The Self-Care Mom

Get sponsored by well-known brands.

Consumers have a voice, and bloggers that review products are using their websites to share how they feel about the products and companies they have been purchasing for years. If you are looking to help promote a brand’s campaign this holiday to earn some extra cash for shopping, or for added income, then I recommend you check out IZEA. Formerly known as Social Spark and Sponsored Tweets, this website allows bloggers to have brands they love and trust sponsor their blogs as well as social media sites. From a simple tweet to a full blog post, companies are willing to pay bloggers for spreading the word on their campaigns.

I discussed my thoughts on Moms Affiliate here, but with IZEA you do not have to continue to promote the brand — unless instructed otherwise by a specific company. Simply share a tweet, write a blog post or share an image on Instagram. You bid whatever you would like your payment to be, and if your content is accepted, you get the amount.

Brace Yourself For Rejection
I placed a bid for a specific campaign and the person in charge accepted it. This was my first Twitter campaign and I thought it would be easy. I read the sample tweets a few times and created something very similar. The guy rejected my content and I felt pretty bummed out. From then on I learned two things: 1) Be creative with your content; and 2) Go for the $1 a month plan.

I waited almost a week to get approved by this company and I had only three bids available per cycle. These cycles are about 15 days long. People say you should invest in your dreams if you want to see them come true, and that is very true. With a $1 a month, you can bid on various campaigns and wait to be accepted.

Here are my 5 tips to using the $1 a month plan from IZEA:
1. Apply to campaigns seeking candidates that match your lifestyle.
2. Connect with brands you know. This makes it easier for you to create the content.
3. Read all the information provided by the campaign manager and check out the link you will be sharing.
4. Refer to the sample(s) if you feel stuck.
5. Save as a draft if you need more time to think your content over, or exit and start fresh at a later time.

A very important additional tip is to update your tags from time to time. This will help improve the types of opportunities you see on your homepage. 

Are you using IZEA? What additional tips would you offer a beginner? Comment below!