Persevering Momma

Taking The Day One Spoon At a Time

What is a Media Kit?

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Mini Challenge for Blogathon Bash

This post: What is a Media Kit? is a Mini Challenge for the Biannual Blogathon Bash.  Anyone is welcome to the information in this post though if you join the current Biannual Blogathon Bash will you be able to be eligible for prizes.  If you would be interested in participating in the Biannual Blogathon Bash it isn’t too late!  You can still sign-up for the event and be eligible for
prizes from completing mini challenges in this event!

What is a Media Kit?

You might be a new blogger or not; maybe you just have heard of media kits, but never got around to learning what a media kit really is.  That is okay.  I didn’t know what one was when I first started blogging.  Then once I “figured” it out I took the time to make one only to realize I had no idea what I was doing.  After going to a few different conferences and getting myself versed in what makes a good media kit I thought I would share the basics with you.

I will cover a few key questions you may be asking yourself right now.  What are they?  Why do I need one?  What should be included in my media kit?

Media Kits Tell Brands

Media Kit Tell Brands

Now that you have gotten this far don’t run away; I believe (and I have been told) that everyone should have a media kit.  No blog is too small or too new to not have a media kit.  Having a media kit is what showcases who you are.  It makes people take you seriously.  Why does it make them take you seriously?  It makes them take you seriously because it shows that you take you and your blog seriously.  It shows companies who and what you are; it shows them what you have to offer them.

You do not want them walking away because they had to ask themselves: Who/What/Why/How does this blog help me? 

By having a media kit on your blog you give the company the chance to download your information.  By downloading it they are able to add it to their files when they begin reaching out to bloggers.  They might just save all of the files into a folder on their work computers or they may even print it out to have a physical copy on hand.  You will want to consider both of these things when you actually create your own.

You might finally be asking yourself what goes into a media kit?  Well, I have the answer for you!

Media Kits Should Have

Media Kit Should Have

You will want to tailor your media kit to your specific blog.  Each blog will need a little different information in their media kit, but here are the general topics that you will need to include in yours:

  • Contact Information
  • Your Photo preferably a professional looking faceshot
  • Biography About You & Your Blog
  • Social Media Channels written url links
  • Statistics number of follwers on each social media channel
  • Analytics get these from Google Analytics
  • Brand Partnerships highlight major brands that you have worked with in the past
  • Advertising Rates hightlight different rates doe sponsored posts, reviews, and/or videos
  • Popular Posts

The task of making a media kit can seem rather daunting, but it really isn’t.  You can search all over the internet for different templates, but I have outlined a simple way for you to create your own rather quickly.

Mini Challenge

Go through all of the information that you will need for your media kit and create an outline to include in the media kit you will be creating later on.  If there are any aspects that you do not have on your blog already just skip them and make note that you might want to consider adding them to your site in the near future.

Do you have a media kit for your blog? Do you think they’re important? What info have you included on it?

Who Was Nominated For The 2015 One Lovely Blog Award?

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Parsimonious Pash was! That’s who!
One-Lovely-Blog-Award-1

I love blogging and I love when I find out that someone else appreciates my blog.  To say that I was pleasantly surprised to be chosen for the 2015 One Lovely Blog Award by Sassy Dove!  She said the sweetest thing about my blog that made my day.  I always can appreciate meeting another linguaphile like myself! She has certainly gained a new fan for life out of me.

#ProTip: use the word “parsimonious” in your blog name and the linguaphile inside me will read forever. -Sassy Dove

There are a few (3, to be exact) rules for the tasks I have to complete as part of this award:

  • Thank and link back to the person who nominated you.
  • Share 7 things about yourself.
  • Nominate 15 other bloggers and comment on their blogs to let them know.

Seven Things About Pash

  1. Pash adores writing in third person as well as speaking in the third person even if it gets her a bunch of really weird looks when she does it in public places.  If you ever meet her in person do not be shocked if she slips between first and third person more than once in a conversation.
  2. I am very antsy and I cannot stand things being the same all of the time.  It is why my outfits often have clashing colors or patterns because it helps to curb my need for change.
  3. I am a linguist and I love to learn new words as well as use obscure words in conversation that make people think. Turn your words in art and I will forever swoon after you!
  4. I have one tattoo and multiple piercings currently with more planned for the future.  My tattoo depicts the fight of good and evil as simply as possible.  The rest of my planned tattoos are all of mythical creatures.
  5. I recently moved in with some amazing folks that completely get me for who I am.  Renee and Ryan have three of the most gorgeous bearded dragons. (Don’t be surprised if you see them all popping up on here as well as on instagram.)
  6. I love movies! I have watched so many that I have lost track of which ones I haven’t seen.  My top favorite movies include: Nightmare Before Christmas, Star Wars Trilogy, Phantom of the Opera, The Incredibles, and Stay Alive.

