This is becoming an increasingly common question in meetings and marketing strat sessions that I attend, even among the traditionalists: “How can we engage the top bloggers in South Africa?”.
So this post is for the SA Bloggers who would like to make some decent money from their blogs on the side. I know that this is not everyone, as there are some people who would prefer not to get involved with corporations or marketing. And yes, I’m aware that dollar-blogging has its critics.
They’re not all bad guys
The corporate marketers that I’ve chatted to have done their research. They are clued up about the advantages, risks and best-practices around the blogosphere. They’re not here to dictate the message, in fact they’re looking for people who can maintain their credibility with their audience over time. i.e. people with opinions.
The Aggregators
Another thing that I’ve noticed at most of these meetings is printouts from Amatomu and Afrigator of the top bloggers in the various categories. One wise marketer even had a printout of the most active users on Muti!
So these things count, your rankings count.
Media Buyers
So how can you engage?
- Well, obviously the first step is to get more serious about your blogging. Do it regularly and often. Choose good headlines and participate actively in the community.
- Choose your subject carefully and stick to it. Media buyers are looking for relevance and a specific audience.
- Use Google Analytics to track your stats. This is useful because it’s a standard analytics package that media-buyers can use as a reference. You can also give them login access to view the information live and unedited, which increases trust.
- Be professional. Brand managers typically don’t want to be associated with crudeness, no matter what kind of traffic you’re getting.
- Have a rate card. Know what your real-estate is worth.
- Don’t use mainstream online media as a pricing reference, you can charge a higher CPM as a blogger because of the relationship value and feedback mechanisms offered by blogs.
Besides Advertising
There are other ways to make money from your blog:
- Research: If you can help with surveys, or get comments and feedback from your users about a particular question, then this would perhaps be an even better investment by marketers. Good qualitative research doesn’t come cheap.
- Campaign Strategies: As experienced as these marketers are, the world of Social-Media and the blogosphere is completely new to them. There’s much demand for people who can make this space simpler to navigate.
- Reviews: You might not get paid to do reviews, but certainly a major perk of being a prominent blogger is all the gadgets and products you can get sent to try out – from cars to cellphones – review bloggers have it good. Sometimes they even let you keep it:)
- Blogger2go: Writing for the blogosphere is almost an art. There’s alot of other bloggers out there, so to get noticed is no small feat. Put on your taxonomy/folsonomy; SEO; Linking; SMM; ORM; CSS; HTML; Photography; Videography; Podcasting and Networking hats all at the same time, and get paid to blog for businesses.
- The Indirect Approach: Even though I don’t sell advertising on this blog, it is still a tremendous asset and income generator for me. I monetize my work here through the business leads it generates through people picking it up on Google, or readers in companies contacting me about work. If I have capacity I do the work myself, or if not I can usually refer these leads on to someone else for commission.
An Inconvenient Truth
Unfortunately, the sponsorship train doesn’t stop for everyone. The reason that most companies want to get involved in the blogosphere is because of the viral aspects of it. i.e. They’d prefer to pay a few people, who would then inspire their blogger mates to write more about the company/product/service for free.
Will the Real ProBloggers Please Stand Up?
I know that there are people in SA making a healthy income on the side from their blogs, mainly off affilliate revenue, and a few advertisers. Are you also? Do you want to? What other advice would you give. Also, do you think this is bad for the blogosphere, or supportive?
Hey Dave,
Thanks for the pingback. Great post, and I think it is time that South African corporates start following international trends and use bloggers more effectively. You say have a Rate Card, but how does one gauge what they worth ? I guess it may take time before we all know what we really worth
Will keep an eye out on this one
Cheers
Marc
Hey Marc, it is a matter of testing the market with regards to CPM. Mainstream online media are typically charging around 25c CPM, I think bloggers can charge up to R5 CPM. Anyone else have an opinion/insight on this?
