Blog Sponsorship--What's your stance?
If you've been reading for a while, you're probably rolling your eyes at the title of this post. I'm not new to the blog sponsorship game--I've had sponsors in the past--but I've had a lot of trouble finding a system that works best for me.
I'm going to warn you right now that I voice some strong and sassy opinions in this post. Please, don't be offended. This is just my view on sponsors and I'd love to start a dialogue so that I can hear your feelings as well!
I've offered both paid and free sponsorships, sponsor spots that kind of sat there and sponsors who guest blogged and gave things away. When I gave my sponsors the opportunity to be extremely active (guest posts and giveaways galore) I felt like I was sacrificing the integrity of my blog content in order to offer a cool sponsorship program. But I realized that there are few things I dislike more than seeing a blog I really enjoy totally deteriorate when they have sponsors. I love free stuff as much as the next girl, but when a quality blog turns into giveaway-a-palooza I stop reading because the content is gone. I also don't like to host a bunch of giveaways because I feel like the people who follow you just to win a giveaway aren't going to stick around. Fake traffic, as I like to call it.
Anyways, this rant isn't just for funzies. You see, I really would like to offer sponsorships. I think it's a great opportunity to support growing blogs/businesses/bands and it's also a wonderful way to network and experience blogs or businesses you may have never known about otherwise. I think sponsorships have the potential to be extremely valuable for both sponsor and host and I want to be a part of that. Unfortunately, adding sponsors adds stress. It can be extremely difficult to coordinate sponsorships and at the very least it's a bit time-consuming. So, my question to all of you is this...
If I offer sponsor spots for small rates ($5 for a small spot, $10 for a large spot monthly), would there be an interest? Or are you happy with a sponsor-free world here on the Sugar? If I do start up a sponsorship program again, I won't post a million giveaways (no more than I post now) and the content of my blog will stay the same (though the recipes might be a bit more sophisticated!) I would love to hear any and all opinions on the topic--whether they are positive or negative. Just be nice :).
Can't wait to hear what you all have to say on this!
6 notes:
I completely agree with you! Even though I have no interest on sponsoring anything, as much as I love some blogs I would rather promote a blog I really like by linking back to a meaningful post in my space then to pay someone to put my photo and link up to generate traffic for myself. Maybe that's just because I'm not an avid blogger like some people, I only blog every couple weeks so perhaps I'm biased. All that I do know is you are dead on with your comment about give-aways. Constant give-aways and guest post features take away from the actual blog itself. It's no longer a personal blog and sometimes that's a real bummer. But if you choose to have sponsors then do it up girl! I will still come visit :)
i'd most likely be interested in sponsoring you or doing a sponsor swap or something :) xo
Sabrina-- I'm glad you'll stick around either way! If I do bring the program back you can be certain that the content will remain the same.
Kate--Lovely!! I'll let you know!
I completely agree with you.... when guest posts and giveaways take over, the blog loses its content.
I am all for promoting each other, but I am more interested in button swaps (with some extra exposure) with someone whose blog I read and who also reads mine than in "senseless" paid sponsorships. There needs to be some kind of mutual benefit.
I think doing button swaps is tough because getting exposure on bigger blogs through paid sponsorships has been an amazing way for me to find new blogs. It's not often that bigger bloggers are fans of smaller blogs to the point that they'll promote them for free. I do agree that button swaps are awesome, but I think if the goal of a sponsorship is to find totally new readers and gain a lot of exposure, that paid advertising can be a good route to go. As long as the blog's content stays up to par :). Thanks for your ideas!!
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