Perhaps you have been following a few blogs over the years and you’ve seen some graphics that advertise other businesses or some text links that bring you to a company for more information or to go shopping. Or, perhaps you’ve seen words like “sponsors” or “affiliates” and wondered exactly what that meant.

I have some “buttons” that link to sponsors and affiliate companies I do business with – you can find them on my website’s homepage.

As a small business owner I’m always looking for new ways to grow my business and also find ways to offer items to my readers and customers that I personally cannot create or offer. By partnering with these affiliate companies I can provide links to companies that I regularly do business with and can highly recommend to others. I do not partner with companies that I do not believe in or companies that I do not feel offer the same level of customer service I provide and think people deserve. Affiliate companies pay a small percentage of each sale generated through the links.

Sponsors, unlike affiliates, come in a few different categories. Sponsors can purchase ad space by the month in an effort to build their own brand or small business or sponsorship can come in the form of partnering with bloggers to write sponsored posts about an item, event, or company. Several months ago you may remember seeing a sponsored post I did about the Do It Herself events at Home Depot.  When companies search out bloggers to write sponsored posts we are paid a small fee to write our honest opinions on a specific subject.  We are asked to stay true to ourselves and our audience and are never asked to write anything we do not personally agree with.

Selling sponsor ads, writing sponsored posts, and hosting affiliate links is a great way for bloggers and small businesses to grow their business, offer great deals, offer giveaways, and earn money to use toward supplies when starting out.

I wanted to share this information with my readers because I think it’s only fair that you know that I do reap some rewards when you click on the links and make a purchase. Trust me, though, I still work full-time along with my GeminiRed Creations business so I’m not retiring or running of to Europe any time soon. I appreciate your support, and if you have any questions about the companies I have partnered with I am more than happy to answer them for you.

Please leave your comments below and let me know what you think about bloggers having affiliate links, sponsored ads, and sponsored posts on their blogs. I’d love to hear from you.