We are in this together...

via here

As bloggers, 

I believe we are in this together.

If one succeeds, it benefits ALL of us. 

If one ruins it, 

We all suffer the consequences. 

With that being said, I believe in sharing the wealth...

Letting you in on what I know...

What has worked for ME...

Many of you are wondering how to take THAT next step and GROW your blog...

As of lately, I have received quite a few emails regarding how to get

  Sponsors on your blog:

As some of you know, 

when I started my blog, it was solely to stay connected with family and friends. There was no content really and nothing "IN IT" for anyone else.

When I decided to cross onto the other side,

and put "Passion" into my blogging, 

not only did I see my readers grow (a whole post of it's own), but I noticed more shops saw me as an asset with their product.

Here is what has worked for ME...

Blog Design

I must say that my best investment to my blog was having a professional blog design. I used Laura Jane Designs. She is so sweet to work with and explains things in lay mans terms. In order to you to reach out to people, or them come to you, I believe first impression is key. You want things to be simple and appealing to the eye. My blog design fee paid for itself in the first month of accepting sponsors. 

Put yourself out there

 In a sense, you need to sell yourself to the shop owner. Do not be afraid of sending out EMAILS.  I wrote up a brief paragraph on who I was, complimenting them on their work, and simply stating my interest in doing a giveaway on my blog. Give them a link to your blog as well as your contact information and end it with that. Don't be afraid of rejection. I have NEVER had a bad response.

Giveaways/Reviews 

Once I made the decision to accept sponsorship on my blog, I started small and contacted a few shops that had a fun product. If you LOVE something, then most likely your readers will too. Start with Etsy shops just starting out, that would LOVE any type of exposure. Ask friends who own a shop, giveaway something from your own shop, etc. Having both hosted a review and sponsored a review, I see the effectiveness of this form of advertisement. The best advertisement happens when a reader sees their favorite blogger with an item. I truly believe that the more you follow up with your readers and stand close by them, the more shop owners are bound to sponsor you. This means more to them then having a million followers. The more involvement and dedication the better!! I've heard this time and time again!

Button Swaps

A great way to get your blog noticed without "paying" is to swap buttons with another blog/shop. This is a great way to get advertising up on your side bar and let people know you are interested in this route. It gets YOU noticed as well as helping another shop out.

PRICE

This part can be tricky and my best advice is to start SMALL. I started by charging $5 a month. Figure out which size buttons work with your blog design. Charge a bit more for larger buttons. If your prices are reasonable then people are more willing to take the risk.

Create an Advertising Packet

Once you have a few reviews/giveaways down, and sponsors begin showing their interest, you need to show you are a LEGIT promoter. A great way to do this is by sending them an advertising packet.

My packet includes:

 bright and welcoming images that go along with my blog

What my general procedures are as a promoter

My blog statistics: Followers, unique visitors, face book, twitter, etc.

My prices 

I also give them examples of previous reviews/giveaways run on my blog so they have an idea of what to expect.

Contact information

And that's it! 

Good luck with your sponsorship endeavors! I hope this helped!

The winner of the Lap of Luxury Giveaway is AMY of Life in the Junction! Email me at Lindslee00@gmail.com. CONGRATS!