests have become a proven business promotional model. Contests attract a good deal of interest and inspire a higher engagement than many other kinds of facebook posts. They have the ability to go viral. Brands value large and active fan pages. We’ve seen fan page owners receive venture capital and partnership agreements because of their active and loyal fan pages. Cons: Is a lot of work. Facebook has made it more difficult for you to reach all of your fans (and it is a very fluid environment).  Coming up in podcast 107- a group of probably the most exciting and lucrative brand opportunities of all. Join the discussion on Facebook here. Or join us on our Linkedin Group here.  

 18+ Opportunities for Bloggers to Generate Income with Brand Partnerships [Podcast 105] | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 32:27

This is the first of a multi-part episode on 18+ opportunities for bloggers to make money with brand partnerships.   We give the pros and cons of each one, telling you which ones have the most potential now and in the future, which ones are dying, and talk about emerging opportunities,  1.  Sponsored Posts - This is getting a lot of buzz in the mainstream media right now. The new term for this is Native Advertising.  Pros: These are more readily available than other brand sponsorship models. Get paid quickly. Pretty straightforward, and easy to do.  Cons: Requires good negotiation skills.  2.  Product Reviews - The initial way that bloggers are approached by an advertiser (outside of affiliate marketing). Can be another form of Native Advertising. Pros: Benefits your readers, provides a real and lasting service. This is a steady revenue model that will be around for a long time. Cons: They tend to be one-time transactions. Sometimes all you get is the product.  3.  Brand Ambassador - Building long-term relationships with brands. Pros: Builds lasting relationships with brands. Tend to be very lucrative, with annual deals. This is a big growth area for bloggers  Cons: you need an established audience and authority in your niche to be considered. It takes time to negotiate and finalize the deal.  4.  Twitter Parties - Bringing a group of people together to have a conversation about a topic with the brand as the sponsor. Pros: If done right, it's good pay for a specified amount of time. Excellent way to get in the door for building relationships with brands. As long as twitter remains relevant, this is going to be a good way to work with companies. Cons: Can be stressful during the party. Tend to fizzle if you don’t have good giveaways. Takes a lot to coordinate.  5.  Press Trips -  Press Trips usually don’t pay you – but you could find sponsors to include when you discuss things from the press trip. Pros: Free trips to amazing destinations.  Cons: Packed schedule, time away from family and/or work,  6.  Podcasts - making a big comeback because of smartphones. Pros: has the potential of reaching a large audience and attracting many sponsors. You can  make $1,000+ dollars from sponsors for your podcast. The popularity of podcasts is rising because of the explosion of smart phones –People can easily download them onto their devices and listen to them anywhere and anytime it's convenient for them. Cons: Can be challenging to set up right. Have to be proactive when looking for sponsors. Need to make a long-term commitment of producing podcasts on a regular schedule. In the next podcast we will start off with opportunity #5 - display ads and text links. Join the discussion on Facebook here. Or join us on our Linkedin Group here.  

 The 6 Different Types of Brand Partners [Podcast 104] | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 29:33

In this episode we discussed the 6 different types of brand partners bloggers should consider working with. 1. Fortune 500 Companies These are household names recognized by everyone, with major budgets. Why are they working with bloggers? They want to leverage the trust and influence bloggers have earned. When working with bloggers, Fortune 500 companies aren't as focused on increasing sales. Extending their brand awareness is a major goal. The level of the relationship the blogger has with their readers/followers is a major selling point. 2. Small/Medium Sized Companies The Fortune 1000. The Inc. 500/5000. Start-up companies. Small businesses. Local companies looking to develop a national presence. This group is a bit more demanding, but you have the best opportunity to build a long-term relationship with this group. They are very open to working with bloggers. 3. PR Firms Working with PR firms generally involves product reviews and promotional give-aways. These opportunities generally do not pay but if handled right they give bloggers the opportunity to make a key contact and build their resume. 4. SEO & SEM firms Search Engine Optimization is generally the focus. They look to guest post, place sponsored posts, purchase text links, or banners on sites. Building a relationship with them can lead to repeat business. They also pay faster than anyone else. 5. Advertising Agencies Image is also important to them, so they are looking to work with higher end blogs. A clean, modern, blog design is required. Bloggers will be evaluated by: the initial look and feel of their blog, traffic, and the relationship the blogger has with his or her visitors. Engagement and click through metrics are important to agencies. 6. Media Buying Agencies These are the big players in the market. They are generally the largest buyers of media online. Audience and engagement metrics are very important. Ed, Jessie and Leon all stressed the importance of being professional when dealing with any of these 6 brand partners. SEO/SEM firms pay the highest fees...until you prove yourself in the area of brand partnerships. That's where the really big payoff lies. You can download the Transcript of Podcast 104 here. Join the discussion on Facebook here. Or join us on our Linkedin Group here.  

 The Most Popular Ways to Make Money with Your Blog | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 37:47

