Hi! My blog is still quite new (less than 6 months!) and my social media accounts are even newer. About a week or two ago I had a reel get a lot of attention and as a result went from about 220 followers on Facebook to 15,000. I’ll take that as a win (Instagram is also growing steadily, but not nearly at the same rate as FB)! But, now for my question!

What can I do to make the most out of this opportunity? I had a great spike in traffic for visitors coming to my blog for the recipe that got attention on FB, but after a few days it went back to normal (maybe slightly higher since). I’ve found that regular posts on either FB/IG really go nowhere; it seems that the only thing that works are reels.

Is 15,000 followers on a social media platform enough to attract sponsored content on the platform? If so, do I just email PR people I’ve worked with and ask if they are interested in working with me on sponsored content?

My primary goal is to start earning some amount of money, really because I want to invest in my blog.

Thanks for any thoughts in advance!

Adam

Hi, Adam!

Wow, that’s awesome growth on Facebook! So cool to hear.

I think the best thing you can do to capitalize on this momentum is to post as consistently/frequently as possible right now. Since you seem to be getting the best traction with Reels, I’d focus on those.

You can definitely start reaching out to brands for sponsored content work at this point. There are lots of different ways to work with brands that don’t depend as heavily on your follower count, so there is no time like the present to get started. I would recommend that you check out our Sponsored Content course (but especially this lesson). There is a great quote from that lesson that applies here:

If there’s one thing I want you to remember from this course it’s that page views aren’t the only things that matter. I know that page views get a lot of emphasis in our industry and rightfully so. However, when you’re working with sponsored content there are so many more important things to keep in mind.

First of all, you want to focus on building up consistent content and a consistent following so that brands know your work before reaching out. You want to make sure that you have consistency in your quality of work and also in your amount of work so that brands understand what they can expect from you if they work with you.

You should also shift that focus from page views to the number of engaged followers. Brands pay attention to and find much more value in how many comments, likes, shares, pins, et cetera, that you’re getting. You want to shift that focus from overall views to the people who actually listen to you and engage your content.

You’ll want to think of your social media accounts/blog like your portfolio. Here are some great resources on working with brands (especially as a newer blogger) that should help point you in the right direction:

• 414: How Kyleigh Sage Combines Brand Work and Ad Revenue to Make $10,000-$15,000 a Month
• 411: Working with Brands and Knowing What Your Work is Worth with Shanika Graham-White and Darnell White
• This brand email template

Hope that helps!

That’s awesome, Adam! Congrats!

You’ll also want to convert those followers to an email list as well if you can.