So you’ve put time and effort into ensuring your blog looks as professional as possible. You publish well-written, useful content on a regular basis. Your audience is engaged, both on the blog and with your social media presence. You make sure to set aside time to interact with your audience and try to refrain from controversy in order to be someone companies want to work with. You’re absolutely on the right track, but there are some additional steps you can take to let advertisers know you’re open to collaboration. Read on for tips on how to show blog sponsors you’re brand friendly.
Invest in Good Design
Good blog design matters a lot these days. With new blogs popping up daily, you want yours to stand out from the crowd. You also want it to be easy to get around, which requires strategic planning in site navigation. You may think quality design work and strategy is something you can’t afford, but don’t stress yet. Quality isn’t synonymous with complicated. If you don’t have the budget to hire a professional graphic designer, invest your time to learn the basics of good web design theory. You can customize many blog themes easily without having to be a professional webmaster, and simple graphics can be quite pleasing to the eye. The important thing is that advertisers aren’t turned off when they arrive at your blog and that they are able to find the important information they seek.
Be Crystal Clear
In fact, potential blog sponsors shouldn’t even have to look around to discover that you accept advertising. Place a banner in your sidebar that clearly states, “Advertise With Us” or some equivalent phrasing. It should lead to your information and rates page. You likely want to demonstrate how your filled ad space will look. If you don’t currently have advertisers, you can add banner ads through affiliate programs or listing another website you own. You can also set up an exchange with other bloggers to advertise each other’s blogs until paid sponsors are obtained.
Talk About Yourself
Yes, an “About” page is essential. A short blurb in the sidebar is good, but it should link to a more in-depth page with information about you, your background, your expertise, and the kinds of topics you blog about and anything else relevant to your blog or your life you think is important enough to share. Be sure to mention your general geographic location in terms of the nearest metropolitan area if you want to be included in local brand functions, sponsored blogger meetups or other fun local activities.
Describe Your Readers
Not only do advertisers want to know about you, they also want to know who is visiting your blog. After all, it’s your audience the PR folks are trying to win over. So take time to research your blog visitors so that you can add a summary of this important group to your “About” page and to your media kit.
List Your Contact Information
One of the biggest frustrations of PR folks or other brand representatives is when they come across a blog that fits their needs, but they aren’t able to find a way to reach the blogger. It’s one of those things that is so obvious that it’s easy to forget. You won’t be the blogger to do that, though. Will you? You can set up a contact form easily through a WordPress plugin like Jetpack or list your contact information in the sidebar. Better yet, do both. Don’t make them search for a way to get in touch. Don’t forget to add your social media links to your blog, as well. Advertisers like to get an overall picture of your following.
These are some of the essential additions you’ll want to include on your blog to make it brand friendly. If potential sponsors can’t find an easy way to contact you, don’t know if you’re open to advertising or aren’t able to determine your location, they’ll be inclined to move on to the next blogger. These easy to implement steps can significantly expand your blog sponsorship opportunities.
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