How to Get Sponsored Blog Posts: 6 Steps to Find Your First Sponsor

Sponsored blog posts can be a great way to make money on your blog. Even if your niche is small, you can often find sponsors happy to partner with your website and the platform it provides – but it’s hard to know where to start if you’re looking to find willing sponsors.

The best way to find sponsors for your blog is by being proactive. You could create a professional media kit, find brands you want to work with, and pitch a sponsored post to them. Before you know it, you’ll have companies paying you to write on your own blog.

An introduction to sponsored blog posts

Although “sponsored blog post” could mean many different things, we’re talking about a post a company pays you to write on your own blog. They do this as a way to present themselves or their product to your audience. As a blogger, you have a ‘soapbox’ that can be very valuable to those with an appealing product who want to target your readers.

These kinds of posts can be product reviews, recommendations, or an article about the company with links to dedicated landing pages. Typically, you’ll write the content (or at least commission it from a writer), but sometimes it is given to you. Either way, they are meant to be informational and helpful to your audience rather than an advertisement.

For example, the Coffee Detective website often writes reviews of new products on their blog:

Because they have a loyal following of coffee lovers who trust the site, the blog posts are invaluable to companies looking for a way to promote new products in this niche. As such, any featured reviews spread the word and help to boost sales.

This is why sponsored blog posts are a great way for you to make additional income. They are one of the leading ways to monetize your blog, and there are a lot of companies looking to use this technique as part of their marketing campaigns.

However, you need to be careful to adhere to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations, which require you to disclose in your post who you are working with. In the post above, Coffee Detective places this note at the very end of the review:

It’s also important to be selective with your sponsors. Each brand you feature should align with your values and appeal to your readers. Something that’s too off-base may come across as spammy and turn off your audience.

Learn more about the pros and cons of sponsored links/blog posts.

How to get sponsored blog posts (6 key tips)

Although sponsored posts are a great way to increase your income, getting them is a different matter. Below are six key tips for landing sponsored posts for your blog!

1. Set up a Sponsor page and media kit on your site

One of the first (and easiest) ways to get sponsored blog posts is to put a page on your website inviting pitches. This is a great, direct way of letting people know you’re available to receive sponsored posts.

For example, you can see this technique in action on TayTalksMoney:

In addition, you can offer a media kit to help seal the deal for those wishing to find placement with you. In fact, some companies will ask to see your media kit as a matter of course before deciding to work with you. Your media kit can include the following:

• Name
• Contact information
• Website name and URL
• Social stats – the social networks you use and your number of followers, etc.
• Monthly page views on your website – you can use Google Analytics for this
• A little about your audience
• Some information about what you have to offer

A professional media kit shows that you’re serious and looking for sponsors. Think of it as a resume for you, your platform, and your blog. As such, you’ll want to make it compelling.

2. Create top-quality content that attracts sponsors

Quality content is the heart of your blog. With it, you can attract readers and loyal followers to your website. What’s more, with enough quality content, you can grow your audience and your platform – and brands may begin to take notice.

On the whole, your content should always look to provide good value to your readers. What this value is represented by – such as ‘how-to’ articles or humorous anecdotes – will depend entirely on your audience. Either way, it should be interesting, shareable, and include plenty of links to other great internal and external content across the web.

However, the bottom line is that before you can attract sponsors, you may need to establish a loyal following in your niche. Once you’ve built a platform and become a trusted expert in your field, you can then begin taking on sponsored blog posts. As such, this tip represents a ‘slow-burner,’ and takes times to implement.

3. Find brands you want to work with and pitch sponsored post ideas to them

Once you’ve set up a sponsor page and a media kit, and your blog is filled with top-notch content, you may want to begin pitching some sponsored post ideas to brands in your niche. Many companies will have links on their websites where you can contact them and propose your idea.

A good way to approach this is to start with products you already use and like. For example, if there’s one you really enjoy using, and think it would be a good fit for your audience, consider reaching out to the company with a proposal.

Some have even found success by mentioning desirable brands on social media. If the target company sees your mentions, they may contact you directly to see if you’re interested in working together. Thinking outside of the box when it comes to getting companies to notice you is key.

4. Look at your competition and see who’s sponsoring them

Another good way to find sponsors is to take a look at your competition and see who is being placed on their blog. Chances are, if they are interested in working with them, they may be interested in having some posts placed with you as well.

This is especially effective if you write in a small niche. There may not be too many people working in your field and sponsorship opportunities may be limited. If this is the case, companies looking to extend their reach may be happy to hear from you and jump at the chance of a sponsored post on your blog.

5. Pitch sponsorships to the brands you see in Google AdSense

If you use Google AdSense, you’ll see what sorts of brands are attracted to your site pretty quickly. This is an effective way to find more brands to pitch your sponsored post service to.

For example, consider the following ad:

If you’re in the right industry and niche – and your size and target reader is sufficient – Mazda may be a company worth reaching out to. When pitching to these brands, make sure to tell them about you, your site, your readership, and how you want to work with them. Your media kit will most certainly come into play here. This will give the company the information they need to make a decision, and smooths the relationship upfront.

6. Maintain relationships with sponsors to receive more placements over time

Finally, one of the best ways to build a solid and lasting income with your blog is to repeatedly work with the same brands. If you maintain the relationships you cultivate, companies are more likely to hire you again for future sponsored blog posts.

As such, this is an incentive to do your very best work. The stronger your sponsored posts are, the more likely they are to succeed for both you and the company, and the greater the chance of positive word spreading.

To maintain your relationships, be courteous and professional, open with your communication, and have a positive attitude to their projects. It also helps to do exactly what you say you are going to do – i.e. show integrity and responsibility for your work – and to meet your deadlines.

Start getting sponsored blog posts today

In order to get sponsors for your blog posts, you can implement the following tips:

1. Set up a sponsor page and media kit on your site.
2. Create top-quality content that attracts sponsors.
3. Find brands you want to work with and pitch a sponsored post to them.
4. Look at your competition and see who’s sponsoring them.
5. Pitch sponsorships to brands featuring in your ads.
6. Maintain relationships with sponsors to get more sponsored posts over time.

Do you have any questions about sponsored posts or how to get them? Ask away in the comments section below!