Author: Kurt Schauer
When you hear the word blogger, do you think of someone sitting comfortably in front of a notebook with a cup of coffee, turning their hobby into money with the greatest of ease? You would do best to correct that idea right away. We will show you why blogging is not an easy way to make a living – and why, for this very reason, you should definitely set aside part of your budget for these authors.
A blog is a blog?
If you would like to use a blog as a marketing tool, that is generally a good idea. At the same time, however, you should bear in mind that the differences from supposedly similar channels can sometimes be glaring.
For example, no two blogs are alike: very widespread blogs of questionable quality, for instance, aim at countless product tests. You will often find these blogs in connection with affiliate marketing. Also popular for „a quick buck“ are blogs that practically rehash content from other authors, reproduce it in a different form and hope for numerous views and thus a few clicks on advertising banners. As a rule, this is also not the variant you would want to win over for your company.
Instead, you want to win over the long-established, well-known bloggers. These people possess a quality that other portals do not offer: the trust of their readers.
The value of „real“ bloggers
Over the years, bloggers have built up a fan base of tens of thousands ready to read the author’s posts. The reader immediately knows what to expect: they know the author and feel connected to them in a way that cannot be achieved through classic websites or even very target group-specific social media channels, for example. A distinct touch of personality blows through a blog that has become known over the years and whose author readers seem to know almost personally.
These are always extensively maintained blogs that have been provided with new content since their inception. The design is tailored to the target group – and at the same time to the author’s personality – and every letter and every comma is in the right place. Because: The blogger writes here themselves, and perfection is the top priority. You, as an entrepreneur, can also capitalize on this incomparably fertile ground. To do this, however, you must treat the blog correctly as a marketing instrument – and the kaos advertising agency will show you how.
Blogs and Brand Building
Consider the following points to understand why successful bloggers are worth your investment:
- Blogs of the type described rarely serve as a direct sales channel. For example, if you contact a blogger and ask if they would test a specific product sold by your company, you can rarely expect direct increases in sales of that product. It is less a tool for achieving short-term revenue and profit increases than for sustainable marketing.
- Understand a blog as an opportunity to increase your brand’s awareness. Typically, a blogger will only discuss your company (or its products or services) if there is already a certain thematic relevance to the blog’s regular content. This way, you receive advertising that practically exclusively reaches your target audience, making it as efficient as possible. No other marketing instrument offers you this certainty.
- Blogs are, as already mentioned, a highly individual matter. Your brands will probably not be addressed in such a personal (and open) way anywhere else as they are on a successful blog. You can capitalize on this by transforming a rather distant image of your company into a target-group-oriented, positive light. Blogs are an excellent tool not only for advertising but also for image polishing.
- Also, consider this: The post about your company will probably also contain negative remarks, as blogs are, after all, a personal medium. It is best to accept this approach, because: The readership is not foolish and knows that perfect products or brands cannot exist. Therefore, view negative opinions as a means to give your brands room for error – and thus to infuse them with humanity and authenticity.
Practice patience
The aforementioned trust, built over many years, will not be risked by any blogger for a one-off post for your company. Imagine successful bloggers as excellent brand ambassadors – but only if you can convince them to collaborate. Even for higher amounts, you will not be able to get a blogger to sing the praises of one of your products if the person is not genuinely impressed by it. Finding a good blogger is therefore also a question of patience. Ultimately, however, the wait pays off, as you only want to attract truly convincing, excellent bloggers for your company.
By gaining an established person within the community as a blogging partner, you can also expect a certain domino effect: the post will very likely be read by other bloggers and rated as recommendable, which you can practically count as free advertising. This also allows you to win over readers of other blogs, who will thus carry your brand further. If you rely on a rather unknown person without the necessary connections to other bloggers, this effect will not occur.
Budget Planning for Your Personal Blogger
If you manage to collaborate with a blogger on native advertising posts, you should prepare an appropriate budget. A person who generates a six-figure number of visitors per month will probably not be convinced by an amount of 100 Euros. Plan with ten times that value, and you will reach areas where the blogger might cooperate with you.
Do not underestimate the work of bloggers: In addition to the pure writing effort, bloggers also publish their posts on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media services; there might even be YouTube in the form of videos or various photography platforms like Instagram. The effort behind a good blog post, which could drastically increase your brand’s visibility practically overnight, should not be underestimated. Therefore, do not argue with points like „So much money for so little text?“. The overall framework is what matters – and if you look at it more closely, you will find that marketing through blogs is a rather cost-effective matter.
Do you have questions?
Kurt Schauer
Managing Director
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