Oh my - have I been busy (but really, am I ever sitting still? Answer? nope.)

The weather here over the last week has been horrendous. Rain, rain, rain. And of course when all I want to do is get my deck refinished. We waited through the summer to start on the decking, having completed all of the new skirting (as a form of skunk control) in August, in an attempt to avoid the oppressive heat.

Adding the skirting - in progress photo - the new skirting wraps around the entire deck, and where it meets the soil the pressure treated lumber is sunk 18" below the bottom edge of the previous skirting in an effort to keep the skunks out.

The new skirting is a pressure treated lumber, sunk 18" (or more) below ground (experts say that's the magic depth to deter burrowing skunks). I then stained the skirting and inserted vents every few feet to improve ventilation under the deck to prevent (or slow) rot.

Eventually, next year, when I'm ready to landscape around the deck, I'll also bury chicken wire below said landscaping, and add paver stones off of the stairs, etc. - those skunks aren't welcome here...

We had to replace several of the decking boards and treads on the steps as they were just too rotten to leave. My husband and I became pros at pulling single boards out without damaging any of the surrounding ones - using 3 simple tools - a full sized pry bar, a roofing hammer, and physics. Boo ya.

Anyway - then the temperature dropped dramatically (we're talking 30F over night) and the rain started. Oy! So my deck has been in a state of partly-finished for several weeks:

First coat of the prep stage - we'll need another coat for the really deep cracks and crevices before we start rollering.

(I'm using Home Depot's Behr Deck Over, and it requires you go along and fill all of the cracks and knots and gaps with a brush before you roller the thick, gelatinous paint over top. I have realized 2 things about my deck whilst doing this painstaking step:
1) my deck is huge.
2) my deck was in horrible condition. The previous owners really neglected it.)

Going for a 3-tone look: the rungs still need to be painted/stained, but you get the idea. Behr Deck Over - preparation stage - filling all of the cracks and crevices in the boards by brush.

I'm going with a 3-tone look on the deck - deck boards grey, risers, trim white, and the railing rungs a dark slate color. It should look great - although it's taking a long time, it'll be worth it in the end as we'll pretty much have a brand new deck again. (Need some ideas for your deck? Check out my Pinterest "Yard" page - I have pinned a ton of ideas there!)

I'm interested to see how the Behr paint makes the winter here. We will see.

Look for a tips and tricks/review post about their paint in the coming months - if I can ever get the deck finished!

In the meantime, I've been working on a new look for my blog - one which incorporates both my affinity for quilting and DIY -

...so excuse the mess around here while I'm under construction. I'm plugging away on it when the kids go to bed every night.

Want to give your blog a new look? You can check out my series of tutorials by clicking this button:

Did you do anything DIY/Rehab related over the summer? Have you ever used Behr's Deck Over? I'd love to hear about it in the comments below!

For a long time I've been meaning to write a series of posts on how I manage to fund my fabric and thread stash as a stay-at-home mom and as a single income family. I decided to put it all into one big whopping post. Stick with me - it's worth the read. Note that I've included affiliate and referral links for your reference and convenience.

And now, I have the dream of owning my own longarm quilting machine. I keep entering to win one, but alas, nothing yet. And I'm pretty sure longarm companies don't just give them away [although, if you know of one who'd like to sponsor a super awesome blogger like myself, let me know (hee hee hee)]. So, let the saving begin.

As my fellow quilters and crafters out there know, this is not a cheap hobby to have - so I've had to think outside the box a bit on how to fund my addiction I mean, favorite pass time.

I've been asked quite a bit about how I manage to afford to buy the fabrics and threads and notions I do - and here's how. These are my tips and tricks to keeping my hobby alive without working outside the home.

These tips apply to anyone who would like to make a little extra cash on the side to fund whatever your heart desires!

Tips are listed below in descending order for what I've found my earning potential to be. i.e.: I make the most money, top to bottom, at the below listed tips.









If you have something that you make really well, sell it. Open a little online shop (I use Etsy) and just start! Obviously, you'll have to weigh the cost-benefit of having said store, because, at the end of the day you need it to be self-sustaining and then some in order to have some extra coin in your pocket, but, for me, it's been worth it.

