A complete guide to sponsored blog writing

Sponsored blog posts are a great way for creators to make a living from their passion. The idea is simple: a brand pays you to talk about their product or service to your audience. This isn't just about slapping a banner ad on your site; it's a real collaboration that, when done well, helps everyone involved. Brands get to connect with an engaged community through a voice they trust, and you get to earn an income from your hard work.

Of course, there's a right way and a wrong way to go about it. The main hurdle with sponsored blog writing is making content that feels genuine and actually helps your readers, rather than coming off as a clunky sales pitch. People follow you because they trust your opinion, and that trust is your most valuable asset.

This guide will cover the entire process, from getting your blog ready for brand partnerships to figuring out your rates and creating content that's both authentic and effective. And since creating more content is how you grow, we'll also look at how AI tools like the eesel AI blog writer can help you produce more high-quality sponsored posts without losing that personal touch your audience appreciates.

What is sponsored blog writing?

Sponsored blog writing is really just a partnership. It’s a paid arrangement between a brand and a blogger to create content that highlights the brand’s products or services.

The partnership in sponsored blog writing

A sponsored blog post is any piece of content you publish that a brand has paid you for. This can take a few different forms. Sometimes it’s a detailed product review where you go deep on a single item. Other times, it might be a tutorial that shows your readers how to solve a problem using a specific product. It could even be a more subtle mention in a bigger article, like including a brand's hiking boots in your "Top 10 Trail Essentials" list.

The main thing to remember is that it's a team effort. You provide the audience and your unique voice; the brand provides the product and the payment.

Why sponsored blog writing partnerships work

So, why are brands willing to pay bloggers for this? Simple: it works. When a brand partners with a creator, they get direct access to a specific, loyal audience that already trusts what you have to say. It comes across less like an advertisement and more like a recommendation from a friend, which can lead to a much higher ROI than ads.

For you, the blogger, it’s a solid way to get paid for your work. For many creators, sponsored posts are their main source of income. It’s also a chance to collaborate with brands you genuinely like, which can build your own credibility in your field. Landing a partnership with a respected brand shows your readers (and other potential partners) that you know your stuff.

How to get started with sponsored blog writing

Ready to land your first paid gig? Getting started with posts is totally doable. It really comes down to having a great blog, knowing how to pitch yourself, and handling the business side professionally.

Build a blog that attracts sponsored blog writing deals

Before you start reaching out to brands, you need to get your own house in order. Brands look for partners who are professional, credible, and have a clear link to their ideal customers.

This means your blog should be clean, load quickly, and have a well-defined niche. Are you the expert on vegan baking, minimalist travel, or small business accounting? Whatever your focus is, lean into it. Brands want to see that you have a loyal, engaged audience that values your content. They aren't just buying ad space; they're buying your influence.

Prepare your pitch materials: The media kit

A media kit is basically your blog's resume. It's a document (usually a PDF) that you send to potential partners to show them who you are and why they should work with you.

According to what brands want to see, your media kit should include:

• A short "About Me" section: A few sentences about you and your blog's mission.
• Key blog stats: Your average monthly pageviews are important here. Be honest!
• Audience demographics: Who are your readers? Include their general age, gender, and top locations if you have that info.
• Past brand collaborations: If you've worked with brands before, list them to show your experience.
• Services offered: Clearly state what you can do, such as sponsored blog posts, social media packages, or newsletter mentions.

Find brands and opportunities

There are a couple of ways to find paid partnerships. As you grow, brands will likely start reaching out to you. But when you're just starting, you'll have to do the outreach.

The two main ways to do this are cold-pitching brands you like and joining creator marketplaces. Cold-pitching is just what it sounds like: you find a brand you love, track down the right contact (usually in the marketing department), and send a personalized email explaining why a partnership makes sense.

Creator marketplaces are platforms that connect brands and influencers. They can be a good place to find opportunities you wouldn't have found on your own. Some popular ones include Aspire’s Creator Marketplace and IZEA's Creator Marketplace®.

Secure your sponsored blog writing deal with a contract

Once a brand agrees to work with you, don't do anything until you have a signed contract. This is non-negotiable. A contract protects both you and the brand by making sure you're on the same page. It should clearly spell out all the important details, including:

• Deliverables: What are you creating? (e.g., one 1,500-word blog post, three Instagram stories).
• Timeline: When are drafts due, and when does the content go live?
• Payment details: How much are you being paid, and what's the payment schedule? (Net-30 is pretty standard).
• Usage rights: Can the brand repost your content on their own channels? If so, for how long?
• Disclosure requirements: How does the brand want you to disclose the partnership?

Creating authentic and compliant sponsored blog writing

Alright, you've landed the deal. Now it's time to create great content that your readers will enjoy and that also delivers for the brand. This is all about balancing your creative freedom with the agreement you signed.

The golden rule: Disclose partnerships clearly

First things first, let's talk about the legal side. In the US, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires you to disclose any "material connections" with a brand you're endorsing. In simple terms, if you're getting paid, you have to tell your audience.

The FTC's Endorsement Guides are pretty straightforward. Your disclosure has to be easy to find and understand. Don't stick it at the very bottom of the post or hide it in a long string of hashtags. It should be right at the top, before the article really gets going.