Now *drum roll* MY nominees for the One Lovely Blog Award:

  1. The Nerdy Girlie – Megan is amazing! She is the one whose blog helped me to embrace my own inner nerd.  Her blog contains some of the best female oriented nerdy content that I have found.
  2. Week 99er – Becky is my go to Detroit blog.  She was one of the first blogs I started following when I began my journey into the blogging world. You can find a little bit of everything on her blog. I personally love trying out her tasty recipes.
  3. Womanly Woman – Liz is fan-freaking-tastic!  I have not met anyone quite like her (aside from myself, haha), and love her quirkiness and the fact that I can have insane conversations with her.
  4. Yes/No Films – Elizabeth is another amazing Michigan blogger that I love to follow.  She writes some truely amazing movie reviews as well as hosts some great giveaways that I love to enter.
  5. Saved By Grace – Christine’s blog is gorgeous.  I have watched her blog grow and mature and I love all of her amazing DIY posts and all of her super scrumptious recipes.
  6. Blog With Mom – Bobbie has a little bit of everything you could want on her blog.  She has been a great friend to me in the blogging world and if you are looking for some great posts about life and product reviews then I would seek her out.
  7. Spaceships & Laser Beams – I may not have any children, but the printables that you will find on this blog are amazing! SHe finds some of the best free ones online as well as sells some super cute ones in her own etsy store!
  8. I Prefer My Puns Intended – The tag line “Life can be punny.” is what caught my attention and got me hooked on this lovely blog! I do love language and I can never get enough creativity within the English language.  Her site has an orderly chaos to it that I love.  You will fall in love with her writing style as I have.
  9. The Chiari Life – Belinda is the strongest person I know and I love to read about her life and the challenges that she has been going through.  If you don’t know what Chiari is you need to check out her blog.
  10. DogTipper – If you are a dog lover and owner than this blog is for you.  I love the way she writes and the fact that I got a recipe into the book that they published is just an added bonus!
  11. Sweet Silly Sara – Sara is a special soul.  I cannot express just what I love about her blog, but the biggest thing that I get from it is all of the love that I can feel in her writing.  It draws me in and keeps me looking for more.
  12. Pin-N-Tell – This is my go to site if I am looking for Pinterest ideas as well as ways to optimize my own personal use of Pinterest.  She does an amazing job and you can always find some amazing Pinterest round ups on her site!
  13. Lovely Greens – Tanya’s blog is a new one that I have been following and have fallen completely in love with.  She has some great DIY projects that I want to try as well as recipes and tips that have caught my eye!
  14. The Nifty Nerd – Finally there is The Nifty Nerd blog that encompasses so many facets of my personality that I cannot even explain why I love her.  She has some great nerdy recipes, DIY Projects, and cosplay tips that I squeal over every time I see them pop up in my feed.

Who do you think deserves a One Lovely Blog Award? Comment below and tell me.

Monetize Your Blog Today!

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This post contains affiliate links and I will earn money if you use them.

Here are some places to monetize your blog. At the bottom is information on Share a Sale and how to use it.

How to Monetize your blog today

  1. PayU2Blog: http://www.payu2blog.com Blogs must be at least 90 days old and have posts over the last 90 days to be considered for approval by PayU2Blog.com.
  2. Blogvertise: http://www.blogvertise.com You must have a blog/journal setup with written content on your url/website in order to use the service. I’m sorry we do not provide anyblog/journal hosting. Check our list of (http://www.blogsvertise.com/free_blog_sites.php) free blog services, for blog service sites. Blogs that are new (less then 30 days), have little or no content, may be rejected or put on Probation status at a reduced payout rates. Pornographic/adult oriented blogs are not permitted in blogsvertise at this time, due to paypal rules regarding adult content.
  3. SocialSpark: http://www.socialspark.com In order to be approved, a blog must be at least 90 days old with a minimum of 20 posts written within the 90 days prior to submission with no more than a 30 day gap in writing during that time. The blog must also contain a clean, easy to navigate layout and be written in fluent English or Spanish.
  4. Blogger Opps: http://xtremeqpon.com/blogger-opps
  5. Linqia: When a brand thinks your community is a good fit, you make the choice to run the campaign and decide how and where you share the story with your community. Linqia always makes sure you get paid in a fair and timely manner. Applying to Linqia is quick and easy! No integration is required.
  6. Ebates: You can earn cash from shopping online through them as well as earn cash for each person who signs up under you.  It is great if you are a deal blogger because you can promote special sales and deals that are going on and include your referral link in the posts as well.

ShareASale

One of the ways that you’re able to make money using Share a Sale is with their Bonus Posts. You sign up for Share a Sale , then sign up for specific companies and some of those companies occasionally send out emails with a sample bonus post at the bottom of the email. You can post their sample blog post or make your own, just as long as you are posting about the sale they are putting forth. Most of them will get you $5 per post and occasionally you’ll get $5 for putting up a banner for a length of time. They also sometimes give you an extra bonus for those with an Alexa under a certain mark that they will specify.

ShareASale:

Join shareasale.com, Earn Cash!

