Today’s GIVEAWAY is a great one! Keep reading for all the details and enter today so you can win! I’m doing a giveaway every day of the quarantine to help out small businesses, so nominate your favorite so we can all be #SmallBusinessStrong!

We are living in strange times, my friends! I worshipped with my church on Facebook Live yesterday. I participated in a Zoom business meeting this weekend. I sent a $25 e-gift card to the winner of yesterday’s giveaway. I’ve been getting texts left and right. My husband is off work and staying home with me for the next three weeks! At a different time in history, quarantine and isolation would be lonely, but in 2020, we have more ways to stay connected than ever before.

And yet, the small businesses we love so much are being forced to close their doors or severely limit their services. We all want to support small businesses and entrepreneurs because we have made this incredible cultural shift recently where small businesses are in the spotlight. But right now, they all need your help. That includes boutiques, hair salons, coffee shops, and… bloggers!

How is a Blog a Business?

Bloggers get this a lot: But, what’s your REAL job?

It’s a brave, new world, folks! Blogging IS a viable, money-making industry! Bloggers have websites, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, LiketoKnowIt, TikTok, Snapchat, and more, and it’s all part of the business. Getting their name out there, getting your clicks and likes, and comments, and gaining a following are the things that make bloggers successful. It’s not just that we’re glued to our phones; it’s just that our business is all online.

Bloggers are constantly writing, photographing, and researching in an effort to help you live your life better. Travel bloggers want to help you travel your best and have the best experiences while traveling! Fashion bloggers want to help you feel confident when you walk out the door each day. Food bloggers want you to eat well and enjoy cooking. Fitness bloggers want to help you have a body that’s strong and allows you to do the things you want to do in your body. We’re all trying to be helpful. It’s our business!

How Do Bloggers Make Money?

Bloggers make money in various ways, but the big three are as follows:

• Ad Revenue: When you go to a bloggers website or blog post, you will almost always see ads. By allowing the page to load those ads, you are helping them make money! Bloggers who use ads get paid based on how many time their ads are viewed. You don’t have to click on the ad, just let it load and pass it by!
• Affiliate Links: This is how my blog and a lot of other blogs create revenue. When you see a personal recommendation on a blog for clothing, sunscreen, shoes, face cream, etc., that is not an ad, that is a personal recommendation from them, and the link they post is unique to them and affiliated with the company that sells the product. When you click on an affiliate link and purchase the item, the blogger makes a small commission!
  • For Instance: I have an affiliation with Amazon! When I write a packing post, reading list, or recommend any specific product you can get on Amazon, I make a commission when you purchase that item through that link! If you go an search for it on your own without using the link, you’ll pay the same price, but I won’t make a commission.
• Sponsorships: If a blogger has a large enough following (on social media plus followers on the blog), they can work with brands or, in the case of travel bloggers, visitors’ bureaus. Brands will pay the blogger to talk about their products on social media or the blog and recommend it to people. In the case of travel bloggers, visitors’ bureaus or large companies will pay for the blogger to visit (flights, accommodations, meals, etc.) and the blogger will in turn post about the trip on social media and their blog.

How Can You Support Bloggers?

So, how can you help your friends who are trying to keep their blogging business going? Your support will mean the world to them!

Shop with Them

The biggest bang for the buck for bloggers is your purchases! Spring is here and the weather is getting warmer, so shop for your spring wardrobe through their Like to Know It account (not sure what that is? Ask them!) or through their affiliate links (I have a dedicated “Shop” page and loads of clothing recommendations on my “Packing” page!).

To be perfectly clear, shopping with a blogger does not cost you more than shopping elsewhere! You pay the same price; the blogger just makes a small commission for referring you!

How Can You Help Bloggers for FREE!

Money’s tight. We know! But you can still help support bloggers for FREE. Here’s how!

SHARE

This is the best way to show you love your favorite bloggers! Sharing their posts on Facebook, repinning them to Pinterest, retweeting on Twitter, Share their Instagram post on your Instastories! This is how the power of social media can help any small business, but especially bloggers. The more people who see us, the more people who might follow us, and the more people we can help! It costs you nothing, but it could help them finally get the attention they deserve!

Like

Please like their posts! Any time you see a post from a small business, please like it! It costs you nothing, but means everything to them.

Comment

What’s better than a like? Comments! The more you engage with a post on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc., the more that medium will show the post to others. I often post to Instagram and get no comments, so that post doesn’t get seen by very many people, even people who already follow me. But when I get comments, my post gets more views, which translates to even more likes and even more comments! Please comment. It takes only a few seconds of your time, and costs you no money, but it means everything to your friend who’s trying so hard to grow!

Follow

Please, please, please follow your friends’ business pages! When looking for sponsorships, bloggers have to show the size of their following, and that helps determine whether or not a brand wants to work with them. In fact, many features on Instagram are not available to businesses with fewer than 10,000 followers. I have been trying to hit 10,000 followers just to get the “Swipe Up” feature on Instagram stories because that will directly help me get more views on the blog. Four years later and I am still under 1,000.

I try not to take things too personally because I know not everyone likes to travel. However, when I saw how many of my friends had “unfollowed” me on Instagram and “unliked” my business page on Facebook a few years ago, I was truly crushed. It literally costs nothing to like or follow someone’s page. If you’re not interested in the material, you can “Mute” their business page on Instagram or “Unfollow” on Facebook while still “Liking” their page. So please, follow your friends’ business pages! It is a great way to show you support them for FREE!

Visit their Website

This is the goal of every blogger! We want your views on our website. This proves to the companies we want to work with that people actually read our blog. The more views we have, the more valuable we are to a company that might pay us.

Also, as I mentioned above, just going to a blogger’s site gets them ad revenue! Again, it costs you nothing, but it brings them so much joy!

Today’s Giveaway

Today’s giveaway is YOUR PICK! Think about your favorite small business, the small business your friend is starting up, the small business that you really want to see come through this quarantine like a winner, and enter the contest so you can both win! 

• SHARE this post on Facebook or SHARE my latest Instagram post on your Instastories.
• TAG both Quick Whit Travel and your favorite local small business–or businesses!–in the post. This can be a shop, boutique, restaurant, hair salon, bakery, coffee shop, etc. Tag as many as you like!

I will choose a winner at 9:00am Tuesday, March 24, to receive a $25 gift card (or item worth up to $25 if the business does not offer gift cards) from their favorite small business! Everyone wins!

Want more ways to support local businesses, keep occupied, and “travel” from home during the Great COVID-19 Quarantine of 2020? Check out my Health and Wellness Page!

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