Sometime in your blogging journey you will probably start to get emails from companies asking you to post about them on your blog. Some ask that you do this for free, while others offer a good compensation. The problem arises when you are messaged by a company that you are not familiar with. What’s a blogger to do? *disclaimer* this post contains affiliate links.
I never want to sell my readers out by posting about any old site for a payout, but I also don’t want to turn down a job opportunity merely because I hadn’t yet heard of the site! Clearly they need some help spreading the word about their company, and maybe I can help with that!
I recently discovered a site that is very useful when you are considering doing a sponsored post for a company that has emailed you, or even one that you’ve found on a site like sverve!
It’s a common practise to see if the site is a BBB (Better Business Bureau) accredited site, but many times webpage won’t have made it to the BBB just yet. If they are not on that site I look them up on Site Jabber.com This is a website that allows people to come rate the service they have received from various merchants online. Since it’s not run by the company itself, you are more likely to see real reviews, and not have all the negative ones deleted!
I got an email from a company offering me a nice sum of money to post about their site. The product they sell was relavent to my readers, and typically something I would enjoy writing about. When I looked them up on Site Jabber, I found a couple glowing positive reviews (potientially made by employees) and then dozens of negative comments. People saying they received damaged products with no refund offered, others complaining that the site misrepresented the quality of product being sold and numerous other horror stories. Needless to say, I politely declined the opportunity.
Had I not looked into their site a bit more, I could have lead my readers into a really poor experience by posting about the online store and suggesting they purchase from there. I want my readers to trust my opinions on things! Now, I won’t turn down a post for one negative review (every one gets negative reviews from time to time) but if the majority of the comments are legitimate-sounding complaints, then it’s just not worth it to me.
Build trust with your audience first, it will benefit them, you and even future sponsors!
Have you ever been approached by a brand that you’ve never heard of to do a sponsored post? How did you handle it?
I haven’t had much luck at all on Sverve and similar sites. I have done one sponsered post in the year I have been signed up with them. Where I stand now, if I was approached by an unfamiliar brand, I would surely take ツ Idk where you bloggers get all your sponsered posts and what your secrets are. I am signed up at the very same sights as you are I still can get nothing. I have even been so bold as writing emails to some brands in regards to ask to do sponsered posts and nothing. Idk what I am doing wrong 🙁
If I were you, I would work at making money with affiliates. Did you see today’s post? You could probably make a lot of money on that, just by sharing it with friends. Then, I would work on building up your page views. Once I started to get a lot, my offers started to come in and once they got to know me, they continued to come back again. I now work with the same few people from each company and they are really helpful! Keep on keeping on 🙂 & in the meantime, do affiliate sales, etc…
I’ve had several of these requests and appreciate your great tip Paula! I’ve now bookmarked Site Jabber.
Great advice Paula. I’m just starting to “look into” sponsor posts !
Thank you
Following from http://livinginhismercyandgrace.blogspot.com/
Thanks for the great post. I will definitely check out site jabber. Yes, I’ve been approached by many sites I’ve never heard of before, especially in the home decor/design space. I typically research their site and google their name + reviews. This is where I make most of my decisions on wether to say yay or nay.
Additionally, if their English is not good, this posses a red flag to me, mainly because I’ve been approached more often than not by scammers overseas. Also, I tend to prefer to promote American companies, products and small businesses based on my own personal preference. I will, however, feature other international companies if they are super cool, cute, green or useful…AND they’ve checked out on “reviews” with 4 or more stars.