Sponsored Posts on Blogs

Learn all about sponsored posts on blogs. (This post may contain affiliate links)
Have you ever seen sponsored posts on blogs with tags like #Ad or #Spon, or you’ll read statements like “This post contains affiliate links”. What does that all mean? What does it mean for you as the reader?
The short story is that bloggers need to by law disclose a working or paid relationship with a company or brand. We are required by law to let you know when we could make money from the things on our blog via sponsored posts on blogs or other paid advertisements.
Here’s the long story:
Using a Blog to Make Money
Many bloggers use their blogs to make money. While most like the little bit of extra money we can get on the side, others make blogging akin to a full time job.
For instance, my blog is mostly for my fun, but it’s nice to earn some extra money on the side that I can use for bills or things for the kids.
There are a few different ways to make money using a blog, such as offering advertisement space on the side bars or using Google Ads. Other ways include sponsored posts and affiliate links.
Ads on Blogs
Some of the time, the ads on the side bars of blogs come from Google Ads, which can be random depending on the cookies your browser collects. They cannot be controlled by the blogger. The blogger has no control over what happens when a blog reader clicks on one of those ads, but generally, they can be safe.
Other times, ads on the side bars are from businesses which pay bloggers to post a button ad. These ads are direct links to the businesses’ websites, sometimes with tracking codes in them. The tracking codes do nothing to the reader’s computer; they are only used to track impressions and/or sales from a particular blog.
There are also affiliate ads. Affiliate ads are chosen by the blogger from affiliate marketing websites and often match the theme of the blog. For instance, my affiliate ads are generally related to family, parenting, and kids. These ad buttons have tracking codes, which once again only keep track of from where the clicks are coming. Bloggers either receive commissions or flat rates from these ads.
Sponsored Posts on Blogs
Affiliate Links on Blogs
These links, just like sponsored posts, are also identified by the blogger according to law. Often in my affiliate posts, you’ll see the statement “This post contains affiliate links, which help to cover the costs of running this blog” either at the top or bottom of the post. It’s required by law to let consumers know that the blogger may make some money from a click or transaction.
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Example of an affiliate blog post using affiliate links and ads. |
I use a variety of affiliate links on this blog, including links to Amazon and sales/deals. (See my Amazon link? It’ll just take you to the Amazon home page if you click on it even though it is an affiliate link. That’s all!).
Another example of affiliate links can be found in banners or widgets.
What Do Sponsored Posts on Blogs Mean for Blog Readers?
Shinchaos says
People are always protesting against cookies and informations collected by Google, I do really not mind, as a reader, I do support Adds and, if I had a blog, I would earn some some with them. A funny thing is that sometimes I see the books I’m selling on Ebay as “You’ve saw that, would you like to buy some?” =D
Marissa McKenna says
Thanks for being a supporter! Isn’t it funny how Google ‘knows’ what you’ve been posting or looking at online?