On Tap: Emily -- Emmy June (part two)

We are back today with more fabulous blogging advice from Emily  over at Emmy June (Born in May). There is no doubt this woman is quite savvy and knowledgeable when it comes to this blogging business. A real natural at it if you ask me. But you weren't asking me, were you? So go ahead and read the following information and have your mind blown. And then swing by and say hi to her on her blog when you're done here. Be sure to check out her travel section of her blog. She features bloggers who share their exotic and exciting vacations. Pretty sweet sizzle. 


Take it away, Emily...

I'm back with more blogging advice.  {I can feel the excitement in the air!}
First off, let me say the response to my first installment was uh-mazing.  It warmed my heart to get so many comments from bloggers saying that the advice helped them.  I know, I know, I'm a nerd.  I embrace it.

Without further ado, I give you Part II.

Sponsorship
So you want to grow your followers?  Paying to sponsor a big blog can be a nice way to do this in an expedited fashion.  Of course, there are free ways of doing this too, which I'll discuss in a moment.  If you want to do a paid sponsorship, here's what to consider:

1.) Does the blogger's content and writing style gel with yours?
2.) How has the blogger promoted sponsors in the past?  {go read old posts....if you were one of those sponsors, would you like the way you were presented?}
3.) Check out the usual stats {either provided on their "Sponsor" page or provided when you email them for sponsorship details.}  How many followers?  How many pageviews?  What size ads?  How much money?
4.) Does the blogger rotate the ads throughout the month for maximum exposure?
5.) Does the blogger tweet about sponsors or offer guest posts or hosted giveaways?
6.) Contact a current sponsor of the blog you're considering.  Ask them if they are happy with the experience and how many followers they gained.

My two cents: I would rather pay slightly more money to have a solo guest feature.  If I'm paying, I'd rather not share the spotlight.  Secondly, the best bloggers will never use the word 'sponsor' in their posts. When you read blogs that say "check out my lovely March sponsors", that translates in blogger language to "you can skip this post where I tell you how awesome the people are who paid me money."  {I see this a lot and I'm not being a hater; however I do believe that the very best bloggers promote their sponsors in a "check out this blog I love to read" kind of way instead.}

Also, sponsorship is not a silver bullet.  If your blog design is bad or you don't put time & effort into the introduction you provide the blogger, all the money in the world won't buy you new followers.  I also see some poorly designed buttons out there.  Why pay money to place a blah-button on someone's site? Invest in the basics first.

Guest Posting
This is an awesome way to meet new readers, and is mutually beneficial to both bloggers.  Even better? It's free!  Many bloggers have weekly series {such as my Tuesday Travel Diaries </end shameless plug>} for guest bloggers.  Otherwise, contact a blog buddy of yours and suggest that you blog swap for a day.  Your readers will follow you to your guest post, and the blog's regular readers will get a nice introduction to you and your writing.  It's a win-win.
{I also have a bit of a rant about guest post etiquette that I'm stewing on.  Coming soon...haha!}

Link-Ups
Another wonderful, free way to meet new bloggers.  There are link-ups galore around the blogosphere. However, a word of caution...it's easy to go overboard on these.  Yes, they are easy because the post is somewhat prompted and it's a nice way for your blog to be discovered.  The trap is that it can be difficult to make the content compelling.  Take a look at your Top 5 favorite blogs.  How many link-ups do they participate in each week?  I'm willing to bet the answer is zero to one.  Many big bloggers host a link-up, but it's rare to find them linking-up very often.    The reason goes back to creating unique, compelling content.

When you do a link-up, try to weave it into your post.  Your goal should be that your reader doesn't even know it's a link-up until you spill the beans at the end.

My favorite link-ups:
Ashley @ Aventures of Newlyweds hosts "Friday Letters"
Heather @ Undercover Blonde hosts "Book Club Friday"
{And, yes, all the good link-ups are on Fridays.  Oh, the dilemmas!}

Creative Content//Working Ahead
Jenni from Story of My Life recently attended a blogger conference.  She came back with this gem:

“People respond to original content.” –Camille, Camille Styles (Jenni’s note: this is one of the #1 most important things to understand if you want to grow your blog!  Curating content is gathering pictures/inspiration from around the web and compiling it on your blog. But people truly do respond best to original content, created by YOU, photographed by you, and with your own personality inserted!)


I agree with that statement 1,000%.  It's the reason I love my favorite blogs.  Strive for that!  The number one tip I can recommend to help with creative content is working ahead.  As soon as you feel the obligation to blog, you'll lose your desire.  And if you force it?  The content will suffer.  Write when you feel inspired.  The best bloggers do this.  They write several posts at a time, when they are feeling creative.  They have their posts scheduled 5-10 days in advance.  This gives them time to write, re-read, and edit.  But most importantly, it gives them freedom.  Let's face it--there are going to be days when you don't feel like blogging.  And the best thing to do on those days?  Don't blog.  If you work ahead, then you can honor your creativity, and avoid apathy.  

Labels
You might think the "Labels" section under your 'Post Settings' is just for you, as a way to categorize your content.  Or you might think it's just to make your label cloud look cool.  Well, you're wrong on both accounts.  Labels are the things that tell Google's search engines what your post is about.  Hence, they are an important way to drive traffic to your website.  Use them!  Single words are typically best.  Try to add at least three labels to every post.

Internal Links
These are another item that Google search engine's love.  Without going overboard, it's good to link to other parts of your blog, within your posts.  For example, at the top of this post, I linked back to 'Part I'.  I cannot tell you exactly why Google loves internal linking so much, but they do.  So use it to your advantage, when you can.


I really hope this blogging advice is helpful!  Clearly, I'm no expert, but I have done my research.


What advice would you give to bloggers?