Ever wondered how some bloggers seem to land brand deals left and right while you’re still trying to figure out how to make money blogging? I’ve been there!
When I was still trying to figure out how to start a blog the right way, sponsored posts felt like this mysterious revenue stream that only “big bloggers” could access (and that it will take a long time to get there).
The truth is, I was leaving thousands of dollars on the table every month.
After taking Sophia Lee’s blogging course and Michelle’s Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing (which completely transformed my affiliate strategy), I knew I needed to crack the code too.
Here’s the thing – brands are actively looking for bloggers just like you and me to promote their products. You don’t need millions of pageviews to start earning from sponsored opportunities.
Let’s dive right into my honest review of Making Sense of Sponsored Posts – the blogging course that finally helped me understand how to turn brand relationships into a reliable income stream.
Making Sense of Sponsored Posts
- Make Money with Sponsored Content
- A COURSE FOR BLOGGERS
Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing
- Make Money with Affiliate Marketing
- A COURSE FOR BLOGGERS
Who is this course for
Making Sense of Sponsored Posts is the ultimate course for bloggers who want to earn significant income from sponsored partnerships and master the art of negotiating with brands to increase their blog income.
This course will teach you how to start making money online with brand deals as a content creator and increase your monthly income tremendously (instead of just relying on promoting affiliate products).
Who Are Michelle Schroeder Gargner and Alexis Schroeder?
These 2 insanely successful bloggers who created the course, have already made hundreds of thousands of dollars with sponsored posts! Following their success, they created this course.
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner is a multi-millionaire blogger who runs the popular Making Sense of Cents (a personal finance blog).
Michelle’s 2 popular courses are Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing (an affiliate marketing course for bloggers) and Making Sense of Sponsored Posts.
Alexis Schroeder is a personal finance blogger and the owner of the successful blog Fitnancials.
Alexis started blogging in college, and on the day she graduated, her blog completely paid off her student loan (she made $80,000 with her blog on her senior year)! Today, she is on her way to a (very!) early retirement.
Michelle and Alexis make between $10,000 and $25,000 a month from their blogs just from sponsored partnerships!
They also make affiliate income of tens of thousands of dollars every month (again, just from their blogs).
Making Sense of Sponsored Posts – Course Modules
Module 1: What Are Sponsored Posts?
Why Sponsored Content is Worth Your Time –
5 benefits of making money with sponsored content
How you can make money with sponsored content as a new blogger
10 websites to start with
The Basics of Sponsored Blog Posts –
The structure of a sponsored blog post
Examples from Making Sense of Cents blog
Easy steps to get started
Module 2: How To Find Sponsored Post Opportunities and How to Apply for Brand Deals
How Early Can You Start –
How can small blogs start making money, and what benefits can they present to brands?
When to apply for sponsored opportunities
How To Not Be A Sell Out –
Which type of brands are the best ones for your specific blog
How to pick the right brands to work with – 5 questions to ask yourself when choosing a brand
Building Trust With Your Audience
How to develop that trust with your audience so your readers will follow your recommendations.
What to avoid at all costs (great examples from Michelle).
7 tips to build great trust with your readers and be profitable
How To Find Sponsored Post Opportunities
The best ways to find sponsored blog post opportunities
How to start working with sponsored blog posts networks
13 website opportunities to connect with brands
12 website opportunities for international bloggers
How To Pitch Brands
Reaching out to brands directly via email – step by step
Tips on creating a great pitch
An email template for your brand pitch
How to find the contact details for your brand pitch
Increase your income by reaching out to brands you worked with before + email template
How to reply to emails from brands and what to ask for
The easiest way to find brands that work with bloggers
Creating An Amazing Media Kit
10 beautiful media kits templates you can use (created with Canva)
The most important details to include in your media kit
Great examples of real bloggers’ media kits
How Often Should You Post Sponsored Content
How do you get the right balance on your blog so you are not coming up as less authentic?
Module 3: Earn Money with Sponsored Deals
What To Ask Yourself Before Agreeing To A Sponsored Blog Post
4 important questions to ask yourself before accepting a sponsored content deal.
