A Note from The Awesome Muse Founder, Jennifer Quisenberry:
Thank you so much for being a reader here at The Awesome Muse. I am so glad you are here. I would like to let you in on a few of our policies so you know what’s going on here at The Awesome Muse. Several people pour their heart and soul into The Awesome Muse each week, and I want you to feel good about reading with us each week.
Moreover, being a full-time blogger is a big job, and it’s one that helps support my family. I have worn many hats in my life, and my career has changed directions over the past few years. I never expected to become a professional blogger, but I am so grateful that such an amazing opportunity has fallen into my lap. I went to grad school for writing, and the fact that it’s all come full circle for me professionally is such a thrill.
How The Awesome Muse Makes Money
You may have noticed that I called myself a “full-time blogger.” That’s right. This is how I make my living and how I contribute to my family. Because of that, I want to share with you the ways that I earn an income from the blog so that everything is out in the open. Having your trust is important to me, and being transparent about sharing disclosures about how the blog is monetized is one of the ways I feel I can earn your trust.
Advertising and Affiliates
In some blog posts on The Awesome Muse, you may find links to products or services that are discussed, promoted or reviewed. Some of these links may be what’s called an “affiliate link.” An affiliate link is where a company offers a third party, such as a blogger, a small commission in exchange for promoting and ultimately selling their product. A lot of bloggers use these, and you may have seen them used on other sites as well. What this means is that if I post a link to a really great item and you decide to purchase that item from the link I provide, I will be paid a small amount from the company at no cost to you to say thank you.
The Awesome Muse also makes use of advertisements. You may occasionally see a banner ad, an ad in the sidebar, a popup, or even an ad in the text of a blog post. Those ads are placed via Google AdSense and I receive a small payment when you click the ad. The way this works is that a lot of advertisers engage in what’s called Pay Per Click advertising. They pay a fee for their ad to be placed on relevant sites, and the sites, like The Awesome Muse, that display their ad is paid when someone visits. Again, this comes at no cost to you.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Sponsored Posts
Another way I may be compensated is via sponsored posts. From time to time, a company will ask relevant bloggers and influencers to write a blog post and /or share on their social media about their product. The companies pay for this to happen. I participate in sponsored opportunities. However, I do not accept sponsored opportunities with companies that are not a good fit for The Awesome Muse. For example, it wouldn’t make sense for me to write a blog post about tires here on the blog. When a post has been sponsored, I will indicate that I have received compensation for writing the post. It will always be mentioned in the post so that you can see it. You will see these disclosures on the blog, and also on The Awesome Muse’s social media accounts as well.
Why will I mention that a post is sponsored? Frankly, it’s required by the FTC. The Federal Trade Commission requires that bloggers provide disclosures whenever we get paid to write and/or post about a product, company, or brand. You can learn more about that here: .com Disclosures: How to Make Effective Disclosures in Digital Advertising. The Awesome Muse makes every effort to be compliant with these regulations.
As technology changes, the ways I earn income from a blog may change. I will keep you posted on any changes to the disclosure requirements or how new technological advances impact my earnings. I want you to have the latest info.
Thanks again for tuning in! I hope that reading this may have inspired you to take the plunge as a writer as well!
Always be Awesome!
Jennifer Quisenberry
Founder and Editor-in-Chief