By selling on Etsy, I've managed to make enough to buy a newer, bigger, better sewing machine, periodically buy the fat quarter bundles I want, purchase the Aurifil I want (because I use it in my products!) and more.

It costs nothing to open a store on Etsy; they have a system where you spend $0.20USD to list an item for 3 months, and you pay a small flat fee if your item sells. You can choose to accept PayPal and/or Direct Checkout (credit cards), with funds you earn being deposited into your PayPal and/or bank account, respectively.

There's a learning curve to it, but they make it really easy. Maybe I'll write another post soon on what I've learned while being a seller on Etsy.

Plus, it's a tax write-off at the end of the year, which will save/earn you money as well.

Curious about what my store looks like? I'm SewatHomeMummy on Etsy.


This is a big one, and where I make a really big chunk of my extra funds. I estimate that annually I make up to $1,000USD in cash and gift cards by answering online surveys, shopping through affiliate links and watching suggested videos.

I've used a lot of online survey companies, and the best one I've come across, with the highest payouts, least amount of limitations, best customer service and most diverse gift card options has been SwagBucks.com.

Basically, this is how it works:

Generate an account at Swagbucks.com. On their site, they have several ways in which you can earn what they call "Swag Bucks" - which are basically points you earn towards redemption on hundreds of different gift card options for a ton of different companies (like Amazon, eBay, Target, Walmart, Visa, PayPal, Home Depot, and more!). What I love is that, unlike with other survey companies:

1. each gift card company has multiple options for denominations which you can cash in on - all the way from $5 cards up to $100+.
2. You can cash in anytime - and there are no limits or caps on how many times you can cash your points in in a period - because, there are no periods.
3. Want cash, and not gift cards? Easy. Cash in on a PayPal gift card which is automatically deposited to your PayPal account, then transfer the money to your bank account attached to your PayPal. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.
4. They have multiple ways you can earn points, it's not just through doing surveys. You can: (*fastest way to earn points)
1. *answer surveys
2. search the web through their site and earn points
3. *shop at major retailers by using their "Shop and Earn" links - for instance, want to shop at Old Navy this Black Friday? Go to your swagbucks account page first, click shop and earn, find Old Navy on their site and earn 8SB/$1 spent at Old Navy. Booking a trip or vacation? click through to Priceline via your Swagbucks account and earn 8SB/$1 spent. Making a purchase on Amazon? click through from Swagbucks and earn 4SB/$1 spent...and so on...
4. watch videos and advertisements - if I'm sewing or cooking, I have the videos on in the background, earning points while I do other things.
5. play games/download apps/special offers/and more!

Now, I don't make a ton of money monetizing my blog, but it'll buy me a few bundles and some thread every year. There are two ways to monetize your blog: to sell advertising space and to use affiliate advertising. Here I'll cover the affiliate advertising option.

Personally, I use shareasale.com* on my blog. They are one of the biggest affiliate companies out there, their interface is easy to use, and they deal with craft companies I know, have used, and I trust.

Taking on affiliate advertising* is easy to do, but requires a bit of...finesse. You don't want to risk alienating your readership with a bombardment of advertising, both in posts and on your sidebar, but at the same time, everyone has to make a living, right?

Some things to note/my suggestions on the subject:

• take on advertising from affiliates that you know and trust - and that you've actually used. The ones you see in my sidebar (Craftsy*, Amazon*, etc.) I personally own or use on a regular basis and have products or services that are applicable to my readership.
• make sure that you follow the legal disclosure guidelines for your country when advertising affiliates and their sales/products (for example, in the US, you must by law disclose when there are affiliate links on your blog or in a post - note my disclosure at the bottom of this post, at the bottom of this blog, and, in the sidebar affiliate advertising is separately denoted by the heading "affiliates")

Here's where social media can really be your friend. When you make something fabulous, post it on all of your social media accounts - share it with all of your friends and family. Let everyone who follows you know that you make spectacular things, and your items are for sale. 

Also, let people know that you will create custom orders or items for people which are in your scope of practice - or offer your services out to friends and family who may also sew or quilt if they need help with projects they're doing. 


As a side note - if you do start up an Etsy shop, make sure to promote the items you make on all of your social media accounts - it's free advertising!