Why You Should Not Have A Rate Sheet
5 types of things you’ll need to consider when pricing your sponsored blog posts
How Much You Should Charge
11 things to consider when deciding how much you should charge each brand
3 tactics to test with brands to increase your price
Negotiating Tips For Higher Rates
So many valuable tips to get the highest rate possible when negotiating with brands
Accepting “Free Products” In Exchange For Posting Sponsored Content
What to consider before accepting a free product for a post on your blog
Methods For Accepting Payment
How to save money on fees when accepting payments from brands
Michelle and Alexis best practices for their blogs for accepting payments
Who Writes The Content?
Content supplied by the brand/marketer vs. Content created by you – what to do in each of these options
Do You Need A Contract?
When do you need to sign brands on your own contract
All the things that should be included in a contract.
Michelle is using this sponsored post contract from Amira Law.
I also use this legal template, and I got mine for free when I purchased Amira’s VIP legal bundle.
Module 4: Rules For Sponsored Blog Posts
Disclosing Your Partnership
Disclosing Your Partnership
Essential things to take into account for your sponsored post disclosures
Social Media Disclosures
Disclosure examples
Understanding Nofollow and Sponsored Links
How to qualify your outbound links to Google – clear and user-friendly guide for sponsored and affiliate links.
The Difference Between A Sponsored Post And A “Paid Link”
How to respond to email requests for guest posts on your site.
Module 5: Strategies To Get More Brand Opportunities
How To Increase Your Chance of Getting Approved For A Brand Sponsorship
6 steps to follow to increase your chances of getting profitable brand deals
How To Make Your Blog Stand Out To Land More Sponsorships
10 super important factors to take into account and how to implement them on your blog
How To Have A Successful Brand Partnership
The questions you need to ask before you agree to a sponsored post
What you need to do after the post goes live
Sponsored partnership reporting
What to do if the sponsored content isn’t going as well as planned
How To Make It Easy For Brands To Contact You
The perfect ‘work with me’ page and what to include in it. Examples from Michelle and Alexis’ websites.
Creating Engaging and Quality Sponsored Content
5 ways to engage your readers in the promoted post
Examples of creating engaging sponsored content
Types of Sponsored Content
How to write a blog post that doesn’t seem sponsored
Content Through Reviews
Content Through Tutorials
Sponsored videos
Bonuses
♥Instagram Unlocked: How to Gain Followers and Engagement That Lasts, by Helene Sula
♥How To Increase Your Page Views, by Michelle
♥Editing And Writing Strategies That Will Take Your Content To The Next Level, By Ariel – Making Sense of Cents content editor
♥How To Grow Your Traffic With Google SEO, by Stupid Simple SEO
Course Support
Once you join the course, you will be able to join Michelle’s private Facebook group for this course. Michelle answers all the questions posted by this group.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Simple to understand and implement—I LOVE Michelle Schroeder Gardner’s courses. All her content is always laid out in a logical structure and brings you so much clarity about the process and what you need to do to succeed.
- Above and Beyond value, much more that what you paid for. These processes and negotiation tips will earn you so much more in the long run than what you paid for it.
- So affordable – like all Michelle’s courses, this course is very affordable and you WILL earn your money back with only 1 sponsored blog post that you’ll get and the sky is the limit.
When your blog grows, you will be able to make a full-time income from these posts! - You get to learn the skills and tactics from the most successful bloggers who make tens of thousands of dollars a month just from promoting other brands products on their blog!
Cons
I would personally prefer to have more examples of promoted posts.
How to create sponsored videos – this topic is not covered in the course.
Course Price
The course price is only $159.
You can pay it as a one-time payment or choose to pay 2 payments of $88
The course is very reasonably priced and provides so much more value than what you paid for.
Just one sponsored post on your blog will not only cover the cost of this course but can make you hundreds and thousands of dollars in profit!
Conclusion – Is Making Sense of Sponsored posts Worth It?
Making Sense of Sponsored posts is the ONLY course you will ever need to increase your blogging income with sponsored partnerships. It will give you every tool under the sun to negotiate the best deals for your blog!
Most bloggers don’t know how to be profitable working with brands as a content creator and this is why they give up on this opportunity. If you take this course, you will you get the best practices to actually make money with brand deals.
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through one of my links at no extra cost to you! Thank you for supporting the Busy Mom Side Hustle blog. For more information, visit my disclaimer page.
