This morning I woke up like every other morning, had my mint tea, ate my bagel and had some fruit and checked Twitter.
There was a DM from InNetwork (a great network that connects quality bloggers and brands) asking me to write about influence marketing, and the business of blogging. Then about an hour later I get an email and I am on a list of amazing mom bloggers from across Canada. On the list are some amazing mom bloggers from across Canada, many I read, and a number I am thankful to call friends. Being considered one of the 75 Most Influential Mom Bloggers in Canada well I am pretty speechless even now.
But I did want to write about just why some of these amazing women would of gotten chosen. They are great content creators, and with their words and social media presence they can move people to act. They can change a mind, make you cry, make you think, get you to take the time to breate, and in my case they can get you to think about that money that is in your wallet for a moment in time, and well that moment in time can lead to action.
I know my value as a blogger and writer and have for years after one very specific incident happened.
Before I had Common Cents Mom I had another blog, one that many friends followed and well a certain brand was having a contest, and the prize was decent it was $5,000 worth of books for a school library. Well, I wanted my daughter’s school to win, so what did I do, I told my friends, I shared, I talked about, wrote about it, and well I was sitting in a meeting shortly after the principal got the call announcing my daughter’s school the winner. Our school had gotten thousands of votes. The classroom libraries would be getting new books. My simple request was acted upon. What I shared convinced others to share and even now those books are helping children in one school to learn and well that makes me smile.
Bloggers and Influencers can often move people to action, for me I am always looking for ways to help my readers save money, have more with less, and to care about what is in their wallet. Bloggers and other Social Media Influencers have audiences that brands want to reach, and if and when we choose to be a trusted source of information there is money to be made.
Now how does all that translate to business of blogging and the reader, the blogger and the brand all winning?
Businesses trust many bloggers with their brand messaging. When we share about their brands we do so in ways that build trust, or at least I hope I do. We use our influence, to ask readers to do something, even if it is just to engage with a brand for a moment in time. Sometimes it might be as small as rethinking a habit, or it could be a bigger ask like for a vote, or to buy into something and our readers or those we share with will because they trust us. We are trusted sources of information.
I think about that each time I choose to partner with a brand.
I need to know it is a good match for my readers, I care about that. Each day as a writer I receive pitches and well many go straight to the garbage can, as I know they are not a great fit for those of you who care enough to stop and read my written word. For me I love when I find ways to work with brands that make sense for my readers, and I love it when a brand checks me out in advance and knows I would make a great fit.
I think my readers appreciate that I am not constantly in pitch mode, and when I do share on behalf of a brand it is something that works well with my readers. It is useful to them.
Brands benefit when a person’s influence is used with care and thought.
Readers benefit by getting the information from a trusted source.
The Blogger benefits by bringing the two together. I have often referred to myself as a connector of dots. Where do I see all this going? More and more as we spend more time online I think brands will try and find new and innovative ways to connect with their target markets, and I think influential bloggers are going to be front and central in the movement that is influence marketing.
What about you, do you consider yourself an influencer? and if you are a blogger what are your thoughts on the business that is blogging and social media.