Since I've been very busy lately being a Swap Mama, I thought I'd save myself a bit of work when it comes to sending out emails about information required with regards to swapping.

I'm posting this information not only for those who may be participating or thinking of participating in a fabric swap, but also for those who may be thinking of ever hosting a fabric swap on their blogs.

Hence, this new tutorial series.

I'm starting today with the topic of "Shipping" - i.e. - how do you ship your fabrics to me, how can you print your own shipping labels/buy your shipping online, how to calculate your postage costs, how to include a SASE envelope to get your fabrics back from your Swap Mama, and more.

Calculating the weight of your package
For accuracy's sake, weigh it. If you don't have a scale at home, most post offices have a scale off to the side of the counters you can pop in and use. Here is a *rough* estimate on how much your parcel may weigh (measurements don't include packaging supplies):

Fabric Measurement           (in yards)	Approximate Weight     (100% Quilting Cotton)
½	2.8 oz
¾	4.2 oz
1.0	5.6 oz
1.25	6.9 oz
1.50	8.5 oz
1.75	9.7 oz
2.0	11.1 oz
2.25	12.5 oz
2.25+	Over 13oz, must ship flat rate within U.S.

How to pack your fabrics (and what to include in your envelope)
In your envelope to your Swap Mama you should include:

1. Your cut fabric (cut size based on swap rules) enclosed in a Zip-loc or water-tight bag
2. Your SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope (see below) - be it a stamped manila envelope or a pre-paid, flat rate envelope

When you're swapping fabrics, it's always nice if you send your fabrics in a water-tight, Zip-loc bag; this ensures that during shipment, your fabrics won't be damaged on their way to the Swap Mama. This also allows the Swap Mama to enclose your return fabrics in a Zip-loc, ensuring there won't be any damage to them in return.

Calculating your Shipping Costs (How many stamps do I need?)
To calculate your shipping costs, both too your Swap Mama, and from your Swap Mama, head over to

USPS.com

Under the Shipping a Package tab, select:

-- Calculate a Price

Destination:

• for you sending your fabrics to your Swap Mama, this would be your Swap Mama's home country & address/Zip code
• if you're calculating your swapped package's return price, this would be your home country & address/Zip code

Select a Flat Rate Service or Shape:

• If you're sending in your own envelope, don't select "envelope" - select "Package"
• If you're sending FRE (flat rate envelope), select the size of the envelope you're sending.

In the following screen, select your shipping service (flat rate type or First Class parcel)

Unfortunately, you're unable to purchase First Class (domestic) shipping on USPS.com, but this'll tell you how many stamps you'll need on your packages. If you're shipping Priority Flat Rate, you can purchase your shipping online, and, it's actually cheaper than buying it at the post office.

Note: **you cannot pre-purchase your return postage (i.e. the postage for the envelope from your Swap Mama back to you) online - you can purchase a $5.60 stamp at the post office to stick on your return flat rate envelope, though - or, stick $5.60 worth of postage on the FRE on the back flap of the envelope.** Also note that this $5.60 rate is for this sized envelope:

Cardboard, unpadded, 9.5" x 12.5" Priority Mail envelope: $5.60 flat rate (rate as of August 2014).

In most areas, you can also schedule an at-home pickup for Priority Post mail - your post-person will pick up your package from your porch, front door, etc., when they come to drop your mail off. You choose how they pick it up - and it's free.

To schedule an online postal pick up, click {here}.

SASE: Self-addressed, stamped envelope
All swaps where you send your assigned fabrics to a swap mama will require that you pay for your return postage.

In some instances, for those within the US, where your return package will be over 13oz in weight, First Class USPS mail options are not available. Any package over 13oz within the US must be sent by Priority mail or the like.

In the instance where your return package will be under 13oz, you can include a SASE or "self-addressed, stamped envelope" for your Swap Mama to return your fabrics to you.

