It is important to learn how to monetize your food blog using the power of product reviews and product placement as it is one of many ways to make money from food blogging.
I’m Des, and my blog is called Oh So Delicioso. Today I am sharing about the power of product reviews in food blogging. But first, I’d like to introduce myself.
I have loved this world of blogging. Oh So Delicioso started out as a way to share recipes with friends and family. It was an easy-going, creative space on the Internet. Later, I banded a group of friends together and decided to try to grow our readership and turn this hobby/creative outlet into a business.
We knew that we wanted to attract not only readers, but advertisers and companies who would want us to review their products. For this we needed a beautiful and reliable website. (That is one of the biggest compliments we continually receive from clients. Brands know that the work we do will be not only our best, but will be displayed in manner that will interest readers.)
Why You Should do Product Reviews
Product reviews have become HUGE. Companies recognize the influence bloggers and individuals with large social media followings and page view numbers can have on the public. Especially when the influencer it is someone the reader personally relates to, or loves their style. In turn, this builds trust and readers value the influencer’s honest opinion on items.
Companies are smart. We have all personally witnessed a no-name brand from no-where become a social media sensation overnight because a handful of bloggers gave it rave reviews. There were no TV commercials or paid ads on a website, just personal product reviews.
As a blogger, product reviewing is one of my favorite parts of blogging! There can be two ways to go about product reviews.
- Receiving only products.
- Receiving products & payments.
Reviewing Products with No Payment
We haven’t always received compensation for our reviews, which is completely okay. Sometimes we do our reviews for fun, and consider it a definite “perk” of the job. Sometimes the products reviewed have met a need for our lifestyle or family, which can be just as important as payment! Sometimes we don’t ask for payment on a product review because it is a product we believe in and know our readers should know about it! We want to support a great company with a great product.
Before you ask for products and payment, take a step back and decide if this is a product you believe in, need, or want for fun. Of course we should be compensated for our work, but sometimes it’s more than alright to promote and review without payment. Your readers will trust you and your reviews more.
Reviewing Products for Money
Asking for payment is always a tricky topic. It can be a dance between you and the company deciding what is fair in this blogging world. Every article will tell you different ways to decide what to charge for a product review.
- Some research suggests to charge $100 per 10K followers on Instagram.
- Network agencies suggest charging a certain amount per engagement
- For us personally on Oh So Delicioso, our page views and email subscribers far exceed our Instagram followers. So when we ask for payment, or are asked how much we charge for a product review, we want to show the client our best numbers and stats.
How to Create a Media Kit for Your Food Blog
The perfect way to do this is through a media kit. We bought one off etsy like this one here, and here. When choosing a media kit think what you will be inserting— for instance we pride ourselves on our photography so we picked a media kit template designed for many photos.
We fill our media kit with:
- Pictures and important information
- Our recent monthly analytics, demographics, sample pictures, what exact work we will do for them (i.e. Instagram post only, Instagram and blog post)
- Mention of amazing clients we have previously worked for
- What marketing and digital asset benefits they will receive by working with us
Only THEN do we give a fair price. You can land almost any product review /sponsorship you want by this method.
Remember Your Audience
Lastly, remember your readers come to your Internet space for a specific reason. Oh So Delicioso is a food blog. The most successful product reviews for both our clients and us have obviously been products pertaining to food, cooking, kitchen, etc. Our readers are not coming to us to find out the most fashionable designer bag, or the best deal on strollers. They come to us for all things food.
Know your demographic and know what your readers want from you. Product reviews can help you grow when they are presented in beautiful, relatable way to your readers. You will also notice other companies and collaborations reaching out to you because of your work, earning you not only more money, but an amazing reputation.
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