  1. Join Stella & Dot
  2. Join Blurb
  3. Join Gazelle
  4. Join Reebok
  5. Join Craftsy
  6. Join Little Passports
  7. Join Tea Collection
  8. Join Tiny Prints
  9. Join GroopDealz
  10. Join ModCloth
  11. Join Cricut
  12. Join Gymboree & Crazy 8
  13. Join Kiwicrate
  14. Join Madison Reed (Ask for a free box of hair-dye and get $20 if you post before & after pictures)
  15. Join adidas
  16. Join Warby Parker
  17. Join Buy Costumes
  18. Join BorrowLenses
  19. Join Shutterfly
  20. Join BuySeasons.com
  21. Mabel’s Labels
  22. Zulily

If you are looking to earn a little extra cash you can earn $10 through these two-tier affiliate programs when you get another blogger to sign-up with your affiliate link!  This is a great way to make a little money and help your blogger friends out as well!

Affiliates to sign-up for and earn cash with referrals

You can earn anywhere from $1-$10 when people sign-up using your referral link for the below affiliate programs through SAS.  In order to grab your link to have people sign-up under you, you will want to go to the Two-Tier option under the companies page in SAS where you will be able to grab your coded URL that people can use to sign-up for the company’s affiliate program.

  1. Join Birthday Express
  2. Join Akadema Inc.
  3. Join Belle and June
  4. Join AvaHost.Net
  5. Join Celebrate Express
  6. Join Cents of Style
  7. Join End of Retail
  8. Join FMTC
  9. Join Frecklebox.com
  10. Join HireWriters.com
  11. Join Hourglass Angel They also sometimes work with bloggers for product reviews!
  12. Join Mixbook.com They are selective, but also work with bloggers for product reviews.
  13. Join Pen Boutique Ltd
  14. Join This Life This is a company affiliated with Shutterfly.
  15. Join StudioPress
  16. Join Virtual Sheet Music, Inc.

Here is a program you can join if you want to promote giveaways and earn money when people enter them.

A Freebie Empire

I hope you are able to make a little extra money with these!

Xbox One Giveaway Sign Ups For Bloggers

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Free Sign up! 

 With 

Announcement 


 

Prize:

One

xBox One

 

Info:-1 FREE Links with announcements (Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest)

Get your announcement here (or pay $5.00)

-Giveaway date:   June 2 – June 16, 2014
-Co-host $25.00
10 Links (no google links)
2 Co-host pages
-Extra links $3.00 (no google links) up to 4 links
Send payment to melisurveys1978@gmail.com

If you have any question, please email me at nysavingspecials@gmail.com

How to Analyze the Backlinks to Your Blog

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Building backlinks is one of the most important parts of growing your blog. Your backlinks can both drive traffic to your site and boost your SEO rankings. You need to keep track of the links that you have built and improve your link profile accordingly.

Importance of Analyzing Your Backlinks

Tracking and analyzing your backlinks is an essential part of your linkbuilding strategy. Here are some reasons that you want to know how to track backlinks:

  • Site diversity. Make sure that you aren’t building links from the same domains all the time.
  • Anchor diversity. You want to make sure that you keep track of the different anchor texts that you are using. This helps you make sure that your link profile is natural for Google.
  • Natural links. You will want to find out whether other bloggers and other people are building links to your site on their own. This helps you measure how well your link-baiting strategies are working and see how popular your content is in other parts of the blogosphere.You should try to monitor your backlinks at least once a month. It may be a good idea to analyze them even more frequently if you have an aggressive linkbuilding campaign.
  • Prospect New Sites. You can conduct a backlink analysis on your competitors and other related websites. This allows you identify other sites that you can build links on as well.

There are plenty of reasons to analyze backlinks. You may invest in a great SEO linkbuilding or guest blogging campaign by hiring companies such as what these guys offer and keep track of your progress over time. Make sure that you understand how to do it efficiently.

How Do You Analyze Your Links?

It shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes to analyze the backlinks of a fairly popular website. You can complete your backlink analysis on a much smaller site in a matter of minutes. You will want to make sure that you use the right tools when you get your sites analyzed properly.

Best Tools to Analyze Backlinks With

There are a number of great tools that you can use to analyze backlinks. Here are some that you may want to try:

  • Majestic SEO
  • Backlink Watch
  • SEO Spyglass
  • Cognitive SEO

These are all pretty good tools. You simply need to specify what site you want to analyze and all of these tools can let you know what webpages are linking to them.

Analyzing Your Link Profiles

You should record all of the links that you have built to your sites. You will want to keep them in a spreadsheet to record the following:

  • The domain that you are linking from.
  • The type of link that you built (i.e. forum signature link, guest post, blog comment etc.)
  • The pagerank and domain authority of the sites that you are getting links from.
  • Whether you built the link or received it naturally.

Keeping track of these variables will help you know whether or not you need to change your backlink strategy. You want to make sure that you get plenty of backlinks from high quality sites as possible.

About the author: Kalen has been a blogger and SEO professional for the past five years. He shares the knowledge he gained along the way with aspiring bloggers.