Dave, fantastic posts. I especially value the networking capabilities that blogging has provided me. I have received numerous business leads from both my blogs and newsletters.
I do get paid for blogging for a couple of clients, and some pay me to build their brand including more than just blogging ie link changing, “pitching” PR and generally putting their brand in front of the desired audience.
Blogging still needs to catch on on mainstream consumers, my belief anyhow, and more so small businesses, which is my target audience predominantly.
What I always suggest to clients though, my biggest tip, is to get a profile going on Facebook, Linked-In and MyGenius. No matter how small or insignificant it seems, many many of my projects and leads have come from Facebook incidentally.
You also get to know industry related contacts which is invaluable. This is slightly off topic but adds up to the entire networking and branding strategy. Purely by blogging, if you’re not a top 10 blogger like me, won’t get the brand out there as effective as you hope.
Well, numbers count. ranking, page views and unique visitors. My experiences on Keo, where we had a dedicated sales team to deal with advertising. Our biggest source of income was not with digital agencies, often when we ran into marketers that had an idea of how online advertising worked, we struggled because our click through rate was very low. A lot of our clients were advertisers to the paper version of the site SA rugby magazine and they got the website as an extension of their print campaigns so this helped.
We also used a slightly different model, we sold 30 day blocks at a set rate and you fell in to our rotation.
We also sold content sponsorship. ie all Super 14 content was owned by Vodacom and branded appropriately. This was very profitable. So perhaps look with in the industry you are writing for. Ie Car blogs – Car companies and associated industries.
I think before thinking of how to make money the question should really be how to make traffic, as this makes your sale of space considerably easier if you have strong readership numbers. And the easiest way to generate readership is controversial content interspersed with your daily news….easy considering the nature of rugby in SA.
And talk back to the people who comment on your blog, a study i shouldn’t be quoting but will none the less gave me a figure that was incredible. 41% of people who did not get a response to their first comment never came back…..so engage and actively develop your community, return readership boost your numbers.
Hi Dave,
Great post.
With regard to rates/rate card, bloggers will need to have an understanding of their own value for individual advertisers before discussing rates. Setting a single rate will discourage general advertisers who are looking for reach, and relevant advertisers will see it as too cheap (so they’ll either buy it and the blogger is unaware of the potential increased revenue, or they’ll think it’s too small time to take seriously.)
When valuing your ad inventory you need to bear in mind traffic quality. A media buyer (a smart one) will ask where your traffic comes from- (Geo, Source, etc). If I’m going to spend my clients money I want to make sure it’s not going to be on a site where the audience is from the US and the source of the traffic is google images.
There is absolutely no reason why some SA bloggers can’t genuinely ask for R50-R100 CPM. However the content needs to be relevant and the audience needs to be targeted.
If you’re serious about making money from your blog, the most important number you should be looking at is ‘yield’. Whilst the bottom line will impress your mates down the pub, your yield shows the successful monetization of your site.
Great post. But, like with what happens most of the time among the SA blogosphere, you focus on the techie / geeky / young male portion of the blogging community (except for Keo, who is in a category all on his own
) What about the personal bloggers, like me? I make fairly good money off my blog, both directly (ad revenue) and indirectly. My blog is responsible for the creation of my personal brand, and has resulted in various other income streams: my book deal, my weekly column, many writing opportunities, many speaking opportunities, and (hopefully) a ‘paid for’ blogging opportunity soon.
I think there is great opportunity to use your blog as a platform to create / enhance your personal brand, and to use that opportunity to create additional revenue streams. And this is not just for the young techie males (or the sports mad men), but also for terminally underrated mommy bloggers like me.
Not that I am feeling left out or ignored or anything like that
I’m a full-time employee, and not a new media entrepreneur at this stage, but I agree with you about using an un-monetised blog for lead generation. Apart from anything else, it (a significant part of) your portfolio as a blogger.
Tertia, you make a great point!
