Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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How Blogs Get Sponsors

We’ve once again solicited questions from you guys on Facebook for our blogiversary extravaganza (of the personal, not decorating, variety). And just like we did in 2009 and 2010, we had fun answering a bunch of ’em. We crammed as many responses as we could into 20 minutes, so unfortunately not every one of the 80+ questions got answered, but we figured 20 minutes was already pushing the bounds of an acceptable YouTube video length. Haha. Here are a few things that we cover:

  • Our favorite and least favorite qualities in each other
  • What our neighbors think about the blog
  • If the former owners of our house read the blog
  • Our weirdest fan interaction
  • Who Clara looks more like
  • How we deal with negative criticism
  • What we wanted to be when we grew up
  • What will happen to our blog name when we’re not young anymore
  • If we ever fight or spend time apart
  • And most importantly: John’s thoughts on the new Twilight movie

And of course there are a bunch of other questions, a Burger cameo, and John cycles through soda shirts just to keep things spicy. Oh but if you’re at work you can still watch it on mute and try to guess what I’m gesturing wildly about (or wait until tonight and watch it with some popcorn and take a swig of soda every time John changes shirts). Our only video-recording rule is that we’re not allowed to re-answer anything so it’s completely unscripted and sort of an all-one-take kind of thing (that we later edit down just to shorten things/take out the “ummmms” so we can squeeze more answers in). We don’t even read the questions until we’re rolling, so we don’t overthink or overplan – but sometimes we over-share. Haha. Who’s surprised.

And just because we’re chatterboxes, this year we tossed in three bonus business-related answers:

Q: How did you get sponsors? Do you solicit advertising? What’s the secret? First we wrote about 200 posts and had been blogging for a while without even thinking about sponsors, just because it was something we loved to do. We actually had no idea there were even people or companies who sponsored blogs, we just thought of it as a fun creative outlet/diary. Then it slowly dawned on us that because we were gaining more traffic and posting every day, maybe some local folks or small online businesses would like to get a button on our sidebar in exchange for a tiny fee. So we tossed up a “wanna advertise with us?” button just to see what would happen. We thought it would be awesome to make a few extra dollars to put towards projects, but definitely didn’t have high hopes. Much to our surprise and amazement, a few small companies and Etsy vendors emailed us to say that they were happy to give it a try. So we just shared our stats and offered people a flat fee for the month and a slightly discounted fee for the quarter.

To this day we actually still use the same system. There are definitely more intricate ways of charging sponsors (like per click, per view, etc) and even more complex ways of calculating rates. But we decided to keep it simple and start with a flat rate that we felt was fair (based on what we saw other sites charging with comparable traffic) and just let the sponsors tell us if it was too high (and if they did, we’d adjust). If it was too low, well, we love a deal – so we figured why not offer one ourselves (after all, we were satisfied with that rate since we were the ones who came up with it). That system seems to be working for everyone, so much so that we haven’t raised our rates in almost two years (despite a great increase in traffic since then).

When it comes to managing sponsorships, we use Google Ad Manager to organize everything. It not only serves the ads to our site, but also helps us keep track of expirations so John can send renewal emails / invoices. So it’s a bit of paperwork on our end, but completely worth the effort since our sponsors are a big part of what makes this blog possible. There’s definitely not a get rich quick aspect to blogging (at least not in our experience), but we’ve seen that by focusing on content first and readers second, the sponsors will gradually fall into place.

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Q: Do you have to post a certain amount of times each month for sponsors? Nope, as we mentioned above, they pay a flat fee per month so no traffic or amount of posts are expected or promised. We’ve just posted 1-2 times a day about the same range of stuff for the past few years, so it’s a pace that works for us. Some juicy stuff + some light stuff + some personal stuff = a comfortable mix. Posting in some sort of regular rhythm provides structure and helps keep our creative juices flowing. If we stopped blogging every time we were in a rut or ran into a snafu we worry we might never start again. Gotta keep that momentum up! <– picture me in a bodysuit and legwarmers saying this in a sing-song-y voice a la workout videos from the eighties

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Q: Aren’t you scared to have so little job security when your whole family’s income relies on this blog? We’re not gonna lie, it can freak us out if we think about it too much. But we’ve squirreled away the recommended amount of “safety net savings” to fall back on if this ol’ blog suddenly grinds to a halt (which we built up before John came on full time as some sort of “insurance” to quell the nerves). We also have side gigs (like our column for BabyCenter and Do It Yourself magazine along with the book that we’re writing), so that helps us feel semi-diversified.

