Hi friends! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and are feeling ready to tackle whatever your week has in store. I wanted to hop on today and talk with you all about sponsored posts. In the coming weeks/months, the way the editorial calendar and brand calendars aligned, you’ll be seeing a handful of sponsored posts and I wanted to take a minute to talk through my sponsored post selection process.
First, sponsored content is what keeps the lights on over here. Blogging is part of my “wears many hats” career, and while it’s certainly not going to make me rich any time soon, I continue to blog because I LOVE writing, sharing, and being creative. That said, as my blog has grown it costs money to house the site on an adequate server, buy equipment for taking photos, props for recipes, etc. There are a lot of hidden costs that go into blogging and sponsored posts cover that for me throughout the year.
I think there is an assumption that sponsored posts require the blogger to “sell out” and compromise themselves, watering down their opinions and voice in the process. And I understand that! Opportunities pop into my inbox frequently – I work with various influencer marketing agencies who send opportunities my way, brands sometimes reach out directly, and other times I reach out to the brand myself if I really love and use a product and think it would make sense to work together.
Sometimes the opportunities that are presented to me are financially lucrative but I say yes to very few projects in the name of being authentic to the way my family lives, the products we actually use, and what I think you, my readers, would be interested in hearing about. Just recently a clothing company reached out and offered to pay me in $750 worth of high-end clothing in exchange for a shout-out. But when I looked at their website most of the blouses were more than $250, a price I knew most of you wouldn’t or couldn’t afford, so I declined the offer. Sometimes it’s hard to say no to opportunities like that, because who doesn’t want expensive clothes for free? But ultimately accepting sponsored posts that aren’t a good fit for Espresso and Cream would undercut my credibility with YOU. And you all are the most important part of this whole thing.
I tend to gravitate toward sponsored posts that incorporate places I regularly grocery shop (Walmart, in our area) or that allow me to use my expertise and experience as a recipe developer by giving you a new recipe to try. I try to always ask myself, “Would I buy this product in my daily life outside of this sponsored post?” or “Would I normally shop at this retailer?” If the answer is “no” then I pass every. single. time.
So, with that said, I just wanted to lay the groundwork for the upcoming sponsored posts that you’ll be seeing on Espresso and Cream!
Madison