It’s 21017, and influencer marketing is a mainstream part of our social media landscape. According to research from Nielsen, recommendations from other people on social media are consistently more powerful than those from websites, TV ads, and newspaper content.

Little wonder that influencers in our community are increasingly able to monetise their sites through sponsored content.

But quantity doesn’t always mean quality. To be a successful pro blogger, it’s essential that your sponsored content delivers value for your readers – and your clients. Today, we’re pulling together five key things that make sponsored content successful. We’d love to hear any more suggestions you might have down in the comment box.

Stories and Anecdotes

Back in my journalist days we would often be told to kick off features with a single story about one person’s experience. A strong personal anecdote helps to bring a product or issue to life, so readers can imagine themselves in your shoes. It also feels more authentic when you can truly describe how you engaged with a product or brand.

The very best bloggers are able to seamlessly blend sponsored and non-sponsored content together so it all feels like a part of their personal story, without feeling fake or spammy.

Clear Disclosure

Authenticity is your value as an influencer and all too often we see bloggers shooting themselves in the foot with poor (or absent) disclosures. Make sure you clearly explain in all content that it is sponsored, paid for, or based on a free sample. Use clear hashtags like #sponsored or #ad. Don’t use tiny fonts or pale colours to hide disclosures. There’s no set wording in the UK for how you disclose, but you should do so in as clear a way as possible. In video content, have a clear disclosure in both the video and the title.

Make Content People Like to Share

If you look at the really strong viral brands, they make content that people are proud to share – because sharing it makes them look good. Look for content that makes people feel as though they’re in the know, or sharing useful tips with their friends. You could easily multiple the audience of your sponsored content (and your value to brands) by sharing some amazing hacks to get the most of your hand luggage than a simple suitcase review. Be creative. Be helpful. Be positive.

Strong Images

The Internet is a hugely visual medium and it’s simply not enough for many brands to have dark, poorly focused images. Content with images generates more clicks and views than content without relevant images.

You don’t need to be a pro photographer, but your photos should be clear, bright and focused. Spend some time looking at images and feeds you admire and see what tips you can pick up – what sort of backgrounds do other bloggers use? What composition? How do they shoot things like menus and hotel rooms?

A Call to Action

All too many sponsored posts feature a humdrum run through of a product’s features and a website link. But if you truly want your sponsored content to deliver value, you need a clear Call To Action (CTA). This might be anything that pushes a consumer to the next step towards making a purchase. A website link is all well and dandy, but why would I click on it? Offer me the chance to subscribe to a mailing list of great deals, or a discount code if I click through on your link. Make it short, clear and easy to do.