Bypassing the need for money by pushing blog sponsorship to the next level

Money is nothing but a means to an end. Your choose the end and then point your wallet in the required direction. And making money with blogs in order to achieve certain ends, support careers, or even fund lifestyles, is something that I have been doing now for a very long time.

The money is made, as it is always made online, by simple principles. Blogs attract traffic, traffic makes attention, attention is monetized. Rinse and repeat. Adding more traffic, by whatever means are currently to hand, is the equivalent of turning up the volume on the money machine. More traffic, more money. It’s really that simple.

Earlier today I took money out of the equation and secured something of great value that, whilst having short term monetary value, has long term benefits that are immeasurable.

I wrote recently on once of my other blogs about my search for a microphone. I didn’t want any microphone, I wanted what I described as the perfect jazz trumpet microphone. My research led me to a collaboration between legendary audio engineer Rupert Neve and classical musician and owner of sE Electronics Siwei Zou.

This is the Rupert Neve sE RNR1.

List price $2,595. The reviews are glowing. It would appear that Rupert Neve’s first microphone is a classic in the making and exactly what I’m looking for.

With all this in mind I telephoned the head office of sE Electronics UK this morning. I told them about my blogs, about how my micropatronage project was progressing along with a brief run down of my audience figures.

A Rupert Neve sE RNR1 is currently on a FedEx vehicle of some description and will arrive, along with a Rupert Neve pre-amp and Apogee Duet firewire interface tomorrow morning.

If I like them, I have an invitation to become an endorsing artist for sE Electronics. They would then supply me with gear in return for my ongoing endorsement.

Admittedly, and in the interested of full disclosure, I don’t get the equipment for free. But the price I may is unbelievably low. I nearly fell off my HAG Capisco when the endorsing artist discount was presented to me. Part of the deal is that I’m sworn to secrecy about the price. But I can tell you this, it’s almost ridiculous to even use the word price. I imagine that an accountant has said, at some stage in the process, that they can’t literally give them away, even to endorsing artists, and then come up with an arbitrary percentage that will obviously make the artist laugh and then look out of the window for the FedEx truck

In money times, this is a deal that is worth a lot.

But it’s more than that. As an endorsing artist a link to my blog will be placed on the sE Electronics website. Exposing everyone who is interested in sE Electronics equipment to my link.

In publicity terms it’s truly a 2 way deal. We both win. They get publicity, I get publicity.

Rupert Neve’s first microphone, a valuable endorsement deal and publicity that money can’t buy.

All because I blog.