Blogging 101: Choosing to Offer Sponsorships

When I first started blogging I had no clue what it truly entailed. Write a post, add some pictures, hit publish. That seemed to be the extent of it. I quickly realized that there is so much more to blogging and that it is one of those things that the more effort you put into it, the more you received out of it. I started engaging more with other bloggers and started building my tribe. I learned that sponsoring other blogs was a great way to promote my blog as well as a means to support other bloggers that I admired.
I soon began to wonder about offering sponsorships on my own blog. I wanted to be able to promote and encourage other bloggers as well. And since this is a place of honesty, I wanted to be able to have a little extra money to turn around and invest in my blog. When I started selling ads, I was able to sponsor more blogs myself, thus increasing the visibility of my blog and the blogs of those that sponsored me. Win/win.
Offering sponsorships is not a decision to take lightly in my opinion. The way I see it, once you buy an ad spot on my sidebar I now work for you. It is my job to ensure you are happy and that you are receiving what you signed up for.
Before you create your Advertise page on your blog and create your account with Passionfruit or Adproval please consider the following things.
Time This is major. Each weekday I read all of my sponsors' blogs. I share their posts on social media. Not every blogger blogs every day, and that's ok. Instead of sharing their posts, I may share their links to their social media sites instead. Not only is promotion huge, but there is always correspondence as well. Welcome emails, sponsor highlight emails, and emails just for fun (cheers for sponsors that become friends along the way!) take time.
Acknowledgement I am a huge proponent of this. If someone sponsors a blog I feel that they should be acknowledged right then, even if their sponsorship does not start for months. A quick thank you email is sufficient in my eyes. Once a sponsorship begins I send another email out within 24 hours. I once sponsored a blog that took almost 2 weeks to acknowledge my presence on their sidebar. Guess what? That blog will be a one-and-done sponsorship. That behavior shows me that there truly isn't an appreciation for her sponsors.
Honesty Not every blog will be compatible with yours. If your sponsorship options offer shout outs and/or guest posting read the blogger's blog before accepting the ad. If you don't feel that their material is something that you can properly promote you owe it to them to nicely reject their ad. Do not take their money and place them on your sidebar and promptly forget about them. We as bloggers all want what we signed up for. It's up to the sponsor to provide it. If you feel you can't then let the blogger know.
Organization You can not offer sponsorship and not be organized. One without the other is a disaster waiting to happen. Invest in a good planner and be diligent with it.
Be Willing to Right a Wrong Perfect example: In August I was out of town for a week. I was keeping up with my blog, my sponsors, and my emails. Or so I thought. I had prepared emails to go out to my sponsors. I assumed I hit schedule when in actuality, I hadn't. The email went into my drafts folder. One of my sponsors asked about a her highlight post and I was confused til I searched my email only to find my error. What did I do? Admitted the mistake on my part and I extended her sponsorship (as well as the others that the email was going to) for a week. We are all human and make mistakes. What set us apart is how we handle our mistakes.
Follow Through This is a no brainer. If you offer a service, provide it; and provide it in a timely manner. No questions asked.
Appreciation Buying an ad is a choice. There are thousands of blogs out there. Someone chose to sponsor you. Be appreciative, be kind, be approachable, and don't forget to be you.

Word of mouth is a great form of advertising for your sponsorships. Go the extra mile and give people a reason to recommend you to others. I can honestly say that offering sponsorships has been a wonderful experience for me. Working with bloggers for a month at a time is a great way to develop friendships.
What do you look for when you choose to sponsor a blog? Do you have any tips on how to become a better sponsor? I'd love to hear them....comment below!

Linking up with The Grits Blog and Treasure Tromp.