This is what your enclosed SASE should look like:

1. You should ensure that you have enough postage/stamps on your envelope for your package; the amount of stamps will differ based on 
1. the weight of your package
2. which ZIP you're sending from (i.e. - your Swap Mama's ZIP since she'll be the one mailing it to you).
2. Your name should be in the Recipient's and Sender's spot. If there is insufficient postage on your parcel, the USPS will know to return to you, but may hold your package and leave a delivery slip for you to go into your local post office to pay the difference. This ensures that your Swap Mama doesn't receive your package back if there is insufficient postage, as Swap Mamas are not responsible for postage costs.

When including a SASE flat rate envelope, you'll need to attach $5.60 in stamps to the envelope when you include it in your package (based on the envelope size pictured above - please verify rates for the specific envelope you choose).

Hopefully this tutorial has helped a bit, and please, if I've missed anything or if you have any questions, please leave a comment for me below!

(ETA: Thank you to Carla from Modern Bias for pointing out that you can't pre-purchase FR postage online for return shipping! awesome catch, Carla!)

This is the final tutorial in a the Beautify your Blog series of tutorials I've been writing for the last 3 months here at Sew at Home Mummy.

I'll be covering how to upload a custom Blogger template to your blog. If you've been following along with the tutorials and modifying a 'test' blog and not your 'real' blog, this will show you how to move the changes over to your 'real' blog.

As always, please read the disclosure statement from Week 1. Also, I highly suggest you go through the tutorials week by week, in order, as each week builds on information learned in the previous week's tutorial(s). 



1. Start Here

Note:
Any sidebar content you've added or modified on your test blog will need to be manually copied over to your real blog - uploading the customized template won't move these (for example, any blog buttons you've added, widgets, custom sidebar titles, etc. - you'll need to go into each widget, copy the content, and paste said content/code into an appropriate widget on your 'real' blog).

So what if I haven't been following along, but have found a downloadable template online which I'd like to use on my blog?

There are plenty of online sites which offer free 'custom' Blogger templates for anyone to download and use. 

A Google search of "Free Blogger Templates" reveals a plethora of gorgeous freebies floating around the web.

The webistes I'm most familiar with (becuase when I was starting out, I used their templates or buttons) are:

Leelou Blogs
The Cutest Blog on the Block
Shabby Blogs

...but there are hundreds of sites out there with free, super pretty templates for you to download for your site.

There's also the option to have someone design your blog template for you - or, to pay for a pre-made, more custom look. Check out Etsy.com for this option - there are a tonne of graphic designers there, charging really reasonable prices for fantastic work.


1. Backing Up Your Blog
If you're planning on uploading a new template, be it one you've downloaded to use, or one from a 'Test' blog you've been editing, please back-up your original blog before making any modifications.

We covered this in the very first week's tutorial - but here is the video once again. 

**If you have been modifying your test blog along the way, and want to now upload your Test Blog's template to be your Real Blog's template, you'll back-up BOTH your Test Template and your Real Blog's template: I would suggest re-naming the files to something really obvious so you don't run the risk of mixing them up - something like:

(test blog's template): Blog Template - NEW version.xml
(real blog's template): Blog Template - OLD version.xml



2. Uploading Your New Template

From your Blogger.com homepage, click the drop down menu beside your Real blog's name - select

Template

on the Template page, select

Backup/Restore

(circled in RED in image below)

A pop-up appears.

Select

Choose file

(circled in GREEN in image below)

in the second pop-up which appears, select the file name of the template you want to upload to your Real Blog - be it one you've created on your Test blog, one you've downloaded from the net for free, or one that you've purchased.


click

Open

then in the previous dialogue box, click

Upload

There you have it. When you preview your blog, you'll see the new template uploaded.

If you've uploaded a purchased or web template you didn't create, you may have to go into your 

Template

Customize

Advanced

settings to play around a bit with your fonts, margins, etc. And remember, like I said above, you'll have to manually move the content of your sidebar content over from your test blog if need be.


If by chance you don't like the look of your Test blog on your Real blog's page, you can always use the above directions to re-upload your old version of your blog.

I hope you've enjoyed the series. I apologize in the delay in posting this. 

I love to see what you're doing - make sure to share a link with me with your new blog look in the comments below. If you have questions, feel free to email me and I'll try my best to point you in the right direction.

Thanks for playing along, and I hope you found this information useful!

Hi all and welcome back to the Sew at Home Mummy "Beautify your Blog" Series.

