On Knowing Your Value and Charging for It In Your Online Business with Jenny Melrose
Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts & Spotify
Summary
Teacher turned blogger shares the ways that her hobby as a new mom scaled into a full time business helping other female entrepreneurs grow and scale their online businesses organically. She shares her knowledge on blogging and why it’s still relevant to your online business. Listen in to hear how you can make money from your website and online platforms through brand sponsorships no matter the size of your audience.
Her best advice? Know your value and charge for it.
Three Things You Will Learn This Episode
How Jenny was able to replace her teacher’s salary, and retire her husband through her online blogging business
Ways to make money using your website and your influence on your platforms.
How to initiate brand sponsorships and present your best package, and negotiate on your deliverables
Timestamps
[01:29]Walk my audience and me through Jenny Melrose
[01:53] I started a lifestyle site called the Melrose Family
[02:26] When I first started my site, I had a six month old.
[02:43] I felt like I lost myself as a new mother and needed something that was my own.
[03:15] You can make a ton of money doing it, and can retire from teaching. The sky is the limit.
[04:00] I figured out how to grow my traffic and at the same time, grow my audience.
[4:14] I was able to retire from teaching back in 2015.
[4:55] I was able to retire my husband and ended up selling that in 2019 for six figures.
[6:04] Imposter syndrome held me up for years.
[7:43] I work with female entrepreneurs looking to better understand how to grow and scale their businesses online.
[8:28] How do I work with brands on sponsorships?
[9:37] Where is blogging in 2021?
[10:52] It really comes down to SEO.
[11:36] Keyword research and knowing what people are searching for is first
[12:08] Use a chrome extension like Uber suggest
[13:16] I have a transcriptionist
[13:58] Have you heard of conversion.ai?
[14:26] Does everyone need a blog?
[15:20] You said there’s a few ways to make money using your website
[15:36] Working with brands on sponsored content
[16:26] You’re charging for time and exposure
[17:41] You’re giving them value, charge for it.
[18:06] I’m all about the creator economy
[19:06] Their the people working on influencer campaigns
[20:08] Is there a magic formula on how to write a pitch?
[20:58] I talk a lot about pricing, I do have my own podcast Influencer Entrepreneurs
[21:28] You send a media kit and a proposal.
[22:07] If they come back within 24 hours and say sure; you’re too cheap.
[22:31] I think so many people undervalue themselves.
[23:15] Reach out to brands you are already using.
[24:14] Is there too small an audience to start?
[24:26] Microinfluencers do better sometimes than big influencers that have millions of followers
[25:43] It’s less about the number and more about the engagement
3 Key takeaways
Blogging is still relevant in 2021 and necessary for SEO. You can simply do this by transposing and repurposing your content that you’re already creating. If you record podcasts, transcribe the audio and turn it into a blog post. Placing an emphasis on key words is going to grow your podcast because it will allow more people to find you. Keyword research allows you to figure out the questions and the answers that are often searched. Use a free chrome extension such as Uber Suggest.
If you are creating and putting out content on Youtube, on Instagram, or a podcast; find a way to repurpose it in a written form so that you can have the keywords pop so that more people can find you.
You can utilize your unique influence to create brand sponsorships. Make sure the brands you partner with appeal to your audience and are brands you are already using in your business. When pitching yourself to brands, talk about your audience and why that brand is a good fit for them. Being able to provide the insights and analytics on your audience are important to establish your credibility. Jenny’s biggest piece of advice is to always send a media kit along with a proposal for review. This allows for negotiations to take place. She reassures us that as long as you can identify who your audience is, you are not too small.
Links
Connect with Jenny Melrose: Instagram | Website
Connect with Dana Bowling: Instagram | Website
