In recent times, people have become more comfortable with obtaining information from blogs – from entertainment news to local and international news, food, new places and a wide variety of information. A lot of people have subscribed to or follow bloggers on various social media platforms, so they can be the first to get all the juicy details of what’s happening around the world. These days, it is not only about going to the websites of bloggers to read what they have written, some also create and post videos on specialised areas on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, etc. This has increased the avenues that bloggers can explore to earn money. The proliferation of social media platforms is a great way to reach a lot of people.
As a blogger, the number of people who seek out your work is key. The more people you are able to reach, the greater your earning potential. And the more your work speaks and resonates with others, the more others would want to seek it. That being said, content creation is very important for bloggers – not just any content, but quality and audience-engaging content provided consistently. This is key in growing your follower base. Now, the question is, how do you make money out of the number of people that follow you?
By playing their cards right, bloggers can harness these avenues to make money:
- The Click
Based on the number of people your blog usually reaches, bloggers can bid for advertising networks to place ads on your site. Payment can be made based on the number of people who click on the link attached to the ads or based on the number of people who see the ads. Both the ad network and blogger can decide on the frequency of payment and the platforms to use. On your website, you need a lot of traffic to be able to make money using ads. On Instagram, it is easier to know the number of followers a blogger has. This helps to estimate the number of people who would be reached on a blogger’s page. Also, the calibre of people could be determined based on the content of a blogger.
Companies may decide to contract bloggers to create content about their products to entice the general public. This helps in deciding the kind of adverts to run on the pages of bloggers. For instance, Zubeida is a well-known food blogger with a wide reach on both her Instagram page and website. In the recent Coca Cola Zero Gravity campaign to reintroduce their zero-sugar variant, she entered into a paid partnership with the company and advertised on her page. Kwadwo Sheldon also advertised the GT Bank’s ‘Efiada Dwa’ Promo on his Instagram page for the bank.
- Use My Unique Code
Bloggers may establish a connection with a particular company and market the company products on their pages or website. The blogger is usually given a unique link to share on his or her platform. Whenever viewers click on those links to make purchases, the blogger earn a commission. This would require that the blogger has a lot of followers to be able to reach a wide network of people. Apart from the large followership, the bloggers must have a healthy relationship with their followers, this would help them take their word for it as they market the products. Bloggers who are seen as authorities in their space would have more people believing them when they advertise certain products especially if they use the products themselves.
- Providing services, coaching and consulting
As mentioned previously, when bloggers are seen as experts in the niche they have carved for themselves, people are more likely to listen to them on the said topic. Aside from working for other companies and advertising for them, bloggers can also set themselves up to coach and consult for people in their fields of specialisation. Maajoa is a tourism blogger who goes to various tourist sites in the country and shares her experiences with her followers. She has also set up her tourism company, where she acts as a tour guide and organises both private and public tours for interested individuals.
- Writing reviews
Bloggers may be paid to write reviews about certain products or places based on their expertise and follower base in the said field. Payment may be in cash, kind or both based on what they are reviewing. New hotels or restaurants or other places invite renowned bloggers to visit their locations and write about them on their blogs for the general public because they are assured that good reviews from these bloggers would increase their sales. That is why bloggers need to carve a niche for themselves – something they are well-known and respected for. This is what would inform decisions by companies to invite them for reviews. The Ghanaian food blogger, ‘eatwithsophz’, visits different restaurants and food joints to create videos about her experiences for her followers and rates them on a scale of 1 to 10. Kwadwo Sheldon also reviews music on his Youtube and Instagram pages.
- Event Coverage
People usually pay bloggers to cover their events to publicise and get them on the trend list. Others also ask bloggers to cover special events such as opening a new restaurant, a birthday, or even a funeral. In more recent times, bloggers are even paid to cover weddings in order to make couples trend. An example of such a blogger is ‘liveweddingswithkwaku’, an Instagram blogger who is well known for covering the most talked about weddings of the crème de la crème of the society. There are the likes of Ameyaw Debrah and Zionfelix, who were invited to cover Cardi B’s meet and greet session with Ghanaian celebrities in 2019.
There are many ways for a blogger to make a living. The most important key is finding or carving a niche for yourself and providing great and engaging content consistently. This way, you make a mark and leave a name in the industry. Your name will be mentioned in rooms and high places because your work speaks for you.
The writer is a corporate trainer and professional ghost-writer, assisting busy executives to write and publish their books, articles and speeches. He has served as Head of Protocol at a diplomatic mission, Corporate Affairs Officer at a French multinational agribusiness and as Events and Media Correspondent for a digital ad agency. You can contact the author via:[email protected]