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This is week 12 of the 12-week series; next week we'll be doing a final wrap up on the tutorial series (how to upload a blog template, etc.) so we're not quite done after this week.

This week we'll be covering a mish-mash of topics which several readers asked about when I first proposed the series. 

As always, I suggest you start from the beginning of the series and work forward. Each week tends to build on the previous week's tutorial.

1. Start Here


Here we go for this week!

Social Media
Most people have at least one or two social media accounts, such as Pinterest, Instagram, Flickr, etc. 

There's definitely some benefit to having other social media accounts linked to your blog - some people may want to follow what you write in other formats (RSS readers, Feedly, Bloglovin', etc.) You may have a Flickr account for one of the online Bees, swaps, etc., you're participating in, and don't mind sharing your uploads. You may want to add an 'email' icon so that people can contact you, etc. 

Being linked in to other social media networks is also another way to 'market' yourself; if you're going to take on sponsors, or, you already have, your other accounts reach a different audience, expanding your marketing potential.

That said, you'll notice I don't have my Facebook account linked to my blog. No offence, but I find Facebook to be too personal to share - it's a way for me to share pictures with my family and friends at home and overseas. And Facebook is a bit of a pain in the arse to me, if I'm being honest ;)

But - nothing is stopping you from having both personal and public/blog accounts for your readers.

If you've decided that you'd like to have your accounts associated with your blog, and you'd like to add buttons like the ones in my sidebar, here's a tutorial on how to do it:

click {HERE}

(please note - it's an old tutorial, so the icons on my site are different now - and I'm in the process of designing new ones again). 

You don't need to make your own icons - you can easily find free icons (here's my Google search) and gorgeously designed ones on Etsy for really cheap. 

Favicons
What's a Favicon?

It's the little icon which sits up on the browser tab of your blog's open window (circled in red in the image below):
mine is a little blue square with a script 'M' in white:
If you'd like to create your own Favicon to customize your blog tabs, click

{HERE}

to go to a previous tutorial I wrote. 


Sponsors vs. Affiliates

a) Affiliates
Affiliate marketing: a type of performance-based marketing in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought by the affiliate's own marketing efforts. The industry has four core players: the merchant (also known as 'retailer' or 'brand'), the network(that contains offers for the affiliate to choose from and also takes care of the payments), the publisher (also known as 'the affiliate'), and the customer (1). 

You'll notice in my right sidebar that I belong to two affiliate marketing organizations: ShareaSale and Amazon.com.

Basically, when/if you click on one of the buttons listed under "Affiliates" on my site, you're redirected to the company's site, and the company tracks where you came from (my site) and keeps record of anything you might buy on that site - and then, I get a small (teeny) percentage of your sale.

For example: since I joined Amazon.comas an affiliate in January (so just over 6 months ago) I've earned about $4. Not much, but, maybe at the end of the year I'll be able to buy a presser foot.

If you're thinking of becoming an affiliate, here are some things to note:

1) you have to 'apply' to the affiliate company/program, and be approved. Often times once you've been accepted by the affiliate company you then need to be manually approved by the advertising company (they'll check your blog, content, etc., to determine whether they want you to advertise for them). For example, I signed up to be a part of ShareaSale, and then applied to be an affiliate of Craftsy - Craftsy then reviewed my application and approved me to advertise for them. I could then put a link/button on my blog.

2) it's dependent on the country and even state that you're in. Some companies can't allow for affiliates in certain states (for example, being in Illinois, I can't apply to be an affiliate for Fabric.com) and depending on your country of origin you may not be able to participate in certain programs.

3) In the USA, by law, you must divulge that your blog, post or site contains affiliate links. If you're in another country and you're posting affiliate links on your blog you might want to look into the rules on affiliate advertising. Here, in the US, the Federal Trade Commission has a law which states that you must disclose when any post contains an advertisement or affiliate link. 

You'll notice that all "Affiliate" advertising are clearly listed on the side of my blog under "Affiliates" NOT Sponsors. Big difference. 

You'll also notice that at the bottom of my blog, there's the following disclosure statement:

Some of the links in the posts above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

And - you'll also notice that each time I happen to include an Affiliate link in a post, I state that the post contains such links at the bottom of the post or within the post directly.

