So when I wrote What to Expect When You’re a Blogger, I wasn’t trying to be sarcastic; I was just keeping it real. I like to call it the New Yorker in me, I keep it 100! While Madison’s post is all fairytales and unicorns, mine is a lot rawer and straight to the point. No ifs, ands or buts about it. So now you know what to expect when you’re a blogger, and you’re still adamant that you want to become a blogger. Nothing I say is going to change your mind and trust me, I don’t want to change your mind, but you do need to come into the world of blogging looking at it realistically.
The blogging game is big enough for everyone. Like my mom would say, the ocean is big enough for me, you, and the millions of fish in it. That’s really how big the blogging world is. You can do this! If you want to make a living blogging and you think that you can, well, let me share with you some of the ways that you can get paid as a blogger. Trust me, there are a few ways, but I’m going to share the ones that I’ve been offered.
Money AKA Dough, Cheddar, Hard Cold Cash
It’s all about the Benjamins baby! Yes, this is the way that most bloggers, I would probably not be lying when I say ALL bloggers, love getting paid. While the money may not always be great, it’s the way that I also personally prefer getting paid. As I mentioned in What to Expect, payment, however, can take anywhere from one day to 90 days or more before you actually receive that cash. You can get paid via Paypal, Direct Deposit, or even via check. Please don’t call me crazy, but I have turned down money because it wasn’t worth my time. Remember, your work doesn’t end once you hit that publish button.
Review Items (aka to the non-blogger as Free Stuff)
I’ve also explained that there is no such thing as FREE STUFF. That free item that you receive, you most definitely have to work for. You have to write a blog post, take and edit photos, do social media work, and promote, be it online or via word of mouth. Review items can range from a 99 cent ebook to a product worth hundreds or thousands of dollars, and yes, you read it correctly when I said 99 cents. I have been approached to review even free ebooks, and that would have been my payment. While I have a minimum for product reviews on my blog, there are times when I would consider a lower priced item, but only if I genuinely love the product. However, I don’t do that too often, and it’s going to be even rarer this year.
Affiliate Marketing or Ad Networks
There are great ad networks, and then there’s Google Adsense. If you click on one of them, you’re helping that blogger make some money. With Google Adsense, maybe not so much, probably not even enough to even buy a meal at McDonald’s (and I hate McDonald’s by the way; once again I’m keeping it real, so you will never see a post on our website recommending that you eat at McD). Affiliate ads may pay a little bit more, but guess what? It all depends on how much money you spend when you shop after clicking on one of those affiliate ads. While it doesn’t pay the bills, I guess every little penny counts, and sometimes it takes months before you’re even able to collect on those pennies. So if you have a bill that Sprint/TMobile/AT&T or Verizon keeps calling you about, don’t depend on those ads to help pay that bill anytime soon. I’m personally not a fan of ads, so I keep my site ad-free. It’s also a reason that keeps me from visiting many websites.
Hi-Res Images
Yes, you read that correctly. Instead of hard cold cash or even the product, you can instead expect to receive from some companies something called “hi-resolution images.” It’s actually considered the next best thing. So if you thought that the new food processor that you saw at Sears looked great in the store, just imagine how much better it will look in hi-res images. I’ve been tempted to tell those PR companies where they can stick their hi-res images, but I have to be professional. You can totally do so for me.
Exposure!!!! (My favorite!)
Nothing shows that a company loves you more than their offering to pay you in exposure. You know the pitch that comes to you via email that says, “Hey, how about you write us up a post about our product, you promote it, and we’ll, in turn, share it with our readers, giving you MAXIMUM EXPOSURE.” Guess what? While that may sound like a great way to get your blog seen, unfortunately, my mortgage and utility company don’t accept exposure as payment. However, maybe I might be tempted one day to shoot my mortgage company a letter stating, “How about I write about your mortgage company giving you maximum exposure, and in return, you can forget about this month’s mortgage,” and maybe they’ll accept it. And perhaps I’ll find a magical unicorn that farts rainbows that smells like cotton candy.
So those are just a few ways that I’ve been offered payment. Blogging is not a get-rich-quick game, so if you’re coming into blogging thinking that you’ll be making tons of money and you’ll be able to quit your day job in a month or two, I’m going to tell you that unless Lady Luck is your mother, it’s not going to happen. So don’t quit your day job, but by all means, become that blogger that you want to be.