One week from Friday I will be attending my first fitness blog conference, FitBloggin in Baltimore. I’m speaking on a panel about brand relationships with bloggers, how they work, how to secure one for yourself, and how to make a living blogging! There is a lot I’m looking forward to, from learning photography basics to SEO strategies.
So how did I become someone speaking at an event like Fitbloggin?
I was lucky to get in with YouTube when I did. I wanted to be the next Erin Andrews not Lonely Girl but as social media began to take off, I realized I had an audience that I wanted to grow. Like Facebook and Twitter, in the beginning I had visitors but no idea how to monetize them. Then, brands slowly started realizing how influential blogger voices really were. Yes, that’s me below as one of the most watched videos of the day on YouTube back in 2008.
First, YouTube ads began airing on partner uploads. Many partners still to this day earn anywhere from $1-3 CPM (that means they earn $1-3 per 1,000 views). For the top view getters, this means large paychecks. However, it is extremely difficult to break into YouTube nowadays unless you happen to have a ridiculously cute baby and friends who love to forward emails.
Other sites allow you monetize your blog by placing their ads on your site, like Foodbuzz, but unless you write 80% of the time about food, you are sh*t outta luck. You need to be accepted into the program, but don’t worry you can apply as many times as you want. I was not accepted until after my 3rd try.
Forming relationships through social media, like Twitter, may also get you contacted by companies whose products you already love. I’ve been extremely fortunate in this department. In the past year, four of my very own favorite brands have reached out to me to represent their products.
And lastly, thank goodness the fitness community these days seems to have it’s own budding network for bloggers to form relationships with brands. I introduce you to FitFluential. Created by social media mavens, Jennifer Edwards and Kelly Olexa, this new platform is the first of it’s kind helping connect the influencing voices of the fitness blog community with companies that want relationships with them. Their fitting tagline is ” Cultivating mutually beneficial relationships.” I’m not sure why it took so long for a company like this to be started. Obviously I was one of the first to sign up as an influencer and you can too!
With so many blogs out there these days, it’s easy to get lost in the crowd but finding early opportunities is one advantage I’ve been able to capitalize on.