We also both left advertising on very good terms with former employers/clients, so that’s another road we could explore if we ever needed to (and John still takes on the occasional advertising consulting job on the side, just to keep his toe in the water). In the end I always say that five years ago we had no idea we’d be here doing this, so trying to figure out what we’ll be doing in five more years is probably an exercise in futility. We just do our best to keep chugging along and try not to let the neurotic thoughts creep in!

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So there it is, twenty minutes of video evidence confirming that we’re dorks and three bonus bidness questions. What surprised you guys most? Was it the fact that I make up sayings that aren’t really sayings and then collapse into a ball of giggles? Or that John is so into Twilight movies? Will anyone else help me make “I took that baby to the market and carried it home” a real saying? Come on, it’s kind of catchy…

Update – Some of the most frequent requests that we get are for info about professionally blogging (how we made our site, how we grew our following, how we make money, etc) so we shared all of the details about how we started a blog, grew our traffic, and turned it into a full time job. 

Comments

  2. Shelley says

    You guys are just so insanely LIKEABLE! After watching your video, and laughing the whole time, I like you both even more than I already did. Love the combination of your respectability, transparency, talent and fun.

    Reply

  3. abby says

    Loved the video! I love how real you all are. It really does make us readers feel like we’re your IRL friends! You all are so funny…I watched on my lunch and was laughing out loud sitting at my desk:)

    Ok, fine. I secretly wish I lived somewhere near you just so that I could keep an eye out at home improvement and craft stores for you. It would be so much fun to run into you all out and about. Except I’m such a dork so if I got the nerve to say Hi, that would be the extent of the conversation because there is no way I could come up with something clever to say:)

    Reply

  4. LMN says

    random question…ive seen your how we clean post, but i dont think it mentions dusting all the stuff on the shelves and desks and countertops and dressers etc. do you have a product that you use to make things go quickly? i completely empty (im kinda a clean freak) our bookshelves (4) and all the furniture to dust. it takes FOREVER.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We use microfiber cloths- they’re great for grabbing dust. Sometimes moist or even dry. I just lift stuff up and swipe. Fast and no products to buy/chemicals to spray.

      xo,
      s

  7. Kathryn says

    So cute. You guys are such happy people, and very well spoken :) I was watching and totally confused every time John’s shirt changed. It look me about 3 changes to notice what was different LOL.

    Reply

  8. Sandra T says

    Love the video, love the blog, love love love. Question of mine: what happened to the video of Clara laughing at Burger going crazy on the bed? It’s my fav, and I can’t find it any more!

    Reply

  12. debbie c says

    This was so fun to watch! Sherry, I think you should’ve changed into new black shirts whenever John switched tees. :) Also, let it be known that 30 is the new 20. We are still YOUNG!

    Reply

  14. Keri says

    I wasn’t surprised by your reaction to the BFF question, but I think you guys are awesome and I’d totally want to hang out if we were neighbors. That being said, it’s a very strange thing to know so much about you guys when you know nothing about me.

    Reply

  16. Molly says

    Totally enjoyed this! Thanks for taking the time to do it. Super happy for all your success and grateful you put it out there for us to enjoy.

