$225 Tory Burch Giveaway!

Happy Monday morning everyone! I have my September sponsors here today with a fabulous Tory Burch giveaway. But first, let's meet these pretty girls. I also asked everyone to pick a GIF that most clearly describes their personality, I think you'll get a kick out of them!

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Blogger Pay it Forward // Very First Choose Happy Post

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Cringe Worthy Thursday // Quit Hatin You Cray Cray Too

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Ways To Ruin Someone's Photograph //  It's A Physics Class

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Is It Just Me... // Official Crusader

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If I Knew Then // 8 People You See At The Beach

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The Post With the Perks of Being Short // How To Survive a Long Distance Relationship

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80s Movies Everyone Needs to Watch // A Lady's Jewel Box 

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Overwhelmed? Get Organized Reading Blogs The Smart Way // Love Letters

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I'm A Real Girl // On Sponsorhip: Why Your Content Matters 

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Attention Please! // 5 Things That Inspire Me

And without further adieu... we bring you a $225 (!!!!) Giveaway to Tory Burch!

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9 Things No One Tells You When You Start Taking Sponsors

Miss Kaylee requested a post about taking sponsors for this first time! If you have a request for a Saturday Session tutorial, go here. Let's do this!

1. A wait list is ok.
I remember the first night I posted sponsor options, the biggest size ad space I had limited to just one person shown at a time. Within a few hours, I had two people purchase that option. This meant that one person was live on the blog now, and someone else had to wait a month. I panicked over someone having to wait, and immediately changed the settings to have two shown at a time, then another blogger bought that size ad space and I changed it to three shown at a time.... then four shown at a time. Dumb. I just wanted to make everyone happy but instead I threw my sponsor system all out of whack on the very first day.

2. Don't do something you're going to regret as you grow.
I stared with 5 ad sizes and too many shown at one time in each ad size. As I started to grow, and people were added to my wait list for each ad size option, I wasn't able to make any changes to the number shown at a time without changing start dates. I just got so excited that anyone would want to sponsor me, my mindset was "Take all the $2 sponsors on the internets and let them live on my sidebar forever and ever!!!!!!" 

What I wish I had done...

By starting with just a few options, you can always add more. I assure you, it is much harder to take them away. Here I sit, nearly 4 months since I started taking sponsors, and I'm still trying to get rid of two of my ad space offerings. I know it is exciting, but just trust me on this one.

3. Don't take sponsors before your blog is ready.
This is one thing I think I did correctly. I held out until the 500 follower mark. I never did swaps, never wanted to do swaps. I didn't start blogging with the intention of making money, I just wanted to teach girls about sports. So my advice is to focus on stabilizing a solid following before you start taking sponsors. 

4. Knowing how to price yourself
I think supply and demand is the best way to look at this. I started with pretty low prices, then as a wait list grew for that ad size, I sporadically increased the cost for that sponsor option. 

5. Know when to have a sale. 
Women love the word sale, but you gotta know how to use that word. 

Bad: Macy's advertising, "Exclusive, unprecedented one day sale this weekend. One day only. Preview day Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday."

So when they have a sale... who cares, they're always having a sale. 

Good: Victoria's Secret Semi-Annual Sale. Stuff there is NEVER on sale unless you're in the dumpy bargain bin, and in the market for granny panties or no support spaghetti strap white cotton sports bras that wouldn't hold a 12 year old boy's boobs in.

So when they have a sale, YOU STOCK UP. 

See my point? Helene, Sami and Erin are all really good at having flash ad sales. They don't offer them very often, but when they do, you stock up!

6. Reward your most loyal sponsors.
I try to remember to give free space or gigantic discounts to the girls who have supported me from the beginning. Many sponsors will reward repeat clients with a discount code or do three month packages at a discount. 

7. Size your spots correctly. 

All of your ads should be the same width. Say it with me....
I also recommend wider rather than tall. So largest size should be 300x300, next size down 300x200, next size down 300x100.

8. If you want to do this all on your own, you might as well just forget it.
Use Passionfruit. I know there is another company out there, I don't know anything about it. Yes, PF is $9/mo. I think that as a general rule, if a blog isn't generating $9 in ad revenue, hold off on taking sponsors.

That's why I waited a while to start taking sponsors, because I wouldn't make enough money to justify the fees associated. First, you should take your profits from blog advertising and pay for passionfruit. Second, reinvest in sponsoring other bloggers. 

9. Have fun with your sponsors. 
Think of cute names that relate to your blog for each size sponsor ad. Mine are Jerry Jones, ESPN, ESPN2... etc. etc. The more you have fun with it, the more your sponsors will enjoy their time hanging out on your sidebar.

Link love...
Some girls who are doing sponsoring right, in my humble opinion...

