Why I Took a Break from Sponsored Posts
There are many different ways to make money these days. It's even more amazing how one can make a living by blogging about anything. The business of blogging is a very profitable one. If you have the numbers and the audience, you can more than pay your bills. I only started accepting sponsored opportunities last year; it's always nice to get a check. But making money blogging is not everything and sometimes, it can do more harm than good.What are sponsored posts?A sponsored post, whether on your blog or social media pages, is one that a brand or agency commissions you to promote on their behalf.Why do influencers do them?When I first started my blog, I did it for the fun of it. I loved photography and I loved creative writing. The last thing on my mind was turning my blog into a business. To be honest, you don't even have to be great in order to make money online. You just have to be willing to promote and prove that you can provide value to the brand.Compared to many popular bloggers out there, I make pennies. I could make more but not at the cost of posting irrelevant content. Posting for value is more important to me than posting for consistency's sake. But when I had no income, those pennies came in handy. Even then, I still couldn't see myself dedicating so much of my posts to sponsored content.I won't lie, I still do sponsored posts. But last year, I found myself doing way more than what made me comfortable or that made sense. I'm a lifestyle blogger. That in itself opens the doors to many opportunities; oftentimes ones that don't fit with my message. When you're broke, you try to make things work for that check but that's not me. So I stopped doing them for a while and I'm glad I did.Now I won't knock anyone's hustle, but blogging/posting about baby wipes just because a company gave them to me is not my lane. And my readers will know when I did something for a check because the sponsored post will not align with my message, which is to inspire you to live a beautiful life.So now, not only am I only accepting paid promotions (because I don't need exposure, thanks), I am super selective about what I promote. You may see me promote certain brands over and over again (Hey, Target!) because I actually shop at their stores or use their products. That's being true to yourself, your brand and your audience.Are you a blogger struggling between blogging as a hobby and blogging for business? What's your take on sponsored posts? How can it be done while still remaining true to your brand and audience? Chime in!Photo credit: Katrina Chambers Blog