There are over 103 ways bloggers can make money, but this episode focused on the top 10 revenue sources reported by bloggers (Source: Digital Influence Report by Technorati). Ed, Jessie and Leon discussed the pros and cons of each revenue source. Before talking about the 10 monetization models, the discussion mentioned the 3 criteria we use when choosing a monetization model for our blogs: Sustainability (need to know that the blog has elements in place to last for years to come) Scalability (have to be able to take it from say $500 per month to $5000/$10,000 and more per month without completely overhauling your process) It must fit the theme of the site (regular readers must find it relevant and useful)   Below are the top 10 revenue sources reported by bloggers. Percentages represent the percentage of bloggers using the monetization model: Banner Ads -  61%. Limits your revenue. Overlooks bigger sources of income Text Ads 51%: Adsense and  text-links though ad networks. Bloggers have reported making so little now with Adsense  it is no longer a viable option. Affiliate Programs - 41%. Google favors ecommerce sites for "buying" keywords. Hard to stay at the top of the search engines for quality keywords. Producing brand-sponsored content -  24%. Sponsored posts are fast becoming popular with bloggers.  Not a perfect monetization model, but has a high return for the time investment. Producing brand-sponsored product reviews - 19%. Posting brand content - 19%. Ecommerce - 17%. In order to do any decent volume you will have to partner with Amazon Other  - 10%: Selling a service. If you want to buy yourself a full-time job - this is for you. Collecting Subscription Fees - 7%: Membership sites. The typical life for a member is 3 months.Hard to turn into a sustainable business Gating Content  - 3%. You will miss out on search traffic. Must be a name brand to make this work. A short discussion of brand partnership model ensued.  3 of the top 10 revenue sources on the list  involve some form of brand partnership. In fact, we have identified 18 forms of brand partnership. We believe brand partnership is the future for monetizing your blog. The next podcasts will delve deeper into the world of brand partnership.  Link to the Technorati Digital Influence Report You can download the transcript of podcast 103 here. Join the discussion on Facebook here. Or join us on our Linkedin Group here.  

 Chief Obstacles Preventing Bloggers from Making more Money with their Blogs | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 26:39

This episode examines the obstacles that keep bloggers from making money - and the adjustments in mindset and attitude needed to making a blog a real ongoing business.   Obstacle: Not treating blogging like a business  Overwhelmed by all you have to learn, in order to run their blog as a business Thinking you can find a salesperson who will get advertising business for you for a 15% commission Change needed: If you want to make money, you have to acknowledge that blogging IS a business You have to do more than blog. You need to run a business   Obstacle: Bloggers spend too much time interacting with blogging community in their niche, instead of focusing on the readers (non-bloggers) in their niche Change needed: Realize YOU are not your target market - and neither are your peers Get feedback from readers   Obstacle: Being too picky and too difficult to work with when it comes to partnering with advertisers  Too Rigid on prices Overvaluing your blog Undervaluing your blog Making the same negotiation mistakes over and over again Change needed: Learn to negotiate effectively.  Consult with mentors who know how to negotiate with advertisers   Obstacle: Lone Wolf mentality. Not partnering with other bloggers  Change needed: the most successful bloggers have found a way to work cooperatively as a group You have to work together as a team, which goes against the grain - bloggers are very independent Realize that very few bloggers have a megablog, so you have to work with other bloggers to show large numbers (page views, social media) to advertisers   Obstacle: Lack of focus  Bloggers don't research and commit to a monetization plan They tend to abandon monetization activities before the roots have an opportunity to take hold Change needed: Decide on a monetization strategy that works with your blog   Obstacle: Fail to realize the importance of building your blog's authority  Change needed: Increase your traffic Build your site authority with Google and Open Site Explorer Off-site content marketing   Obstacle: Fail to engage in self/site promotion  Change needed: Realize that without promotion, you will never reach the authority needed to become a sought after blog Write press releases Do community outreach Sign-up for HARO so you can get quoted as an expert in the press   Obstacle: Bloggers don't truly embrace social media Bloggers complain about all the different types of social media that is out there Bloggers dabble in a lot of different forms of social media, without being very effective at any one method Bloggers get discouraged by low engagement Change needed: Pick one - maybe two - social media channels you can be comfortable with, and focus on those   Download the transcript to Podcast 102 here. Join the discussion on Facebook here. Or join us on our Linkedin Group here.  

 Why Your Blog Has To Make Money | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 24:21

This first podcast of the series starts off with an introduction to each of the 3 blogging and marketing experts who will be running the entire series: Ed Forteau Dr. Jessica Voigts Leon Altman The talk itself starts off with Leon in total disbelief. The podcast topic is Why Your Blog Has to Make Money and Leon says, "Duh!"   He can't believe that any bloggers would have any issues with making money. Ed and Jessie, who've mentored hundreds of bloggers, said indeed - they do. Many bloggers start with certain assumptions and misconceptions about blogging and making money from their blog: The belief that making money with your blog compromises journalistic integrity Making money with your blog is seen as compromising the integrity of the blogging industry It's perceived as selling out The talk tackles each of those beliefs, shows why they are misconceptions, and the consequences of sticking to these beliefs.  First, there is the Free Stuff Delusion phase. Bloggers get seduced by all the free stuff they get from companies:  gifts, travel, etc. At some point the light switch goes off and they realize that free stuff doesn't pay the bills. And it really isn't free. It costs time and work. Other family members start to doubt that anything will come of this "Blogging Thing": Start to resent the time the blogger is spending. Because it doesn't make money, they look at it as  a hobby – and one that doesn’t bring in any money.  The talk delves into the reasons why making money with your blog is so important on a number of levels. The fact is until it starts bringing in real money: the blog will continued to be viewed as hobby won’t be seen as a real business resentment will keep growing  will cause a rift in marriages and relationships.  So the blog has to make money not just for real economic reasons...but also to validate the blogger. Prove to family and friends that the blogger is doing something he or she can be proud of...something that has real value (like supporting the family).   Our 3 intrepid experts talk about the trouble with the term "blogger." Why redefinition is the first step in being taken seriously  More steps that are necessary to be taken seriously How to treat your blogging as a real business  The podcast ends with a cliffhanger - essentially a preface to the rest of the podcast series. The podcast series will demonstrate ways bloggers can make serious, consistent income.  An introduction to the most mysterious monetization one of all. The one few really know about yet it holds the potential to bring in the biggest and most sustainable profits... The Brand Partnership business model. You can download the transcript of the Podcast 101 here. Join the discussion on Facebook here. Or join us on our Linkedin Group here.  

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