How To Write Sponsored Blog Posts That Make Brands Come Back For More

Are you a blogger looking for sponsored writing work that will help you pay the bills? Perhaps you already have an established blog and online following – or maybe you’re just starting out. Either way, if you’re hoping to make money by writing and posting sponsored content, it’s certainly worth going about it in the right way if you hope to build a positive reputation and form good working relationships.

In the eternal spotlight of the online world, success is all about maintaining a professional reputation and good working practices. The better your website and your writing, the more you can reasonably expect to charge for your work. So without any further waffle, here’s how to write sponsored posts that will keep brands and brand managers coming back for more.

1. Get to know the brand

When you’re presented with a new brand to collaborate with, the first and most important thing to do is understand their aims. Who is their audience? What are they about? And what are they trying to achieve?

You’ll be writing in your own unique voice, of course, but it still helps to get to know theirs. How do they usually present themselves? How would they want you to present them to others?

Before you start writing anything, spend some time on their website. Consider what angles and ideas will appeal to both the brand and its audience. Become familiar with their products and services and what benefits they have for the user.

It’s worth thinking carefully about the angle, because bear in mind that the brand will likely have approached several bloggers looking for posts. Most will go with the first and easiest idea that comes to them. If you can spice things up with a creative – but still relevant – approach, you immediately make yourself more memorable.

2. Write well

Hopefully, if you’re a blogger, you already know how to write well. This much should be obvious if you hope to secure regular paid work from brands – the content absolutely needs to be good quality. In addition, here are some pointers for writing web-friendly copy that brands will be happy they paid you for:

• Write plenty. 400-500 words at a minimum, unless the brand has specified a particular word count. Remember they’re looking for rich, natural copy with relevant keywords. Don’t try to palm them off with a hurried 100-worder
• Don’t rush. Sure, the more posts you can complete in a day, the more you get paid; but if the quality starts to suffer, you can be sure it gets noticed
• Keep paragraphs short and use bulleted lists. Web users tend to scan content rather than read it thoroughly. That’s probably what you’re doing right now! Aim for ~3 sentences per paragraph
• Check your spelling and grammar. Tools like Grammarly and Hemingway are useful for ensuring typos are picked up on before you submit your work. And most importantly, make sure you get the brand name right!
• Write in your own voice, rather than as an advertiser. Your independent voice is what brands are paying you for – and it’s what your readers like about you
• Tell an interesting story and make it personal and enjoyable. If the post bores you, it will almost certainly bore your followers and your sponsor

3. Follow the brief

When brands approach you for sponsored work, then once accepted, they will undoubtedly provide you with a brief, even if it’s a fairly loose one. Whatever the brief, make sure you follow it to the letter. Don’t make them chase you up on minor details.

If you’re the kind of blogger who gets their articles spot on every time, brands and their representatives will love you, and you will likely get more work from them.

Briefs might include: incorporating keywords and phrases, using set anchor text, linking to a different page (not necessarily the homepage), and ensuring that the link you include is do-follow. They may also provide you with a deadline and word count.

The link is particularly important – this is what drives SEO. You’d be amazed how many bloggers neglect to double-check that the link is working before publishing sponsored posts. Save the editor a job and get it right first time around.

4. Understand their objectives

Why do brands approach bloggers for sponsored blog posts? Most of the time it’s because they want to build links. And successful link building is a precise and surgical process.

Long gone are the days where it’s appropriate to stuff content with the same keywords over and over. Google will actually penalise you for that now. Instead, search engines look for natural, varied copy that users find valuable.

The best bloggers work sponsored links into their content naturally, using relevant, partial match anchor text. You want to include your paid link in such a way that it doesn’t feel sponsored – even though it is. Take an editorial approach, rather than shamefacedly advertorial.

You should also be discerning about the other links you include in your article. Internal links to other pages on your blog are absolutely ok – you should be doing this to help search engines crawl your website (this is known as breadcrumb navigation). Neutral authority links to back up the points you make are also ok. Links to competitor sites, spammy links, or attempting to kill two birds with one stone by including other paid links in the same post – not ok.

5. Go the extra mile

Finally, look for other ways that you can make your sponsored post stand out. Images and videos are great, particularly if you’ve been sent a product sample to write about, as these significantly improve engagement. Nice, relevant stock photographs (try Pexels or Unsplash for free images) are good too.

Think about how you can add extra value for your sponsor. Remember that the better the post performs, the better for both you and the brand. Here are some simple ideas to make your content more engaging. If you have a strong social following, be sure to make the most of it.

And last but not least, be pleasant to work with. If you’re a professional blogger with a good attitude and a willingness to go above and beyond, brands will be falling over themselves to work with you again.

Hopefully this post has given you some useful insight into what brands are looking for when they contact bloggers and influencers. If you have any thoughts or feedback based on your own blogging experiences, we’d love to hear from you.