Pearls and Curls

Glam Hungry Mom

Pursuit of Pink

Not Entirely Perfect

Daily Tay - her Saturday Takeover was a brilliant idea

Back East Blonde

Jade and Oak

Fan Friday: This Post is for Girls Who Think Football Is Stupid

To my girls who don't know anything about football and hate reading this blog on Friday, just give me 5-10 minutes of your day today. Just 5-10 minutes, I'm not sure how fast you read. Pretty please please please? Then if you're confused at the end, I won't bug you again. But if you learn something, then you're welcome. 

A football team on offense has four chances to move the ball 10 yards. That's why when they first get the ball it's called first and 10. 

Let's think about this in dating terms... 

You meet a guy and he asks you on a first date. As most guys would be, he is on the offense, and like any good girl would be, you are on the defense. He is trying to move his "ball" forward with the ultimate destination: the bedroom (or end zone). You are trying to slow him down, try to keep him from moving too fast. You are a lady after all, right?

You sit down to dinner. He is really cute. 

Since he moved three yards closer, the blue line (the starting point or what in football is called the line of scrimmage) moves forward three yards. He now starts trying to move his ball closer to your endzone. 

He informs you he lives in his mother's basement, and enjoys it there.

He orders a peach bellini. 

So here is where it gets tricky. Two possible situations can happen now.

Situation 1 (This happens 95% of the time) 

Since he only has one attempt left, holding the offensive ball, he brings in his friend, the kicker, who will kick his ball all the way down the field just so that you are further away from getting married. Bros before hoes. Because after this date is finally over, guess who is now on offense, looking to score a husband and crash into that wedding touchdown full force? YOU! 

Why? Well, if he were to try one more time (possible situation #2) to move the ball 7 yards, and fails (i.e. orders the Strawberry Spinach Salad, fat free italian on the side please). Guess what, you would only need to move the ball 20 yards to score a wedding, instead of 70 if he had just given up. Not that you'd want to marry that guy or anything, just work with me here, people!

And the game of girl vs boy (offense vs. defense) plays on. Each week, a new matchup. 

So how is that for basic? Was that confusing? Are you in any form of physical pain from learning about football? Should we call a doctor?

If you are feeling extra football-y (over achiever)... check out the only other post in this "series" here! 

Linking up with Whitney!

I never met a _____ I didn't like

It has been a while since I've done a Thirsty Thursday post, so today I'm linking up with Kristin and Chelsee! The older you get, the less you get to go out and party your face off, the less thirsty thursday material you generate. But with my trip to Tennessee for the Georgia game on the horizon, now seems like a fabulous time to get in the thirsty thursday spirit. Pun intended of course. 

1. Beer pong table.

I'm like, really good. All the boys wanted me on their team I'm that good. To this day I perk up when someone says beer pong. Heck, I'd play with water if someone offered. But no bouncing, get outta here with that pansy rule. See Also: I'm over-the-top competitive. 

2. A dirty gin martini

My mom introduced me to these a couple of years ago and I really wish she hadn't because she created a monster. I have no shame in ordering these in a dumpy smokey pool bar. They are just so delish! 

3. Chard

To be more specific, I love all wine. But chardonnay is so crisp and refreshing way to toast the end of a hard work day and start the night! 

4. Shots(z). 

"You wanna take a shot?" "Do you want to breathe air? Yup!" 

Allow me to introduce you to your new fav transportable, on-the-go, always ready whenever you are, best tailgate pal Twisted Shotz. I waited tables for about 10 years, but never bartended. I have no clue what mixes together to form the perfect shooter, nor do I care to know. The cost of buying 4 different liquors / mixers to make a round of shooters is not something I can dig. 

What I can dig are these guys. 

Twisted Shotz sent me a bunch of shots to review for you guys. They are delicious and I brought them with me to each concert and sporting event I attended in the past month. Since they are so small, several of them easily fit in my purse. When I went to the EDM concert with Helene, I brought some in with me. 

Step One. Unzip Side Compartment

Step two. Cut hole in side compartment 

Step three. Insert shot in the area you cut a hole in. Shots will now be on the bottom layer of your bag, underneath the lining and undetectable during a bag search. Bada bing bada boom! 

Step Four. Skip the bar line that is 4 hours long, enjoy shot. 

Each shot comes pre-made with two separate flavors, both actual liquors, and the flavors mix when you take the shot to form the perfect shooter. They have tons of different flavors. My favorites were the Bourbon and Honey, Blazin Apple and Rattlesnake. 

You can find these guys all over the country, and definitely in my two favorite states Texas and Tennessee. Click here to find the liquor store closest to you that sells them, then promptly pack them in your tailgatin' cooler. And remember to always drink responsibly and root for the Vols and Cowboys. 

Twisted Shotz were provided to Venus Trapped in Mars for review but all opinions are my own. Don't be dumb, be 21. (p.s. I just made that up, but I think it would make a good under age anti-drinking campaign)