Five favorite moments of the week, favorite products and favorite links!
Now that I've cut my posting schedule down to three times a week, I have so many fun things I have time for! Whoohoo! This week was a much needed breath of fresh air. So much so that I decided to take it back to the old school Friday Favorites, just so I could share all the greatness.
Hopefully, you're one of those people who like to hear about positive things going on in others' lives. If not, this post is probably bumming you out. In which case, I'd recommend a change of your schedule to get your mind back right! 1) Dessange Paris sent me some PERFECT hair care products. One is a clarifying clay hair mask and the other is an oil balancing shampoo. They must have known I've hit the "oily" stage of pregnancy because my hair is producing oil on overdrive these days! I tried the shampoo and could actually go two days without a wash again. I'm saving the mask for when I get even oilier - after Otto's birth. Anyone else turn into an oil bucket the last few weeks of pregnancy? Just me? Yuck.
2) I grabbed lunch with a friend I haven't seen in months. I literally haven't had a spare second for a lunch date or a play date in over two months. That's just sad! Clearly, I sign I needed to cut back and I'm so glad I did. I missed her baby shower while we were in Cape Cod, and she's expecting a little girl any day now! We went to a Mediterranean buffet because hello: two very pregnant women + Greek food + buffet = duh.
3) I'm wrapping up the #FallForSYBL Instagram Challenge. Participating in a challenge was a great way for me to get a subject to photograph everyday as I work to improve my photography and Instagram aesthetic. While October is wrapping up, the good new is they just announced a November challenge in case you want to do something similar!
4) The weather is fall like for Texas and that means outdoor play dates. Henry looooooves playing at parks, and he's learning how to go up steps entirely on his own and slide down slides. It's so much fun to watch him learn new skills!
5) I found the time to start Otto's monogram for above his crib. Henry has one, and since they'll be sharing the nursery, Otto obvi needs one too. I wasn't sure I'd have time to get this done, but I've made some time! I'm trying to get it to match Henry's... And of course I hand-mixed the paint colors so an exact match is wishful thinking.
Did anyone else have a fun week taking advantage of the fall weather - where ever you might be? Is everyone ready for some trick or treating or Halloween parties this weekend? I can't wait to see all your pics on social media! Now that I'm not forced to be on it promoting, I actually really enjoy surfing the social media interwebs and connecting with you all! And by "connecting", I really mean stalking and liking your content :) Enjoy your weekend as much as I hope you enjoyed these Friday Favorites - moments, products and links!
It's one of the most awesome and scariest things about blogging: Monetization. On the one hand, you start to get paid (and paid well, I might add) to do the thing you love - blog. On the other, you worry about what your readers will think when they start to see regular disclosures saying, "I was paid for this post, but all opinions are my own..." I've monetized this blog. It's now my small business. But there are some things I wish I had known before I took that plunge!
First, you HAVE to disclose your sponsored content and affiliate links. I've seen quite a few bloggers not do this, or do it "creatively." Outside of being illegal, you're being a huge jerk to your readers. They think you genuinely like and are endorsing something but all the while you're just trying to make a buck. I've actually stopped reading blogs that don't properly disclose paid content, because if they can't be honest about that, there's a whole host of things they're not honest about. I don't have time to read that garbage! You need a brief disclosure on the actual page of the post, and a more thorough disclosure (with more details and definitions) that can be easily found somewhere on your blog. Mine is here.
Yes,actual- post-page-disclosures might instantly turn some people off. Yes, some people will avoid your affiliate links, even if they want to purchase the product. That's how it goes. Some people just don't like monetized blogs. Oh well. You can mitigate distaste in readers' mouth by limiting your sponsored content. Some of my old favorite bloggers turned "to the dark side" by posting majority sponsored content. And even the posts that aren't fully paid for by XYZ sponsor are littered with affiliate links at best, and at worst? It's a full out post dedicated to projectile vomiting every affiliate link they can on their readers. I get puked on enough by babies. I don't need "blogger make-a-buck-puke" too.
Second, once you start working with brand-blog connectors (I work with Collective Bias, Linquia, Influence Central, One2One, and Sverve), you get contractual obligations to produce content. That means that no matter how tired you are, you HAVE to blog. You have to edit images. It doesn't matter if you're having a bad day or your child is sick or your got in a car wreck. You also have to use your social media channels to promote your posts. That means getting creative so that the sponsored content fits your style, personality and aesthetic in all your channels! Posting and promoting on time is holding up your end of the bargain; theirs is paying you.
