“I want to be genuine on my blog. I don’t want to write about
products I’m not using myself,” says Izy Hossack, 18, author of the
baking blog, Top With Cinnamon.
She’s only just finished her A-levels, but has been running the blog
for three years – which now attracts about 200,000 readers a month. Oh,
and she’s just had a book published too, following the blog’s success.
Shrewd bloggers and vloggers – video bloggers, usually using YouTube – are balancing the differing requirements of advertisers and audience, to make money from their digital content.
Brands are keen to work with students
Young audiences have a high commercial value, so student bloggers and
vloggers can make substantial sums of money to supplement their
studies, says Kate Ross, managing director of digital marketing agency eight&four, which advises brands on how to work with bloggers.
Student accommodation companies and the financial industry are
particularly keen to grow their student audiences at the moment, she
says.
“If you can generate successful content and have a loyal and growing
audience, they’re not going to be concerned that you’re a student.”
Cashing in on your blog
Brands regularly reach out to bloggers and vloggers to promote
themselves. Product placement, for example, involves them sending free
samples to be reviewed and/or given away through competitions. Hossack
recently collaborated with Teapigs for a sponsored giveaway, which fit seamlessly into a recipe post. Sponsored posts are also increasingly popular, with bloggers collaborating with brands to create content that both parties are happy with.
Ngoni Chikwenengere, 21, a fashion design student at the University
of Northampton, says sponsored posts are the most “organic” way to
monetise her blog, IAMNRC. She has worked with the Swiss Tourism Council, Nike and Samsung. Chikwenengere on a recent sponsored trip to Geneva.Photograph: Thu Nguyen
Before your following is large enough to attract big name brands, you can monetise your content independently. Banner ads, which you can sell to advertisers for a set fee, are a basic way of doing this. Affiliate marketing schemes are also popular among bloggers, who can earn a fee from companies – via an agency such as ShopSense or RewardStyle – if someone clicks onto their site or buys their product after clicking through from your blog.
Amy Mace, 18, an English literature student at the University of Bristol, uses banner ads and affiliate linking on her blog, Fashion Junkie.
The income from these hasn’t been “life-changing”, but she makes sure
to only promote brands her readers will be interested in, rather than
just the ones that pay the highest commission. Google AdSense
is another popular way to get ads on your blog. Google displays
clients’ adverts on your site and pays you for every click you drive.
Monetising your videos
There are fewer money-making opportunities for vloggers, but they can
still be lucrative. Regular uploaders with large audiences can become YouTube partners, meaning you share the revenue generated from ads – which can be placed before or within your videos.
Rosie Bea, 17, is an A-level student with over 80,000 subscribers to her fashion and beauty YouTube channel, MsRosieBea.
She earns money from the ads at the beginning of her videos, with the
amount varying each month depending on how many people view and click on
them.
“The money enables me to be a bit more independent,” she says. “It’s
been really helpful as I’ve just started sixth form and have needed to
buy new clothes. I’m also saving up for my own car, which is going to
take a long time!” Bea was sent this dress by Ruche, which featured in a recent video.Photograph: YouTube
How much could you earn?
Advertisement
High-profile
vloggers on YouTube can earn up to £4,000 per mention of a product and
can charge up to £20,000 a month for banner ads and skins on their web
pages, according to eight&four.
But don’t expect anything from your blog or channel at first, advises
Hannah Farrington, 20, a law student at the University of Manchester
who runs Hannah Louise Fashion. “You have to put in the work to gain a following and regular traffic.”
Now that her blog has become successful, the most profitable methods
are those that require the most personal input. “A campaign with a brand
involving a large time commitment or some traveling is generally more
lucrative than a post without much writing, which would take about an
hour to put together.”
She also says affiliate links can be very worthwhile. But the sums
made depend on the standard of the blogger’s content, their traffic, the
number of links they use and their conversion rate – how often a
clicked link leads to a purchase.
Bloggers can earn anything from thousands of pounds per month to
between £50 and £300 through affiliate schemes, says Nastasia Feniou,
blogger partnerships manager for Europe at ShopStyle. But with ShopSense, for instance, bloggers are only paid once the amount reaches £100.
Blogs and vlogs aren’t a miracle cure for students’ financial woes,
but with creativity, commitment, business acumen and organisation, they
can certainly ease the pain.
Tips for monetising your blog or channel:
Content is king. Without top quality posts or
videos, you wouldn’t have a large audience in the first place. “If you
try to set up a channel or blog just to make money, it’s not going to
work,” says Ross. “It needs to be organic and start with a passion. If
it’s something you love, it shows.”
Stay true to your audience and yourself. All
sponsored content and advertising should be relevant to your audience –
and ideally for a product or service you’d use yourself. It’s much
harder to write authentically about something you’re not using, says Hossack. Be honest about when a post is sponsored and if you’ve been sent a product for free.
Do your research. “Spend time researching different advertising companies,” says Hossack.
This also means knowing what you’re worth. Don’t overcharge and put off
brands that may have otherwise offered you opportunities, but equally,
avoid being taken for a ride by PRs who want you to post about their
brands for nothing in return. Talking to other bloggers can help you
gauge what you should be expecting from your blog.
Get your name out there. Be direct and network with
marketing departments, says Ross. “Approach digital agencies and say,
I’ve got this audience, is there anything you can do with it?”. When Mace
is interested in starting a PR relationship with a brand, she emails
them asking to be added to their mailing list. “It’s also useful to
email PR companies rather than individual brands,” she says. “They have
lots of clients and can put you in touch with brands that they think
will fit your blog’s content.”
Be organised. Juggling maintaining a high-quality
blog or YouTube channel with student life can be tough, so you need to
be constantly on top of deadlines and emails. “Some weekends I pre-film
videos for the following weekend if I know I’m going to be busy,” says Bea.
She recommends sticking to a schedule for uploading content and doing
school or uni work as soon as you get it. “Never put vlogging or
blogging before schoolwork, as you never know what the future holds.”
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