Here are a few examples:

• Good: Use clear, simple language like #ad, #sponsored, or a sentence like, "This post was sponsored by [Brand]."
• Bad: Avoid vague terms like #collab, #sp, or "Thanks, [Brand]!" because a reader might not know what they mean.

Maintain your voice and values in sponsored blog writing

The best sponsored post is one that doesn't read like one. People follow you for your voice, your opinions, and your style. The second your content starts to sound like a corporate memo, you risk losing their trust.

Only work with brands you genuinely like and that fit with your own values. When you write the post, use your own voice. Tell a personal story. Share what you honestly think. If you wouldn't recommend the product to a friend, you probably shouldn't recommend it on your blog.

Follow search engine guidelines for paid links

This is a technical point, but it's important. Search engines like Google need to know when a link in your content is part of a paid deal. If they suspect you're trying to game the system by selling links to boost rankings, your site could be penalized.

To prevent this, you need to add a special tag to all paid links in your sponsored posts. The two standard options are rel="nofollow" or rel="sponsored". This tells search engines not to pass any "SEO juice" through that link. It's a small piece of HTML, but it's key for keeping on Google's good side.

How the eesel AI blog writer helps maintain authenticity

One of the common pitfalls with sponsored content is accidentally sounding more like the brand than yourself, especially when you're working from a creative brief full of marketing jargon.

This is where a tool like the eesel AI blog writer can be useful. It's built to generate content that sounds human and conversational, not robotic. You can give it your brand context and tone of voice, and it will produce a publish-ready draft that sounds like you wrote it.

It can even find real quotes from Reddit forums to add credibility and a real-world perspective to your post. It also generates assets like images and tables, which can save you time on production tasks and let you focus more on the creative parts, like storytelling and managing your brand relationships.

How to price your sponsored blog writing services

Talking about money can be uncomfortable, but it's a necessary part of being a professional creator. Pricing your services correctly means you get paid fairly for your work and the value you bring.

I charge $250 for a feature in a list-style post and $500 for a dedicated post and have been since 10k views! Once I hit 50k will double those prices, or more. I will say when you're starting to dabble in sponsorships it's good to provide some very clear data about what kinda ROI your partners can expect, it's so helpful in negotiations.

Reddit

Factors that influence your sponsored blog writing rates

There's no single price for a sponsored post. Your rates will depend on several different factors. Blog traffic is a big one, but it's not the only thing that matters.

Based on expert advice for creators, here are the key things that determine your value:

• Engagement rates: Good brands care more about how many people like, comment on, and share your content than just raw pageviews. High engagement shows you have an influential voice.
• Audience demographics: An audience in a high-income country like the US or UK can often command higher rates due to their purchasing power.
• Sponsor's industry: Some niches simply have bigger budgets. Brands in tech, finance, and travel, for instance, usually pay more than those in smaller industries.
• Scope of work: A simple post with a couple of brand mentions will cost less than a detailed, 2,000-word tutorial that needs custom photos and video.

A baseline pricing model

Even though pricing has its nuances, it's good to have a starting point. A practical formula from The Blog Societies gives a solid baseline for a single blog post:

Formula: (Average Monthly Pageviews / 10,000) x ($200 to $400)

Let's break that down with an example. If your blog gets 50,000 pageviews per month, your calculation would be:

(50,000 / 10,000) = 5 5 x $200 = $1,000 5 x $400 = $2,000

So, for a blog with 50,000 monthly pageviews, you could reasonably charge between $1,000 and $2,000 for a sponsored post. That's just for the post itself, not including any extras.

Upselling with packages and add-ons

The blog post is often just the start. You can earn more by offering packages and valuable add-ons. Instead of pitching just a blog post, you could pitch a package that includes the post plus a few social media shares on Instagram, X, or TikTok.

Here are some common add-ons you can charge extra for:

• Image Rights: If a brand wants to use your photos in their own marketing (like on their website or in ads), that's a separate fee. This can be anywhere from $250 to over $2,000 per image.
• Exclusivity: A brand might ask you not to work with their direct competitors for a set time (like 30 or 60 days). This limits your other earning opportunities, so you should charge for it, often $1,000 to $5,000 or more.
• Whitelisting: This is when you let a brand run ads using your social media account. It can be very valuable for them, and you can price it at around $1,000 per month.
• Tight Turnaround: If a project has a rush deadline (under a week, for example), it's standard to add a rush fee of $500 or more.

Watching how other successful creators navigate the world of sponsorships can provide valuable insights. For a detailed walkthrough on landing brand deals and monetizing your blog, the video below offers practical tips and a step-by-step guide.

A video tutorial explaining how to get started with sponsored blog writing and land brand deals.

Your next steps in sponsored blog writing

Sponsored blog writing is a legitimate and effective way to turn your passion into a business. When you handle it professionally, you can build solid partnerships with brands, give your audience real value, and earn a good income.

So, let's do a quick recap. It all starts with having a solid blog and a professional media kit. After that, you can begin pitching brands and creating authentic, compliant content that your readers will appreciate. And remember to price your work based on the value you deliver.

To succeed in the long run, it helps to make your workflow more efficient so you can spend less time on production and more time on building relationships. An AI content generation platform like the eesel AI blog writer can help you create high-quality sponsored posts more efficiently, giving you more time to focus on growing your business. You can generate your first post in minutes to see how it works.