making money from your food blog - nick carter, co-founder, sous chef
Post on 07-Dec-2014
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Direct Monetization
Nick CarterCo‐Founder, Sous Chef
Monetisation
Direct‐ Sponsored content‐ Advertising‐ Affiliate marketing
Indirect
‐ Publishing
‐ Freelancing
‐ Consulting
‐ Supper club / Food truck
• Content• Visitors• Influence
What do other UK bloggers earn?
Source: Tots100/Realwire 2012. Survey of 500 parent bloggers http://www.tots100.co.uk/2012/02/01/how‐parent‐bloggers‐make‐money/
susaneatslondon
Direct Monetisation Techniques
Sponsored Content Display Advertising Affiliate Marketing
Examples
• Product Review• Competition• Product/restaurant
news piece
• Banner Ad• Contextual Ad• Retargeting Ad
• Product link• Widget• aStore
How to find it
• Inbound• PRs• Networking
• Ad networks • Affiliate networks• Direct from merchant
How it’s paid Free SampleNegotiated Rate CPC / CPM Commission
Sponsored Content
Sponsored Content
You can pick and choose what to feature
You can decide how it appears
Non‐technical to implement
Some scope to negotiate over price
X Risk of alienating readersX Is time consuming to
produceX Hourly rates can work out
very low
Compliance
“Online promotional activity, just like any other promotional activity, must clearly identify when promotions and editorial comment have been paid for, so that consumers are not misled”
Office of Fair Trading
http://www.oft.gov.uk/news‐and‐updates/press/2010/134‐10#.UdWyEfnVBXk
“We expect all advertising online to be legal, decent, honest and truthful”Advertising Standards Authority
“Paid links: We urge webmasters use nofollow on such links. Search engine guidelines require machine‐readable disclosure of paid links in the same way that consumers online and offline appreciate disclosure of paid relationships (for example, a full‐page newspaper ad may be headed by the word "Advertisement”)” Google
https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/96569?hl=en
Market price benchmarks
Source: Tots100/Realwire 2012. Survey of 500 parent bloggers http://www.tots100.co.uk/2012/02/01/how‐parent‐bloggers‐make‐money/
Price setting – other considerations
• Hourly rate• Which one?
• Attractiveness, relevance and newsworthiness• Would I (or others) write about it anyway?
• Relative negotiating strength
• In‐kind vs cash
• Opportunity cost• What could I have earned if I didn’t do that?
• Delivered value• How much value am I creating for the advertiser?
Sponsored Content ‐ troubleshooting
1. Too few offers (relative to your size/influence)• Identify relevant PRs; network to them via the blogging community, twitter, LinkedIn, introduce yourself and your blog
2. Too many irrelevant offers• These are leads not spam! Turn them to your advantage with a well‐crafted response
3. Too many cheeky requests• Irrelevant company + irrelevant agency + cheeky = ignore• Relevant company or agency = sell yourself
4. Product was lousy•Tell the agency or company first
• If you’ve done the work – e.g. tested it and written up the test – then its reasonable to ask for payment irrespective of the action then taken
What turns PRs on and off
• Quality blog appearance• Good photography• Aesthetic design• Well proof‐read
• Clear interest in food and drink• Existing well‐written, positive reviews of similar brands
• Different angle• Content flexibility
Turn ons Turn offs
• Unexpected negative reviews• No review• Review shorter than expected• Coy about traffic data
Display Advertising
Network Advertising
Free and easy to set up Automatic Contextual targeting
delivers reasonably relevant ads
Some control over ads served – e.g. exclude adult themes
X Can spoil the design of your site
X Don’t know what’s going to be displayed
X Earnings variable and often low
X Relatively inflexible – i.e. little you can do to influence earnings
Direct Advertising
Free to negotiate your own rates
Full control over ads served
Earnings generally more stable
No network fees to pay
X Need to find the advertisers yourself
X Negotiating/ billing/ chasing payments is time consuming
X Can be difficult to demonstrate value to the advertiser
Some Ad Networks to Consider
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate Marketing
Free to choose who and what to promote
High level of control over type of links or adverts displayed
Extensive scope to increase earnings through your own actions
X More fiddly and time consuming to set up than display advertising
X Merchant might not want to work with you
X Direct affiliate relationships are hard to police
Continental Europe
Best Affiliate Networks for Food & Cookery
UK
Selecting Merchants
Program Merchant Fit
ALL EQUALLY IMPORTANT
Selecting Merchants
• Commission• % of order value• £ per new customer• Flat or tiered?
• Cookie period• Affiliate requirements
• Restrictions• Bidding on keywords
Program Merchant Fit
• Online v multichannel• Is your reader already a customer?
• Product range• Service / reputation• Location• Site conversion rate
• Delivery rates
• Average order value• Net or gross of delivery?• Net or gross of VAT?
• Your content• Your demographic• Your readers’ interests• Your readers’ location
Ideas for affiliate and reader‐friendly content
• Kitchen gadgets I can’t live without• My most‐used cookbooks• Where to buy unusual ingredients• Videos showcasing your photography equipment and routines
• Recommendations for products related to dietary needs (e.g. gluten free resources)
Affiliate Programs to Consider
Supermarkets
Speciality Food
Cookware/Cookbooks
Subscription Boxes
The Sous Chef Affiliate Program
Contact me for more details: hello@souschef.co.uk
Appendix
Useful things
Tools
• Google analytics• Google webmaster tools• Food Blogger Pro• Pro blogger• Gorkana• www.payperpost.com• www.sponsoredreviews.com• www.blogsvertise.com• www.foodies100.co.uk
Reading
• Pinchofyum• Tots100 report• eConsultancy
What to include in a rate card / Media Pack
Details of What You Offer and its Cost
• The space or spaces offered (ideally as an graphic or screenshot) for ads/sponsorship
• Size in pixels• Rotation• Artwork format
• Rates for sponsored posts, reviews, freelance work
• Price and duration
• Minimum term, bulk discounts
Information About Your Blog
• Traffic & Google Analytics screenshots• Site overall, by month• Specific pages, by month
• Topics covered
• Reader demographics
• Awards
• Unique Selling Points
• Social Media followers if significant
• Your credentials if relevant
Administrative Details
• Payment terms
• How to book
• Contact details
Example Disclosure Policy
This blog is a personal blog written and edited by [INSERT NAME]. This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship and other forms of compensation. I am sometimes compensated to provide opinion on services, products, websites and various other topics. Even though compensation is received for these I will always give my honest opinion, findings, beliefs or experiences on what I am reviewing.I will always fully disclose, upfront, if compensation has been received.I have a business interest in the following companies, INSERT COMPANY NAMES, and will always disclose this when writing about them or similar companies.This blog is not responsible for what you might click through from advertisements.
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