Everything you ever wanted to know about blog sponsorship, Oh my!

This week I was reading a blog post about the ins and outs of blogging.  (By the way isn't blogging about blogging weird?  It's like dreaming about dreaming or reading about reading.  TOTALLY WACK!)  In the post, the blogger said, "I have paid to sponsor... and I wouldn't recommend doing it again. I received a small handful of clicks and even less followers from her. As a modern-day consumer, you are trained to ignore ads. Unless you can guest post for them, I would never advise paying to sponsor someone's blog ever again."  I was surprised when I read this.  I have seen my own blog grow so much faster since I have started sponsoring other blogs, and I have generally had very positive experiences with it.  I guess that's why it shocked me that someone else, a blogger that I like and trust, seemed so against it.

Naturally, I figured I would share what I know about sponsorship, what I look for in a sponsor, and how I know if a sponsorship has been effective for me.  World, I know you are all in desperate want of my sponsorhip expertise, therefore, wait no longer, I shall give it to you!

What I look for in a blog I sponsor:
1. The style of the blog must match my blog style. I have tried sponsoring DIY blogs or recipe blogs and it is always completely ineffective.  Crafty people usually don't care too much about my ramblings about ungrateful teenagers and mediocre firework shows.  They want a craft blog.  So while they might click on my blog once, they're certainly not going to stay.  Find a blogger who is similar in style to you and you'll be more effective.

2.  People I sponsor need to be organized.  If I'm going to give you money, then HELLO, you need to respond to my emails. (Blog pet peeve:  not responding to emails in a timely manner, especially when I have asked a specific question.  I don't expect an hour response time, but within a few days, please!)  It is also very important to me that I know what day the sponsorship begins, when it ends, and when my guest post will go up.  Some of us like to plan our posts on our blog around the guest post on the blogs we sponsor, so I think it's the least someone can do to tell their sponsor when the post is going up.

3.  Don't sponsor with just a button. Although I use them, I am opposed to buttons.  To start with, I don't understand them.  How is that effective advertising?!?  Almost every single button has got a picture of her kissing her husband (mine included!) with some dumb caption like "Life's a beach!".  I have no idea based on that button if I am going to like the personality or writing style of that blogger.  Here's an idea!  How about buttons that are at least somewhat informative?  WHO ARE THE BLOGGER GODS THAT DECIDED WE ALL MUST USE BUTTONS?  Because of my dis-affinity for buttons, (made that word up myself, two points for Bon!) I never sponsor a blog if all that is included is showcasing my button.  I invariably pay the extra for an indiviual guest post.  In my experience this has gone far and beyond the ability of a button to attract viewers.  If a blogger won't let me post on her blog, forget it honey, you ain't getting my money.

4.  Give me a shout out, blogger!   I really couldn't care less if a sponsor mentions me on twitter.  How many people actually see the #FF mentions and go follow their twitters?  Zero to one.  What I do care about is that she gives me a good introduction on her blog. I have sponsored blogs that didn't say anything about my guest post- it was just up.  I have also sponsored blogs where they talk me up a bit, you know, upsell me.  The best blog I ever sponsored was Living in Yellow. (Complete bang for your buck- I received more followers, more hits that day, and more kind, genuine comments than I have from any other sponsorship.)  Erin introduced me with this:  "I think I now realize why I am happy. It’s gotta be because of this girl.  Yes, the one below. Bonnie is one of my beautiful sponsors for March and I am so excited to bless you with her presence. This guest post is hilarious. I would not lie my friends.  See for yourself."  Isn't that amazing?  The percentage of people who are going to read my post went up from 25% to 60% just because Erin gave me a little shout out before my post.

5. A sponsor should say thank you.  A lot.  Hey, we're giving you money aren't we?  Say thank you, damnit!

What I do when I sponsor a blog:

While I definitely want to have a good experience sponsoring a blog, I understand that only half of that comes from the owner of the blog.  The other half comes from me.  If I really want to attract traffic to my blog, I have to do more than slap a post on a bigger, more popular blog.  I have to make the readers WANT to visit my blog.  Here's a few tricks I've used that have worked well for me:

1.  I send my button/guest post/ info when the sponsor asks for it.  Most sponsors are going to give some kind of deadline.  I do everything possible to get all my stuff in my that deadline.  I understand that if I am not cooperative than I'm not going to get any kind of special treatment.  I'll probably get posted on a random holiday/Sunday when no one looks at blogs.  If you want a sponsor to treat you right and take care of you, you gotta play by their rules.

2.  I like to make my guest posts a little weird.  Just a little.  Maybe weird isn't the best word.... Different?  There are millions and millions of blogs out there and I figured there has to be something a little bit quirky or eccentric about mine to get people to read it.  Something that stands out just a little bit from the run of the mill blogs.  I can't tell you how many blog introductions that I've read that go like this, "I'm Bonnie, a twenty something year old who loves her husband, loves to blog, and loves everything DIY."  Nobody is going to click on that because there is absolutely nothing unique about that blogger.  Don't be afraid to be "too different."  I would rather have someone strongly dislike my blog than feel completely apathetic toward it.

3.  Start simple.  I don't usually pay more than $10-20 for a sponsorship.  I'm still small and I haven't made a ton of money off of my blog so paying $50-100 for sponsorship just feels risky to me.  Once I paid $35 for a guest post and it was totally ineffective.  That's the last time I blow that much money on a guest post for awhile.   As far as numbers go, I usually try to sponsor a blog that has around 1000 followers to make sure it is worth the hassle of me writing a guest post.  I have, however, sponsored smaller blogs and had just as much success as the blogs with 1000+ followers

4.  Don't always pay to sponsor.  One of my favorite things to do is find a blog similar in style and size and ask the owner to swap guest post with me.  If the owner doesn't want to, it's no big deal, but there's absolutely nothing to lose.  Sometimes guest post swaps have even more effective for me than a paid sponsorship.  It's win/win- both bloggers get more traffic and the readers of both blogs get exposed to other blogs that they are apt to enjoy.

So what do you think?  Have you sponsored blogs before?  Would you ever or are you strongly opposed to it?  What is your spending limit when sponsoring?  Also, I have been struggling finding blogs to sponsor, so hook me up and tell me which ones you have sponsored and loved.  (You might even want to warn me of those you have you sponsored and unloved... but be gentle with your criticism!)