I sat down and looked through my income report a few days ago and realized that I made $10,000 from a single website since I started blogging. If you're looking for a way to get paid to blog, Tomoson is definitely the way to get started.
It wasn't an overnight miracle that helped me make my first $10,000; it was a lot of hard work @aarlreviews. (Tweet This)
I have completed over 1,200 campaigns successfully on Tomoson, and that number is still climbing. Tomoson is a site that uses special software to match influencers (and micro-influencers) to potential review opportunities that helped me grow Amy & Aron's Real Life Reviews into a work-from-home business that I can truly be proud of.
I get asked about my blogging all the time by my amazing readers. Some are already blogging and some want to start blogging. For those of you who are just beginning, this will help you earn a real income from home!
WHY REVIEWS AND PROMOTION
So many people have asked me why I started doing reviews. To be honest, I have no idea why it happened; it just did. I love it! I write reviews and promote products socially to help companies get their messages out there. I have made some amazing clients and new friends by doing what I do.
I didn't go to school for internet marketing, but I didn't need to. After starting my blog and signing up with Tomoson, it was easy to find information about how to grow and how to promote my writing. Connecting with companies and making money from highlighting their products was a definite perk once I connected with Tomoson.
I review beauty products one day and baby products the next. Many companies choose to work with me because of my flexibility and reviewing ability. It is always an adventure. I do get to choose what I work on, without anything being forced on me. That is the beauty of it. I will get into that in a little bit.
I began my blogging career completely out of survival. I lost my job, and I had a feeling that I needed something more than the regular grind and I was right. I needed the ability to work from home while being my own boss. I needed to do something that would give me control over my schedule. At the time, Aron was going through a lot physically and needed me available.
By blogging, I am able to work from anywhere. It's so cool. Sometimes we are sitting in waiting rooms for hours. I can work from there. Seriously, this gives me the freedom to do what I want.
HOW DID I START?
When I started reviewing, I was a complete beginner with nothing but drive and determination. I wasn't confident in my pitches, I had nearly no online presence, and I didn't know where to turn. Unfortunately, I didn't have a few years to turn my hobby into a career. I needed to make money right away.
While getting great products at no cost might be a great opportunity for other bloggers, I knew ahead of time that opened face creams and phone chargers wouldn't pay the electric bill. I wanted needed to make a living from my blogging.
So, the next question, where did I start? The only influencer site that didn't turn me down and helped me build my reputation was Tomoson. They worked with me when I was a brand new blogger, with baby stats and little confidence. Back then, my 11 page views a day (Thanks, mom and Jamie) was so exciting, and I was working hard for my first 100 followers milestone on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Tomoson helped me get through those small milestones by helping connect me with companies and by showcasing my ability - an ability I had no idea I had until all of this started. I just passed my 2-year blogging milestone and my social following blows me away. I do believe that the support on Tomoson and the connections I have made, has made all this possible.
I created this website with the help of my supportive sister and turned those 11 page views into over 160,000 monthly readers and over 71,000 followers on social media on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and You Tube. I even have nearly 2,000 email subscribers.
GETTING STARTING WITH TOMOSON
It is so easy to start with Tomoson. There are no minimum requirements.
Go to the main page at www.tomoson.com and create an account.
When you create your account, add in all of your social channels and link your blog to it. This makes an easy to use media kit so companies can find you and see where their product promotions are. It's important to continue to grow your personal and professional network.
When you do this, it shows companies your social reach and they can see how well you engage your audience.
It is very important to focus on your engagement. Your engagement is the interaction on the links/posts that you verify. There was a platform upgrade on Tomoson awhile back that shows more features of the bloggers work. It took some time for me to "get it". Tomoson thinks of everything for their influencers. CLICK HERE for a great article on how to get your engagement up.
While I haven't mastered engagement *yet* I know that as I focus on reaching more readers, this will build with time. See? I'm always learning new skills to help grow my business.
KNOWING MY WORTH
Learning my worth was tricky. When I began blogging, I knew that a simple little Facebook post didn't cost me anything but a few minutes of my time and so I wouldn't charge for social shares. I was also grateful for the awesome products I was receiving and didn't want to feel greedy.
But what was that doing for MY value? My blog is a business, MY BUSINESS. I'll tell you a little secret: businesses don't work for free. Determine how much time will go into each campaign and then decide how much that time is worth.
If anything sticks with you about this post please let it be one thing, you are an asset. YOU are worth it. YOU can be your own freedom.
MEDIA KIT
Set up your media kit to reflect your ability. Show off all that you do. Remember, charge what you are worth. Your time and ability go into your work.
Tomoson offers an amazing dashboard where you can write your Pitch, which attaches to each one of your applied campaigns. This is where you can introduce yourself/blog to the company and tell them the basics about what you can do for them.