Why?

Because it's the law, and let's face it, this is a C.Y.A. world (cover your ... bumbum)... better safe than sorry. And it's only fair to let your readers know that, in them clicking your links, they are helping you to earn a few pennies (literally).


b) Sponsors
Attaining sponsors is not something really talked about in the bloggy world, and, to be honest, I'm not sure why. It's a form of advertising for the Sponsor and benefits the Advertiser (you!) - through the ability to obtain more readers through sponsored giveaways, to review new or little-known products, or through monetary compensation from the Sponsor. 

There are two main types of blog sponsors: those who sponsor reader giveaways or products for review, and those who purchase sidebar advertising (+/- giveaways). 

I should note that I have only been seriously obtaining/accepting sponsors for the last 6 months - so I'm relatively new to this game. I had to contact one of my Bloggy friends to ask some questions to help guide me along the way, and she was a great help.

Here are some tips with respect to accepting and maintaining sponsors for your blog which I've learned along the way.

1) Disclose, disclose, disclose.
When you've received promotional materials for reviews or giveaways, you must let your readers know that the company has sent you the materials for the purpose of the review or giveaway. It's the law.

2) Determine your Sponsor policy. 
Will you only accept sponsors whom you've personally shopped from? If you're accepting a product for review, will you review and post about the product, good or bad? or will you only post positive reviews and decline to post about products which you've determined wouldn't deserve a glowing review? Will you only accept sponsors related to the topic of your blog? Here's my sponsor policy:

Sew at Home Mummy: Information about Sponsors and Sponsoring!

...for your reference. I suggest creating your own disclosure statement if you plan on taking on sponsors or have already done so - and you can do that here, for free:

{Create your own Disclosure Statement}

3) Determine your rates.
How much will you charge for sidebar advertising (usually in a per month or in monthly incremental rates - i.e. $x for 1 month, $y for 6 months, $z for 12 months). If a company is supplying you with sponsored giveaway items, or items to review, how long will you advertise for them, or will you? Is the review a one-shot feature-post deal? If you decide to include sidebar advertising for them, will the value of the reviewed item determine the length of time you advertise for? etc.

Most importantly, when determining your rates: they should be reflective of your readership and the amount of advertising/featuring work you plan to do for the Sponsor.

In other words: you need to know how many readers and followers you have, and the analytics associated with your blog (analytics covered below). A blog with 300 Bloglovin' readers and 10,000 hits/month will charge a lot less than a blog with 2,000 readers and 200,000 hits/month.

4) What's included?
What incentive are you going to give your Sponsor for advertising with you? i.e.: what are they getting for their money?
- feature post? how many? how often? what will it contain?
- sidebar advertising? how long for? how large of an add?
- "Featured Advertisers" page? will you have a page on your blog with more information about your sponsors?

5) Securing Sponsors.
Two possibilities here:
a) Sponsor comes to you.
b) You go to (potential) Sponsor.

Most of us are not Big Fish, and we'll have to do the leg work - cold calling.

Yup.

Get your Sales Panties on.

There are a lot of companies out there whom are more than happy to sponsor giveaways for blogs, all you have to do is ask, and have a good reason and a polite, well written email to them. But.

Be prepared to be told No. 

Or, you won't get a response to your email at all. No harm, no foul. You tried! But if absolutely no one is contacting you back, something is wrong.

• you're contacting the wrong company/people - aim smaller, and see what happens.
• you're charging too much or not offering enough.
• there's something wrong with your approach - your letter/email isn't formal enough, doesn't contain enough info, you don't give a good reason for them to sponsor you.
• you're too small. And this is a big one for some companies - they only put their advertising dollars to work for the 'big' blogs, and until you get there, you're just another drop in the bucket. Don't take offence, this is just their marketing strategy. Continue to grow your blog and readership, and maybe try again in a year's time.
• you need to work on your blog. How does it look? is it professional looking? do you post relatively frequently? Have your other sponsored posts been well written, with a lot of effort? 
• the company you've contacted hasn't found the Blog-based marketing strategy to be an effective one. And this has nothing to do with you, it's just what that particular company has found in their research. 
• you don't have a 'connection' with the company whose advertising you're trying to secure - you've never shopped there, your blog's theme or content doesn't fit their company's vision, etc.

