Izy Hossack, the 18-year-old creator of Top With Cinnamon, a baking blog with a monthly readership of around 200,000, has just published a book, thanks to the success of her venture. She has no desire to write about products that she is not using herself. She is one of many bloggers and vloggers who have to balance earning revenue from advertising and satisfying their readership. Almost any sort of blogger can earn enough to make a considerable contribution to their student budgets by following advertisers’ agendas. Eight&four, a digital marketing agency that provides advisory services to brands about working with bloggers, advises that the target audiences of student accommodation providers and financial institutions are particularly attractive to advertisers who understand the money-making potential of student bloggers.
Brands regularly sponsor bloggers and vloggers in order to get their products in front of specific audiences. For instance, companies send free samples of products to reviewers and competition winners. Bloggers then post their reviews, such as Hossack’s collaboration with Teapigs, which fitted seamlessly into a recipe post. Sponsored posts are a popular way for brands and bloggers to create content that is mutually acceptable. Ngoni Chikwenengere, a 21-year-old fashion design student whose blog is IAMNRC, argues that sponsored posts are an “organic” way of monetising blogs. She has already worked with Swiss Tourism Council, Nike and Samsung.
Monetising opportunities are limited for vloggers, however, those owning channels with large audiences can make a considerable return. Partnerships with YouTube and sharing in ad revenue offers an attractive pay-out for regular uploaders, such as Rosie Bea, a fashion and beauty YouTuber with over 80,000 subscribers to her channel, MsRosieBea. Supporting ads at the start of her videos provide a useful revenue stream, to which views and clicks contribute. Vloggers and bloggers need to put in plenty of effort before obtaining any significant revenue. Hannah Farrington, a law student at Manchester University who runs Hannah Louise Fashion, emphasises that “regular traffic and gaining a following” are essential before any significant revenue start to roll in. High-profile vloggers can earn as much as £4,000 for a product mention and up to £20,000 monthly for skin and banner adverts on their web pages, according to eight&four. However, as Hossack has indicated, writing campaigns with brands that involve spending a considerable amount of time or travelling are the most lucrative ways of monetising blogs and may contribute towards the substantial expense of a college education.
According to Nastasia Feniou, blogger partnerships manager for Europe at ShopStyle, affiliate schemes can bring in thousands of pounds per month or anywhere from £50 to £300 for bloggers. However, with ShopSense, payment is only made once bloggers reach a threshold of £100.
While blogging and vlogging may not be a cure-all for students’ financial struggles, they can certainly alleviate some of the stress with the right amount of creativity, commitment, business savvy, and organization.
Here are a few tips for monetizing your blog or channel:
– Quality content is crucial. A large audience isn’t possible without top-notch posts or videos. As Ross points out, starting a blog or channel for the sole purpose of earning money is unlikely to succeed. Genuine passion is what attracts followers.
– Be true to yourself and your audience. All sponsored content and advertising should be relevant to your followers and ideally endorse products or services you swear by. Hossack claims that authentic writing about something you don’t use is much more challenging. Always disclose when posts are sponsored or when products have been given to you for free.
– Do your research. "Spend time researching different advertising companies," says Hossack. Determine what your worth is and avoid overcharging or undervaluing yourself. You don’t want to put off brands who may have wanted to work with you, nor do you want PRs to ask you to write about their brands without compensation. Speaking with other bloggers can help you figure out what you should aim for.
– Get your name out there. Network with marketing departments and approach digital agencies with your audience metrics. Mace recommends emailing PR companies as they can connect you with brands that would complement your blog or channel content.
– Stay organized. Balancing creating high-quality content with student life can be tricky, so it’s crucial to manage deadlines and emails efficiently. “Some weekends I pre-film videos for the following weekend if I know I’m going to be busy,” says Bea. Make sure you have a schedule for releasing content and prioritize school or university work.