There is a pitch template at the top of the media kit so you can edit at any time without delay. It is ready instantly.
There are separate entries for each section. You can fill it out for what it will cost the company to have you do each task. It's set up like that so you can add a dollar amount per social account, per category.
Sponsored Content
Social Mention
Unboxing
Feedback
Social Deal
FINDING CAMPAIGNS
Finding campaigns to work on is the most fun part of the process. There are SO MANY to choose from. For me, I like to review things that I know something about so, you know... everything. Humor aside, though, I like being personal with my reviews. It's easy to see if the product works well and it does what it's supposed to but, fitting it into real life situations is challenging at times. The most successful reviews are ones that solve a problem, so use that when you begin writing.
The dashboard for available campaigns is really easy to navigate too. There are tabs at the top so you can pick what you are looking for. All Campaigns, Easy Approvals, Freebies, Deals, Paid.
What does each part of the campaign mean? Each campaign is on a separate tile on the dashboard and has all the information you need to decide if it's something you would like to work on.
Here's a breakdown of a tile you might encounter on the Tomoson dashboard:
The code at the top is the campaign number and the words next to it are the campaign title. Clicking on that will bring you to the campaign page for a complete description. Lower down (left-center) on the tile is the company name. The kind of campaign is listed under the company name. To the right of that will let you know if it is a freebie, social campaign, or if it is paid (Sponsored Content). For sponsored content, it is listed what the budget is per influencer. Their budget is what they are expecting to pay each influencer.
The row of icons across the bottom of the tile show you what is expected of you for the campaign. Some companies may want you to highlight their product on one or two social media platforms, while others may want a full product review on your blog.
The APPLY button is where the magic really starts to happen. When you click that button, that means you like what you have seen up until now and you want to get it.
Applying does not mean that you will get the product. What it does is shows the company that you are interested. They will go over all of the applications and let you know if you have been approved. If you are not notified of an approval, you did not get it. If you don't get it, it's ok. Don't stop applying.
Qualifying for a campaign is really simple. The company lists if there are any specifications. Some want higher numbers than others. A little advice on that is, if you want it and you don't make the qualification, send them a message and let them know what you can offer them so that they can see why you would make a great fit. It's okay to show them that you are more than just the numbers.
I have gotten approved for so many campaigns because I took the initiative to contact them and I didn't take an easy NO. I am the queen of rebuttal. There is a compromise in all of this. Like I have already mentioned, this is a business.
MESSAGING THE COMPANIES
I do recommend being open to the companies. There are many reasons to contact them; codes for ordering, agreeing on a price, agreeing on tasks, and checking in for updates. It's important to stay on top of it.
Once in a while there will be a product code that doesn't work or you'll need an extension because of shipping. Don't be afraid to ask for these things. By staying on top of my campaigns and having contact with my companies, I have completed all of these reviews with 100% verification. Super High Five to myself!
ORDERING PRODUCTS TO VERIFYING TASKS
Ordering products and verifying tasks are really simple. The tasks are listed right on the verification page. If there are any special instructions, they will be listed on the green button on the right side.
I hope this post helps you get going on Tomoson and leads you to your 10K. I have done all of this from my living room, mostly in my PJ's. Some on the road, traveling, you name it. The main thing is, I did it for myself without the stress of working for anyone else.
This post was written by me on behalf of Tomoson an Influencer Marketing Agency. All thought and opinions are 100% my own.
This is a very cool article! I have often wondered about the behind the scenes of blogging. Thank you for really breaking it down.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for taking the time to read it. I love it. I love the freedom my job offers me and my family.
DeleteThis is a great article thanks for walking through the steps about the new Tomoson website. I will take your suggestion into consideration. I've been using Tomoson for a few years now and love it as well.
ReplyDeleteI have applied for many offers and haven't received any replies, is that normal? Thanks, Amy!
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Edye | Gracefulcoffee.com
This is an awesome post! I have been blogging for two years now too, and haven't made anything yet. But have received some awesome products thru Tomoson. I love helping to promote companies & brands! I think it's fun! You have got an awesome following! I am subscribing to your blog!! Good luck on your blogging journey! I love that you & your hubby do this together! That is so awesome! I wish I could talk my bf into blogging with me. He just doesn't get it. He's like you stay on the computer all the time. But he doesn't understand, that blogging is my passion! I am hooked. Anywho! I wish you lots more success! Would love to connect with you!!
ReplyDeleteGreat info. I have been using Tomoson now for only a couple months. It's fun. I have been approved by a few and still waiting (after month) for my last approval to ship the product. That is frustrating. Over all, they have been easy to work with.
ReplyDeleteLisa