First of all, please understand that I’m not sharing this information to brag. In fact, I had to think long and hard about it. But I decided to do it to let you know that it is possible and I am sharing what I did that made a whole lot of difference. See, I’ll be the first one to admit that I’m not the best blogger out there…not top-tier or extraordinaire to receive such compensation. Of course, this is not how I talk to myself and I’ll get there in a second.
I know you might be skeptical so below is a screenshot of the actual PayPal payment I received for the project. I waited to receive this payment to provide a proof because anyone can say they made such and such, right?
Note: I blurred out important information, including the company I worked with as I don’t want them inundated with a bunch of requests for collaboration. I am also not going to point out which project it was. But it’s something that I had an amazing time working on!
I also showed you some more proof of income from my post How to Start a Fashion, Lifestyle, Beauty, Food, or Travel Blog and Make Money From It. If you want to start blogging, that post is also a FREE guide on how you can get a profitable blog up and running.
See, a lot of bloggers these days make money by talking about how to make money and they make a commission off of that post. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. But you do want to hear a true story from a real blogger who’s earning money before even making posts about how to make money online, right? Someone who’s just not earning from the post that tells people how to make money blogging by blogging about blogging. If that makes sense.
Where I Started
If I tell you that when I started blogging, I made money right away, I’d be lying. Anyone who’s successfully blogging these days has been through some dry first few months or for some, it’s even years, while trying to figure it all out. Before I started fashion blogging, I had my own freelance website design agency building websites for churches and non-profit organizations while blogging about small businesses and entrepreneurship. In 2010, I went through some horrific situation and buying cute clothes literally became my retail therapy. While I wasn’t new to blogging when I first started fashion blogging, fashion blogging then was fairly new, and I was fairly new in figuring out how that niche works. Hope that made sense. I won’t tell the whole story in this post but you can read all about it here: From Adversity to Prosperity: How I Went From Being Laid Off to Earning a Six-Figure Income. Shortly after I started blogging, I decided to drop my business blogging (which I wish I didn’t do but that’s another story) and focused on my fashion blogging instead.
It’s All About The Mindset
Anyone who tells you that blogging is easy and it’s a life of bed and roses is lying. Every single successful blogger who’s really earning a full-time passive income through blogging will tell you that it is a lot of work and it takes a lot of time and effort to be successful in this industry. In fact, the same applies for any industry, correct? There have been a lot of ups and downs. I blogged when it was easy and I blogged when it wasn’t. I blogged when I was dealing with personal heartbreak and family issues. I blogged when everything was going well. I blogged when it was super hot and humid here in Houston and I blogged when it was cold. I persevered. But one thing that really changed the game for me was MINDSET. Blogging has become quite saturated and competitive throughout the years, most especially fashion blogging. When I first started, there’s only a handful of fashion bloggers here in Houston. These days, there’s dime a dozen and they are so much better than me. If I start looking at fashion bloggers these days or bloggers in general, I will get intimidated and I will just sink in self-pity and have my own pity party.
What I Did That Made All The Difference
First and foremost, I did my very best to take my blog to a level that is at least competitive or comparable to other amazing blogs out there in my niche. You can’t expect to win this blogging game without putting an excellent effort out there. There’s just no room for mediocrity here. The principle “what you sow is what you reap” applies in every area of our lives, including blogging. You can’t expect to have an amazing result without putting in the time, effort and excellence that will make a brand want to work with you. I did my due diligence to get my blog to a certain level to the best of my ability.
Secondly, I stepped up the game. The mind game. With hundreds of thousands of bloggers out there, how do you stand out? How do you make brands find you? How do you attract paid sponsored projects?
Thought is the original source of all wealth, all success, all material gain, all great discoveries and inventions, and of all achievement.
– Claude Bristol, The Magic of Believing
I had to read or in this case LISTEN to a lot of audio books (You can try Audible 30 days for FREE + one audiobook credit) about mindset because when it comes to achieving success, thoughts are very important. The road to success is not easy and there will be lots of thoughts (both positive and negative) that will come into play. Everyday, all day, I soaked myself, first of all, in the Word of God. I listened to a lot of preachings from my favorite preachers and I put my earphones on to listen to the Audio Bible before going to sleep.