Sorry I’m late on the comment replies- went out for a meeting and was delighted to see all the activity when I got back:)
@Tertia: Lol! Just wanted to spread the linklove where it might be most useful… Don’t think you need any more traffic:)
@Grant: I think this merit’s a whole follow-up post. Thanks for sharing.
@Henri: Good point, blogs aren’t the most efficient way to build relationships online.
@Ant: …and building goodwill.
Thanks Dave! From a media strat/planning and buying point of view, the appeal of targeting niche blog audiences is the positive response rate, which makes this very cost effective in comparison to traditional online media placements. The level of engagement blogs offer advertisers and marketers really extends the adspend. So I’m all for blogs have structured rates and ad opportunities – bring on those rate cards ïŠ Though I would be more inclined to look at opportunities that offer CPC/CPA rather than CPM…even if the CPC rate is quite pricey, it can certainly be justified where clicks lead to conversions.
CPM is usually negotiable depending on relationship with the buyer/agency/advertiser & media owner, volume, timing etc, but yes standard rate-card rates are generally in the region of 25c per impression, but it is very seldom that one has to pay that. Discounts or added value offered usually bring the rates down to 10-15c per impression. It also depends on where the ads run, and the level of targeting, e.g. I’ve had as low as 2c from one of the bigger media networks for Run Of Site ads. But I’m still very much a fan of CPC!
Hi Tereza, thanks for your input, very useful. I actually had our meeting in mind when I wrote this, and remembered how we got shot down when we brought up CPC!
I’ve found on Tectonic that we’ve had limited success with CPC, although I understand why marketers like it so much. What has been more successful is to sell advertising space by time. So parcel up available space into week-long or month-long packages and sell that.
Most of our current advertisers have been with us for years (literally). Part of the reason for that goes back to your points, Dave, on being professional and representing a community. Tectonic is unashamedly geeky. Our readers are geeks, hackers, IT workers, many of which have been reading Tectonic for years. I generally try and avoid selling simple click-throughs and rather offer Tectonic as a place where there is a loyal community.
The bad news is that it is still very difficult to make a living from a blog. After more than five years I still have to have a regular job to pay the bills. But I have met fantastic people and been to interesting places. So it’s not been a waste.
Sheesh, that’s hectic cos Tectonic is a well established media-space. I do think that the situation is going to change for bloggers – maybe not to make enough money to do it full-time on one blog, but certainly a very decent way to invest time.
Thanks for sharing your insights Alistair.
Very cool topic. Funny it’s something I’ve ranted and raved about for various corporate companies I’ve worked for and they’ve always told me how BLOGGING was a waste of time…
A strategy I very often use with my SEO packages I offer especialy in highly competative industries is to first start off with a BLOG. Get a targeted audience actively participating in your BLOG community then use that to your advantage in driving traffic to your business site.
It’s educating the big businesses out there to get their staff and clients to participate. Needs to be part of coporate education in big businesses. For some reason it only seams to be the big media companies that fully take advantage.
Targeted traffic whether big or small in a niche market will bring great coversions.
I really need to step up to the plate when it comes to getting some form of monitisation for my podcast. And I can probably speak for many SA bloggers out there – what would be the stratigy one would follow when approaching corporates for marketing opportunities. Gosh, very often lately I’ve been mentioning some or other bad news or weird and wacky story about SAA, but gosh, they would make a great sponsor for the show since a vast number of visitors to SA travel on SAA.
Pretty awesome stuff Dave. I must say one thing though.. the people making the most money via affiliate marketing and domaining in South Africa are actually people who never talk about it and don’t look for any PR. I know 3 or 4 people who are making in excess of R50,000/month just through affiliate websites. I’ve actually tried to get one or two of them to allow me to do a case study on them, which I would then leverage into a blog post, but they refuse to act on it, as it would be giving away their niche markets basically.
I think that making money online in South Africa is something which is still so very untapped, in fact, I’d feel safe in saying that over the next year or so, the interest and success will increase ten fold.
