Being a blogger has helped me learn so many things about the internet. Here are a few things that I wish I had known from the beginning.
1) Most bloggers are not doing this for money. There are some great bloggers out there who do make money blogging, but those bloggers are simply amazing and the idol of many (including me). Making money blogging is h-a-r-d!
2) A great deal or coupon that turns in to a *hot* deal is often the work of an affiliate marketing program. (Here is the Wikepedia detailed explanation). Basically blogs are signed up with affiliate marketing programs. Hot deals come up when the pay is increased on certain campaigns or when new campaigns are launched. Have you ever noticed that there are often more mentions about AppleSauce Research (fictitious name) accepting new candidates than the free Huggies deal last week at Rite Aid? Bloggers are essentially being paid to turn molehills in to mountains.
3) Sometimes things really are not about what you know, but about who you know. That adage is true almost every place in life.
4) Supporting your favorite sites is easy! Visit their sites daily to increase their daily traffic. If you come across a site that you really like be sure to like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, and subscribe to their news feeds/emails. Blog about your favorite sites and add their button somewhere on your site. Leaving comments on your favorite sites is sure to bring a smile to the owner. These things truly do matter to bloggers.
5) Referrals really do add up. I am so thankful for everyone who has used me as their Swagbucks referral. If you were going to shop at a site/online store click the link on one of your favorite blogs and let them earn commission from your sale. True, you do not know which affiliates your favorite blogs are working with since it isn’t cool to disclose that information, but the more you look around the more you will start to notice the buttons and links. Click them! And then refer back to what I wrote in number 2 if you keep seeing the same things over and over. No matter how hard we try, some deals really are not deals.
Perhaps this is one of my most random posts of the year. 🙂 All of these things have been swirling around in my head for awhile now and I just wanted to share.
Leandrea is a married mom of two girls, ages 13 and 12, living in Atlanta, GA. She is passionate about helping people save money one coupon at a time. Read more
I agree. One reason I enter so many giveaways is b/c I know how much work goes into posting them, and how disappointing it is when you don’t have very many entries. Sometimes I win stuff I can’t use myself, but it is great for gifts, or just passing along to family.
As for making money, your right! I wish we could, but I don’t do it for the money LOL. I wish we made money b/c as a SAHM I could really use extra cash. This is why I do the swagbucks and survey companies. I always join survey companies from other bloggers pages, as I know they get the referral money when I join!
I agree with everything you have said here. Id also like to add that when giveaways or reviews are done they are (at least for me) more for my readers then they are for myself. Yes it is nice to try out cool products but it is also a lot of work and takes time to do the review, take the pictures post the review and giveaway if there is one and then figure out the winner. I blog for fun because I love doing it and I like being able to share things I find out. I have done a few affiliate posts but I only like to do the ones that I think are interesting or could help people. I get tons in my email that I could post but if it does not relate to anyone I personally do not see the point. Thank you Leandra for posting this:)