FAQs for BlogHer Publishing Network Invites

Many of our bloggers have been invited to join the BlogPaws | BlogHer publishing network and many are in the que to be invited. If you are a recent member of the community and have expressed a desire to monetize your blog, you, too, will be invited, over time.

Because this is a big undertaking, and a big decision for our bloggers, we asked the Director of the BlogHer Publishing Network, Jenny Lauck, to share some answers to questions people have about becoming a member of the publishing network. Here's her response:

Hi everyone,

My name is Jenny Lauck, and I'm the director of the BlogHer Publishing Network.  I am so excited to be working with the amazing bloggers in the BlogPaws community on our joint publishing network! Through our partnership, BlogHer and BlogPaws are working together to bring members of the BlogPaws community opportunities to monetize blogs through high-quality display advertising, fun, paid reviews and sampling programs.

I’d like to take a minute and answer some of the most common questions we hear from bloggers about how the BlogPaws | BlogHer Publishing Network partnership works.  For example…

Do you wonder whether bigger bloggers get exclusive access to higher paying ads?

Answer: Nope! All our bloggers have access to the same ads, at the same CPMs.

Do you wonder when our bloggers get paid? 

Answer: We pay 45 days following the close of your first month, and then every 30 days thereafter, regardless of when the advertiser pays. 

Do you want to know if you can write paid content for sponsors, or host giveaways? 

Answer: Yes!  You can still take advantage of these types of opportunities while being a BlogPaws | BlogHer Publishing member. We’ve got all the details below…

Do you want to know if male bloggers are welcome?

Answer:  Absolutely!  We are open to bloggers of either gender, who blog about pets or animals.

Do you want to know if niche bloggers are a good fit for our network?

Answer:  Yes!  Whether you blog about a specific breed, topic or a single issue, you are welcome to join.

Below I go into great detail on how these ads work. But this blog post is not the only way to get our help and support — I’m hosting a few conference calls with interested bloggers to address your questions.  If you’d like to take part in one of these calls, please let me know you are interested by providing your contact information on the following form.  I’ll be in touch next week with our available call times and more information.

So, back to publishing your blogs — how do these ads work?

BlogHer is working with BlogPaws to sell advertising inventory that is a great fit for your readers.  We’ll be bringing special campaigns geared specifically for the pet and animal lovers markets, to your sites. 

Here’s how it works: Once you join the BlogPaws | BlogHer Publishing Network, you'll receive ad code that lives in your blog's template. Our expert help desk has simple, easy to follow installation instructions available, and of course, our team is always available to lend a hand. 

As we sell advertising campaigns, they'll be automatically served to your ad code and displayed on your blog. Your ad revenue may vary from month to month, depending on how many campaigns we have running.  When our regular paid inventory isn't available, you’ll have the option to fill those impressions with either a paid remnant ad from our remnant partner or you may display a non-paid public service announcement or a house ad from the BlogPaws team. We'll work with you to make sure the ads that appear on your site are appropriate for your readers.  

Our ads are sold on an impression (or CPM) basis – this means you earn revenue for the number of paid ads that load on your site, as opposed to number of clicks on a given ad.  Our ads are sold by topical vertical (for example: cats or dogs) or by the entire BlogPaws | BlogHer network. This means that all bloggers who are in a specific topical vertical (ie, cat sites) have access to the same ads at the same time — unless, of course, an individual blogger has indicated that he or she is not interested in running a specific category of ads.  For example, vegetarian bloggers may wish to block any ads with animal products featured.

You'll receive a revenue share based on the total number of ad impressions you serve each month, and you'll have access to your revenue report at any time through your profile on BlogHerAds.com. 

Our payment threshold is $25, and our payment cycle is 45 days. This means that if you earn $25 or more during a calendar month, you'll receive payment for that month's earnings 45 days after the end of the month.  Revenue earned October 1-31, for example, will be paid to bloggers on December 15. 

If you haven't earned $25 by the end of the month, that's okay, we'll roll it forward, and we'll send you your payment 45 days from the close of month when you do reach $25. We can send your ad revenue by check, or you can provide your PayPal information.  

Our contract has a one-year term.  Should a situation arise where a blogger wishes to leave the network before the contract expires, we’re happy to address that on an individual basis.

Is this the right opportunity for your site? Here's what we're looking for - 

Blogs that have been actively updated, at least once a week, for 90 days. If you've just gotten started, congratulations!  Please wait to submit your application until you're reached this milestone.  We'll look forward to working with you.

We are interested in sites that feature original, conversational content at least weekly, so if most of your posts are focused on coupons and deals, or your blog is cross-posted from another source, or rely heavily on language from press releases or other published sources, but you would like to explore joining the BlogPaws | BlogHer Network, we recommend emailing our help desk prior to applying – we’re happy to chat with you.

You'll need to be hosted on a service that allows advertising and does not place banners with graphic logos at the top of the screen.  Not sure if your blog host allows advertising?  We can help: Please email our help desk.

Are you already working with sponsors on your site?  The BlogPaws | BlogHer Publishing Network requires that our ads be the only graphic advertising "above the fold" – that's the visible space on your site when your blog loads on your monitor.  If you have other sponsorship agreements that require above the fold placement on your site, but would like to be part of the network, please contact our help desk – we can advise you on next steps for joining. 

Do you write paid posts on behalf of sponsors on your site?  The BlogPaws | BlogHer editorial guidelines ask that the "editorial well" of your site be free from sponsored content. You're absolutely welcome to continue working with sponsors on paid content – simply place those posts on a page without our advertising.  Questions about this?  Please ask our help desk. 

Do you write product reviews or host giveaways for your readers?  We have a few limitations on what is allowed alongside our ads – but the basic rule of thumb is that if you are writing a review or hosting a giveaway for an item that you received as a freebie, and you are receiving no other compensation, then this is fine alongside our ads.  Paid product reviews and giveaways are fine, too.  As with the paid posts, we just ask that those posts live on a page without our ads. 

Questions?  Our help desk is a great resource. 

Here’s a little more about our application process: We’ve created a brief educational survey that we ask incoming bloggers to complete: Survey for Bloggers.

Once you’ve completed this survey, our team reviews your blog on an individual basis. If we see any issues that limit our ability to serve ads on your site we’ll let you know what our advertisers need before we can approve your site. Once we’ve completed our review, barring any issues, we’ll send you an invite to create your BlogPaws | BlogHer Publishing profile and you’ll be on your way to running advertising on your blog in few short days.

I hope this post is helpful. I’m honored to have the chance to bring revenue opportunities to members of BlogPaws’s community. I speak for the entire BlogHer team when I share our enthusiasm and excitement – we can’t wait to work with you!