This sponsor required an Instagram syndication, which is the hardest of all channels to cross promote in - unless you're a fashion blogger. Applying the same filter and photo editing techniques help the photo blend with your feed as opposed to stick out as obvious sponsored content!
A photo posted by Paige AnUncomplicatedLifeBlog (@anuncomplicatedlifeblog) on
Speaking of paying, if you work outside of legitimate brand-blog connectors, you have to chase your money down! When I work with the aforementioned folks, I get paid within 30 days by the payment method I have on file, and all my tax information is housed with them too. Easy! But when I work with Joe Schmo who emailed me about "an opportunity", there has not been one instance yet of independent sponsors paying me easily and on time. NOT ONE. I have to chase (and by that I mean email 10+ times and threaten to remove posts) them for over a month to get paid. This isn't unique to me; every blogging friend I know has experienced the same.
On the plus side, those independent sponsored posts tend to pay more, and you can negotiate your price. So if you're a strong negotiator, you're going to come out way ahead! You also can set your own terms about what you'll include in the post and how you'll promote it, which works in your favor, too. But you'll be chasing that payment for weeks on end. Blogger beware.
Blog monetization isn't all bad, however. The tide is really turning with how these posts are written, and that's having a fantastic impact on page views for you as a blogger. What do I mean? The classic "product review" is dead. No longer do we as bloggers ramble on about a product and it's benefits in order to get paid. Why? I think too many bloggers didn't know how to accurately describe a product or an experience. I can't tell you how many times I've read, "I'm obsessed with this lip color. It's going to be on major repeat all season." Um, ok. Great. That doesn't tell me anything. In fact, Googleing it would give me more info...
No, now sponsors want us to story tell. They've learned their lesson with product reviews. What does story telling mean? As a blogger, it's YOUR job to figure out how to tell the story with the product in it. For example, I had this post last week about Henry's birth. Barring the disclosure at the outset (legal requirement bloggers, legal requirement!) and the product picture at the end, I doubt you'd have even known Kleenex paid me (handsomely) to write that post. I shared a personal story, and wrapped in how a product fit into that experience. That's story telling sponsored content. Kleenex and Collective Bias LOVED it, and honestly, I had fun writing it! It got huge page views (still is, in fact), and that makes me and Kleenex happy campers.
Blog monetization has it's perks. You know, like the money! And the direction it's headed is a great one that readers are interested in reading, unlike the old-school product review that made your page views drop. But there are some things I wish I had known about blog monetization before I took the plunge. Your workload increases dramatically, and you become contractually obligated to produce great content - including photos. You have legal requirements and tax implications. Perhaps worst of all is chasing those dang sponsors who go MIA when it's time to cut you a check! But it's still worth it in the end. My blog is now my business and I'm an entrepreneur. Something I never imagined I'd be!
A heads up for y'all, I'm changing up my posting schedule! I've been doing M, T, W, F for most of 2015, but I'm dropping it down to just M, W, F. I did that after Henry was born, and had planned to do it after Otto arrived too, but here's some truth: I'm getting burned out on blogging. And a burned out preggo blogger is no bueno.
It's like the more you know, and the more tools you have to promote your posts, the more exhausting it becomes. I have a list of 15 blog posts I wanted to get done pre-Otto to have a "bank" of content to pull from on those inevitable days when I've been up all night and don't have it in me to create something. I've gotten exactly 3 done.
I'm spending all my time just keeping up with my current editorial calendar. I'm super pregnant. I'm tired. I *know* I need to work ahead, but by Tuesday I'm nearly completely done with the internet. Lies! Not nearly. Completely. Like, done done.So I'm going to give myself a little grace and drop my posts to 3 times a week to save my pregnant sanity. Holler if you hear me on that, fellow bloggers!
In fact, I stepped {almost} completely away from social media this weekend and already feel like a million bucks! Sometimes this stuff is just so draining - keeping up with notifications, "like counting" and so on. I should know this. I've been here before.
Ahhh well. Pregnancy brain?
Time to get some more things done for this baby that's set to arrive soon! He probably needs more than just the four pairs of winter pajamas I've bought him... And haven't even washed yet, right?
Catch you cats back here on Wednesday with some freshyfresh content.
