I’m Spilling the Beans

I’ve heard a fair share of different thoughts from those not in the social media world stating their opinions about those who work in this area. It’s true that many believe they don’t make an income, it’s not consistent, obtainable, or is purely a hobby! I’m here to squash that! What if I told you myself along with my blogger friends on here are making a consistent 3k-5k MONTHLY?

Gosh, I can remember wondering how in the world to make this all work. How could I make an income from home possible? How could I truly do something I love and contribute to my family? It honestly all felt like a far off dream that would most likely never happen. Please keep in my mind I was never a very good student and 5 years ago had very low self-esteem when it came to thinking I was smart or good at anything. It wasn’t until I figured out a way to combine my love for fitness, lifestyle, and family with marketing that I truly found my niche. It took me a few years to really do my research and get the hang of how to make it into a  consistent income. Then I had to relearn how to do it all over again with two little ones! Whether you’re a stay at home mom like me or whatever you’re situation may be, I’m here to tell you that you can make this work! But it will take a while to develop a system that works for you. What motivates me to share some of my major resources is hoping that this inspires YOU to go after it. This post is hopefully going to steer a lot of you guys in the right direction that have started a business Blog/Instagram/Pinterest looking to see some revenue from it and grow!

Side Note: I wrote a blog a couple of months back about product-for-post collaborations. If you are interested in that read about it here! 

 

Here’s how to start:

What the heck are influencer networks?! They are networks of real-life people who play the middle man. They are the people who connect you to some of your dream companies that you have been dying to work with. Here are a few of my favorites and where I got started.

 

*** Disclaimer: I do not own any of the screenshots of the websites shown in the blog here. ***

1.) Social Fabric:

 

Currently, my favorite site to work with is Social Fabric so that is why I have them at number one. The payment for campaigns are great and they are extremely timely. I had to apply to quite a few campaigns before I got my very first job with them, which was with Johnson & Johnson! I was so excited because I had been using their products since the day my twins were born. In general, Social fabric works with some phenomenal brands and every time I see the new campaigns posted I get so excited because the brands are just that good!

2.) Heartbeat:

 

If you are a beginner to starting your blog, Instagram, Pinterest, the whole shebang then I HIGHLY recommend starting with Heartbeat. They work with all influencers and do not base it off how many followers, viewers or readers that you have. The payment is much lower than the other networks but it’s a great way to start somewhere. It also will get your name out there because you will be pumping out new content and catching the eyes of other brands. Your payment is based off your following as well as engagement. The cool part is as both of those increase, your pay will go up! I occasionally do campaigns with them.

A lot of people really want to start a blog/Instagram/Pinterest but don’t go through with it because they don’t think they have a big enough following. I know a lot of bloggers who started getting their first paid campaigns with 1,000 followers and readers. It is not out of your reach so I highly encourage you to go for it. Heartbeat is a great place to start just for that reason. There is not a following/blog views requirement!

3.) Massive Sway:

 

This is a perfect network for momma and foodie bloggers! They are always working with popular fun brands. I have worked with them a few times over this past year and they were very professional.

4.) Activate:

 

I have done quite a few food campaigns with Activate and enjoyed working with them.

5.) Linquia:

 

This Influencer network is a little bit different than the others I described. After signing up for it you have to wait to be invited to a campaign. On the other influencer sites, you can usually start applying to campaigns right away but not this one! It took several months for me to work with them but once I got my first job it has been more consistent ever since!

Some others that are great as well include:

You might be wondering, “Do these paid campaigns work with all the main social media platforms?” YES. Companies want to work with you through Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and your blog. The opportunities are endless but it can only stay consistent if YOU stay consistent. That means pumping out great content on your desired platforms. It also means applying to campaigns daily! I favored Instagram and my blog initially but now I’m focusing more on Pinterest. Make sure to not limit yourself to one platform! It’s easy to do so once you get the hang of a certain app but I highly recommend getting comfortable being uncomfortable! Expand your horizons, my friends!

Now, if you are a blogger lets talk about how most of us make an income off a blog alone:

  • Sponsored content
  • Ad revenue
  • Affiliate marketing

We all want views and new readers to our blog! That’s the whole point of spending so much of our time getting content together, for it to be seen! Not to mention traffic is KEY to any type of monetizing strategy when it comes down to blogging. If you have a platform already built that you can traffic to your blog, that’s always nice! If you are starting from complete scratch, do not be discouraged. Don’t forget every blogger starts from zero at some point or another. Let me give it to you straight… Pinterest is going to be your best friend! Utilize it and be on top of your game when it comes to it! If there is anything I regret as a blogger it is waiting so long to start a business account on Pinterest. Part of it was out of pure stubbornness but man was I wrong about Pinterest. Personally, I have used this app for years looking up food and fitness inspiration. How did it not click that this was, in fact, the golden ticket to making my blog thrive?

In the past few weeks since starting my Pinterest account, the views on my blog have doubled. Think about it, it’s another platform to promote your posts! Why would you not use it? Another thing that I have been looking into recently is Tailwind. A lot of my fellow bloggers are using this and swear by it. Tailwind schedules out pins for your website along with other relevant pins that relate to your blog topics. It pins everything for you at the highest engagement times – which seems to be significantly helping others traffic to their blogs!

A new business goal of mine this month is to seriously look into Tailwind and try it out. It is a $120 investment but again, my blogger friends are swearing by it! I’ll keep you all updated on how I like it in a month and if I think it was worth the money!

Click here to sign up for Tailwind!

Again, the earning potential in this industry is innumerable. It takes hard work, dedication, and man oh man does it take a lot of time. I think on the other side it looks like we whip out content like its magic but really so much work is going on behind the scenes of it all. I truly hope this post was insightful for you all. I plan on posting more information on why Pinterest is so useful and others way to make your blog/social media channels thrive, in the next few months! If you have any questions feel free to message me or comment down below!

Stay Lively!