I’d be curious to know, out of all the people mentioned in the post, how many have received a 5 digit cheque for online marketing, let alone a 6 digit
Interesting points you raise Dave, good one!
Ps. Loving the TrafficSynergy TravelStart banner
Yip – fresh in my mind
though in that meeting client was not too hot on PPC (i.e. SE text & image ads), rather than CPC – image ads on publisher sites where the rate model is CPC – not too common in SA as we don’t really have the volume to make this a viable revenue source, though that could be a full debate of its own.
I’ll elaborate, again from a wholistic planning view: a brand strategy may include any number of formats, for e.g. SMM, SEO, PPC and Media Buy, all tracked through Google Analytics. Objectives could be mainly awareness/branding and leads/sales. Looking at spend vs leads, PPC and CPC win hands down. Comparing branding value (reach, views, response/yield, shelf life), SMM results have floored more traditional online media placement.
Alistair, Tectonic obviously offers advertisers good value, in terms of ROI, target audience, brand association and credibility, and the fact that you don’t have 40 billion ad spots per page – unfortuantely not always the case in sponsorship-type packages.
I think it’s fantastic that there is opportunity in ‘new’ new media formats, adding depth to online advertising, and it makes work fun!
Have you noticed the monetised blogs that have been launched in response to load shedding? There’s energycrisis.co.za, shedhappens.co.za,…
Very quick to have a go. Wonder how they’re doing.
(Okay, we’re also jumping into that space with sheddinglight.wordpress.com, but that space is where a lot of our supporters are right now.
)
@Glen: First step is to introduce yourself to some media planners. I’ll get a list together and post it later. One easy option is to register on Encyclomedia.co.za
@ChrisM: I actually had one such guy as a student at UCT last year – 20years old and coining ±R50k a month on a couple of online ventures on the side. I think Eric Edelstein might be someone worth asking the 5-digit question to;)
@Tereza: If you don’t mind, I’d like to publish some of your insights on a subsequent post (along with some other’s views from the comments here)
@Anthony: Lol, Shedhappens!? Classic. Charl Norman also has one: powerloss.co.za
Sure.
Also, I am very keen to hear what you guys have to offer Glen (I’m thinking corporate sponsorship opportunities for Law Firm client for podcasts, and we’re recommending they inlcude podcasts on their new site which is currently under re-development), Alastair (image ads for big computer & office automation brand, just run a very successful SMM campaign for them and we’re pitching for the next launch)…when we plan SMM campaigns we set aside budget for paid-for placements as some of the more visual/engaing inlcusions carry a price tag, which is fine wiht us!
Ye Dave, they’re few and far between aren’t they. Well, as far as 5 digit cheques go, I have received 5 digit cheques on two occasions, so I’m not really running around wondering who the people are, it was more along the lines of me stating that most the the ‘in blogging crowd’, wouldn’t be able to squeeze out a $100 adsense cheque
It’s just something I feel rather strong about, PR is great, advertising has its purposes, but a lot of the local guys have PR’ed themselves to the top and claim to know affiliate marketing, but actually have no proof. But anyway, not here to rank 
Keep well Dave!
There are lots of monetizing websites:
capetowngenerators.co.za
generatorscapetown.co.za
and I’m sure we’re going to see hundreds more in the next couple of months!
hi out there
I had a similar discussion with a few bloggers at a wordpress meetup recently. We all blog for different reasons, some for fame, others for money, others want to be seen as authorities.
I think basically though, all bloggers are looking to establish some form of value for themselves be it monetary or other. When you’re not doing it specifically for money though, how do you go about assessing the value.
Blogging from a corporate perspective would probably be trying to figure this one out. How does a company quantify the value a blog ads if it’s activities are not necessarily directly related to sales.
Ireally enjoyed the articles I just wish that I could get my book publish this is my first book and its and interesting story but I would love to get paid first because I know that it would keep the public eye into this book where they wouldnt want to put it down.
