I’m going to tell you something right off the bat – I’m in a horrible mood, I’m completely stressed out and have had muscle spasms throughout my back and neck for the past three days because of the stress. So attempting to find something to be thankful for at this moment seems like a stretch, but let’s see where we go with this.
Are You a One-Income Family?
Hubby brings home a check every two weeks and that pays our bills. The rent, the car payment, auto insurance, phone bill, electric, etc. Once all of that has been taken care of, we might be lucky to have $20 or $30 left out of his check to last us another two weeks until his next check. Most times we don’t even have that left over. So my blog is the vehicle that allows me to stay at home with my kids and still earn enough of an income to take care of the things that they need and sometimes a few extras (which is always nice).
The Dirty Truth About Blogging
Don’t go getting all excited and run out and buy a domain and a hosting service and start blogging. Being a blogger is time-consuming and you cannot just start a blog today and start making money tomorrow – if your legitimate that is.
Contrary to what the public thinks – when you see that we’ve participated in an opportunity or publish a sponsored post on our blog – we are doing so in BLIND FAITH. We have not been paid for our thoughts and opinions yet. We have not seen any return on the hours we spent working on the campaign, preparing the post, taking the best pictures possible, researching and doing what we do – showcase the item or topic in question in a brilliant, yet conversational way.
Most of the campaigns that you find through organizations such as BlogHer, One2One Network, IZEA, Massive Sway and Moms Affiliate just to name a few, have their payment structure set up to pay for campaigns 30, 45 or 60 days after the conclusion of an event. Even those affiliate networks that you think are making us money hand over fist – you get paid commissions 60 days after you’ve actually earned the commission.
Here’s how one such campaign I participated in worked:
Blogging is not going to give you a steady paycheck. There may be some months where you will not earn anything, and other months when you are so busy that you can barely keep up with all the work. This particular campaign I used as an example above actually began on August 24th and ended November 2nd, and I won’t receive payment for the work that I did until December 15th.
That is 113 days or 16 weeks that I have had to wait on payment for services rendered.
Most of the larger campaign organizers work this way. It isn’t because they don’t want to pay you. After the campaign has ended, they have their reports and information to compile to give to the sponsoring brand, company, or PR firm. That takes time. They send the information, the company approves it and then cuts the campaign organizer company a check. They deposit it and then disperse it to all the participating bloggers.
So Why Do You Do It?
That’s a very good question. Bloggers love what they do. It doesn’t matter what your blog is about, the main ingredient to a successful blog starts with you loving what you do. Me? I love to write, to share my life with the world, to tell my friends and readers about an awesome new product, give them chances to enter giveaways to win fabulous prizes. I simply love what I do. So yes, I take the “punishment” at times that is dished out to bloggers.
Let’s face it – would you work your 9 to 5 job and wait 2 months to get paid for the work you did?
The blogging world is different though. If you want to work with a particular PR firm or brand, or just really love the product or have wanted to try a particular item out – then you accept the terms, you go the distance, you do your job, give it 200%, and you trust that your blind faith will be rewarded as promised.
There are opportunities out there for you to work on campaigns and sponsored posts and get paid within 24 hours after you publish your post. They may not pay as much as those opportunities with the larger organizations, but the will give you the opportunity to try new things, learn something new, and give your readers with your honest insights and thoughts on a product that they might fall in love with!
In a Perfect World of Being Thankful
In a perfect world, I would like to see all bloggers paid the minute that review or giveaway is published to their blogs, or their social media shares have been completed, or their video review has been done.
Thank you for doing the job and turning it in on time. You have to wait 30 days for me to pay you for your attention to detail and timeliness though.
You have received the product you requested (a blog post, multiple social shares across multiple platforms) so it stands to reason that bloggers should receive their payment as soon as their work is completed.
Try walking into your local Target to buy a new set of dinnerware and flatware and telling them you’ll pay them in 30 days.
It isn’t a perfect world for bloggers though, and yes, there are times when you will be taken advantage of and you won’t receive a payment that was promised or it is delayed several weeks before it is finally received. As with anything in life, there are going to be successes and failures, thrills and disappointments.
So on those days when a payment is delayed, or your having to jump through hoops to please a sponsor, find the silver lining in the disappointment. Be thankful that you are a talented, amazing blogger with your own special gifts to offer the world. While there may be thousands of bloggers in the world, there is only one you – and I for one am thankful for that!
