BLOG TIPS: HOW TO GET BLOG WORK

Everyone's first question when they realise blogging can be a career is 'How do you earn money?'. Realistically nobody is paying me to sit here and write my inner thoughts every day, as lovely as that would be. I don't have a set wage and the money I earn completely varies dependant on an unlimited amount of things, but the point is still there, bloggers do get paid. At least the those who are making a job of it. The question remains the same, how? How do bloggers earn money, how do you find paid work, does paid work find you?



Starting out.
In the beginning I had no idea blogging could become my job, it was a hobby and I enjoyed it, it feels surreal to think it's ended up how it is today. It took four years of writing just for me, and my then small readership to actually start to get noticed and if you're heading into this wanting the money from the get go, though I don't think it's impossible, you need some foundations to your brand. You have to write pieces that you want to write, if you're wanting to work with brands and be paid for the privilege then build up a blog, write consistently and talk about whatever on earth you're passionate about. Mine varied between babies and beauty (duh!?) leaning more towards the former because I generally have zero time for beauty anymore, but it can really be anything, there is no blogger stone upturned so to speak. Travel, fitness, finance, lifestyle, beauty, the list is endless. However niche you might think your interests are, there will always be someone else out there wanting to read about them, because they're just as interested in those things as you are. And that is your audience, they'll interact and suddenly you have a growing readership and community - that is what brands like to see. No brand I know is going to look at a blank blog and take that gamble on someone who wasn't around last month, and hasn't been consistent enough to show they'll be around next month either.

Build a media kit and rate card.
A media kit is a little bit like a blogging CV. You don't always need one, but it's best to have one sitting in the wings just in case. Your media kit needs to summarise what you and your brand is about, and what you bring to the table, whether that's your social media stats, newsletter subscribers, unique monthly users - include as much information as you can, but be concise. If a brand has X amount of time to read through X amount of media kits before picking the bloggers to work with, you don't want to be rambling on. I always find it helps to have a rate card, not everyone I know does this but for work that is more on the side of seo agencies, it's easier for them to keep on file. A rate card is effectively a price list, what you charge for each piece of content you create, it's a little more 'to the point' than a media kit.

Pitch
If you feel passionate about something, and want to write about it, then pitch your idea to a brand. I really wouldn't advise pitching for something just because someone else has worked with them or that you're not really that bothered about because it shows, it really does show. Brands can detect if you're passionate about their brand, even if you're not confident enough to pitch for work, then write a review about a brand you love and then email it to them. It puts you on their radar and it lets them know how much you love their stuff. But never be afraid to pitch, the worse that can happen is they say no, which brings me onto my next point.

Don't be afraid of no.
I'd be a liar if I said that being turned down for opportunities doesn't knock your confidence sometimes, but 99% of PR's are nothing but lovely and will generally give you some feedback if you ask for it. If I get a no I take it as a learning curve, is it me or is it them? Sometimes they simply don't have any campaigns or work at the moment, or their marketing budget has ran out, samples are low, there can always be something. Everyone has to say no at some point, think of the reasons you turn down work sometimes, it's never anything personal and brands are exactly the same. If you think the reasoning lies more with you, feel free to ask, it can be something to work towards. Maybe they need bigger social followings, or you're not quite in their niche - always remember to be polite, rejection can hurt sometimes but it's never an excuse to be rude.

Search for work.
Though once you're pretty established, it's quite often that work will come to you rather than vice versa, it's helpful to know what tools there are to find work, should you need to. There are so many platforms now for bloggers to find work, whether that is apps on your phone like Takumi and Tribe or even websites like Bloggers Required and The Bloggers Programme. I am forever receiving emails of new set-ups for these kind of things and they're always loaded with opportunities. Even if you can't find something you're happy with, it gives you an idea of what brands are open to work with bloggers, and run campaigns, so you can scout them out in future. Don't forget that social media is a complete honey jar, use hashtags to help find the needles in the haystacks, by searching #bloggerswanted #bloggersrequired or #sponsoredpost. Don't get me wrong, they're still heavily misused hashtags, but it helps.