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The SITS Girls

Where Women Get Social & Learn About Blogging

4 Must Haves Every Sponsored Post Should Include

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When writing a sponsored post, you want to do a good job for the company who paid you or provided you with product, but you also want to write a post that your readers will enjoy, as well. In order to keep that balance, there are four elements you should include in a good sponsored post.

review post

Your Voice

Whether you are doing a review or talking about an event or whatever you are writing, you should always keep it in your voice.  Your readers should be able to read any of your posts and say “Oh yes, that’s her.” This goes for your sponsored content as well.  Even though some brands will provide you with key points they’d like you to include, you can find a way to say them in your own voice.  Plus, if  a brand just wanted you to post their press release, that’s what they’d ask of you: but they want your voice as well.  A sponsored post should not sound like a commercial- it should sound like you, but with a topic decided by the terms of the sponsored post.

Your Opinion

To avoid sounding like a commercial, make sure you aren’t just rewording the brand’s message. Include your honest opinion!  If you really do love something, tell your readers why: tell them how it relates to you, how it relates to them. Don’t be afraid to mention the negatives as well. For example, I recently reviewed a car and while it was really fun to drive and had great gas mileage, I had to let my readers know that it wasn’t the car for my family of five because we need more room.   While you want to keep it honest, do be careful about slamming a brand as it can make other brands hesitant to work with you.

Your Photos

When you can, use a personal photo that relates to your sponsored content. If it’s a review, show a photo of you (or your kids, if that applies) trying out the product, rather than using a stock image.  If it’s not a product review, still use a personal image if you can: find something that relates to the topic of the post.  Though if a brand asks you to include a certain image, do be sure to include that as well.

A Disclosure

If you’ve been paid or sent product in exchange for your post, you are required to disclose this in your post. A standard disclosure would read “I was sent product X for review in exchange for my honest review.” or “This post was written as part of a sponsored campaign for brand x. All opinions are my own.”

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Comments

  1. Hi there! I could have sworn I’ve been to your blog before but
    after browsing through a few of the posts I realized it’s new
    to me. Anyways, I’m definitely happy I stumbled upon it and I’ll be bookmarking it and
    checking back frequently!

  2. I like the fact that you mention bloggers must include their own opinions in sponsored posts. Often bloggers hesitate to do this and their posts end up sounding a lot like written commercials which can instantly turn-off readers.

  4. Great post. I haven’t had the chance to work with any brands yet. I attended BBC Vegas this weekend. I’m actually on the plane going home right this minute but I learned a ton about brands and I am working on my top 10 Brand Wish List. I will keep these 4 points in mind when I DO get my first sponsored post request! Can’t wait!!

  8. All good points. But I have one question….isn’t any disclosure somewhere on your blog (general disclosure statement) enough? Do you really have to say it in every post? I’ve actually been asked NOT to IN the post.

  10. These are really great tips. Especially the one about writing in your voice. I have gotten more than one opportunity from a company where they specifically told me they were contacting me because they liked my previous work, and how the writing flowed. Be yourself!

  11. Great advice, thanks so much for sharing! I struggle writing sponsored things in my own voice – it can be tricky but I’m getting there!

  14. Could not agree more about using your own voice. I feel like that is key for all of my reviews, and the feedback has always been good from both my readers and the brand. 🙂 Great post!

  18. Great tips. I find the sponsored posts that offer a personal point of view with a story and pictures grab my attention so much more. Video is an added bonus!

  23. Fantastic advice! I’ve read some reviews that just sounded like the company wrote them instead of the blogger, and you feel like “Ok…so does she really like the product or was she told to say she liked it?” That’s not the best impression, I’d say. I’d much rather hear the actual pros and cons. Much more helpful. 🙂 Thanks again for posting this.