Thank you for a wonderful article. i would really like to start writing blogs and get paid for it and i don’t know where to start. please help me. Its not really about money but i like getting paid for my time and i need to make an effort of writing change i believe in. i would really appreciate if someone can help me out here.
Thanks in advance.
Ruru
Great article Dave.
Although, it has left more questions than answers. I’m relatively new to the concept of blogging for cash. In fact I have never even blogged before.
A student of journalism, I like many others never got started working as a journalist. Now, 4 years out of university I have no experience in the field and I’m finding it very difficult to secure interviews.
I guess the problem with being a newbie is I also have no idea where to start. I know blogging is a very personal thing i.e. websites and topics etc. There are so much information and so many choices it gets a little confusing. I would like to skip out on the trial and error part of setting up my own independent blog site and trying to sell advertising etc or signing up for a blog that promises a lot but doesn’t really deliver.
I would obviously like to get paid as I am unemployed, but I would also like to slot in somewhere that already have an extensive readership base. Firstly because that would make it easier to build a ranking and secondly, because I would like to maximise my exposure and hence the chances for referral work though networking, perhaps even get a real job
although blogging by all accounts can be considered a profession. Do professional bloggers usually blog for one site or a number of different site? Is it similar to a freelance writer writing for a number of publications or is there some sort of code of ethics bloggers should be abiding by?
I like the idea of local readership, building South Africa as a community and a brand, but would not be averse to posting on international sites. The only problem with going international is exposure to South African audience would be minimised and the cultural aspect of any individual’s writing could be lost on international audiences. Do bloggers find that location with regards to their readers is of any relevance? I suppose it really depends on the topic. You can’t write about the night life in Cape Town and live in Johannesburg, but you could live in Durban and write about new cars for a JHB based site.
I am aware that there is no single simple answer, but I guess what I am really looking for is some guidance on fast tracking the process of becoming a successful blogger.
Comments, suggestions and ideas are anxiously awaited.
Harry J
Hey Harry,
I get the impression that you’re being a little risk averse OR not being prepared to do the kak work that precedes success. Am I wrong?
It really isn’t difficult to get a strong local following if you’re disciplined about your blogging, by which I mean choosing and sticking to a subject, and promoting your content (via aggregators, bookmarks, communities, networking etc).
Out of the thousands of people I’ve taught about blogging, only about 10% of people have actually taken it up. I think the first step is the most daunting. You have to persist though, because the early days of a blog’s life can be the most lonely – it takes time to build up a regular readership.
However, I know this isn’t the most practical advice when you need to pay the bills in the short term.
Could you perhaps drop me an email? Let me know what you’d be most interested in writing about, cos I occasionally need writers to assist with corporate contracts.
Awesome to come back and read this post, and compare it to how things are going at the moment. I think awareness around affiliate marketing and making money online has increased, but I still don’t see too many locals making a whopping!
Chris! Thanks for coming back to this post. Indeed, it is good to reflect. At the time of writing this post you had yet to crack the 5 figure a month income from blogging – and there wasn’t an adgator, and major corporate sponsorships weren’t commonplace. Wow. We’ve come a long way.
Rock on, Chris. You’re an inspiration to many.
Perhaps this will inspire you to write another post with what’s going on today compared to this?
Ah, the 5 digit thing – It was more about receiving a 5 digit cheque from one place rather than a sum of all incomes online. Good news is that I have nailed this on a number of occasions and have since, received 2 x 5 digit checks in 1 month from 2 companies *smiles*
Funny thing is, these days I’m not concentrating much on making money online, I’ve moved into other areas of interest and am planting seeds with hopes of flowers blooming
Lekker to catch up mate and thanks for the kind words!
Thanks for a great article Dave.. am curious to know how you set up a rate card and what kind of CPM rates you’d recommend (not sure advertisers would pay a premium over normal online media rates)