6) Maintaining Sponsors.
So again, I'm relatively new to this. I'll be contacting a few of my first round sponsors soon to see if they've been happy with the level of service I've been supplying them, and if they'd like to renew their advertising with me. Keep track of when your Sponsor's end dates are, and contact them accordingly. While under sponsorship, make sure you're holding up your end of the bargain - make sure you're fulfilling your posting quota set out in your Sponsorship Agreement you and your Sponsor decided upon. Send them links to any posts you may have made during the time of the sponsorship; be active with your other social media outlets in tagging and posting about your sponsors and featured posts.

7) Press Package.
Ultimately, I'm working toward creating a 'Press Package' of sorts, one which will be sent out with each sponsorship request I make. The package will contain a bio, current analytics of my site and readership (covered below), advertising rates, and contact information. At the moment, I just include the analytics as a separate attachment to any emails or letters I send out, but I would like to have something more formal drafted. Adding that to my to-do list, too.

Analytics
Blog Analytics
I have to say, up until the end of May, I was just using Blogger's analytics (found under "Stats" in the main page of Blogger, left side bar) for my blog, and was contacting most sponsors with this information when trying to secure advertising space and giveaways.

And then a certain company (who shall remain nameless) turned me down - until I could supply them with 3 months of more in-depth analytics data, including bounce rates and session times.

To be honest - I had no idea what the heckadoodles he was talking about. I had to look it up.

And then I installed Google Analytics on my site. Holy. Cow. I wish I had known about this feature (free, I might add!) sooner. 

The pageview stat Blogger was giving me was grossly under estimated, it doesn't show you bounce rates, and can't tell you how long people are sticking around your site and how many pages they're viewing, on average - just to name a few.

I could do an entire, massive post on analytics - and maybe I will in the future - but I highly suggest if you're considering taking on sponsors that you install this now. You'll want it installed for at least 3 months before you start contacting anyone, so as to get a better view of:
- who your readers are and from where in the world
- what types of devices they're using (mobile? desktop? tablet?)
- what browsers they're using
- how long they're staying on your site
- how many pages they're staying around to read
- how many readers are new and how many are returning
- what your bounce rate is

Bounce Rate: the percentage of visitors to a particular website who navigate away from the site after viewing only one page

.... so, you want people to stick around and read more on your site - it keeps them interested, it means your blog is easy to read and navigate, and - it raises your page views (and higher page views means better advertising power when contacting sponsors) = a low bounce rate.

Readership Analytics
My suggestion here is to 'screen shot' your profile pages from Bloglovin', Feedly, Pinterest, etc. at the end or beginning of each month in order to keep track of your stats for your potential Sponsors (so that you have proof of how many people are following you). 


Website Domains vs. .blogspot.com
Some of you noticed that I 'dumped' the .blogspot.com back in January and went to a custom domain name, "www.sewathomemummy.com".

In order to have a custom .com, .net, .org, etc., domain name, you need to purchase the name and have it hosted by a site. I personally use GoDaddy.com for my domain hosting - it costs me about $12 a year.

Setting up a custom domain name is a bit of a finicky task, so if you're not too tech savvy, consider asking someone else who knows what they're doing get it set up for you. A lot of the hosting companies will offer tech support, too. And Google's Blogger has a Q&A tutorial section which will walk you through it.

References:
(1) Affiliate marketing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affiliate_marketing


Okay! So that's it for this week. I think there's ample information here, I'm sorry for the never-ending post. I hope you've gained something from this post and this series.

Next week will be the final wrap up where I'll show you how to upload an HTML blog template to modify your blog (if you've been only making changes to your 'test' blog up until now, you'll be able to transfer all of your changes over in one fell swoop to your 'real' blog) - or, maybe you've decided on a standard downloadable template from online and you'd like to upload it to your existing blog - I'll show you how.

And, if you're still with me: if you haven't seen my post on the great deal on Oliso Pro irons ($119!) right now, here's the post. 

Please note that this post contains affiliate links and in accordance with FTC regulations, I must disclose this.