If you don’t believe in the Word of God, listen to motivational and inspirational audio books and podcasts. That’s also what I did. In fact, below were just some of the many audio books that I’ve listened to and each one of them helped me in different ways.
I’m sure you’ve heard of the Law of Attraction. The most popular book about it in the modern day is The Secret. Also available in DVD here. If you haven’t read or watched the DVD, I highly suggest this material.
However, that’s not the only one that I have listened to. I literally listened to the audiobooks of the materials below.
I listen and I keep listening to them every single day. Of course, not all of them at once since some materials can be a 10-hour audiobook. But I saturate my subconscious mind thoughts about success so that when things get tough, I know to be tougher and believe that everything is going to work out and that I am attracting success my way. If I think about success all day, I become a success. I believe this kind of mindset plays a huge role in my blogging and business success these days.
As a man thinketh, so is he.
– James Allen, As A Man Thinketh So Is He
So Here Are Six Important Tips
I wish I could tell you a step by step instruction or a formula on how you can get a $6,000 (or more) single sponsored post. The truth of the matter is that there’s no formula. You can buy all the courses out there from every guru. But we all run a different race and results are unique. Yes, you may learn from courses, workshops, and trainings but your own mindset is your game and only you can be responsible for it.
You must be like Joseph and become a practical dreamer. Decide to make your dreams come true. Withdraw, and take away your attention now from appearances of things and from sense evidence. Even though your senses deny what you pray for, affirm that it is true in your heart. Bring your mind back from its wandering after the false Gods of fear and doubt, to rest in the Omnipotence of the Spiritual Power within you. in the silence and quietude of your own mind, dwell on the fact that there is.
– Joseph Murphy, Believe In Yourself
1. Know What You Want
Knowing the things you specifically want and setting goals helps your subconscious mind direct your everyday actions towards achieving them. You don’t have to know the “how” but as you write down the things that you want, as you set your goals, and as you focus on them everyday, you will get creative ideas on how to make it happen. I’ve learned that the subconscious mind is so powerful that it is the core of your being that helps you make your desires come into fruition. I highly suggest reading The Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Joseph D. Murphy. It will tremendously help you understand what it’s all about.
If you would rather listen to a it (which is what I normally do so I can work at the same time), try Audible for FREE for 30 days plus get a free audio book credit.
2. Know Your Worth
Knowing your worth is basic but very essential towards achieving your success. If you don’t know your worth, you won’t value your work and you will project that in the way that you conduct business. You may be underpricing yourself without knowing it. Any company that will approach you might be lowballing you and you will just accept whatever rate they offer you.
When I first started blogging, I accepted a lot of freebies to be blogged. I ended up with a lot of clothes with no compensation for it. As I go and learned more about the ropes of blogging and how to make money, I set my own rates and only accept free products if I only truly want them and would be willing to blog about it without compensation in exchange for the freebie.
If a company approaches me with “no budget” wanting me to blog about their company or product, I would kindly decline it and offer the company an option to reach back if they do have some kind of compensation to offer in the near future.
3. Present Yourself In An Excellent Manner
I mentioned this above. You can’t expect to attract wonderful sponsored posts and high-paying projects and brands if your blog is looking mediocre. You’ve heard the term “Dress for Success”…do “Blog for Success”. Have that excellent mindset, present yourself (in this case your blog) in an excellent manner, and you will attract excellent opportunities.
By the way, if you’ve just started blogging and you’re on blogger or wordpress.com, I highly recommend switching to a self-hosted WordPress right away. Blogger/Blogspot or WordPress.com-hosted websites aren’t necessarily positioned for scaling so better switch now than later. Check out some of my highly-recommended WordPress hosting companies. By having a self-hosted WordPress blog, you will have more flexibility in how you can present your blog aesthetically. If you’re currently looking for a WordPress theme, I have listed some companies that I highly recommend.