    Both of your “being recognized” tales cracked me up. Particularly the part where John said, “I have a great one…” and Sherry said “I have a good one too” and told hers first. Totally something I would do to my hubs. :)

    http://www.thenestinggame.com

    Reply

  17. Meagan says

    I ran home at lunch to watch (my work blocks videos)!!! I love your q&a videos because we get to see so much of your personalities. I love blogiversary week!!
    Thanks for sharing your lives with all of us!
    ps…apparently I like exclamation marks…i dont get this excited in real life haha

    Reply

  18. Sarah @ Redhead in Ruffled Flats says

    You two are just the sweetest and most down to earth people. As much as I am envious of you (I try really hard not to be because I know it has taken a lot of hard work and risks to get where you are), I think you deserve all the greatness you have achieved and I hope many more great things come your way. You have such a beautiful marriage, which is inspiring (especially since I’ve been married for only 4.5 weeks)! I’m glad to hear you are both Christian, which I assumed but never felt polite asking.

    My hubby and I are from Minnesota (born and raised – high school sweethearts) and I dream every day of moving to the east coast. I love the midwest and my small-town farm life (until we relocated to the Twin Cities), but I would love to do away with the six month long winters. Richmond sounds like a great place if we ever feel brave enough to leave good ole MN!

    Thanks for making me smile for a solid 20 minutes!

    Reply

  20. Yvette Kelley says

    Oh i hope my comment didn’t go to spam cause I’d be sad if you didn’t get to hear about the dream I had of you guys last night!! I don’t see it up here and I sent it early this morning :/

    Yvette @ kelleyfoodies.blogspot.com

    Reply

  21. Sarah D says

    Just so you know people really do kinda day dream about being your BFF….or maybe its just me being a wierdo. But I live in Richmond and I always think how cool it would be to run into you at Home Depot/Home Goods/Ben Franklin etc and get talking and then have you house crash my place and then we would become awesome DIY friends and have cookouts on your cool patio…ok reading back over that I sound kinda stalker but I promise Im not the only one who thinks this.

    Reply

  23. karen says

    john…i want to be your friend!!
    i liked the video…very fun…and how come no Clara? ;)

    all the hearts are not on my page either.

    Reply

  24. Emily says

    That was the quickest 20 minutes that have ever gone by! You guys are adorable, you look like you belong on the couch in those scenes in When Harry Met Sally where the couples tell their love stories … you are always finishing thoughts for each other :)

    Reply

  25. Melanie {adorkable life} says

    HI guys! I have been blog following for about a year now, and I kinda feel like you’re friends of mine. Creepy, I know. ;) It was really cool to hear this dialog with the two of you–it reminds me so much of my husband and I (married for 3 yrs.) And Sherry, I listened to your radio broadcast yesterday, and I loved it. You guys are just easy to “hang out” with.

    Blessings!
    Melanie
    http://kevinandmel.com/

    Reply

  26. Jane says

    When that ended I had a big silly grin on my face. I even got teary at one point! And FWIW, I think Clara looks mostly like John but has Sherry’s smile.

    Reply

  27. Kelly says

    Charlottesville is awesome! Next time you come through, you HAVE to jog/walk at Riverview Park (which is in the neighborhood we live in). Absolutely beautiful, right by the Rivanna.

    And have you heard Wayne Brady’s new CD for kids? I haven’t had to bust it out yet (my baby is only 6 months), but I def have it in my back pocket. He’s hilarious…in a way that’s right up your alley. I put the link in my “website,” but I am not, in fact, Wayne Brady (or am I?).

    Reply

  28. Marci says

    Totally random thought based on John’s response before that he was at the dentist. Have you thought about getting an ipad with 3G to make it easier to take your blog on the go (not that I would expect you to do anything while at the dentist; it just reminded me that you use your iphone to manage the blog too). I would imagine it gets hard to see on the iphone.

    Reply

  29. Heidi says

    Just wanted to say that I love this and have loved all of your Blogiversary posts so far. Thanks for sharing your lives with us!

    Reply

  30. Margaret says

    NOT to add to your mountain of comment-responding ( so don’t feel like you need to answer) but you guys are adorable and as the blog that got me into blogs. My gateway blog, if you will. Seems like you guys have struck up a great balance so keep up the amazing work! The blogosphere without YHL would be a sad, white-ceramic-animal-less place indeed.

    xoxo
    Margaret

    Reply

  31. Lynne Wesenberg says

    Love this! Thanks so much for sharing. It’s true that we learn to know so much about you that we feel like we are your friends. You guys are such great friends:) thanks for being you!!

    Reply

  33. Dacia says

    Ha, these are so fun to watch. My favorite part was, “Do YOU have Clara?!?” You guys have a great sense of humor and I applaud you for doing the one-take, no redo approach. It’s way funnier that way :)

    Reply

  36. Lynne Wesenberg says

    Ok. Now I feel like a creeper. My first comment wouldn’t post and I was frozen. So I got back in later and posted a new comment — I never say the same thing twice, so it’s different than the first one. And now both of them are showing up. Sorry!!! I’m really not a creepy person, honest :) But I really do love your blog. So at least you know :)

    Reply

  38. Margaret Critz says

    OMG, how cute are you two? Thanks for the Q&A video, such fun! Your blog has made me fall in love with my own house all over again! Hope I’m reading you for years to come!

    Reply

  39. Erica M says

    That was so cute.

    It is interesting to hear you say that you think you are annoying… I think the more real/down to earth/goofy you are makes your readers identify with you all the more. The combination of people being able to see themselves in you, and seeing how much you can accomplish, is inspiring in it’s own way. “If they can do it, so can I!”

    Yay for Vampire Weekend! I was obsessed with that album for months as well, ha.

    Reply

  41. MJB says

    I think instead of soda shirts, John should have a collection of Twilight shirts. One day “Team Jacob,” another day “Team Edward.” “Warning: I drive like a Cullen,” followed by “Twilight Dad.” Oh, the possibilities…! :) Christmas is around the corner, so lots of gift-giving opportunities.

    Reply

  45. Mercedes says

    Love the blog! Do you all think one day you could do a Mood Board tutorIal? Do you use photoshop and/or Illustrator.? I’d love to learn.

    Reply

  46. Tiffany says

    Great video! Totally want to be Sherry’s BFF. I refer to you as my internet friends, and yes I do get strange looks… haha.

    Keep up the awesome work!

    P.S- totally off topic. Did you hear bumgenius is coming out with organic cotton training pants? Too exciting. haha

    Reply

  47. Yvette Kelley says

    So basically, my dream about you guys last night, well actually this morning was nothing short of HEEEE.LAR.I.OUS! I woke up laughing.. and what’s even funnier is that I commented about it BEFORE I saw your video where you mention other people having dreams about you guys… oh and people wanting to be BFFs with you..! RANDOM!

    In my dream, you and John had moved to a cute, VERY little white cottage house (the size of dollhouse really) down the street from us. Convinced that you and I would be instant friends and BFF’s 4 life no less! ;) I went over to introduce myself. You were so sweet in showing me around your new place..showing me all the things you wanted to fix. Then John came around…which, sorry John, wasn’t really YOU.. but it was supposed to be..you just had this funky gap toothed issue going on.. it was quite comical actually! I just had to share..

    Yvette at http://www.kelleyfoodies.blogspot.com :)

    Reply

  49. Heidi P. says

    Ah! I, too, listened w/ headphones ’cause I just put the little guy down for his nap, and I had to hold back the laughter!

    LOOVED your stories about the fan interactions!!! SOOOO FUNNY!!!! I totally would’ve said something about pee, too. And then I would turn BRIGHT RED and would be wishing the conversation would end! I say embarrasing things all. the. time. hahaha. And hilarious that you (Sherry) ran up to those girls! I probably would have ran away! Which is more awkward? Running up or running away?! (running away)

    And yes, everyone who reads your blog wishes they either 1)were YOU or 2)were your BFF’s. Or both, like me :). haha.

    Come to Utah for your book tour! Pretty please!!!

    p.s. I hate when I read someone people’s comments on here that are critical or rude. I always think, “Why would you say that?!? Who are you to put in your two mean cents?!”

    Reply

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