4. Meditate Several Times Daily
I can’t stress enough the value that you get from meditation or empowering your subconsious mind. You can work hard all day but if in the back of your mind, you’re always wondering if it’s going to work or if you always have a Plan B to fall back on, then that’s really what you’re telling your subconscious mind to do. It’s basically telling your subconscious mind to prepare for the worst.
Wake up everyday expecting for the best…not someday, but that very day. Be sure to always have positive thoughts.
I also have written affirmations on sticky notes and put them in my bathroom mirror. I speak out those affirmations whenever I’m drying my hair or putting make-up on. I look at them when I’m brushing my teeth. It may all be weird to you but these are things that work that no blogger guru will ever tell you in their courses!
5. Learn to Negotiate
When the company approached me with the project, they had proposed a specific sum for me. It is already a pretty good sum but knowing the principle behind negotiation and that I can negotiate anything, I asked for a few hundred dollars more, making the single blog post up to $6,000.00.
Don’t be afraid to negotiate if you feel that the compensation is below your rate or if you feel that you deserve more, even if it’s more than what you usually charge. The least that they can say is no and you can work it out from there.
I highly recommend reading Herb Cohen’s You Can Negotiate Anything To Get What You Want.
6. Persevere
Blogging isn’t for the faint of heart. It takes a lot of work. And the more work you put into it, the sooner you can get the results. I’ve read about bloggers who’ve started earning a full time income within less than a year so don’t talk yourself out of pursuing blogging. There will be ups and downs, yes. But that’s life in general. You can’t just throw in the towel after a couple of months and say blogging isn’t for you. You have to persevere until you see results.
7. Do not put your eggs in one basket.
I also highly recommend being part of as many blogger/influencer networks as you can as well as affiliate marketing agencies. I have a list of approximately 250 blogger/influencer networks, 160+ digital marketing agencies/PR companies, 30 ad networks, and 20 affiliate networks that you might want to check out. The more network you are a part of, the more chances you will have in scoring some amazing brand deals!
Notice About Featured Photo Above: It’s is an original photo created for this blog. No use allowed without permission.
Materials above: Just A Girl Boss Travel Mug | Work Hard Play Harder Notebook | Like A Boss Office Set
Canon Rebel T6 | MacBook Pro
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Hey girl, I’m totally stalking your blog. You share so much good information. Thank you for sharing with us! I have a question. I get payments via Paypal too, but the Paypal fee is always subtracted. How do you avoid that?
Thanks!
Hi Melissa!
I’m not sure why I normally receive them in full but I’m assuming the company shoulders the cost to send it to me in full. :)
Lynne
Very useful information. Like you say, know worth. One time I received email to write post for 5$, sorry… But writing really good post its not 10 minutes. Its needed time, prepare, make pictures. And nobody can have in 3 days success. May be Beyonce need for successfull blog 1 day :) But all we need to find our style, our writing, and our readers.
Thank you for writing this post, Lynne! It was genuine and heartfelt!
Great post. You didn’t share what the project was though which made $,6000 or how? Are your numbers that high to achieve that amount or was it a 6-month deal? I just don’t get how someone would pay that for one post, unless maybe it was WhoWhatWear running campaign with Target or something.
Hi Kristen, thanks for the comment. I did mention somewhere at the top of the post that I will not be mentioning what the project was to protect the brand because they might get inundated with requests to collaborate and that’s not my goal here.
And it’s not a 6-month deal. Mindset is very important and that’s what I focused on on this post. If you think that a $6K deal for a single blog post would only happen to top-tier blogger, then it probably won’t happen to you but it can happen to someone who believes it’s possible. :)
Thanks for sharing a good post to read and how it’s important to work to change our mindset and work for what we want to achieve in life.
I PIN IT as I’m sure I want to come back and read the BLOGGING FOR PROFIT SERIES.
Alejandra
Awesome! Thanks so much for sharing and for inspiring with this post. I’m all the more drawn to it, I think, because of your love for God.
Very insightful! I thank you for posting this. It really does matter where your mind set is that separates you from the rest.